this attack. again, i want to thank prominent republicans in the senate particularly for speaking out. it's a sign, a sign that with a new administration, we can confront these threats on a bipartisan basis with a united front here at home. that should be encouraging to the american people and a warning to our encouraging to our adversaries. meantime, they have to cooperate fully to share the information that is available from the impact and our response to ensure smooth transition to protect the american people as administrations change. over the next month, i intend to continue focus on building my team. so the right people i place on day one of my administration take over this effort to

prioritize cyber security across the board. i'll consult with experts to plan for the steps that my administration will take in order to secure our systems and improve our cyber defenses and to better withstand future attacks that we know will come and to impose costs on those that conduct them. i fully expect bipartisan support in this based on what we heard so far. our adversaries are capable. cyber threats are part of the 21st century. we have to treat them with the same purpose that we treated threats of other unconventional weapons. we have to work with our allies to establish clear international rules and mechanisms and enforce them and consequences for those countries that violate them. i'm going to close with this. as i look at the first of what

will be millions of vaccinations going in the arms of americans after hundreds of thousands of lives lost, congress finally passing a economic relief package after months and months of delay, at a new urgency from bipartisan approach to cyber security after years of a president that refused to stand up to our adversaries and hold them accountable, i'm reminded of a quote from a jesuit priest. he said advent is a time for rousing. those that don't believe are shaken to our deaths and then ready for a season of hope. as a nation, we have certainly been shaken to our depths this year. now it's time to awaken, to get moving, time for hope.

we have gotten through tough times before. we'll get through these difficult times as well and do it by coming to, by working with one another, by -- you heard my say we're the united states of america. there's certain things that rise above partisan differences that threaten the united states. there's national security interests that require us to cooperate. i'm confident that we'll be able to do that. after a year of pain and loss, it's time to unite, to heal, to rebuild. for all of those that are suffering right now with that enormous loss, lie awake at night wondering what tomorrow will bring, i say god bless you all. we're going to continue to push as hard as we can to finish the job. god bless you all, god protect

our troops and merry christmas and happy holidays to you all. i'll be happy to take some questions. megan, i'll let you tell me who is -- >> thank you, mr. president-elect. president obama once referred to this emerging cyber battlefield as the wild west. president trump said the situation was well under control. given what you just said about this, that it represents a grave risk. do you believe it represents an act of war and will you respond in kind if so? >> the answer is first of all, it is a grave risk and it continues. i see no evidence that it's under control. i've seen none. the defense department won't brief us on many things. so i nothing that suggests it's

under control. this. has not identify who is responsible yet. number 2, the question of the damage done remains to be determined. we have to look at very closely the nature of the breaches, how extensive they are and what damage has been done. thirdly, there's going to be a necessity as president obama and i and our administration talked about. we need international society -- international rules of the road on cyber security. we have to bring along our allies and our friends so we hold everyone accountable who breaches these basic fundamental rules. lastly, i believe that when i learned the extent of the damage and in fact who is formally responsible, they can be assured that we will respond.

probably respond in kind. many options that i will not discuss now. >> why not lay out those options publicly? isn't part of the issue deterrence and the fact that russia felt impunity if it is russia? >> we have not done that in any other areas where we have faced international crises. we don't sit here and say that we're going to strike you with a nuclear weapon. we don't sit and say and so on. let us determine what the extent of the damage is. i promise you there will be a response. another issue, sir. the run-off elections in georgia could determine whether there's a democratic senate in january or a republican senate in january. is the -- are you waiting for the outcome of those two races to make the final collections for your cabinet including attorney general, the most significant cabinet secretary yet to pick? >> no, not based on the attorney general. it's a matter of getting to it

and through it and announce them. it will all be announced just before or just after. we're going to make an announcement tomorrow and may have another announcement between christmas and new year's. we're working through all of the efforts to do due diligence. >> lastly, has the issue of the investigation of your son come up in discussions with your team and potential candidates? >> no. i guarantee you, i'm going to do what i said. the attorney general of the united states of america is not the president's lawyer. i will appoint someone who i expect to enforce the law as the law is written. not guided by me. >> thank you, sir. >> thank you, mr. president-elect. there's growing concern today about that new covid-19 sweeping across the u.k.

