>> ainsley: good morning, 8:00 a.m., tuesday, january 14th. this is "fox and friends." >> brian: in 90 minutes pete hegseth becomes trump's first pick to meet the assassinations. petespaez spaez gets top marks in military evaluations, which matter a lot. >> lawrence: and trump's interference case, what its and trump's respond. >> steve: another fire has broken out in southern california as winds intensive again overnight. the president-elect is planning to visit the devastated areas, we'll tell you what we know. >> ainsley: final hour of "fox and friends" starts right now. >> brian: begin the third hour of the show with fox news alert. senate confirmation hearings for

trump's cabinet picks begin in an hour with pete hegseth. >> ainsley: madeleine rivera is in the hearing room ahead of today's proceedings. >> madeleine: in about an hour this room will begin filling up with people. defense nominee pete hegseth. former and current members of military. democrats will have tough questions for pete hegseth. they will press him about his qualifications and leading the largest agency. his previous comments. and despite serving in the army, hes he is bring the change the military needs. hes the defense department will achieve peace through strength, politics should play no part in military matters.

53 53-47, pete hegseth can cross without a single democratic vote. this is a test how well republicans can stick together. >> we don't need a general from the pentagon, we have tried that. we need a drill sergeant. he will be ripped. he will be demeaned, he will be talked about, but we're going to get him across the finish line. >> madeleine: chuck schumer says it will be a chance to hold nominees accountable for their actions. repub republicans spent four years attacking and we need to return the favor. here is how this morning will look like. 27 senators on armed services committee, each get seven minutes to ask questions, that

is three hours of questions. could be more questions, kicks off 9:30 a.m. eastern team. >> steve: each of the senators get seven minutes in the first round. i suppose there could be a second round. there are no witnesses called in something like this, pete is the only witness? if democrats have a surprise, it will be in things they read or say, right? >> madeleine: yeah, that is our understanding that pete hegseth will be the only one appearing before the senate arms services committee. anything they have, they will have opportunity to ask pete hegseth this morning. pete hegseth will have a chance to speak with democratic senators this morning. many have not spoke with pete hegseth before this hearing is

taking place, despite the fact pete hegseth spent several weeks trying to meet with republican and democratic lawmakers. >> brian: if you look at the democratic side jack reid, serious guy, janine, same thing. gilllibrand, same. these are ones i think will go out for blood, duckworth, elizabeth warren, who submitted 100 questions, rono and richard blumenthal, who was last night frantic because he thought he had a great witness and it blew up in his face. pete has 20 years of war experience and this man-made up

being in war. pete comes with harvard, princeton, iraq, afghanistan, gitmo experience. you have under secretaries that are going to be extremely organized. they understand big corporations. they are seeing surge of people signing up for the military, we have not had that in four years. >> lawrence: because culture is changing. they understand what donald trump stands for and pete wants to get back to war fighting. you saw chuck schumer, this is resistance. republicans on the committee and senate that have to vote on this, capitulate and give democrats a win. it is that simple. not about merit of pete hegseth,

this is pure resistance, that is what axios quoted. you have pete hegseth, who has experience and talked about this for a while, he is nontraditional candidate. donald trump is nontraditional president. he is not someone that served in government before, before his first term he was a businessman. last thing i will say is this, marines and navy seals and green berets are there to support him, they realize they will be able to do what they joined the military to did in the first place and that is why i predict pete will be confirmed. >> steve: look at the big screen with the membership and breakdown, according to punch bowl, democrats will rely on seven democratic senators to

advance he is not the guy for the job. what we will hear, fbi background check was too fast and a number of senators will say, why didn't they talk to this person or this person. look for that to come up. >> ainsley: he is a veteran, army national guard, went to two ivy league schools, he is athletic, he's a fighter, he loves this country. his military evaluation reads incredibly talented and battle proven. he is a strong christian. jen and his foundation is built on jesus.

