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-- katrina. . it is confirm that republicans will control both chambers of congress. -- violation of a cease-fire agreement. -- has made three major nominations for his administration in the last few hours including republican congressman matt aides to be his attorney general. in an official statement released a short while ago,

donald trump said it was a great honor to nominate him, calling the congressman a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney. the president also nominated republican senator -- on tuesday, donald trump announced that the tesla billionaire elon sk will lead a new department of government affairs. -- government efficiency along with an entrepreneur. aside from elon musk, these nominations -- house republicans applauded mr. trump's victory as he visited capitol hill.

-- that presidential debate back in june four years ago when mr. trump did not honor the tradition of hosting joe biden in the wake of his election win but today, the pair promise ere would be -- >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> i look forward to having a smooth transition. we are going to get a chance to talk about that. welcome. >> thank you. thank you very much. it is not a very nice world but it is a nice world today and i appreciate it very much. it transition so smooth that it will be as smooth as it can get. katrina: let's go to the white house and speak to our senior

north america correspondent, gary. another big day in this transition process. what do we know about what just went on between the two presidents and what they discuss? gary: what do we know about what happened? the answer to that is not a lot, to be honest. this was two hours, almost two hours, these two men were in the oval office. it was a cordial and gracious meeting. we know that donald trump came with a whole set of questions, detailed questions that he wanted to ask. he did tell the press that joe biden had reiterated his view that it was in america's national interest to keep funding ukraine, the ukraine war , and this will be the way to

keep america out of a war in ukraine. -- in europe, which is something that donald trump -- much else about what they discuss. we know that there was what was described as some back and forth. what that was constituted with. and the press secretary kept stressing that this was, you know, gracious and cordial and you could see that they were on their best behavior. let's put it that way. given these are two men who do not like one another, clearly, and have been incredibly rude about one another. some achievement to sit down for two hours and get through it without any kind of fracas. katrina: that's politics.

gary at the white house, thank you very much for that. that meeting between presidents trump and biden. >> i think it is a very positive thing, you know? president biden has been gracious, i tnk. the transition of power is good for the american people. i think you saw president trump and president biden being kind and gentle and -- katrina: what were his private marks to you and to your colleagues on capitol hill? >> well, it was kind of a victory lap for president trump. it is a very big deal and it

president-elect that he would like to do away with that process and have his nominations go straight to being in office. should that process remain or be bypassed? >> there's a majority of republicans in the senate now. we know that is going to happen. they have elected a leader. i think they can, in a very timely manner, get the nominations passed, and they ought to do that. what president trump is talking about is utilizing a provision

our founders allowed for, which is recess appointments, and because the senate wants the ability to control who is confirmed and who isn't. i think that might be what is best but we need to give the senate a chance to function properly and quickly to get his nomination. >> -- by even republican senators? we saw a recently matt gaetz announced his pick for attorney general. >> -- taking his nomination seriously. his complaint was about the

sluggishness. that was generally his feeling about it. >> just speaking of the congressman, matt gaetz, what do you think of him as attorney general? >> he is a controversial figure. i have served with him for the last years. it will be a very controversial, newsworthy spectacle, no question about it. >> should he be attorney >> listen, president trump was elected by the american people. i think

people, i think he has the right to nominate whoever he wants to nominate. but our founders rightly and wisely confirm those nominations so i think it needs to go through the process. i think our senators will do a good and thorough job of infecting all of the nominees. >> what does that tell us about the direction of the priorities for president-elect trump? >> i think marco rubio is a serious person. -- efficiency, agency, with

vivek ramaswamy. katrina: want to you think of that can actually question what that is quite unusual, isn't it? >> it is quite unusual. there's innovative ways to do things in the private sector and i think the government could use some of that. we are inefficient in government. a fresh set of eyes that doesn't come from the bureaucracy is a reallyositive thing so i am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. katrina: interesting times ahead. congressman, thanks for talking to us on bbc news. the bbc's u.s. partners, cbs news, has projected that the republican party- the party is projected to win a minimum of 218 c with their final number more likely to be somewhere between 220 and 223 in the chamber.