should the united states right now impose a travel ban on flights coming in from the u.k.? >> as you know, there is one. unrelated to that -- finding that new strain, number 1. the question is whether or not the very least it only allows americans coming home to come back to the states. citizens. one of the things i'm waiting to get a response from my covid team is whether or not we should require testing before they get on and aircraft to fly home, number 1 and number 2, when they get home, should they quarantine. that is my instinct. i'm waiting to hear from my experts right now. >> you talked about how you wanted to propose a new covid relief plan when you take office. it took more than six months for congress to reach this new deal. americans are suffering at this moment. how can you assure americans that relief will come and come soon? >> you all ask the most

interesting questions. have you ever known anyone in the history of the united states of america that could be president and assure exactly what the congress is going to do? i can't assure anything. i can tell you what the i expect. i fully expect on those critical issues that we're facing, number 1, being able to get all the work we need done and all the funding the get that vaccine in everyone's arm. that's 300 million people. we'll get that done because you'll see the responsibility has been recognized by the republicans and the democrats in congress. the constituency demands it, number 1. number 2, all of those people out there hurting, lost jobs from no fault of their own, extended unemployment for ten weeks, simply not efficient. necessary to get it done for the holidays but i predict we'll get cooperation and get that done. i've been arguing from the

beginning and told how i love it, makes me sound younger how naive i am about how congress works. i think even been proven right across the board. the things that are left to deal with from unemployment to people needing unemployment insurance to ability to have access to healthcare, ability to get this -- treatment for free, et cetera, all of that is something that the public is not going to stand for us not doing. i think with donald trump not in the way, that will also enhance the prospect of things getting done. >> will your plan include a new round of stimulus checks to the american people and if so, how much? >> that is a negotiating issue. yes, it will. i think -- by the way, i think we owe bernie sanders and his republican colleagues thanks for getting not all the stimulus we looked for but getting $600 done. you're seeing that there's a clear understanding that these

issues go beyond any ideology. people are desperately hurting. the republicans are hurting as badly as democrats. there's a few people and i'm not saying that they're responsible for any of this, but a few people are doing extremely well in that k-shaped recovery. they're doing fine. they still need access to the vaccines. they still need access to making sure that we're able to handle chris cease in the hospitals, et cetera. so i think on the things related to a, vaccine distribution, which is going to cost billions more dollars, simply going to cost billions more dollars. we need national standards to help governors get the vaccine throughout their communities, number 1. number 2, we need to take care of those people that through no fault of their own are unemployed. they've worked like hell. they have no job because of the covid crisis.

thirdly, we're going to have to begin to rebuild the country. we can't wait. can't wait to rebuild the economy. we have to start doing that now on infrastructure programs and other things. i think the sort of the dawn is broken. the vast majority of people. there's still people that don't want to help, there's still people that are insisting my way or the highway. the vast majority of the members of congress i believe will work out those specific issues that are national consequence. thank you. >> mr. president-elect, thank you. >> thank you. >> i'm still not sure if i heard you say specifically though sir, what is your ask of the congress? in just a month's time, what is your ask of the congress? after you watched over these many months and people in your party as well did not

necessarily act as quickly as some americans would have liked. what is your ask, sir? >> my ask will be laid out in detail. it relates to four things. number 1, making sure we have all the money we need to get the vaccine to 300 million americans at a minimum over the next year. the next calendar year. number 1. number 2, making sure that all of those people unemployed through no fault of their own because of the covid crisis, small businesses and big businesses shutting down, that they continue to live day to day. they don't engage in food shortages, not in a position where they get thrown out of their own. i'll be asking for a moratorium on being evicted from your home for failure to pay rent. moratoriums on relating to the issue of whether or not your mortgages are being paid. thirdly, it's critically important that we provide all of the ppe as well as the direct

payments to small and big businesses to be able to stay open, to be able to keep the people employed. that is something that is going to increase as time moves. lastly, we're going to need to make sure that we're in a position that we can provide for the opportunity of people to begin to go back to work and get new jobs. developing infrastructure. >> given the narrow majorities in the house and senate, you've watched many administrations come and go. do you believe you will have a honeymoon -- >> i don't think it's a honeymoon at all. it's a nightmare and everybody says it has to end. it's not a honeymoon. not doing me a favor. i'll ask a rhetorical question. don't expect you to answer. do you think that republicans losing a business, do you think republican constituents out there who can't pay their mortgage, you think they're not letting their republican representatives know that they have a problem? do you think the person that just lost a family member and is

worried about losing another one that happens to be a republican, a staunch republican, isn't telling his or her republican senator or state representative, you've got to help? you've got to get something done? do you think all of these people that are making judgments whether or not my child will be able to go to school and i have to stay home and i can't go to work and therefore i have no income are all democrats? i think there's just been a dawning here. you have a different team in town. you have a different team in town. i'm not going to villainize the opposition. this is what we have to do. they know it. they know it. it's not like i'm saying what we want to do is make sure that we are going to sign a new trade agreement with a, b or c. this is life and death. that's why i believe we'll get it done. >> a follow up to the attorney general decision.

