>> for me, the hour as come for a new generation to lead the democratic caucus. >> nancy pelosi, the first woman elected speaker in the face of congressional democrats for two decades steps down as party leader in the house. >> we have fired nancy pelosi. >> republicans celebrate after taking control of the house. >> right now, we need new leadership. >> an underwhelming performance in the midterms and democrats keeping control of the senate, the gop is split over who to blame. >> in order to make america great and glorious again. i'm announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. >> and whether having former president trump at the top of the 2024 ticket is a winning plan. plus. >> appointing a special counsel

at this time is the right thing to do. the extraordinary circumstances presented here to man. >> the attorney general appoint a special counsel to oversee the doj investigations of the former president. next. >> this is washington week. corporate funding is provided by -- >> consumer cellular. additional funding provided by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and carl delano magnuson. and andy shreeves. robert and susan rosenbaum, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again from washington,

moderator yamiche alcindor. >> good evening. welcome to washington week. thursday, nancy pelosi, the first woman elected speaker of the house made history as she announced her retirement as leader of the democratic caucus. she led house democrats for two decades, including eight years as house speaker. during an emotional speech, she said she will remain in congress and reflect on her efforts. >> i have enjoyed working with three presidents achieving historical investments in clean energy with president george bush. transformative health care reform with president obama. and forging the future from infrastructure to health care through climate action with president joe biden. >> pelosi's move comes after republicans won back control of the house with a slim majority. they are expected to be led by

kevin mccarthy after he was nominated to be speaker by gop house members. here's mccarthy after republicans won the final scene needed. >> i'm proud to announce the era of one party democrat rule in washington is over. washington now has a check and balance. the american people have a say in their government. the new republican leadership team is ready to get to work to put america back on the right track. >> wednesday, president biden congratulated republicans. in a statement he said he was ready to work with house republicans to deliver results for working families. on the senate side, democrats held onto control after key midterm wins. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell survived the first ever attempt to end his record long tenure as senate leader. this week with some other big news. foer president trump announced he's running for president again. today, attorney general merrick garland announced he has news of

his own. he's appointing a special counsel to be the justice department investigation into trump, including overturning the 2020 election results and handling classified documents as he left office. joining me is peter baker. he's also the co-author along with his wife. trump and the white house 2017 and 2020. and aaron haynes. joining me in studio, the national political correspondent for time magazine and author of pelosi, a biography of the speaker of the house. leon caldwell, co-author of the washington post. anchor of the washington post live. thank you >> for being here. you interviewed the house speaker after she made this historic announcement she's stepping down. tell me about what she told you about her own decision, but also the future of her party.

>> she had just come off the house floor where she gave the speech. mentioned it she enjoyed working with three presidents. another president she did not mention, but it is very interesting. covered and udied her for a long time. she was in this flustered mood. trying to pin her down, if she was happy, sad, relieved, did she have any trepidation. she seems very at peace with her decision. the word she came up with finally is balance. a balance of all of those different emotions. she talked about the past, her political legacy from her father , and having been to the house floor for the first time when she was six years old and he was a member of congress. she was clearly reflecting on the sort of grand span of her career. at the same time, she was never excited about her future. she's given up her leadership position, she will stay in

congress as regular rank-and-file member of the house democratic caucus. she seems excited about that, something she missed out on. she talks about wanting to spend time in her district, being able to represent her constituents in the way she has not been able to. all the responsibilities of the speaker, raising money at an incredible pace. more than $1 billion over the course of her career. >> pelosi is not the only one o will be stepping down. other leaders, jim clyburn, steny hoyer. they are stepping aside for a new generation of democratic leaders. >> there has been a lot of angst in the ranks of the house democratic caucus. the fact these leaders have been together at the top for 15 years, that means there has been no way for ambitious young democrats to move up in the ranks and make their own career and put a new face on the party. as much as house democrats broadly support pelosi, hoyer,

and clyburn, and are sad to see them go, there is a relief there will be this generational turnover. and a little drama, considering how many ambitious people are in that caucus in very orderly fashion, almost guaranteed to keep the current chair of the caucus to be the new democratic leader. she has the deal with katherine clark to be second and third. it will be a very orderly transition. all three of them are younger by three decades. it is going to be a new era in the house democratic caucus. >> a systemic shift. even when you talk to republicans, some want to see this off the record, a lot of respect, s was very effective. loyalty with democrats and a fear mixed in. talk about her time and the way forward. >> it is a lot.

