welcome back to "face the

nation." we're now joined by maryland democratic senator chris van hollen. good to have you here. >> great to be with you, margaret. >> this these final days of democratic control of the senate and white house there's a long to-do list. congress has to fund the government by end of december, pass the defense bill, the ndaa, an extension to the farm bill, and i know democrats want to confirm as many judges as possible. what's top of your list? >> all of those are on the list. top of my list is also the disaster relief funding. emergency relief. we had big parts of the country hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters. in my state of maryland, we had the collapse of the key bridge in baltimore. so we've always taken the approach that the whole country will be there to help fellow americans in need. the president has now submitted $100 billion emergency disaster relief plan that includes funding for the key bridge. so i hope that we will get that done by the end of the year. people need that relief and need

it now. >> that's about $8 billion for the bridge alone. is that right? >> not for the bridge alone. that's part of the emergency relief fund that includes approximately $2 billion for the bridge. >> and you're relatively confident this can be delivered on? >> i hope that all of our colleagues, republicans and democrats alike, will support disaster relief. we've always had the philosophy all for one and one for all when americans get hit by these disasters. i hope we will stick with that position. >> we also are looking at a new congress very soon, and as you know, a new commander in chief. republicans will have the majority in the senate with 53 seats. they don't really need democratic votes to confirm many of the picks that mr. trump has been making to run agencies. but from what you've seen to date, are you in favor of them, your colleague marco rubio, secretary of state, for example, or this new choice to be labor secretari? >> look, my view is this is what the vetting process is all about, the hearing process. the senate, of course, under the

constitution has the job of advising and consenting on nominations. and i take that responsibility very seriously. i've been troubled by some talk that president-elect donald trump wants to short circuit that constitutional approach using this recess appointment device, and it will be really important that the new republican leader in the senate uphold the senate's prerogatives under the constitution and not try to do an end run. >> we'll stay tuned to see how that plays out. let's turn to the middle east. you said that president biden's inaction to halt the horrific humanitarian situation inside of gaza is a stain on his administration, that it's shameful. is there anything in these final weeks that could be done to erase that stain? >> i think there are things that can be done. i should emphasize that i supported president biden's decision to travel to israel in the aftermath of the brutal

hamas attacks of october 7th of last year and stand with the people of israel as they confront this threat. but i also wish the president had effectively used u.s. leverage to essentially assert his own positions -- we've seen this pattern where president biden makes demands of prime minister netanyahu only to be ignored or slapped down entirely. and then president biden sends more bombs and more money. that is not an effective use of leverage. so i do hope in these closing months the president will finally make more effective use of american leverage to at the least uphold american law. >> yeah. >> to insist that the netanyahu government allows humanitarian aid into gaza, and that they use our weapons in a manner consistent with the laws of war. >> so you take a nuanced and specific stand on that, upholding u.s. law. this is often characterized as being for or against helping

israel. there were 19 senators, you were one of them, who voted this past week to pause specific shipments on three different groups of weapons -- offensive weapons -- to israel. you said the state department's reviewing 500 incidents where u.s. weapons were used and caused unnecessary civilian harm. the state department has said israel's doing things to fix the situation, which is why weapons continue to be green lit. are you suggesting that's a lie? >> i'm suggesting that the president of the united states is not fully complying with american law on this questio. if you look at the letter that was sent by secretary austin and secretary blinken to steal authorities in october, you look at the final paragraph, you'll see that they are complaining about the fact that there is no effective mechanism right now for getting to the bottom of claims of civilian harm. the state department has, as i said, about 500, as you said, and we haven't gotten to the bottom of those. >> why? >> because the process is

broken, and i would argue that there's not been the will to fix the process because a lot of people don't want the process to produce the obvious answer which is there have been many cases where we've seen u.s. weapons used in violation of international humanitarian law. in fact, if you go back to the nsm 20 report earlier this year, the biden administration said specifically that there was a high likelihood that u.s. weapons were being used in violation of international law. and yet they've done nothing in the intervening period to j enforce that. >> when i pressed u.s. officials on this privately, they said what do you want us to do? you want us to put in a halt for a few weeks and then donald trump reverses it, what's the point? how do you respond? >> the point is they should have been doing this for a much longer period of time. the president had ample opportunities over the last year. there are many people in the administration, senior level, at the senior level, who told me this war was going to come to an end back in january.