he's asked forgiveness. he is a friend we've known a long time. here is what senator jim baefrngss about pete being ready. >> we need a change agent to clean up the mess of the last four years but democrats are focused on attacking pete for being a christian, for having a christian tattoo, that was on the cover of the jimmy carter funeral. he will do well today, he's ready to go. this is the most important cabinet secretary trump will have on his team at the department of defense to get our military focused. we need someone like pete to clean up the mess, make the military strong again, fix issues. >> brian: getting spending

straight and spending up because of rising the threat of china and eastern europe. part of the reason him and roger wicker hit it off, he did a comprehensive look prior to trump winning. wicker said, i heard enough, he gets it. >> lawrence: don't be surprised if john fetterman votes for him. he said he finds the senator doing interest ing and he is no rh right or left, he's in the middle. when the allegations come up, they will probably use a female senator to drive that message. pete was never arrested, the investigation went away, they did not find he did anything. if you want to submit record of

people's allegations, we can do the same thing for people and members of congress that have allegations against them, you have to prove in court of law. should not be discourse in a committee meeting. >> steve: 9:30 this morning, hegseth confirmation hearing starts. pete's opening statement is strong, you will see it live on fox. another alert, president-elect trump is making plans to visit the west coast and los angeles so he can see first hand devastation from the wildfires. >> lawrence: strong winds threaten new areas as folks are warned to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notis. griff jenkins is live in malibu. what are you learning, griff? >> griff: national weather service says we have entered that particularly dangerous situation red flag warning

window, which is extremely rare, fire conditions, high winds, dry vegetation and low humidity and firefighters are battling a new blaze, the otissues tissues o -- otto fire, between ventura and oxnard, california. officials say they are making progress tamping down that area, but it is a sign of what they are facing in next 48 hours because national weather service noting wind gusts of 72 miles per hour in ventura county, all part eof the problem. they are battling blazes and dealing with unauthorization rised drones like the one that brought down the super scooper

last week. 20 to the 30 drones are flying around and they are dealing with looters, coming in, stealing things like emmy's and thousands of dollars in people's homes. the new da for l.a., nathan hock 2k man said he will not put up with it here. >> we anticipated this would happen, people trying to exploit this for their benefit. promise we made that criminals would be arrested, prosecuted and maximally punished is a promise we're keeping. >> griff: fox news confirming president-elect trump will visit the areas around los angeles, we don't have a date or time. we don't know if it will be

before or after inauguration, he will see the homes and businesses destroyed coming on heels of local l.a. mayor karen bass and gavin newsom. there are crews here working to clear debris like the damaged malibu home behind me. watching in the sky right now, a drone is flying over us, we presume that is an official drone, because it is operating at night. this is the sort of thing officials say please don't do this, cal fire putting out a warning saying, when you fly, we can't, that complicates the problem. back to you. >> brian: senior meteorologist janice dean is tracking wind in california. >> janice: next 24 to 30 hours crucial, we have this socetup,

winds being funneled through valleys and canyons and it will be another day of potential for explosive wildfires. ignition of wildfires possible and spreading of them. right now elevated threat for all areas affected by wildfires. same threat we had last week when the wildfires broke out and today being no exception. same setup, winds in excess of 50 to 70 miles per hour. hurricane-forced winds will halt progress and perhaps make it worse for the next 24 to thirst hours. tuesday, today, is the worst time over the next few hours and through today and overnight. lessens on wednesday. friday a much better scenario, we'll have more on-shore flow

bringing in moisture and bringing up relative humidity and air quality, this is dangerous for people with respiratory issues. it is lumber and particulates in atmosphere, tires and metals burning, really unhealthy. friday, a better scenario, we will bring on-shore winds into the situation and that will bring up relative humidity, no rain expected in the foreseeable future. it has been months without rain and the brush is dry. 24 to 30 hours, very crucial for firefighters and if you get evacuations, heed them. cannot stress that enough. back to you. >> ainsley: the justice department released former special counsel jack smith

report. >> steve: it was sent to congress midnight last night and argues president trump would have been convicted if he had not won the presidential race in 2024. smith writing, it has long been the department interpretation that the report forbids indictment of a sitting president. office assessed 5d missable evidence could sustain a conviction at trial. >> brian: i'm sure he thinks so. trump responding deranged jack smith, his wrestling name, was unable to political ly -- voter have spoken. >> lawrence: this is one of two volumes put together by jack smith. number two, merrick garland said

he would not release that. >> brian: bring in fox news contributor jonathan turley. jack smith thinks he would have gotten a conviction. aside from that, what is your takeaway from what you are have digested? >> jonathan: this report is vintage jack smith. it shows disregard to the supreme court. he dismisses both decision, one dealt with obstruction and one with immunity. he minimized those. he aadopted view of jackson on obstruction. that was a view no one joined, it was just justice jackson. he said, i can still argue obstruction. this report says more about

smith, reads like a defense argument than a prosecution argument but he is defending himself. he says it was laughable he was engaged in politics. we saw everything in this report before he released much of this before the election. none of us could understand releasing it publicly except to influence the election and it did not work. >> lawrence: he wanted the rest of the process, he knew what would happen if donald trump was elected. he addressed the peaceful and patriotically remark that the former president made and his response was he said to fight by fight after that. what is your reaction? >> jonathan: once again, this is vintage smith.