i was talking to a lot of members of congress, democrats especially. they were so full of emotion. it was almost hard for them to even articulate how they ft. every single person, many republicans, not all, but the ones who havbeen there for a while, and democrats know she is a transformational leader. the things she has been able to do with presidents on both sides of the aisle, the fact she was able to pass monumental legislation in the past two years with a five seat, sometimes only four seat majority, will mimic what kevin mccarthy is most likely going to have moving forward. it will be an interesting test of contrast. but democrats use the word bittersweet. they feel they were so honored to be able to learn from her to be governed by her to have a

leader like her. but they were also ready for something new. i think they are excited about the future. there is also trepidation. everyone has mentioned the fundraising, the amount of money she has been able to raise, no one has been able to match it. in the position of leader, you raise more money, you have to do more. it is a concern for people. >> talk about a test for contrast, the gop side, kevin mccarthy doesn't have the floor votes to be house speaker. some lawmakers on the record and his party saying he doesn't have the votes, which is interesting. talk about the internal dynamics and the way forward. >> they have been at an interesting moment for a few years with donald trump at the helm. he had such a grip on the party, now you see the split and the challenges in congress

especially with more maga side of the party really challenging more traditional republicans. you have the republicans like mitch mcconnell, even john thune. they are trying to hold onto the republican party of the past. they want it to be the party of the future. the new generation of republicans, younger, more conservative, more extreme who think the party is something different and they are trying to push their own agenda and ideals and policies. it will be really fascinating in the next two years. divided congress, divided government, a small majority. >> fascinating, it might be fascinating, chaotic, tell me what you are hearing as nancy pelosi steps down, especially when it comes to the generational shift coming as governing might become harder. >> fascinating, interesting, all

of the above. good to be with you. we also have to talk about the reality that representation matters. for 35 years, nancy pelosi has been a standardbearer for the democratic party. what does it mean in terms of gender and leadership? she talked in the floor about how she came to congress. 12 democratic women. she is still wanting to see the nuer grow, and being on the house floor for the first time at six years old. she would go from being a homemaker to house leader. so just what she has been able to do to really expand the country's political imagination really does say a lot and will have a big effect on what representation means going forward. she is still somebody who is leading, saying she will step aside and clear the way for this

younger and more diverse generation of leadership. it is something more reflective of where the democratic party is today. you look at if house leadership is to go through as advertised with hakeem jeffries, that is the future of this party. younger voters, women, people of color representing at the highest levels of government. these are the base voters of the democratic party. to see them reflected in for her to acknowledge is where the party needs to go. also an example and testament to her leadership. >> all of this is coming as president biden is getting ready to turn 80 years old. what are you hearing from white house officials about his own political future and the future of his agenda? republicans will be in control of the house. >> the timing is not necessarily the best from the white house's

point of view, or a senior democrat to say it is time to hand over power to a new generation. resident biden turns 80 on sunday, a milestone he's not all that happy about. i can't even say the word out loud, i can't believe it. understandably, of course. politically, of course. the first -- at a time he's thinking about whether to run for reelection. the age question is going to come up again and again. he would be 86 at the end of a second term. and they will ask questions about donald trump. he is four years younger than president biden. but there has been questions of eighth his age has diminished his capacity, as well. it is a generational moment. we see these two elder statesmen , figures of their two parties repairing to head off against each other at a time when the

house leadership is passing the buck to a new -- to give the reins to hakeem jeffries and his team at a younger age. president biden will say judge me not by my age as a number, but the actions i'm able to accomplish. the things i have been able to put on the scoreboard in effect. that will be the argument he will make going forward. he's not going to have some sort of pubc show about his birthday, a nice brunch for him. we will see a lot of cameras. >> i thought there might be some hip-hop stars or someone at the white house. but that is not happening. i want to stick with you for a minute. the attorney general had some news of his home which is he's pointing a special counsel to oversee investigations into donald trump. part of the reason was he felt like his hand was forced that donald trump is running for

president. what do we know about the decision and the implications? >> he resisted this for a long time. the justice department could act barely in the case, even though it is fraught with politics. when you have donald trump as an active candidate running against merrick garland's boss, it becomes that much more complicated. you look at the rules for when you appoint a special counsel, all three criteria were met. the perception of conflict of interest in the national interest, public interest. a special counsel is not fully in pendant. a special counsel reports to the attorney general in the end. it wil be their decision whether to press charges or not. having a special counsel, it will not be as politically radioactive as it would have been if the president's appointment had done it. president trump will speak later

tonight, he is not accepting this with equanimity. it may be the special counsel did not cure the issue, the perception of politics or -- it is a good thing for president trump to say it is political. the more he is political, the more he misses his base, he's not guilty of anything. his rivals are out to get him. it is a fraught moment. it will be hard and a challenge for merrick garland and special counsel jack smith to go forward and ma sure they look on capable as possible as they add up the evidence. >> you were at mar-a-lago for president trump's announcement. what do you make of the special counsel being brought in, and your observations having seen trump in person make the announcement? >> it was hard to avoid feeling trump had been cornered into making this announcement. he was trapped. he put this on the calendar

before the election at a time when he and everyone else expected a big republican victory to celebrate. when that didn't happen, he did not feel he could back down or postpone even though a lot of people were urging him to do that with the runoff in georgia. still on schedule in early december. he seemed like he did not want to be there. people had used the phrase low-energy, the memorable trump coinage. but he was sort of a glaring at the teleprompter. it had made him mad in some ways. it was a speech, it stuck to the script. he did not attack his rivals, did not go off on ron desantis. he talked a lot about policy, talked about the successes of his administration, the biden

