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geoff bennett is away. on the news hour tonight pam bo ndy steps in as donald's new pick to lead the justice department, her record as a trump loyal as. the texas board of education moves forward with a plan to incorporate bible stories into school curriculum. an stolen childhoods in haiti. where girls face sexual violence and boys are recruited into gangs. >> it makes me so scared. i tell my mother i want to leave the neighborhood but she has no money so we have to stay. ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including jim and nancy biltner and the robert and virginia

schiller foundation. the judy and peter bloom kovler foundation, upholding freedom by strengthening democracies at home and abroad. >> it really matters when you have an opportunity to give back. and going -- with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> welcome to the news hour.

president-elect donald trump's new pick to lead the treasury. he announced pam bondi hours after his first choice former congressman matt gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. we are here with more on bondi. who is pam bondi? >> she has a long resume and a lot of experience working with donald trump. let's start from the beginning from 2011 to 2019, she was the first female florida attorney general. and in 2019 she worked on donald trump's first impeachment defense team. from 2019 to 2023 she was a lobbyist with our partners which is the firm of a top republican fundraiser and it is also where donald trump's chief of staff susie wiles used to work. in 2024 she chaired the legal arm of the trump aligned america

first policy institute. she has overseen being attorney general in florida she has overseen an office that will prosecute and defend civil and criminal actions. and that could work in your favor because she has a lot more experience than matt gaetz had. she also is a notable tv contributor, especially on fox news, which is something that works in her favor with donald trump. >> what is the fact that mr. trump picked her say about his plans for the justice department? >> ultimately a lot of these picks goes back to the fact that donald trump on someone he considers a staunch ally, a loyalist. and she is definitely that. they really believe that she will be, she will execute exactly what donald trump wants. and pam bondi herself has talked extensively about what she thinks should be done at the justice department. >> the department of justice, the prosecutors are will be prosecuted, the bad ones.

the investigators will be investigated. because the deep state last t erm let for president trump were hiding in the shadows. >> despite comments like that and the fact she is very much a loyalist and is ready to execute exactly what donald trump wants when it comes to persecuting his enemies, it appears as though she is someone who republicans are much more responsive to. >> you mentioned they go back years, the relationship between bondi and trump. >> they had a strong relationship. i spoke to the new york times who has done extensive work exposing growing relationships between state attorneys general and lobbyist were trying to curry favor with attorneys general to get them to stop investigations they may have been pursuing. and he highlighted one incident in particular that stood out regarding, in 2013, regarding

donald trump's charity. >> pam bondi was being asked, are you going to investigate trump university? just about that same time, she solicited a donation from donald trump for her reelection effort in florida. and she ended up receiving a $25,000 donation to a political action committee associated with her. and then ultimately her office decided not to investigate trump university. pam bondi, it was a sequence of events that drew a lot of scrutiny. >> that donation that was made by donald trump's charity to pam bondi's political action committee was illegal. and it was one as well as a number of other similar donations that trump's charity made that he ended up being fined for by the -- the irs and paying a penalty on. it is not appear as that history in the scrutiny she receives then and that trump's

charity received may hurt her nomination. >> someone also mention a warmer reception on capitol hill. what have you seen in the way of reaction from senators? >> republican senator lindsey graham who sits on the judiciary committee is expected to become the chairman of the judiciary committee, called bondi a grand slam he posted on x that she will be confirmed quickly because she deserves to be confirmed. very different sentiment then compared to matt gaetz. and josh hawley told fox last night that he believes that pam bondi is a great pick, she is up to the task and that he hopes that she overhauls the justice department. one source says that they are feeling good about her chances, that they ultimately believe that a lot of republican senators trust her and away they did not matt gaetz. >> pam bondi is replacing matt gaetz who dropped out. you also have been continue reporting on that house ethics committee report into matt gaetz. what should we know? >> sources that i spoke to today