fight is used by politicians regularly. you have had demopoliticians sa trump should be eliminated and this was a war to defend democracy. smith used the word fight 10 ti times, okay. that followed go there peacefully. he might have been able to acquire a conviction in front of favorable jury and favorable judge. he would have never been able to sustain this. i refer to him as soming of a parade general. this is very impressive when you don't have the other side. this is his best case and i don't think it is that good. >> brian: he had senator m menendez, over charged and john edwards. this is a pattern, he thinks he is getting victory and doesn't

work that way. >> steve: he did take a shot and say hurrinter biden made all th money over years, mr. david weiss investigated and he takes hum bridge at his bos and said the president said stuff that was not true and undermined confidence in our legal system. >> jonathan: the davidweiss reps different. he had a straight-forward case in florida he loaded up with classified documents charges that slowed it to a crawl and guaranteed no trial. weiss was not aggressive enough, he claims he saw the inside of a courtroom and got a conviction and would have gotten a second conviction be if not for the

presi president's. >> ainsley: thank you for coming on. >> thank you much >> ainsley: hand over to carley, she has headlines for us. >> carley: in middle east, negotiators are putting finishing touches on a gaza ceasefire deal that would bring hostages home. official tells fox news a deal is close, not there yet. we are told hundreds of palestinian prisoners will be exchanged if the deal goes through. they say this is only time since november of 2023 we are negotiating with hamas and they are not playing games in negotiablions. nine suspected tren de aragua gang members charged in connection to violent home invasion at an your aurora

complex last month. they kidnapped a couple and left them seriously injured. one was already wanted from video of armed gang members from months earlier. several others are under investigation for last month's kidnapping and robbery. starbucks reopening open door policy, bringing back closed door policy requiring you to pay up if you want to hang out at the coffee shop or use their restrooms. we want to set clear expectation for behavior and use of spaces, we can create better vooirm for everyone. new policy starts january 27th. those are headlines. who would have thought, let everybody in not paying and things can go poorly.

>> steve: you can use the re restroom, if you buy $8 drink. >> get a pack of gum, something. >> lawrence: what is wrong with you? >> brian: charleston chew, you can get at a gas station, you have to dust off. >> ainsley: used to be char charleston. >> lawrence: your patients have more money than mine, they said get a pack of gun. >> brian: and the candy cigarettes. they sell those in south car carolina, even though i loved it when i was little. >> brian: they love their tobacco. >> steve: an hour and seven minutes, pete hegseth takes center stage for his confirmation hearings, we'll take a look at all of this

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>> brian: fox news alert. senate confirmation hearings will begin in an hour. he is set to take office in six days. defense secretary pick pete hegseth will appear first, 9:30

eastern time. seven hearings set for tomorrow. chuck schumer telling democratics not to hold back during questioning. >> over next four days, a dozen of president-elect trump nominees will testify in committee and make their case to the country. these hearings in a very real way, are the opening salvo for holding trump administration bltb accountable to the public. >> brian: ben dominic joins us now. we've been talking about pete. we want to talk about other targets. your sense how it will go this morning into the afternoon? >> ben: congratulations to pete for taking on this role. it is very demanding and you have to walk through fire to get

it. we'll have a man in the arena moment today. it will be targeted from warren, duckworth and horono, who will focus on things he said in the pasts, accusations and things he's been clear about. women in combat and his view of the woke military complex that has taken over pentagon in recent years. that is something they will come after him hard, trying to influence joni ernst, who is a veteran and has strong opinions. i think they want to get her as someone who is waivering on pete. his meetings have gone well and he's risen to this moment and he's allayed concern of senators all over the place and met with them. he will get through this and get

