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washington. this week in "face the nation," president trump makes a flurry of picks for top health and opinions jobs. will they pass muster with the republican senate? the trump transition team revealed almost a dozen people selected to fill key cabinet and white house roles. and as would-be nominees are whisked through capitol hill to meet with senators, there's already been one major withdrawal. a quick replacement and renewed scrutiny on some of the more controversial national security picks. we'll talk with two key senators, republican rand paul and duemocrat tammy duckworth. they'll question the picks on health, national security, and more. one of trump's national security advisers from his first term, retired army lietenant general h.r. mcmaster will weigh in. plus, as the conflict between israel, hamas, and hezbollah continues to rage, when can we expect a cease-fire? we'll ask maryland senator chris van hollen who has called president biden's hining of

israel shameful and a policy failure. finally, we'll hear from representative-elect sarah mcbride on the challenges and opportunities facing her as she prepares to take off office as the first openly transgender member of congress. it's all just ahead on "face the nation." ♪ good morning, and welcome to "face the nation." as we begin this holiday week, americans are preparing to gather to give thanks for what has been and contemplate what's to come. our latest cbs news poll shows that 59% of americans approve of how president-elect donald trump is handling the presidential transition. trump has kept up a steady drumbeat of staffing announcements from his mar-a-lago resort in palm beach, florida, and that is where we

find our nikole killion this morning with the latest. >> reporter: after saturday lunch with one of the senators who will vote on his cabinet picks, president-elect donald trump announced former domestic policy adviser brooke rollin for agriculture secretary. one of his most highly anticipated selections was scott bessent for treasury. if confirmed, the 62-year-old investor would be the first openly gay secretary to lead it and responsible for quarterbacking mr. trump's proposed policies on taxes and tariffs. >> most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. >> reporter: a new cbs news poll shows a majority of americans support imposing tariffs on imported goods, and more have an optimistic view of the economy since the election. mr. trump selected a pair of doctors to lead health agencies. former congressman david weldon has promoted debunked anti-vax views and is being tapped to lead the centers for disease control. food and drug administration

pick martin mccary critiqued vaccine mandates during the pandemic. and project 2025's russ vought will resume his role. >> i have nothing to do with project 2025. >> reporter: our polling also finds many of the president-elect's well-known me? s have more support -- designees have more support than polls including rfk jr., tulsi ga gabbard, and pete hegseth. the former fox news host is drawing scrutiny after allegations of sexual assault in a 2017 police report. >> did you sexually assault a woman in monterey, california? >> as far as the media is concerned, i'll keep this simple -- the matter was fully investigated, and i was completely cleared. >> reporter: while president-elect donald trump has filled out most of his cabinet, a few economic positions remain up for grabs including u.s. trade representative and small business administrator. margaret?

>> that's nikole killion in west palm beach, florida. we go now with to kentucky. republican senator rand paul, he is set to chair the homeland security committee next year, and he sits on the health committee. welcome back to "face the nation," senator. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> well, you are a doctor by training. i want to ask you about some of these health picks. i know that you personally said that you have vaccinated all of your children, but vaccination rates in this country, as you know, are on the decline. are you at all concerned that elevating individuals who have been publicly critical of some particular vaccines, rfk jr., hhs secretary, the cdc director, that any of that erode trust in vaccination? >> you know, i think all of us can agree that there's an increase of vaccine hesitancy. i think it comes from people not believing what the government is telling them. the fact that the cdc committee for vaccines and the fda committee for vaccines said for

covid boosters that you should take a booster if you're over 65, yet the biden administration, rochelle walensky, politicized that, didn't follow the signs, and said you should boost your 6-month-old. the american public is rejecting this. only 20% of the american public of all ages is taking the covid booster because the government hasn't been honest with us. >> well -- >> vaccine hesitancy -- >> other vaccines, as well, not just covid vaccines. there's concern about measles and -- >> people have to believe it -- exactly. but people are doubting because they're being told that. i'll give you an example. look, i think vaccines, smallpox, the story of smallpox vaccine, polio vaccine, are some of the most miraculous discoveries in all of medicine. i'm not against vaccines. like when my kids were little, the hepatitis b vaccine, they still want to give it to them as a newborn. my baby's new and just -- come into the world, and you can see how a lot of reasonable people say why do i have to do it as a