you and president obama selected eric holder december 1. every recent president has selected their attorney general by this point. what is taking you so long to make this critical decision and do you believe that this is a time in the post trump era where you need someone who is not steeped in politics, who may have a life's work above or beyond politics? >> the answer is first of all, we have gone faster than everybody in a total cabinet. >> not president obama and yourself, sir. >> the whole cabinet? >> the whole cabinet. a few missteps on commerce as you remember. >> i do. i didn't want to raise it though. but look, this is -- looking for a team. we'll instill the greatest confidence in the professionals at doj to know once again that there is no politics, there's no politics. as you know, there's been a

great debate about -- in every single appointment whether or not people -- there's enough african americans, hispanics, asian pacific americans, people that are new and young. we're working through it. it's not by design. there's not an obvious choice in my mind. >> thank you, sir. merry christmas. >> merry christmas. >> you just spoke about your confidence that there -- it will be possible to get things done once president trump has left office. >> excuse me. not just because he left office. because it's all becoming obvious exactly what is at stake. >> right. but even so, are you concerned about the effects long term that his presidency and now in the transition, his refusal to concede, his challenges to the election will have on american politics, will have on the republican party especially if

he does take the step of filing for re-election next month to run in 2024? you know, are you concerned about him lingering around? i see you smiling. i'll ask it. kind of a corollary to that, would you consider filing for re-election early next year to show you're not a lame duck? >> i'm not a lame duck. watch me. let's get the work from this point on to the next several years, there's one objective. it's not my political future. it's bettering the circumstances for the average american. that's what it's about. i want to communicate cat to the american people what i hope they understand about me. it about them. it's not about me. it's not about me. >> still, do you think the climate will be different? after. trump than it was --

>> we'll see. i don't know. i'm not a fortune teller. i can tell you that the calls i've gotten from sitting republicans in powerful positions, they know me, they know i level with them, they know i never mislead and know i don't go out of my way to embarrass. >> in terms of the transition, are there areas where the trump team has not been cooperative that have not been made public? we heard a bit about the issues at the pentagon last week. are there other areas that you think the public should be aware of? >> there are other areas. i'm not sure it's relevant. what i'm trying to do is pull together a political parties that are in the congress that know that we're facing four serious crises. we have to address all of them. none of us will get all we want but we can make progress.

so my focus is on uniting, not emphasizing divisions. thank you. >> thank you, mr. president-elect. russia, as you said, is suspected of carrying out this massive cyber hack. you said it happened under president trump's watch. it will land on your door step. >> his failure will land on my door step. >> yes. what are the practical implications of overseeing a government where experts say it could take years to know where the hackers went and years to remove them? how can you ensure the systems will be safe given what experts are saying? >> i can't ensure but i can demand based on the experts both here and among our allies, what is needed to find that out. it may cost literally billions

of dollars to secure our cyber space. it may take a great deal to get it done. first and foremost, it takes people that are knowledgeable and vigilant about what is happening and how it's happening. so i'm just going to do all that need be done. all that need be done to determine a, the extent of the damage. b, the nature of how it occurred and c, what i should be doing internally in terms of my administration to protect against it in the future and number 4, getting together with our allies to try to set up an international system of what constitutes appropriate behavior in cyber space and get us all to get to the point where we hold -- all hold any other country liable for the breaking out of those basic rules. >> just to be clear at the top of that, did you say you couldn't ensure the systems would be safe when you came into affect? >> of course, i can't. i don't know what the state of them are.