administration, just making the case for why he believes he needs to run again. it was a very long speech, most of his speeches are. i've rarely seen a trump speech less than an hour. it was a packed ballroom, the usual crew of hangers on, whether you are talking to people who go to the rallies or the members of mar-a-lago that have to hang out, or figures in the administration. one thing missing was sitting republican elected officials. no sitting members of congress except for the disgraced soon-to-be former representative. even now, several days later, there have been very few endorsements for the former president. if he thought he was going to be able to waltz into this nomination having already run twice. it really looks like a rocky road for him, particularly with the continuing recriminations from the midterms. >> one thing that is the result of the republicans as they

wanted in the midterms was democrats still have control of the senate and judicial nominees. it is critical in the minds of the white house. talk about that and the results, the trump-endorsed midterms, they did not go the way republicans wanted. >> a huge impact on both sides. there will be very little policy that comes out of the next two years. it will be a lot of gridlock and fighting, it will be very difficult for congress to do the things it has to do. like fund the government or lift the debt limit. but one thing the senate can do is confirm biden judicial nominees and his administration officials. for the past six months,

democrats have been working so quickly in the senate, as quickly as possible to confirm as many people as possible. they thought they were not going to have control of the senate. they were judges, judges, judges. now they are going to continue and remake the federal judiciary, they've installed a record number of judges in the first two years, they will keep moving along that pace. this is kind of the mitch mcconnell playbook. trng to do what mcconnell did over the last four years. >> another thing democrats are doing is they pushed for marriage equality. it seems they voted along to advance the bill. they are tryg to get stuff done. >> they are, especially in the lame-duck session. the house passed it before the elections. the senate is set to pass it after thanksgiving. the procedural votes, 12

republicans, pretty significant. they have a long list of things they are trying to do when they get back. we will see how much they get done. one could be that electoral count act so that what happened in 2021 doesn't happen again. >> talk about what your reporting shows, republicans might deal with the power they have coming up. >> republicans are going to be focused on investigations. they have signaled their day one agenda. that really did not include much in the way of legislative priorities. to his point, they won't be able to give much passed. so really, raising concerns about democrats ahead of the 2024 election. they head out on the campaign trail, talking for t

presidential year, all of this announcement about the department of justice and special counsel in mar-a-lago will be something of a counterweight. obviously these are two different arenas. >> i wanted to stick with you. you are from georgia. the runoff will be happening. tell me about the consequences of the gop sticking with trump and what you hear from people who are wondering whether or not the party can pivot away. >> you saw in trump's announcement of his third presidential campaign, he mentioned herschel walker. encouraged voters in georgia to stick with herschel walker, trump relationship sti seems to be pretty strong. he did not come to georgia to campaign for him in a general. i had been curious to see if he would plan to do that now and in the runoff election. many voters on the ground very

much the ones in support of herschel walker were also very much still in support of the former president. that could be a very strong relationship that could be public for walker in a way that did not factor into the governor's race in georgia. >> because it was such a crazy week in news, help me with a little bit of your russia experience as a reporter. so many people thought are we going to go to world war iii? tell us the biggest take away. >> it is a red flag because it shows how close we could come to escalatory spiral. we don't pay attention to the war in ukraine. it is ravaging the country. but there is a chance at any moment it could spill over. if it spills over like it seemed

to do for poland or another nato ally, it raises the question about what the u.s. and europe are going to do in response. in this case it appears to be more of an accidental situation where the ukrainian defense missile will try and shoot down a russian missile cross over the line as opposed to a russian attack or russian sponsored accident that would have raised a lot of questions. it is a tragedy because people have died. but for this moment, we are not looking at the knife's edge of a wider war. you can see how easily it could happen. at almost any moment. i don't know that the rest of the world is prepared for that, ready for what might look like. you have russia and the u.s. on opposite sides of a shooting war. >> in some ways in the last five seconds or so we have the air, it shows how important who is president is in this country. that is exactly right. the person you want in charge when we face the most nuclear,

dangerous moment since the cuban missile crisis is all the more important. it reemphasizes the stakes in this election. >> we have to leave it there. thank you to our panel for all of your repting. thank you all of you at home for joining us. on tomorrow's pbs news weekend, with the appointment of a special counsel means for former president trump's ongoing legal troubles. tonight from washington. >> corporate funding for washington week is provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can find the plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumer cellular.tv. >> additional funding provided by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities.

sandra and carl delay-magnuson. rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

announcer: major funding for "tell me more with kelly corrigan" is provided by the quad family foundation, susan and david tunnell donor advised fund through the san francisco foundation, and by the gordon and llura gund foundation. ♪ go to any high-school english class, and listeno the kids talk about "to kill a mockingbird" or "romeo and juliet." whether they realize it or not, they are revealing what scares them, what thrills them, the kinds of people they hate and love. so it is with us. what author's work have you returned to over and over? what lines do you know by heart? what albums have you been playing for years? these are the signals to the world and to ourselves about our values, about our intellectual and moral influences. nick hornby-- author of "high fidelity"