newborn, couldn't i come back at three months, six months. it's about choice, about getting rid of mandates. it's about letting people participate but also about the government being honest, what are the risks and what are of the benefits. and they haven't been honest on covid because healthy children do not die from covid, do not get seriously sick, and there's no proof that the vaccine has any medical benefit for healthy children. >> well, we want to move on to other topics, sir. we will continue to cover vaccination in this country. i think what you said there is that you're supportive of all those health nominees, from what i heard. you have been -- i'm sorry, did you want to say -- >> i was going to say, yes, i am supportive. but i wouldn't describe them as the problem with vaccine hesitancy, i would describe the government misinformation as the problem with vaccine hesitancy. >> okay. messengers matter, though. you have raised concerns in your role on homeland security about

the implementation of some of the promises donald trump made on the campaign trail. his mass deportation vow is very popular. our cbs polling shows 57% of voters like the idea. but how it is implemented matters a lot to voters. the vast majority prefer that federal law enforcement or immigration agencies carry them out. just 40% say the u.s. military should be involved. the stated trump plan is to use the military or military assets, deputize the national guard, and have them act as immigration agents. do you believe that is lawful? >> you know, i'm 100% supportive of going after the 15,000 murderers, the 13,000 sexual assault perpetrators, rapists, all these people. let's send them on their way to prison or back home to another prison. so i would say all points bulletin, all in. but you don't do it with the army because it's illegal. we've had a distrust of putting the army into our streets because the police have a

difficult job, but the police not the fourth amendment. they have to judges, they have to get warrants, it has to be specific. i would do it through the normal process of domestic policing. i would say that the mayor of denver, if he's going to resist federal law which there's a long-standing history of the supremacy of federal law, if he's going to resist that, it will go all the way to the supreme court. and i would suspect that he would be removed from office. i don't know whether or not there would be a criminal prosecution for someone resisting federal law, but he will lose. and people need to realize that what he is offering is a form of insurrection where the states resist the federal government. most people objected to that and rejected that long ago. so i think the mayor of denver is on the wrong side of history, and really i think will face legal ramifications if he doesn't obey the federal law. >> just context on those numbers you rattled off in terms of criminals. those numbers from i.c.e. are accurate figures, but they're over a 40-year period of time.

what we know now about the immigration authorities who would have to be charged with rounding these individuals up, there are just 6,000 agents, 41,000 detention beds to carry out the assignment of rounding up millions of undocumented people potentially. how do you suggest they implement it? and if this is a red line for you in terms of using the military, would you vote no on the dhs secretary, kristi nome? >> i will not support and will not vote to use the military in our cities. i think it's a terrible image. i will tell you, just in the last week with the belief that a new administration will change things, there were four or five criminals arrested in the last week. and what would happen -- i think what will happen under donald trump's administration is i don't recommend he use the army. i would use the fbi. i would use i.c.e. i would use border patrol. and they have a loss now of 15,000. i don't care if it came in over

40 years or ten years, if you've got a list, put these people on a -- an all-points bulletin. these are the kind of people that are dangerous and that everybody needs to watch on. they would go out and seek those people. we have about 30,000 very dangerous people already convicted of crimes. that should be the first priority for all of us. let's find those people. it's not about detaining them. in all likelihood they should be going to jail here or in the country they came from. if we did that, there will be unity. if they send the army into new york and you have 10,000 troops marching, carrying semiautomatic weapons, i think it's a taerribe image. it's not that i oppose removing people, i just object to what has been against the law fo over 100 years, and that's using the army. >> but cup tiesing the national guard -- deputizing the national guard, that specifically is the proposal. you also oppose that. >> i don't think it's the best way to do it. it's less clear whether that's

legal or illegal. typically it has to be done at the behest of the governors. i still don't like a militarization of police, whether national guard or army. i think there's a lot of fbi -- >> okay. >> -- there's a lot of border patrol agents. there's a better way to do it, and it needs to be individualized. that doesn't mean i'm any less serious about getting it done. it just needs to be done according to the law and consistent with our traditions. >> understood. you've made clear you are a fiscal conservative. i want to ask about the choice just made to select hedge fund manager scott bessent as the treasury secretary. he had a long financial career. he served as the chief investment officer for george ceross' funds, been a political donor. elon musk came out publicly against him, calling him business as usual. do you favor mr. bessent in the role as treasury secretari? >> you know, i've heard good things about him. i haven't made a decision. i lean toward being supportive.