they're not safe right now. between now and january 20th, the likelihood of my being able to garner all the information, the extent and depth of the violations, exactly how the codes or how were breached, what was breached, what was done is not within my power to do that. it will be an overwhelming focus for my administration. >> and my other questions is on immigration. i was just reading act the fact that officials in your transition, they say you won't be immediately rolling back trump policies. there's some immigration advocates say why not roll back the mexico policy, why not roll back the asylum restrictions? what is your timeline for rolling back the trump administration policies? >> already started discussing these issues with the president of mexico and our friends in latin america. the timeline is to do it so that

we in fact make it better, not worse. the last thing we need is to say we're going to stop immediately the access to asylum the way it's being run now. end up with two million people on the border. it's a matter of setting up the guardrails so we can move the direction. i will accomplish what i said. a more humane policy but requires getting a lot in place and requires getting the funding in place. including asylum judges, for example. it will get done and done quickly but it's not going to be done on day 1, lift every restriction that exists and find out -- go back to what it was 20 years ago and all of a sudden find out we have a crisis on our hand that complicating what we're trying to do. >> what would you say to immigration advocates that say maybe you're possibly dragging

your feet and might take too long. sounds like you have -- >> trust me. i never told them anything i haven't done. i'm working with them now. we're dealing with the very organizations as we speak. i will do what i said. it's going to take not day one. it's going to take the next six months to put that in place. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> merry christmas, everybody. thank you. >> john: all right. the president-elect joe biden there listening to a question being shouted by peter doocy about hunter biden. laughing and walking away. can we hear what he's saying now? >> my justice department will be totally on its own making its judgments about how to proceed. thank you. >> john: saying his justice department will be end making their decisions based on how they see fit.

the president-elect answering a number of questions. i guess one of the most interesting things that he said is that he acknowledged that if we were to roll back the president's immigration policies, he would have two million people on the border between the united states and mexico seeking entry into the country that he wants to set up guardrails first before he changes immigration policy. also saying in terms of the cyber attack, that we will respond, i promise there will be a response. calling on this administration to acknowledge who was behind it. when asked if he was going to file for re-election as president trump may for 2024 rather than looking like a lame duck, the president-elect said i'm not going to be a lame duck. watch me. he said more coronavirus relief is obviously coming. he said congress has done its job passing the $900 billion bill. i will ask them to do it again next year. a jumping off point to bring in

our first guest on "bill hemmer reporting." i'm john roberts joined by marsha blackburn from tennessee. you heard the president-elect saying this is basically a down payment on what is to come. you voted against this bill. what were the reasons for voting against it and what do you foresee coming down the track in 2021? >> john, i have to tell you, this was a bohemeth of a bill. members were give about six hours to look through 5,000 pages before the vote was called. whether it is the process or the product that we're looking at, this is a bill that gives direct cash payments to individuals, puts us on that path toward a guaranteed minimum income, which bernie sanders has been such an advocate for. it also puts those direct cash

payments in place for illegal aliens in the country as well as letting them get retroactive payments from the cares act. it does pell grants for those in prison. there's new categories of h2b visas. there's money -- you have $170 million that is in there for programs that are in other countries, $50 million for education programs in egypt and malawi. you have gender studies money for pakistan. listen, we have a pandemic. people are hurting. they need to be the center and the focus of this. small businesses should be the focus of this. we have money going for arts and foreign aid, things that have absolutely nothing to do with recovering from the pandemic. that is the reason to not

support this bill. >> john: yeah, there's lower penalties for transportation, decriminalization of the swiss code of arms. one of the things they did, they threw at you 5,600 pages of text and gave you two hours to read it before you voted on it. that puts you, ted cruz and alexandria ocasio-cortez in the same boat in terms of opposing it. ted cruz writing "aoc is right, it's absurd to have a $2.5 trillion spending bill negotiated in secret and hours later demand an up or down on a bill nobody has had time to read. other than going backwards, let's look ahead because joe biden said there's more coming down the pike in 2021. what can you do to ensure the process next time is different and we don't go in the hole for

another $3 trillion? >> one of the things that we need to be certain we do is to win these two senate races in georgia. you have already seen the democrats say look, we're putting in place our pathway to a green new deal. our pathway to expanding big government. our pathway to easing immigration policies. so john, what we have to do is make certain that we hold these because that's how you're going to have checks and balances with a divided government. you have heard chuck schumer and the democrats say time and again, we want to go take georgia. then we want to change the country. more freedom, more liberty, more opportunity is not their idea of how they want to change the country. they want to grow government, expand government, raphael

warnock, who has praised marxism, he would be the first marxist senator in the u.s. senate. >> john: i want to ask you something else. clearly the georgia run-offs are very important. something that will happen the day after that on january 6 is the certification of the electors that cast their vote back on december 11. it looks like the president is going to have a number of house members stand up and oppose the seating of those electors. where do you come down on that and do you believe that joe biden is the president-elect? >> one of the things that we're continuing to do is look at the information as it comes to us. john, of course we all realize that if you want to change and challenge these votes, that is something at the state level. these state legislatures have to