said that they still expect a december 5 meeting of the house ethics committee to take place unless it is ultimately canceled. that is about the sexual misconduct report the committee was putting together and the source i spoke to said there are more details in that report that have not come to light, even though some have, about matt gaetz's sexual misconduct that ultimately they think a number of the members on the committee believe that that report does need to come out. they believe it is in the public interest, even though matt gaetz withdrew. >> great reporting on the trump transition. as always. thank you. >> thank you. i'm jennifer rie us with newshour west. president-elect trump has announced a slew of further

nominations this evening. hedge fund manager scott percent will be his -- scott besson would be his nominee for secretary of treasury. and he was a key economic advisor to trump during the campaign. meanwhile, russell wrote has been nominated to head the office of management and budget, a position he held during the first trump administration. since then, vogt has become one of the key architects behind project 2025. other nominations include u.s. representative lauri chavez dar imer of oregon and scott turner was elected as trump's housing secretary nominee. the new york judge overseeing president-elect trump's criminal hush money trial has postponed his plan sentencing which was scheduled for next week. he is allowing time for trump's team to file a motion to dismiss the case entirely after his election victory.

prosecutors will then have until december 9 to respond. they have signaled a willingness to wait until trump's second term ends for him to be sentence. in a statement a trump spokesman said all of the sham attacks against president trump are destroyed calling the matter finished. trump was convicted in may of 34 counts related to falsifying business records. he has denied any wrongdoing. in azerbaijan, the cop29 climate summit went into overtime after a draft deal for funding fell flat. on what was supposed to be the last day of the gathering, wealthy countries pledged to give poor nations $250 billion per year to address climate change. that is more than double the goal of $100 billion set 15 years ago, but it is less than a quarter of what developing countries were seeking. donor countries called the figure a real -- a realistic target while activists in

developing nations which are often hit hardest by extreme weather say it is a slap in the face. >> offering $250 billion when developing countries need trillions is like bring a garden hose into a wildfire. it is inadequate. the climate crisis we are facing. we need firetrucks. we do not need buckets of water. >> however, a senior u.s. official cautioned that even meeting the proposed $250 billion figure will be an extraordinary reach. this year's conference was clouded by uncertainty over america's future role in climate mitigation efforts once president-elect trump takes office in january. at home, nearly 200,000 people in washington state and california are still without power as crews scribble to clear falling trees that were toppled in this week's unrelenting storm. utility officials say that power may not be restored until the weekend. >> trees were cracking, you

know, it was pretty intense. >> the storm dropped record rainfall in northern california, and it is still raining in parts of the northwest, leaving cars stranded and communities underwater. elsewhere, it is not rain but snow that is the problem. >> it's still snowing like you would not believe. >> more than a foot of snow has blanketed higher elevations and parts of the region like here in california's amount shasta. more unsettled weather is expected from mid next week with the midwest and east coast expected to see snow. and heavy rain just in time for thanksgiving. in minnesota, a jury has found two men guilty of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in the deaths of a family of indian migrants in 2022. the parents and their two children died in a blizzard as they attempted to cross from canada to the u.s. officials found their frozen bodies 40 feet from the border.

prosecutors say -- patel and kumar orchestrated the operation. the two were part of a larger scheme that has brought increasing numbers of indian migrants to the u.s. they each phase 55 years in prison both have plead not guilty. two colorado funeral home owners pleaded guilty today, accused of letting 190 bodies decay in a room temperature building for years. prosecutors say john and carrie halford began storing bodies and their colorado springs funeral home in 2019. they gave grieving families dried concrete instead of cremated remains. the couple use their customers money and pandemic relief funds to buy fancy cars, trips and other luxury items. they each face up to 20 years in prison. sentencing is scheduled for april.

