>> dickerson: today on "face the nation." republicans rejoice after passing their tax bill. the president gets his christmas wish and signs the bill into law. but will this republican unity last into the new year? we'll take a look at the political landscape heading into the 2018 mid term and in our annual cbs correspondents panel we'll reflect on this year and look ahead to next. it's all coming up on "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs welcome to "face the nation." on this christmas eve morning with all the news makers out of town, we begin with 67-year tradition, the annual cbs news correspondent roundtable. joining us this year, white house and senior foreign affairs correspondent margaret brennan. ed o'keefe covers capitol hill and politics for the "washington

post" and is cbs news contributor we asked him to fill in or nancy cordes who we hope enjoying well-deserved break with her family. chief white house correspondent major garrett. justice and homeland security correspondent jeff pegues and david martin is also here. with a portion of interview margaret with vice president pence on surprise trip to afghanistan. he talked to him about accomplishments of the first year of the trump administration and what is ahead for 2018. >> this president has rolled back record numbers, unleashed american energy, appointed conservative jurists to our courts including neil gorsuch. thanks to president trump's leadership to see congress of the united states come together pass largest tax cut in american history. >> you see toe hold to get more done? >> as much as we've accomplished, rebuilding our military, unleashing the

american economy. passing the largest tax cut in american history and other initiatives that this president has advanced, we're just getting started. next year you're going to see this administering move on bigger, which will include infrastructure and welfare reform. progress that we've made in the war against isis, we virtually crushed the isis caliphate taken back the capital of raqqa, the fight here in afghanistan, taking the fight directly to the enemy. investment that we're making in our military, the growth and optimism in the american economy, i think sets the stage for tremendous growth and opportunity in security and prosperity in 2018. >> how do you explain to the american people how they should understand what just happened this month with mike flynn pleading guilty to lying to the fbi about his contact with the russian ambassador which the president said he lied not only

to you but the fbi that's why the president fired him. >> we'll let the special counsel and others do their job or we're going to cooperate but we're going to stay very focused on the job. american people elected us to do. >> can you clarify how you understand what happened with mike flynn who we known had lied to you. did you know he had lied to the fbi? >> i stand by everything i've said with regard to that individual and every other aspect of this. >> but when he was fired did you know he lied to the fbi? >> what i can tell you i knew he lied to me. and i know the president made the right decision. with regard to him. >> dickerson: so the vice president is fan of the job his boss is doing. let me ask you about that trip. it was supposed to be part of a larger trip that the vice president was supposed to take that part was cancelled. >> it was interesting that trip had been postponed until january, supposed to be two

jerusalem and also to egypt, part of what had initially been planned sort of a look, i delivered on this promise to eventually move the capital from tel aviv to jerusalem then trying to soften the blow that was very much dealt to all of the arab world and palestinians. as more and more cancelled the planned meeting with the vice president, that made that trip tougher, but this bond that was dropped with this decision on jerusalem, the the administration didn't say we'd see the blow-back, the risks and threats, but some had predicted but you have to understand that symbolically the decision on jerusalem will continue to be a sticking point for the arab world. it may not be the breaking point, because they have broader concerns with iran right now but it is certainly something that the administration is not going to quickly move beyond. >> dickerson: we heard the vice president assessment of the year, give us your assessment?

>> very revealing. last week of this year effectively in washington, year-end wrap up press conference was not donald trump it was mitch mcconnell. if you wanted to look at the person singularly most responsible for accomplishments on the guess particular side it's not donald trump it's mitch mcconnell the senate majority leader who held with the exception of one issue health care, republicans together on every single aspect of what president tried to accomplish. tax cuts were passed because mcconnell held his conference together. all of the 12 circuit judges, a record for any first year of any american president because mitch mcconnell held his conference together. and he got 49 votes on health care, closer than anyone probably could have under those similar circumstances. so mitch mcconnell put the bow on this year and quite properly so. the president signed, without

mcconnell who for very first time this last week the president actually praised on twitter because it has finally gotten through to him through many people inside and outside the white house, mr. president, forget what steve bannon says you can't get anything without mitch mcconnell. >> dickerson: stay can with congress you heard mike pence talk about infrastructure, welfare reform, given what major laid out also fact democratic party that doesn't want to help out this president, what do you think it will look like? >> mother likely those two infrastructure for sure. it was quite revealing how very quickly this week paul ryan tried to pivot to entitlement reform and very quickly mitch mcconnell and republican senators said, no, no way. because remember the math. 51-49 is new math starting january 3rd. doug jones comes to the senate democrat from alabama, courtesy of steve bannon, exactly, cooperation is required. the only thing that most

senators rights now believe could start the year off in a good way is working on some kind of plan to fund big construction projects basically in this country. the question of course as always seems to me, how will you pay for. that given that you just splashed tax cuts republicans will probably turn around suggest that entitle. reform is the way to do that spin respects but lot of those republican senators, fair number of congressional house members who are from suburban swing districts are going after medicare, social security, is unpopular thing to do in an election year. are going to resist it. >> dickerson: the vice president said isis decimated, is that accurate if so why has it been -- why has this come to pass? >> i this it's what you say the caliphate as it existed in owe rook and syria is crushed. used to control all of northern syria, northern iraq, western iraq, they're now down to few pieces of territory along the u freights river in sewer i can't