step up and take the responsibility for changing the law. this is why we have our local governments implement, our state government. according to the constitution, they're the ones that set the time, the place and the manner of these elections. we are continuing to review. >> john: we've certainly got a lot ahead of us. senator marsha blackburn. great to see you. merry christmas. you'll be spending it in one of the most beautiful parts of the world i know. happy christmas to you and your family. >> thanks. >> john: dr. fauci, one of several top health officials that received moderna's vaccine today. we will head down to georgia with the secretary of state is cracking down on illegal voting attempts. karl rove on the state of play 06 georgia coming up. stay with us. done. and with free curbside pickup at walmart... you can get the perfect gift up until the last minute. let's end the year nailing it.

♪ when it comes to finding let's end the year nailing it. and buying your dream home, we'll be there to make it happen. we'll be there when you want better rates too. or to get money for retirement. we'll be there because we work only with veteran families like yours to help you get the most life out of a home for the life of your family

but with walmart's low prices, you still know how to do it up. and keep costs down. let's end the year enjoying more. ♪ you are all i need baby baby to get by ♪ >> john: two weeks down from georgia's run-offs which will

determine which party controls the senate. more than 1.6 million people have already cast their ballots. the turnout could set a record. that figure is 32% of the number of people that voted november 3. now georgia's secretary of state is stepping up efforts to curb illegal voting. we have karl rove with us, a fox news contributor. first, i want to ask you about these meetings that the president has been having a close group of allies about what to do regarding what happens on january 6. we talked to senator blackburn about this. that some members of the house may oppose the seating of electors from their states. and then there's other things that have been kicked around, too, which the president denies like bringing in the military to rerun elections in certain states. what do you make of that? >> i'm going to accept the president on his word. we know that general flynn suggested that. he did so publicly.

talk about an idiotic idea. there's no where for the president to insurrect the act. no president would have the authority to do that. so general flynn may have served honorably, but he's not a constitutional law scholar. when it comes to giving good advice to the president about politics, he's at the bottom of the list in my opinion. >> john: one of the person whispering in the president's ear, sydney powell. she suggested after a meeting that she's been banned from a white house and a statement saying to fox news, i've been blocked by white house counsel from seeing or speaking to the president. i'm told that she has the ability to call the president. she's not on a do not admit list. there's many people in senior positions at the white house that would prefer that

mrs. powell and others stay away from the president. >> mrs. powell has pedalled theories that have little basis in fact. the idea that hugo chavez from the grave was somehow in stealing this year's election. she was poured out in a courtroom where all of her expect witnesses, one of them was so highly prized that he had to have a code name and could be revealed. she told him as a highly expert military intelligence analyst. turned out to be a mid level computer program from dallas that couldn't even pass the entrance exam for the 305th intelligence brigade in intelligence school. she couldn't pass the exams. he was here high level advocate. she had another one that couldn't tell precincts in townships in minnesota. anybody could have seen the

turnouts were different in detroit. what she has done to throw mud open the president is so ill served. she's chief among them. >> let's get to the georgia run-off. as i mentioned, 32% of the number of people that voted november 3 have already cast ballots for a run-off. we have brad wrarathlisburger warning people from out of state if they vote they'll be prosecuted. >> tom freedman from "the new york times" said why don't liberals go to georgia and vote and then return home. this is a felony violation. in georgia, it's easy to register to vote. if you get a driver's license at the age of 18, you're automatically registered. but you have to have the intention of being a permanent georgia resident. so rathlisburger was wise to

sent the letters out. it's just the tip of the iceberg of the steps that i believe the state of georgia is taking in order to make certain that they have a fair election. >> john: karl, great to see you today. merry christmas and a happy new year to you and yours. see you on the other side. >> thanks, john. especially the lad that caught the biggest fish this summer i've ever seen. >> that was a a huge crokey. and let's bring in attorney general tom dupree. let's run some sound from the president-elect a moment ago on his choice for the attorney general and what he's thinking about. listen here. >> no. i guarantee you i'm going to do what i said. the attorney general of the united states of america is not the president's lawyer. ly appoint someone who i expect to enforce the law as the law is written. not guide it by me. >> so clearly the attorney general pick, which president