support he needs. >> brian: people point to collins and murkowski. people said don't give up on collins, and keep an eye on john fetterman, he was impressed. the other thing to look for and he doesn't have a date i can see is kash patel. what is his focus? how will they go at him? we watched outgoing fbi director on "60 minutes" on sunday. >> ben: this is a campaign and they are targeting kash. there will be questions about r.f.k., questions about tulsi gabbard, they don't have hearing dates set in terms of her. when it comes to kash patel, they will try to get under his skin and ruffle him. firing back at senators in the

hearings may play well on camera, they don't play well in the senate. it is importance to be cool under pressure and be ready with a solid answer and they will try to get commitments out of him. there have been memos about discussions internally and i think they will get commitment out of him about tarrgeting certain people. >> brian: it will be interesting, you have to show strength and decorum, not easy. thanks so much. check out your podcast. cabinet is available on fox nation with new episode every friday thanks to ben. up next on this show, one senator in the room for pete hegseth confirmation, you'll hear from him next. sheldon: restoration is more than walls. it's more than paint.

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>> steve: 22 before the top of the hour and a fox news alert. defense secretary nominee pete hegseth, center square, his confirmation hearing is going to start in 45 minutes. >> ainsley: our next guest will attend pete hegseth's hearing today and hearings for cia nominee john ratcliffe and housing and urban development pick scott turner. >> lawrence: south dakota senator mike rounds joins us now. thank you for getting up with us this morning. tell me what is the objective of the republicans on the committee now? we know that the left, they are going to come out swinging. what are you going to do?

>> we'll respond to their procedural challenges. they don't like idea of not having two go-arounds in the senate, that is part of the process. we will focus on what pete hegseth will bring to the department of defense. he wants to bring lethality to it. we want that back in in the dod. how you deliver best equipment and training to that young man or woman at or near the front line. that is focus we'll have, showing competency and his experience as a combat veteran. >> steve: we know the opposition party will try to knock him off kilter. i'm sure you have your ear to the wall. what surprises do democrats have in store? >> you never know whether or not they have information that maybe we have not found yet.

republicans will focus on his ability to do the job. number of democrats may talk about it, vast majority will talk about his personal history. we've all had our meeting with pete hegseth. he'll have to in front of the american people, he will have american people, united states senate and president of the united states as an audience. he will explain himself when democrats come forward. we'll help and provide ample opportunity to respond if they don't allow him to respond in a timely fashion. we'll refocus on what we want to get done on department of defense. he will focus on lethality. if their young man or woman want to get into the armed services, they'll have best equipment possible, best training possible and best leadership, that is focus we'll have with pete this

morning. >> ainsley: senator, does he have the votes? >> i think he does. it is matter in armed services committee and floor of the senate. everything i have seen indicate pete hegseth will be the next secretary of defense. >> brian: is there any scenario where it is more than one day? >> not that i see now. we'll have seven-minute terms and normally take five minute terms. i shared with pete and his wife, this will be tough questioning coming from democrats, it will be personal and they'll have to be ready for that. i think he will be. >> ainsley: we'll be watching. i think it will last until 2 or 2:30. if he's approved today, he gets confirmed? >> lawrence: the committee. >> ainsley: next week on the 20th? >> next week. >> steve: thanks for the preview. >> ainsley: less than one hour away from pete hegseth senate

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>> ainsley: to the world's largest island, president-elect trump plans for greenland making waves in the country.

>> brian: alex hogan joins us from greenland's capital city. i never thought i would toss to anyone in greenland, let alone you. what is feeling on the ground as an american lands there? >> good morning, everyone. i am in new greenland, this is la largest island in the world three times size of texas with only about 57,000 people. most of the territory is covered with ice. that ice melting is making a big change, because of sub-polar shipping route and impact it has on regional influence. this is strategic place defensively because of its location in atlantic. it is home to northern most u.s. military base and hot topic has been president trump's comments

about buying this dan ish territory. >> a lot about trump and opinion about trump. >> i hate it. basically i don't know what he is aiming at. >> i want to stick with danish government. >> most of the people we talked with say they did not support trump's comments and found them offensive. one person has been a fierce supporter of president-elect trump for years saying this partnership would make sense. >> the thing this government spent no money on greenland and ships and everything in that area. the world, we now have to be protected by u.s. more. and trump and u.s. is best for greenland.