you know, i've met with hostage families on numerous occasions who have been calling out prime minister netanyahu for not agreeing to a cease-fire and a return of their loved ones. minister gallant, defense minister of israel, was fired because he wanted to prioritize the return of hostages. yet president biden has never called out prime minister netanyahu. >> why? >> for his object tax reduction on this. even though -- obstruction on this. even though families i've met with are calling him out. >> even post election, why do you think he won't do that? >> i really don't know. i just don't know why the president of the united states has not been willing to make more effective use of american leverage to assert his own stated objectives. he's been ignored on other things, too, right? he wants the pa to be the nucleus of governance in a post-war gaza. he wants a two-state solution. prime minister netanyahu has not only ignored those, he's gone out there and bragged about how he's blocking president biden's

efforts. and yet the blank check just keeps on coming. so what my colleagues and i are saying is let's just pause these transfers of offensive weapons, certain ones, until the prime minister netanyahu and his government come into compliance with american law. these are america laws on the books. this is not about whether we support israel or not. of course we support israel. it's about whether our support is used in a manner consistent with american law and american values. >> senator van hollen, thank you for explaining your position. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. made pror mental health, but her medication caused unintentional movements in her face, hands, and feet called tardive dyskinesia, or td. so her doctor prescribed austedo xr— a once-daily, extended-release td treatment for adults. ♪ as you go with austedo ♪ austedo xr significantly reduced kate's td movements. some people saw a response as early as 2 weeks. with austedo xr, kate can stay on her mental health meds—

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(luke) i think i've glued the frame over the microphone. (vo) ding dong! homes-dot-com. we've done your home work. we turn to retired army lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster who served as national security adviser in the first trump administration. his latest book is "at war with ourselves" which chronicles his time at the white house. good morning, and welcome back. >> good morning, margaret. happy thanksgiving. >> happy early thanksgiving to

you. i want to ask you about the geopolitical threat picture right now that the next commander in chief will be walking into the oval office and facing. in these final weeks of the biden administration, ukraine has started using u.s.-made atacms, a longer range missile, to strike within russian territory. president biden approved anti-personnel land mines. the aim is to get them on stronger footing before trump takes office. can these weapons quickly make a difference? >> they can make a difference, margaret. really it made no sense to not allow the ukrainians to fire those missiles at the bases that russia was using to continue their onslaught against the ukrainian people and ukrainian infrastructure. so it's another one of these example how the biden administration has taken this halting approach to providing weapons and then permissions to use weapons. so i think it's important because both sides right now are

incentivized to make as many gains on the battlefield as they can before the new trump administration comes in. and you see russia throwing troops into ukrainian defenses. i mean, they're taking tens of thousands of casualties a month. i think it's an unsustainable rate. and what the ukrainians are doing is protect themselves from the onslaught, inflict as many casualties as they can, and they're trading some space for time and the opportunity to cause more attrition on russian forces. so the next couple of months i think are really critical in terms of how -- what is the next phase in the war in ukraine. >> well, you know, president zelenskyy said just yesterday that he's sure vladimir putin is trying to, quote, push us out by january 20th, and trying to demonstrate that he heas the upper hand. he's not saying that just as an observation, he is looking at the national security adviser,

mike walz, the next possible secretary of state marco rubio, who has voted against ukraine aid, the vice president-elect is against helping ukraine. can ukraine get the upper hand here, and are these top advisers going to be persuadable? >> well, this is a real problem, margaret. you know, i think what you're seeing is this delivers a psychological blow to the ukrainians. ukrainians are struggling to generate the manpower they need and to sustain their defensive efforts. and that's -- it's important that they get the weapons they need and the training they need, but also they have to have the confidence that they can prevail. and any sort of messages that we might reduce our aid are quite damaging to them from a moral perspective. i think and what i hope is that those who president trump has nominated, and president trump himself will begin to see the quite obvious connections between the war in ukraine and this axis of aggressors that are doing everything they can to tear down the existing order.