the united nations say a record number of aid workers have been killed this year with a month left to go in 2024. the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs assess 281 such employees have died around the globe. of those, the vast majority 230 people were killed in occupied palestinian territory. the fatalities include aid workers, health care staffers, delivery personnel, and other humanitarian related employees. in washington, the capital lawn was spruced up this morning with the arrival of the annual christmas tree. the 80 foot tall sitka spruce made the journey from alaska to capitol hill. the tree is nicknamed spruced wayne and will be decorated with a 10,000 lights and ornaments before a lighting ceremony on december 3rd. still to come news hour, the

scope and potential pitfalls of elon musk's plan to reduce government spending. david brooks and d jonathan capehart. and after jean-luc was amma on his new plate that aims to remedy a lack of latino stories on broadway. >> this is "pbs newshour." from the david m. rubenstein studio at weta in washington and our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> the texas supreme court would incorporate biblical teaching into the state's public schools. >> in an 8-7 vote school board officials approved these nose course materials called blue bonnet learning, parts of them

include religious lessons that undermine religious freedom and could isolate non-christian students. lesson plans as early as kindergarten highlight christian religious teachings like jesus's sermon on the mountain. this new curriculum in texas follows republican led efforts and other neighboring states to similarly give christianity a stronger presence in public schools. following this all closely is jaden edison, the education reporter for the texas tribune. so good to have you on the program. this measure passes today. when could this curriculum get rolled out and do schools have to adopt it? >> so, in our conversation with education officials it was made clear that if approved by the state board of education which is what happened today the materials will become available as early as spring 2025, which is early next year. and from there, obviously, districts will then order the materials, and they will be available for usage as soon the

25 -- the 2025-26 school year. it is optional but if the district adopt those materials they will receive a $60 incentive to purchase textbooks. the reason why that is important to notice is because texas school districts really have gone about a half a decade with no significant boost in state funding. >> help us understand what the rationale is. the proponents of this why do they argue that infusing education with more christian teachings is helpful in a multicultural, multireligious state and nation? >> right. i think you have seen a lot of arguments that students need to learn more about the nation's founding. they frame it around this argument that the bible played an integral role in the founding of the country. i think that is one part of it, but it is important to

understand the political dynamics. you had state officials who criticize how school districts teach about america's history or racism and gender and its diversity. in many ways, too, the larger ideological conversation being had, there are many people who believe it is an attempt to kind of infuse more christianity in schools but also to accomplish what many people say, you know, is a problem which is the fact that the bible and christianity is not present enough in schools. >> the critics of this of which there are many and you have been reporting their concerns, what are they upset about? >> two pronger. on one level, there was concern by placing a heavy emphasis on christianity. this could lead to the isolation and bullying of children who are not christian, who subscribed to other faiths or no faith. but there is also a legal

concern with the constitution, prohibiting the government from endorsing a particular state religion. there are religious scholars and public education advocates in texas who believe that this particular curriculum crosses the line. i think it is two-pronged. i also want to make clear, people are not saying from what i hear that religion should not be taught. but i think they are trying to draw a line between teaching and preaching. i think many people feel this is doing the latter. >> if i'm a parent in texas and my school district chooses to implement these, do i have any say? are those going to come to my child in school no matter what or can i opt out? what are the options? >> the material will be optional as we just noted. so really what it will come down to his local school board politics. the decision will be up to school district. and i think we know here in texas and across the country that parents want to have a say in their child's education. so you have to imagine that if he gets to that point where they

are seriously considering adopting these materials, parents certainly will have something to say about it. >> how does this fit in to this larger trend? texas is not alone. we've seen several efforts to inject christianity into public schools. how does this fit into that larger trend going on? >> there is almost a national playbook now. we have heard louisiana's governor say i cannot wait to be sued as it relates to laws that would implement the 10 commandments on posters in classrooms. that is something that is being considered in texas, but i think part of what legal scholars have warned us that, given that you have a supreme court of the united states that has been more friendly to some of these arguments about religion and have kind of eroded decades of precedent, things like implement in this curriculum can prove to be testing grounds on where the establishment clause standss,

where the separation of church and state, where that goes from here. >> the education reporter at the texas tribune. thank you so much for helping us get through all this. >> yes, i really appreciate you. thanks so much. >> among president-elect trump promises for a pledge to slash the size and spending of the federal government. he appointed the world's richest man elon musk and vivek ramaswamy to run an advisory commission to make that happen. it is called the department of government efficiency or doze, seen as a nod to dozecoin. in an oped they are taking aim at $500 billion in annual spending but there are questions