i think the trump administration deserves some credit for that. the weight of american airstrikes and capabilities of american special operations forces would sooner or later crush the isis caliphate no matter who was in the white house. the way that general mattis, secretary of defense, was to give his commanders more authorities to make decisions in the field. so when they saw target of opportunity they didn't have to come all the way back through the chain of command to the white house to get approval. they just did. now, isis, that once existed is almost dead. as secretary mattis says over and over, they're not defeated. the caliphate is going to become isis the movement and its followers, we already see them

in afghanistan, somalia, yemen, name almost any country there, these aren't fighters who for most part escaped from iraq and syria, these are just angry young men looking for a cause to serve. >> dickerson: jeff, vice president talked about michael flynn. michael flynn at the heart of both relationship with the russians among trump advisors but then also obstruction question about whether the president told the fbi director to go easy on the flynn investigation. where are we at the end of the year with these cluster of investigations? >> well, they're ongoing. the questions i know the white house is interested in this to wrap up, it doesn't seem like there's an end in sight right now. you have mike flynn who was given thisly deal. he is a figure track straddles the cans i can, campaign, fist few weeks of the white housef he's cooperating with the investigators you see what they

may be looking at, at least according to some of the people i know who have worked with mueller in the past. they know how he builds his cases. he tries to get some cooperating witnesses which he has now with flynn and popadopoulos, the foreign policy advisor who also tookly deal. you wrap up these witnesses, but you don't tip your hand according to these people who work with mueller to what the main charges are going to be at the end. so that's the question. when will this end and what are they trying to get out of michael flynn. >> dickerson: we'll take short break now, but we'll be back in a minute with more from our panel. you can't predict the market. but through good times and bad... ...at t. rowe price... ...we've helped our investors stay confident for over 75 years.

call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. when food is good and clean and real, it's ok to crave. and with panera catering, there's more to go around. panera. food as it should be. >> dickerson: we're back with our panel. major, i want to start with you. lot of management changes at the white house, with where are we. >> john kelly has brought discipline and functionality to not only the way decisions are brought to the president but who is allowed to bring them to the president. and they go through john kelly. but that doesn't change the

fundamental truth about the trump approach to the presidency. i've been trying to think of a metaphor. to make america great rock concert there are two songs, forgotten americans and america first, 12 solos. by the same so lowist on different instruments. that so lowist is donald trump. when he says interviews i'm only one that matters, he fundamentally means that. and everything about this administration pivots off of that truth. he is the central actor, the central soloist in everything. imagine yourself at the rock son silt and hear 15solos you'll be tired, because you get the soloist and very little else. you talk to cabinet secretaries, we do all these things but hard to sorted of get people aware of it. the soloist is on the flute,

drums, electric guitar and every other instrument, that is both the reality draw of the trump presidency, the management reality and exhausting reality. >> dickerson: by the time he gets to the -- margaret, pivot right from that to rex tillerson. give us a sense of that powerful job, is rex going to stay in it. >> major is right there's only one star in the show and everyonish that administration is keenly aware of it. in the past few weeks in particular you've seen secretary tillerson be a bit more assertive, particularly you see this in this newly assertive position perhaps ukraine, to open up this idea that we could express more support and actually provide weaponry to the ukrainians which is a shot across the bow at russia which you've heard tillerson say, this is the one issue of ukraine where we can't get past that broader deal with russia.

i think you will continue to see him quietly move on that front. along with more sanctions on russia, along with more assertive position and also more outspoken in the new year but he clearly doesn't want to try to compete with the star in this show on the main stage. >> dickerson: we'll see how long we can extend this metaphor. david, let me ask you about north korea where does that stand at the end of this year. >> 365 days further down the load of a collision course. u.s. is making to give up nuclear weapon programs, north corey saw not going to accept. north korea is developing a weapon of intercontinental ballistic missile that the trump administration says it cannot accept. something has got to give and probably going to take some major decisions by somebody in the year 2018. to get us off this collision course. >> dickerson: jeff, what's the state of homeland security?

>> the main focus right now is on these lone wolf actors. law enforcement doesn't like to call them that because they feel floor files the act. but these are people that are harder to spot. they are sitting in a basement with some, radicalized online with the array of information op line they can be radicalized within weeks and carry out an attack. the fbi does about a thousand investigations, isis related in the u.s., that's been consistent number over the last couple of years. but spotting these people is so difficult because they blend in, you don't really have a history of law enforcement with them. and so trying to wrap them up and get them is a problem for law enforce. and will continue in 2018. >> dickerson: end that round talking about paul ryan, their relationship with the where the now, it was rocky year, is everybody on the same team now are things coming in 2018 that you think will create more