heck, north korean soldiers are fighting on european soil in the first major war in europe since world war ii. look at what china's doing to sustain russia's war-making machine with the cash vladimir putin needs but also with the equipment and the hardware necessary to build these missiles that are continuing this onslaught. iran, iran is providing the drones and missiles. north korea's also providing, you know, eight million rounds of artillery. so i think what's happened is so many people have taken such a myopic view of ukraine and misunderstood putin's intentions and how consequential the war is to our interests across the world. >> w■ell,one of thethings-- you are a historian. you've written quite a lot and looked at presidential decisionmaking. one of the things you've written in "at war with ourselves" was it is important, based on your study of the vietnam war, to ensure that the president gets the best analysis and multiple

options so he can make informed decisions. do you think so far that mr. trump's choices for director of national intelligence, for defense secretary, are these individuals who will provide the president with the best analysis and what he needs to hear, not just what he wants to hear? >> well, this is what the senate has to really exercise their advice and consent role. i think it's worth going back to federalist 76 where john adams said really this advice and consent is so important to make sure the best people are in those positions. president trump is our road in the book. he does learn. he does listen to advice. he does evolve his understanding. so who will those people be? i think for the new secretary of defense, the nominated director of national intelligence, they ought to be asked what do you think motivates or drives and constrains vladimir putin. there's a fundamental misunderstanding based on the nominee for -- for d&i about what motivates him.

it's not his security concerns. his security concerns don't need to be allayed. that's the mistake the biden administration made. and i think as a result almost green lighted the invasion, the reinvasion of ukraine in february of 2022. what are the consequences if ukraine fails and russia succeeds globally? i think, margaret, they've got to be asked about really how do they reconcile or help president trump reconcile peace through strength and what you see in some elements of the republican party which replicate the far left oftentimes toward retrenchment and disengagement. and then even blaming ourselves for the acts of our adversaries, as tulsi gabbard has done, talking about, you know, how putin really felt aggrieved. and that's why he had to invade kr inindinovated ukraine. >> that's a talking point and what u.s. intelligence has concluded. i want to ask --

>> this is what i can't understand, margaret. >> yeah? >> there are some people in the republican party these days who kind of tend to parrot putin's talking points. >> right. >> not i don't if it's because they're drown to him and see him as a defender of western civilization, the shirtless guy on horseback. but they've got to disabuse themselves of this strange affection for vladimir putin. you know, who is not going to stop in his efforts to restore russia to national greatness at our expense. that's what he's obsessed with. he's obsessed with re-es re-establishing the russian empire. so he has aspirations that go far beyond anything that's in reaction to what we do. >> yeah. >> the only thing that stops him really is strength, margaret. >> and you wrote in your book you didn't understand donald trump's fascination with vladimir putin. quickly, the senior director for counterterrorism, deputy assistant to the president. is he a good person to advise on security? >> no, no, he's not, margaret.

but i think that the and others will determine that quickly soon after he gets into that job. >> timestamp on that prediction. h.r. mcmaster, a lot to talk to you about. we'll have to leave it there for today. we'll be back in a moment.