obama had already made at this time in his transition is probably the marquee pick for the president-elect, particularly since his son, hunter biden, is under investigation. in terms of guiding his choice and his deliberations for this, how big a role do you think, tom, that hunter biden will play in this? >> well, i think it will play a big role, john. obviously it's something that will be on the president-elect's mind. he gets asked about it all the time. he has to think about it all the time. what he's saying right now is the right thing. when he takes office, he will make sure the justice department and the new attorney general are insulated. any sort of political considerations, any sort of improper leaning by the president on his attorney general as to what to do with this investigation. i suspect that's why he's slow in naming his new attorney general. he understands this is a huge decision and one that will likely effect the fate of his administration.

>> john: the big news yesterday at the time was the fact that bill barr said the investigation in to hunter biden is proceeding on a professional basis. he sees no reason to appoint a special counsel to look into all of that, into any dealings that president-elect biden may have had with china. do you agree with barr? is there not enough there there to appoint a special counsel? should one be appointed? >> i have no reason to call it any differently than the attorney general has. he is on the inside. he's aware of how these investigations are proceeding, what evidence they have uncovered so far. in the attorney general's judgment, it's being properly handled. the investigation is being pushed forward. everything is being done by the book as it should be. there's no need to appoint a special counsel. i would have absolutely no reason to second guess his judgment in that regard. >> john: last question to you, tom. a few second we have left. is there a reason for biden to buck tradition and not remove the u.s. attorney in wilmington,

delaware, who is looking into hunter biden? i can imagine if president trump were to do something like that, there would be calls for his impeachment instantly. >> i think there's good reason for that. he should give strong consideration to it. when you keep the existing united states attorney that you're not going to put in a political crone any but maintaining the guy cary out the investigation. let him see it there. >> john: thanks, tom. happy new year and merry christmas. thanks for joining us today. >> you, too. >> john: officials including dr. fauci receiving the moderna vaccine today. he joins us live next. ♪ we made usaa insurance for veterans like martin. when a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa

usaa. what you're made of, experience the wonders of at nizuc resort & spa, where paradise is personal. nizuc is a world to discover unto itself,

day or night, indoors or out. something wonderful awaits. we'rewelcome to a -wbetter way to live.s. ♪ welcome to my house the croods are coming home. kinda big, isn't it? that's the mirror. -sorry. and the world will never be the same. what is this? uh, we call that a window. window. dun, dun, dun. make it a croods family movie night with "the croods: a new age". go to watchcroods.com. experience the wonders of at nizuc resort & spa, where paradise is personal. nizuc is a world to discover unto itself, day or night, indoors or out. something wonderful awaits.

>> the culmination of years of

research which has led to a phenomenon that has truly been unprecedented. that is to go from the realization that we're dealing with a new pathogen, a virus that was described in january of this year to less than one year later to have a vaccine. >> john: dr. anthony fauci getting moderna's covid vaccine a few hours ago. dr. fauci joins me now. any reaction, any injection site pain? do you have a fever, any chills? how are you doing? >> i'm doing great, john. no problem at all, really. i don't have any discomfort on any part of my body, not even in my arm. it was less than the flu shot. i mean, right now i'm feeling great. might change a little later. i wouldn't be surprised if i got a little ache and felt a little down. right now i feel perfect. >> john: you've got the moderna vaccine. a lot of people have been

getting the pfizer vaccine. why moderna for you? >> that just came in. that was the shipment to the nih. so you take the vaccine that you get shipped to your facility. we had not gotten any of the pfizer for any of the number of reasons. when moderna came online, we got the shipment of it for myself and dr. collins and secretary azar. we began vaccinating some of our nurses, physicians and others that are associated with the critical care unit. >> john: should point out that your 80th birthday is coming up thursday. so you get an early birthday present. happiest returns, by the way, to you. now that you had the vaccine and several thousand -- hundred thousand other people have had the vaccine, how should they comport themselves now? can they take the masks off? can they end the social distancing? do they still need to continue to do that? >> well, absolutely not, john. thank you for asking that

question. nothing should really change right now with regard to the public health measures that hopefully we have all already been doing. you know what they are. the universal wearing of mask, physical distancing, avoid congregate settings, washing of hands until we get the level of virus so dramatically low in society, we still have to practice public health measures, a vaccine right now at the statement that we're at should not change anything when it comes to the public health measures that we're implementing. >> the centers for disease control and prevention has put out guide lines as to who should get inoculated. we expect that will continue. there's controversy over younger members of congress that have been inoculated. alexandria ocasio-cortez got the vaccine leading one of her