with that win, the party now controls both chambers of the legislature as well as the presidency. on wedneay, senate republicans elected john in a decisive second round ballot. senator rick scott, the choice of several trump loyalists in the senate, was knocked out of the race. first round voting. he will take over. >> we have a mandate. but also to deliver on president trump. we will enforce border security laws and remove the violent criminals who are wreaking havoc in every one of r states paid

we will work to make america process again -- states. we will work to make america prosperous again by turning over the bureaucratic machine. katrina: republicans will do. >> what i think he has been pretty on the -- pretty on the record saying that he is going to carry the administration. the incoming trump -- former leader or the outgoing leader, senator mitch mcconnell, but in the end, he did eke by without

about four extra senators voting for him over senator cornyn but i think they are going to have their -- it's going to be a lot of work ahead, especially as the administration starts to name that. katrina: republican senators voted against senator scott. he was knocked out in the first round. what does that tell us about the support that republican senators -- >> i do know that donald trump has a closer relationship with senatorick scott. to me, especially when the 13 members senators voted for -- it

looks like -- i guess -- a lot of influence on this next generation of senators. again, i say, there's going to be a group of senators that are going to hold him accountable. to make sure he is supporting and pushing the agenda. katrina: holding to a level of surprise at the selected of matt gaetz as attorney general. >> members are holding their informal elections right now. congress understood that matt gaetz was going to be the

nominee. this is a -- as a member of congress just said on your show -- he will be able to pass the senate. interesting choice. it's going to be very -- when he has to, pray nomination. katrina: is there a sense from what you are saying that perhaps some senators won't vote for him even though the confirmation process only requires simple majority? >> yes, that's -- i think that

is probably one of the points of this. there's already some pushback from senators. but i do also hear people saying that -- they are going to, you know -- takei essentially. katrina: our political reporter, thanks for joining us on bbc news. >> thanks for having me. katrina: palestinian armed group has released a video of an israeli hostage held in gaza

since the october 7 attack. footage released by islamic jihad shows a person who was abducted from a kibbutz. he's being held in gaza with his girlfriend. our correspondent, jonathan, has more now from jerusalem. jonathan: -- islamic jihad. hundreds are being held in captivity and one of those is sasha. that video has been released of him saying that conditions are

very difficult. little food, sanitary conditions, very difficult. no soap. he says he does not want to see an israeli military operation carried out. his family have responded to this video, calling it horrific, calling to do a deal to get the hostages released. he also says he misses -- the likelihood of a deal. it doesn't seem much chance of it at the moment while israel continues its military operations, -- as israel targets militants. the u.s. has been putting pressure on israel to do more. it says israel has taken

important steps, but as long as israel continues -- being done. katrina: meanwhile in gaza, the u.s. will continue to -- at its lowest level in a year. speaking at the nato military alliance headquarters in brussels, the secretary of state, antony blinken, said the u.s. needs to see longer breaks in fighting inside gaza. he said there will be no let up in the war against hezbollah and israeli forces have again hit southern beirut.

hezbollah says it fired missiles. >> -- to people who need it. there are huge challenges in that regard. we have also seen real solutions. it is the one thing that has been very successful in gaza. hundreds of thousands of children got polio vaccines, but success in doing that was having a -- katrina: -- let up in the war against hezbollah, not the u.s. secretary of state. the bbc has traveled to the demilitarized buffer zone. -- 1974 cease-fire agreement between the two countries. the disengagement observer forces as israeli vehicles and personnel recently crossed into

the demilitarized area. israel denies that, saying it is boosting defenses on its own. a report from the occupied golan heights. >> already fighting wars on two of its borders, israel has been quietly building trenches along its buffer zone. 24 hours a day. they have invited us -- israel has been building new trenches. we filmed this footage last month near the town.

and this -- some has, describing it as severe. >> by how much are you being told? >> and that military vehicles and personnel have to. it says it has repeatedly protested to israel. they want to protect against and iran backed group and do not

break it cease-fire agreement. >> making sure we are defending our border. >> a year of escalating conflict . iran backed groups in syria and iraq have been sending drones. -- drones and missiles across this border. more than a year into conflict, friction. katrina: let's have a look at other important news from around the world. an appeals court in argentina has upheld the former president's conviction for corruption. in 2022, she was found guilty of

defrauding the state by awarding public contract to a family friend. she was given a six year prison sentence. and declared ineligible to hold elected office. about 3000 people have been evacuated. spain is reeling from the worst flooding it has seen in 30 years . more than 200 people lost their lives as floods swept valencia two weeks ago. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james.

announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

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