the 2024 election was historic for several reasons. among them, the first openly transgender person was elected to the united states congress. she joins us now from the state she will be representing, delaware. democratic representative-elect sarah mcbride. welcome to "face the nation." >> thank you for having me, margaret. >> you know, it's interesting given how polarized, how angry and divided this country is that people choose to serve and to run. you told my colleague scott macfarlane that it was your personal experience as a caregiver for your husband during his bout with terminal cancer that enspire d -- that inspired you to run. do you think the health care policy will be the focus of your

work here? >> well, i certainly am glad to be back here in delaware after two weeks of orientation and to have the privilege of serving this state that i love in congress. i ran to bring down costs facing workers, retirees, and their families. that means bringing down the cost of health care, but also housing and childcare and everyday expenses like gas and groceries. i did run for office after my experience as a caregiver to my husband, andy, during his battle with cancer. and throughout that experience, while andy ultimately lost his life, we both knew how lucky we were. we knew how lucky andy was to have health insurance that would allow him to get care that would hopefully save his life. and we both knew how lucky we were to have flexibility with our employers that allowed andy to focus on the full-time job of getting care and me to focus on the full-time job of being there by his side to care for him, to love him, to marry him, and to walk him to his passing.

and i ran for office because i do not believe that in the wealthiest most developed nation on earth that that time and that ability to get care should be a matter of luck. i believe it should be the law of the land. it's why during my time in the delaware general semi passed paid family and medical leave and secured the largest investment in our state's medicaid program. i want to do that work in congress on health care but also on housing and childcare. >> paid leave is something that mr. trump has paid lip service to. we'll see in the new congress if it comes up. we see in our cbs polling that 86% of voters feel congressional democrats should find common ground with mr. trump and republicans. do you feel you can? >> i said throughout this campaign that i will work with anyone who's willing to work with me to help delawareans to lower cost facing my constituents. there are opportunities for us to find common ground.

but it's also clear that this administration as it begins to fill its appointments with project 2025 authors that a lot of the policies that this president will pursue will likely hurt my constituents and raise prices. so where i need to fight back, i will. but where i can find common ground i will certainly seek it. that's when i've done during my time in the general assembly where nearly every bill i passed passed with bipartisan support. >> as you mentioned, you were here for orientation. speaker of the house mike johnson was asking about you coming to work and some objections by a female south carolina republican representative regarding what bathroom you'd be able to use. here's what the speaker said -- >> a man is a man, and a woman is a woman. and a man cannot become a woman. that said, i also believe that's what scripture teaches, what i just said. but i also believe that we treat everybody with dignity. >> do you believe are you being

treated with dignity by your colleagues? >> i didn't run for the united states house of representatives to talk about what bathroom i use. i didn't run to talk about myself. i ran to deliver for delawareans, and while republicans in congress seem focused on bathrooms and trans people and specifically me, i'm focused on rolling up my sleeves, diving into the details, setting up my office, and beginning the hard work of delivering for delawareans on the issues that i know keep them up at night. and i look forward to working with any colleague who's ready to work and ready to be serious about the issues that matter because at the end of the day, how i'm being treated does not matter. what matters is how the american people are being treated, and whether we're focused on the issues that matter to them. >> well, some of your fellow congressional democrats

including tom suozzi and seth moulton have spoken about their feelings looking back at the last election and said democrats should be more open about saying whether they object to transgender athletes playing in girls sports. those were the specific examples they brought up. how would you respond to your soon-to-be democratic colleagues on those? do you understand why some parents, for example, feel uncomfortable or frustrated? >> look, i think this country is still entering into a conversation about who trans people are, diversity of the community. and i've had conversaions with colleagues in the democratic caucus already that span diversity of thought about how the party should engage on a whole host of issues. but i think we are all united, that every single american deserves equal rights, i think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean spirited but

really an attempt to misdirect because every single time we hear the incoming administration or republicans in congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract. it is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. every single time we hear them say the word trans, look at what they're doing with their right hand. look at what they're doing to pick the pocket of american workers, by fleecing seniors, undermining workers. here's what we have to be clear about, because the last week has been a prime example of this -- every bit of time and energy that is used to divert the attention of federal government to go after trans people is time and energy that is not focused on addressing the cost of living for our constituents. and we have clear that there is a real cost for the american worker every time they focus on this. >> all right. congresswoman-elect, i'm sure we'll be seeing you here in washington. we'll be right back.

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that's it for us today. thank you for watching. until next week. for "face the nation," i'm margaret brennan.