about how and if they can reach that goal. we what -- the president of the committee for responsible federal budget joins me know. thanks for being here. $500 billion was tossed out in this op-ed. elon musk saturday said -- said cutting $2 trillion. what would it take? >> all these numbers are hard to put them in context, but our federal budget is about $7 trillion in their thinking about that $2 trillion with serious purpose. that is what they are looking at. and it would be unimaginable that we could find $2 trillion in savings out of seven in one year. a lot of time budget windows are 10 years. if you're talking about $2 trillion over 10 years, reasonable and doable, they could find more than that. that $500 billion is something specific on authorized spending programs. and i think this is a really

good example of where outsiders were look at that and say it is unauthorized, we should not be spending it, let's get rid of it. but that they probably do not realize is that a lot of those funds are not authorized because they escape the process and they make it more efficient and they have a lot of bipartisan support because these are things like spending on veterans programs or dollars for our embassies abroad. it will not be easy to cut those programs when you get down to the nuts and bolts. >> let me also ask you because trump has said he will not touch social security or medicare. how would that impact any of these plans for cuts? >> just taking a step back, that was the more troubling things about this whole campaign. the promise not to touch social security and medicare. those are the two largest government programs, both headed towards insolvency which means they will be across the board cuts in a decade if we do not do something cared we have to fix them. we should not cut spending to save money necessarily for the overall government they do need to be addressed and fixed. promising not to touch them is not a good start.

but by saying that those things are on the table, you are tying their hands behind their back where the real savings are peer the biggest savings in the federal government are in her biggest government programs. social security is a different issue. most of that is just checks going to people who paid in, but in the health care field, that is probably one of the biggest areas of savings. so, we should have all health care on the table. i'd say the same thing for national security. lots of other areas of the budget. you should not start partaking -- by taking anything off the table and you should go through with a fine tooth comb. >> even if cuts can be identified, can this commission, can they make those cuts or does it have to go to congress? >> they talked about doing as much is possible through executive actions. that is something you have seen growing in recent presidencies. we saw a lot of activity from the biden administration on student debt forgiveness and the supreme court found some of that was not allowed.

so, they are looking at trying to do things that bypass congress pit i do not think that is the right thing to do. this is something where you want fresh ideas, they will have a lot of great fresh ideas to bring in, but then you have people -- you have to have people accountable to the voters to be making those decisions. >> congress does not like to cut spending that much. maybe they will nudge them in the right direction but $2 trillion a year, i think that is a very high number. expect congress to sign off on anything -- not expect congress to sign off on anything like that. >> musk has a reputation for slashing funding that is companies. the federal government is different and they have not run a bureaucracy. people think that is an asset. is that outside approach useful in trying to make the big cuts? >> i think it will be. a long time to say we, that is not the way we do things. the way the government does things is not the most efficient. if you talk to people in agencies in the bureaucracy, they will say, yes, it is too

slow, it is not efficient to that said, there are a lot of things that are part of the political process that you cannot go in with an ax and slice out all of these programs. voters care, politicians are accountable. >> you are also among some of the most consistent voices calling for lawmakers to address the ballooning debt. now $26 trillion. could all of these cuts in some way help towards that end? >> absolutely peer this is the what -- one of the great things that can move us in that direction peer it we should not take things off of the table particular health care. likely sees we should not take revenues off the table. we will not fix the budget on slashing spending, it will be combinations of spending reductions and revenue increases. in another area they might look at it as spending of about $2 trillion a year that runs through the tax code. tax deductions and credits and exclusions. there is a great deal of savings in efficiency that could be found there as well. yes, i think this could be a