>> well, greenland's prime minister talked about this yesterday stressing importance of independence for the territory and spoke about the u.s. saying greenland is trying to expand relations with the u.s. defensively and as it pertains to mining. really hot topic and it is very cold but charming place. back to you. >> steve: how cold? >> well, right now we're seeing with real feel and wind in the city of nuke, negative 10. we're standing next to stunning, beautiful waters and wind making it more chilly for sure. >> steve: greenland is cold land. >> ainsley: beautiful, you look great. it is so pretty. >> steve: it is pretty. 10 before top of the hour. will cain is in the studio with a special announcement coming up next. >> lawrence: check in with bill hemmer.

>> bill: i think there is a show in the near future for you guys to go to nuke. >> brian: if there is a diner, will travel. >> bill: i have hand warmers, i will donate them. another dangerous time for southern california, we'll take you there momentarily. on the other coast, parade of hearings begin today for pete hegseth, will he have the votes in the end? while you were sleeping, two major reports dropping overnight, one on president trump and one on hunter biden's pardon. big morning with dana and me as we move closer to twuchl 2 -- trump 2.0 six days from now.

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>> ainsley: of course, we all know will cain can conduct a great interview. >> brian: take a look at what he has done this past year alone. >> you think that today in america we still have that the ability to bend the river, to do heroic things? >> i do. i think the opportunity is better than ever. >> the question is how do you do this? how does your family do this? all the obstacles? >> in many ways it's tougher on them than me. good people, all of them,

everyone. >> have to ask for about the presidency. is this something you would be willing to consider? >> honored. i'm not a politician, never had intentions to be a politician. >> steve: he is good at that and joins us now with a very special announcement. will, we'll start seeing more of you weekdays. >> that's true. i make the announcement. no one prepped me for this my entire career. i'm thrilled to say the will cain show will launch next tuesday, one week from today at 4:00 p.m. here on the fox news channel. >> right after your podcast you'll do this. >> i will do two shows a day. will cain show continues to stream on foxnews.com and youtube and we will be a different show. the will cain show right here on fox. >> will be. >> brian: how do you feel about it? >> i'm glad you asked me that. i'm over the moon so grateful to fox for first of all trusting in

me and believing in me and honoring me with this hour. i'm a little sad. i mean that. this couch, you guys, obviously rachel, pete, the new co-host charlie hurt of fox weekend, i'm telling you guys this at home. you need to know this. not everything in tv is friends and i can honestly say my relationship with each and every one of you and you have all been my friends and i love rachel and pete. part of me is sad to say goodbye and to the audience as well in the morning. >> ainsley: what do you do with the schedule? a normal life. eat breakfast with your wife and boys and eat dinner with them, too. >> trust me, i thought about that immediately. my family is so excited. they're so excited i get to spend more time with my family. i get to sleep. have a weekend. >> lawrence: that's a big thing you love being a father and you love being a husband.

now you get to be there. we're talking about friends. super proud of you, man. other friend, pete. he will be doing -- on capitol hill today. what are your comments on this? it will be a tough day. >> it will be a tough day. i will tell you this is what i know. i've been watching you guys this morning and what you've been talking about. pete hegseth with conduct himself with dignity and respect and strength today. of that i am sure and i know. i have not the same certainty but the same hope that i will see that same behavior from the united states senate today. i don't think this should be a, you know, trip through the mud on his personality and we've litigated it. we've litigated it publicly. we know what's real and fake. i hope i don't hear a bunch of fake news from the senate today. he is imminently qualified, a great man. i hope it is a great day. >> brian: i feel like the

country has moved past two or three years ago and this will be a test. i don't think we'll go to the soap opera things anymore. the audience on the other side of that camera is done with it. >> america is done with it? i hope that's true. i don't know what to expect from senator warren or blumenthal. i have high hopes. >> steve: i have a feeling they won't make it easy for him. >> ainsley: they aren't. he will be the one they'll target the most. this will be the first hearing. more people will be watching this one than all the others. i think they'll put on a show. >> maybe he is confirmed. >> brian: congratulations, will. >> i will lean on you guys. we'll go through the process but have fun. >> lawrence: you made texas proud. >> steve: we'll be watching. >> ainsley: where there is a will there is a way. >> bill: good morning. three big stories we're watching. senate arm