i don't like cetariffs, i think tariffs are a tax on the consumer. they ignore things like with steel, there are 80 workers working in steel buying industry for every worker made steel. so yeah, you can protect certain industries, but it's at the expense of other people. i don't believe that will be enough for me to want to vote against bessent because it's also the president's position, as well. i will be vocal in saying that i think tariffs are bad and that international trade actually saves every consumer about $7,000 a year. so everybody in our country is $7,000 richer because of international trade. it's part of one of the booms of post war and post industrial revolution. these amazing international trade has made us all richer, and we need to talk about the statistics and facts concerning the benefits of trade. >> understood on the nuances and specifics there. but that is primarily how donald trump is promising to pay for all the things he promised on

the campaign trail. as you know, the federal debt is past $36 trillion as of this week. his proposals to lift taxes off of tips, overtime, medicare, social security, give tax credits, that could add as much as $8 trillion more to the deficit according to the committee for responsible budget. do you actually expect republicans to take up these proposals? >> you know, in 2017 i voted for a tax reduction package that they said would add to the debt. but i also forced my colleagues to vote for pay as go, it's a policy that's in our law, and they have to waive it which means that if a tax cut causes a reduction -- causes an increase in the debt because of reduced revenue, that you have to have spending cuts. so i've always been in favor of the tax cuts, but i've been in favor of the spending cuts. the same will occur with this. if we do cut taxes, which i think helps the economy, you leave money in the hands of the productive private sector, i

think that's a good idea. but if you do it, i would cut spending. and there will be procedural blockade or procedural votes that i will force that says that we should also cut spending, as well. >> our polling shows that the vast majority of americans, 86%, prefer people with experience running the agencies. and 64% polled by us think it's important to appoint people with that experience in washington. given that, for example, the pentagon pick hasn't ever managed a large corporation or held a high rank in the military, do you think he can run the pentagon? >> yes, and i think the vast majority of people if you poll them will say that they don't think people should be picked based on religion or gender or sexuality. they want people to be picked on merit. and one of pete hegseth's criticisms of our pentagon is that we've gone away from merit and gone more toward racial characteristics. and so i think that the people

are and would be overwhelmingly in favor of someone who's going to base hiring on merit, not on racial characteristics. >> okay. senator, thank you for your time today. "face the nation" will be back in a minute. ve enough money for retirement. (wife) and travel to visit our grandchildren. (fisher investments) i understand. that's why at fisher investments we start by getting to know each other. so i can learn about your family, lifestyle, goals and needs, allowing us to tailor your portfolio. (wife) what about commission- based products? (fisher investments) we don't sell those. we're a fiduciary, obligated to act in your best interest. (husband) so how do your management fees work? (fisher investments) we have a transparent fee, structured so we do better when you do better. at fisher investments, we're clearly different. it's time for the main event: wayfair's black friday savings spectacular is here! right now, get up to 80% off furniture and cookware, holiday decor, and more at wayfair's lowest prices of the year! plus, score 24-hour flash deals you have to see to believe! and get free shipping on everything!

save up to 80% off wayfair's black friday savings spectacular! now through december 2nd! ♪ wayfair. every style. every home. ♪ we go now to democratic senator tammy duckworth from the state of illinois. she sits on the armed services and foreign relations committees. good morning. >> good morning. thanks for having me on. >> former congressman matt gaetz took himself out of the running this week to become attorney general. this was after he had met with senators. and cbs has reported as many as 15 republicans opposed him. does that suggest to you that your republican colleagues in the senate will hold the line, or are you still concerned they will just green light anyone trump nominates? >> well, i'm deeply concerned that they will green light. i'm glad they held the line on him. i'm also glad that they voted the way they did for the republican leader. but that was in the secret

ballot when they elected senator thune. and you know, mr. trump's main choice for that position was not selected. but from what i'm hearing from my republican colleagues on everything from defense secretary to other posts it sound like they are ready to roll over for mr. trump. >> on that point of defense, since you sit in this advisory role on unarmed services, i don't have to tell you, but for our audience, there are over 200,000 american women who serve in active duty service right now. thousands of people in frontline combat roles. you were one of them in 2004 when your black hawk helicopter you were piloting was shot at by an rpg, and you sustained severe injuries. here is what mr. trump's pick for defense secretary said about women serving -- >> i'm straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles. it hasn't made us more effective. hasn't made us more lethal. has made fighting more complicated. >> do your colleagues who sit with you on armed services