good step in the right direction of bringing our debt down. nobody has been talking about that recently. both candidates ran on plans that would increase the debt by a lot. and president trump had a plan that would increase the debt massively. so that will be at odds with plans that cut deficits and cut government spending. we will see if he is really willing to kind of sign up with the specifics they come up with. we will see. >> the committee for responsible federal budget. always great to see you. thank you. >> thank you. >> now we return to the chaos in haiti. earlier this week we looked at the gang warfare ravaging the nation where more than 700,000 people, more than half children, have been displaced by street warfare. tonight, we look at the plights

of those children and more. the fighting has sent poverty and hunger are skyrocketing. children are caught between the gangs and their tenuous features. our special correspondent and our videographer report from the capital, a warning accounts of abuse and sexual violence may disturb viewers. >> a typical morning scene. children going to school. their uniforms iron ,hair tied in bows. but this ao an image that is often seen on social media. gangs taking over areas with what looked to be children. this is an area at the beginning -- which sees fighting almost daily. there used to be kids at this intersection. begging, washing windows, and now they disappeared, leaving some to wonder where they have gone. >> the children do not have anyone look after them. they are in the street can when

they are starving they go to the gangs, the gangs give them food and afterwards the kids become members. >> he's a member of the national commission of -- reintegration. it works to create a dialogue between the state and armed groups. he referred us to this video. the leader of the 400 gang handing out what equates to almost $200 to young children. the state should be taken care of these kids, not me. if they don't, they will all be gang members. >> these kids do not go to school. who do they have as a role model? guys with guns. on social media they see them that men with guns has the upper hand. >> according to the u.n. 30% to 50% are gang members are children. in exchange for protection or

money to support their families. one of those boys is this 14-year-old whose identity we are protecting. >> i am used to seeing people hurting other people, killing people right in front of me. it happens near my home. >> he lives in an area held by the five second gang that uses social media to recruit children as young as 10. >> it makes me so scared. i tell my mother i want to leave the neighborhood but she has no money, so we have to stay. >> the boy tells us about the day he was pulled into a car and promised food in exchange for his work as an informant on members of a rival gang. >> the man said, i'm giving your walkie-talkie. i started to cry and he forced me to take it. he said, if you do not take it, i will shoot you. >> for a week, he worked for the gang until his mother found him and convince the leader of the gang to let her take them home. >> when i arrived, he hugged me. he hugged me.

i have absolutely no support. i have no help. i have no one to call. i only have god in heaven. >> her son claims that he is determined to stay away from the gang. >> i don't want to be the one to make my family ashamed. i do not have thieves in my family or family members and gangs. i do not like when people are violent. i have to go to school so that i can learn to build something for tomorrow. it's the best thing for me now. >> his mother said he did well in school but recently he stopped going because they could not afford it. now he has little to distract him from the lure of the gang. >> he's not a violent kid. but he's a kid with bad friends who can influence him. when a child spends his days at home, he has nothing to do, he walks around the neighborhood, he hangs out with his friends.

if he were in school, he would come home and study. >> she believes the fate of these children should be an urgent priority of the state. >> these kids are the future of the country. if they let children cross to the other side, what do you think is going to happen? in 20 years things will be worse. >> he says he proposed solution, but so far has received no response from the government. in the absence of the state, it is the small organizations that have had to step up. a psychologist and a general coordinator at an organization that with the help of unicef takes in young girls who have been victimized by gangs. >> the majority of girls who have survived sexual violence were kidnapped. then they were beaten. detained. and raped. they came into our house.

>> they took my father. they held him. and they took me together with my stepmother. they beat us. they raped us. then they killed my father in front of us. they shot him and they burned him with the house. [sniffles] >> maryanne, not her real name, says that horror did not end there. >> they blindfolded us. they put me in a dirty place full of garbage that smelled terrible. i saw six young girls like me. they had tied them to a chair. they did the same to me.

they abused us sexually every day. >> after seven days, she and some of the other girls escaped while the men were out fighting. the organization eventually brought her here where she was able to find community with other girls in her same situation. for the first week, she did not speak and barely ate. >> i was traumatized. i felt like i was living in hell on earth. i felt like my life was over. sometimes i want to commit suicide. i want to go far, far, far away. >> she says working with a psychologist has helped her begin to heal. >> they give us therapy that helps us understand that, despite what has happened to us, life isn't over. we must have a lot of courage. we are afraid of women.