compatriots in the squad, ilhan omar to criticize her for it to which alexandria ocasio-cortez responded and to some other criticism, maybe if the gop didn't spend so much time undermining masks and covid itself, i wouldn't have to weigh the misinformation consequences of what would happen. she is suggesting it's a confidence building step for members of congress to get it. with so many people out there that need to get this for health reasons, is it wise to be giving it to younger members of congress that probably don't need it right now? >> john, i don't want to weigh-in on that. that is always a controversy. the fundamental reason for getting leaders of the country vaccinated is really two fold. one, because it really is a security issue. obviously you want to make sure that it's equitably distributed according to the suggestions and

recommendations of the cdc. but you want to keep the government intact. that's why you do vaccinate in a priority setting, the people that are the leaders of the country in the sense of keeping the country running. it's very much similar to essential workers in my mind. >> john: i know you don't want to wade into politics. let me get you to dip your toe in the water a little bit. joe biden yesterday when he got his vaccine said he had to give credit to the administration and operation warp speed for the vaccine. in your estimation without the trump administration's efforts and without operation warp speed, we would be sticking needles in arms at this point? >> unlikely. i think president-elect biden was correct in giving credit to the trump administration for operation warp speed. operation warp speed will go down historically as a highly

successful endeavor which allowed us to do things with regard to the timing of it and effectiveness of it in a way that a few years ago people never would have imagined. it was a combination, john, of the fundamental basic science, science that was done right here in the nih as well as places that were funded by the nih and by the department of defense and other government agencies. that, plus the creative initiative of operation warp speed made this possible. a lot of credit goes to the administration, particularly to secretary alex azar as well as the department of defense starting off with secretary mark esper and his colleagues at dod. >> john: you played no small part in this yourself as well. dr. fauci, again, glad to see you got the vaccine. i'm waiting anxiously for mine. happy birthday to you from all of us here at fox. appreciate it. >> thank you, john.

thanks for having me. >> john: the family of a college student that was jailed for breaking covid rules in the caym cayman islands getting help. details on that. ustomizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

to high quality computer science and stem education. ♪ i joined amazon because i wanted to change education and i am impatient. amazon gives me the resources to change the world at a pace that i want to change it. ♪

we provide students stem scholarships and teachers with support. ♪ i'm a fighter and i'm fighting for all students. than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz... a pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis when methotrexate has not helped enough. xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened.

don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. xeljanz.

>> john: a judge in the cayman islands reducing the sentence for a georgia college students. skylar mack pleaded guilty to not following the 14-day covid quarantine rule. got it reduced to two months. still a lot, charles. >> yeah, that's right. the white house says they reviewed the case and passed it to the appropriate federal agency. the family of skylar tries to get her back on american soil. at an appeal hearing this morning, a judge agreed to reduce the 18-year-old's four months sentence to two months after she and her boyfriend were

convicted of breaking strict covid guidelines, this follows the court's decision to reverse an initial sentence that included community service and a fine. in a statement to fox news, her lawyers said it was our hope that skylar would resume home to return her studies in january. we accept the decision of the court and look forward to the written reasons in due course. skylar's grandmother is not disputing the fact that she broke quarantine rules after traveling from georgia but doesn't think the time in prison is appropriate. meanwhile, the 18-year-old has released a statement, apologizing for her actions saying "i was afforded the opportunity to enter the islands during these trying times the and i abused it. i'm humbly asking for the forgiveness of the community." john, the state department tells fox news that this case is on their radar, but they declined to comment any further citing privacy concerns.

back to you. >> all right. we'll see if they keep pursuing it. charles watson in atlanta. i'm john roberts in for bill hemmer. i'm going to take a few days off. have a wonderful christmas and a great new year. "your world" with neil cavuto starts right now. >> neil: all right. all eyes on the stimulus, the checks which we're told are on the way and could be in americans' hands next week. here's a question for you. if they're coming at a minimum of $600 a pop, up to $2,400 for some families depending on how many kids you have, do you spend that money now before christmas? sort of get your bang for your buck right now? that is what obviously markets are hoping for and economists are hoping for. welcome, everybody. i'm neil cavuto. this is "your world." despite a sell off today, a lot of it has to do with