believe that mr. hegseth's statement there is an issue that he needs to perhaps retract? >> well, i think they need to because he's wrong. our military could not go to war without the 220,000-plus women who serve in uniform. the women in our military does make us more effective, does make us more lethal. let me make one thing clear -- the women who are in those particular roles whether it's in special forces or the infantry, they meet the same standards as the men. heats been saying women -- he's been saying women are not as strong. the ones in those roles have met the same standard as men and have passed the rigorous testing. so he's just flat-out wrong. our military could not go to war without the women who wear the uniform. and frankly, america's daughters are just as capable of defending liberty and freedom as her sons. >> having served in combat yourself, what do you think of the idea that women make fighting more complicated?

that was specifically what he focused on. >> well, it just shows his lack of understanding of where our military is. you know, he was a pretty low-ranking guy in the military, and he never had a command position. he was a platoon leader, i think, once or twice. but he never commanded a company. so this is a man who is inordinately unqualified for the position. the pentagon is three million service men and women and civilians. it is over. $900 billion budget. he's never, you know, run anything anywhere near to that size. frankly, women actually make our military more effective. and i personally found that i brought many insights to my job when i was a company commander, when i was a logistics officer that came from my own personal background that made things better. i took better care of my men, for example, in my unit. i was often the only woman in an all-male unit. my gender wasn't a problem. i just adapted, and we continued to perform the mission. >> the question of character has also come up in regard to this

leadership role. mr. hegseth has acknowledged that he paid a woman back in 2017 to quiet her accusations of sexual assault. he claims it was consensual sex. i'm sure you've read that monterey police report, as we did here. it refers to the offense code as, quote, rape victim unconscious as the nature of the act. it details the accuser's and hegseth's version of events. here's what senator markwayne mullen said it shows -- two people flirting with each other. is the committee going to speak with the victim to ask if this was a misunderstanding? >> well, that's the -- that will be the discussion of the republican chairman of the committee next year. i hope that we will. but i suspect that they, again, will roll over for mr. trump. frankly, i will raise those questions. remember that we've just fought over a decade of fights and overhaul at the military and its treatment of military sexual

trauma. it's an insult and troubling that mr. trump would nominate someone who has admitted that he's paid off a victim who has claimed rape allegations against him. this is not the kind of person you want to lead the department of defense. >> to move to a vote you took this past week, you've said you have discussed at the brutal tactics used by the netanyahu government in gaza. but you voted against all three resolutions of disapproval this past week that would have paused very specific offensive weapons shipments to israel. your colleague, senator van hollen, said it's about getting israel to comply with u.s. law. how do you respond? why shouldn't they be held to the statement standard as other recipients of u.s. aid? >> i respect senator van hollen's position, and i have co-signed many of the letters that he's led that has caught on israel -- called on israel to comply with humanitarian standards across the world. my decision comes from my

military experience. the fact that many of these rounds were not going to be delivered for a couple of years, the fact that these are resolutions, hay don't actually have binding effect, and frankly for me, my decision came from the fact that we have tens of thousands of u.s. troops in harm's way right now. and i am deeply concerned that resolution that doesn't actually do anything might embolden houthis and iranian regime and hamas to further target american troops abroad. so i respect chris. he and i are good friends. we were freshmen in the senate together. we come at this from slightly different angles. mine from 23 years of military experience. but i do share his concern about the brutal way that israel has acted in gaza, and you know, i've co-signed many of his letters. >> our polling shows there is a desire among american people to see democrats and republicans work together in this future trump administration. with that in mind, i'm looking at some of these nominees,

including trump's pick for labor secretary. she is drawing praise from unions because she is perceived as pro-union. could you see yourself supporting her or any of the other nominees? >> absolutely. what i would need to do is have a chance to sit down and talk with each one of these nominees and listen to them and hear what they have to say. i think congressman collins over at va, he's the nominee for va, is another person i can talk with. in fact, i worked with him when i was in the house a few years back. i am going to evaluate each one of these candidates based on their ability to do the job and their willingness to put the needs of the american people first and not be on a retribution campaign and a -- for mr. trump. so it's about are they willing to be independent and do the job that they are being nominated to do, and are they competent and qualified for the position. >> senator duckworth, we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you. we'll be right back with a lot more "face the nation." stay with us.

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