potential conflict? >> this is by far their best week. i think you saw that in their public praise of each other, and fact that they all understood this was a significant win not only for them but for the republican party and its existence. you're going to see some more disagreements about what to do next year, both officially and politically. there are competing priorities obviously in the house and the senate. mcconnell doesn't want to rock the boat, ryan is eager to try to take another step in terms of looking at sort of domestic policy and what could possibly be shaped in more conservative image. both of them struggle every day with the fact that the president does not grasp, care about or really talk to anyone about details of this stuff. >> dickerson: ask you about under reported story from the year. what would you put in that category? >> one overseas one at home. that relationship with saudi arabia. when i covered the trump campaign did i not imagine the very first stop he'd made would

be riyadh. his orientation tolt muslim world in general and possible restoration in the words of the saudi kingdom about islam. and taking on terrorism in way that didn't before could be potential far-reaching story. at home, it's energy. that administration has 20th century point of view on energy, extraction and exploitation. it does not have an embrace sieve renewable or 21st energy concept that will radically change where we drill, where we don't drill, environmental implication. >> dickerson: margaret, what is your under cover story? >> one thing, what we're seeing in terms of the lost generation, this refugee crisis that was so focused on syria has now continued, worsened, become a health epidemic where you're talking about conflict in yemen, outbreak of cholera, looking at the democratic republic of the congo where unicef predicting 400,000 children under the age

of five could die because of the health risks and issues of displacement. whether it's syria, africa, throughout the middle east, these issues, united states isn't talking about as much, isn't leading on, is only articulating in homeland security point of view. but these things have consequences in years to come in terms of radicalization, health risks. >> dickerson: david, what is the under covered story? >> you heard vice president pence say we are rebuilding our military. not so much. there's a big new defense spending bill but it's just a wish list until you get a deal in congress. so the fact is, that the pentagon along with the west is going to continue to operate on these continuing resolutions which keeps you going along the same path. the heads of all of this, just

say that they're readiness is falling apart. and when you listen to the details of what an aircraft carrier has to go through these days to get underway, when we saw those three carriers operating off the korean peninsula awhile back, the machination, is that it took to get one of those carriers underway, they were stealing planes, and parts, just have air wing to go on there. the secretary of the air force says that when she saw on her first briefing on the new readiness when she came into office she said, there must be some mistake. this has got to be wrong. of course, it wasn't wrong. nobody should conclude from that that we're about to be inferior to anybody. we're still number one, but as secretary of the air force said, these decreased readiness rates

don't mean we're not going. but it does mean fewer come back. >> two quick ones. first off, there was assassination attempt on a top house republican this year. and this was the most threatening year for lawmakers in history, at least 1,650 threats against lawmakers as of late july. i couldn't get updated stats in time for this but safe to surmise it was at least double last year. the other, internal displacement crisis in this country. at least 230,000 people have left puerto rico. since hurricane maria, they're in florida, georgia, texas, north carolina, new york. they're going to reshape the politics of those states. but there's an island that needs to be rebuilt and united states didn't do it this year. >> i would agree. puerto rico is just -- what has happened there and u.s. virgin islands, the lack of focus on those issues there, not exactly my beat but something that i'm interested in. but also if you look at

overseas, european officials were saying that they're not getting outflow of isis fighters back in new york, that they were anticipating. i talked to top counter terrorism officials here in the u.s. who agree with that. >> dickerson: prediction time. what are you going to predict in 2018? >> might recall that last year i predicted that james comey was going to stick around. >> dickerson: you're a humble man. >> so this year, i won't be as bold but i will say that i think the mueller investigation is going to, one way or another is members of congress a big decision in 2018. it will end up in their lap. >> dickerson: david, what's your prediction? >> as long as we're confessing. last year i predicted that president trump and jong-un would have face to face meeting.

i was dead wrong. so, i'm not going to touch north korea. i'm going to predict that abu bak, the leader of isis will meet his end in 2018. >> one of the big four congressional leaders, nancy pelosi, paul ryan, mitch mcconnell will either be gone or on their way out by this time next year. >> dickerson: major? >> the president is going to have to come to terms with what the resistance means. you talk to ed gillespie, he got more votes, but lost by nine points the victor got even more. says, i met the resistance and it's real. the mid-term elections everything that is on the agenda will have to require democratic votes, that will be larger compromises than this president has shown any inclination to achieve. 2018 for this white house and this president if it has any accomplishments at all will have to be through and over or around

resistance, that will be a fascinating story. >> dickerson: margaret? >> secretary of state rex tillerson does not resign in january as had been predicted and asked many times. he'll stick around. i think he will be engaging more and more assertive as i said, but i think one of the areas that is is going to really take up a lot of his time is trying to save whatever chance of diplomacy with north korea but we may see also more immediate crisis with iran. >> dickerson: thank you. i want to thank everybody on our panel today for today but also for all the work you do for cbs and for "face the nation." your reporting, insights and curiosity about the news and what's going on in washington and around the world, help us inform and make sense of what has been a very unusual year. we'll be back in a moment.

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>> can you believe this? it is caught for the win! for all for sergio. >> justin thomas is the pag champion. touchdown, georgia! >> north carolina. [captioning funded by cbs sports division] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org james: it's a special holiday edition week 16 in the nfl. income coy went for 15 careys. he needs a big day today for them to win. bill: tom brady, last time, he was sacked three times. he has to keep the number one seed. nate: smith and the team was in