we are supposed to overcome this. >> a quarter of the girls who come to her are pregnant. we sat down with another 14-year-old girl who did not feel comfortable with a formal interview. gang members kidnapped her last year and for 40 days different men took turns raping her. they burned her arms for fun. she finally escaped and by the time she arrived here, she was three months pregnant. her daughter fatima was born in february. >> i should be in school she told us to tears, i should not be carrying a baby. she talks about killing yourself. the burn scars are getting better, she told us but what is inside me you cannot see. i'm carrying everything that is happen to me and those things will never leave me. >> the majority of these girls, even after six months, need major in-depth psychological support. it's happening every day. sexual violence against women and girls in haiti remains a

major challenge and day by day the number of cases of violence is increasing. for young girls is to be 10, 15, now it has risen to 50%. >> do you think that this is the biggest problem in haiti today? >> yes for me. the problem is lack of security. the majority of the rapists are members of armed gangs. the lack of security has increased the cases of rape all over port-au-prince. >> as gangs continue to hold the upper hand, she doesn't have the resources to meet the needs. >> i received so many calls this week about taking in some girls, but unfortunately, i just don't have room. to provide mental health care for survivors, we need psychologists and social workers. but we cannot afford to pay them. ♪ >> but for those she can help, there is hope for a brighter future.

considering her ordeal, maryanne is thriving. she told us i found a new home and a new mother who loves me a lot. she wants to continue school to become a psychologist and help other girls the way she has been held. >> everything they have said to me has given me the courage to fight for my education, to fight for my life, and for all the things my parents wanted for me so that, even though they are not here, i can still make them happy. >> but as the violence rages on, there are so many more children who have not found their way home. and are still trapped in a world of violence and abuse. for the pbs news hour, i am marcia biggs in port-au-prince, haiti. ♪

>> president elect faced a momentary setback this week when his initial pick to serve as attorney general backed out. the moment cast a spotlight on the controversy surrounding trump's potential cabinet. on that we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. great to see you both. let's start with the latest on this trump transition and jonathan, i want to ask you about matt gaetz dropping out last evening. pam bondi being named as his replacement. jonathan, that there were so many questions and concerns around matt gaetz from republicans. with his dropping out really inevitable? >> yes. in normal political times, matt gaetz would not have been nominated in the first place. in these times that we are in,

especially with republican senators actually taking a stand and saying we don't think this, we could vote for this guy. yes, it was inevitable. the way he got the nomination honestly reflected sort of the chaos of the first trump administration, but i think that matt gaetz dropping out and pam bondi being selected as donald trump's new pick for attorney general to me says that trump 2.0 is more organized chaos. because you cannot make that selection that quickly if you had not been planning, you know, scenario planning ahead of time. >> david, what do you make of that? >> one of the good news stories are comforting new stories for those of us were not big fans of president trump is that he was elected by in the primary vote as david french puts it, 17 million republicans. in the general election, 70 odd million voted for him. those 27 million -- 17 million

people are maga people. a lot of the 70 million while the economy of 20. they do not support the whole maga thing. there is some hope as trump does maga type stuff like a pointy matt gaetz that a lot of people that are her supporters are not on board for the whole circus will pull back and he'll begin losing popularity, and trump wants nothing more than to preserve his popularity and he will hear the voices of republicans pulling back and he will do some u-turns. that's one comforting way to think about how this administration will play out. the less comforting version is matt gaetz was so uniquely hated by republicans or capital that they were happy to walk away from that guy but they may not feel the same way about rfk junior. >> pam bondi is known as a loyalist. the washington post is citing two sources close to trump's transition that he plans to fire the entire team behind special counsel jack smith who brought

two prosecutions against him and used the department of justice to probe the 2020 election. . does having someone like her in place mean he can use the deer as you-- use the doj like that? >> these are ants to institutionalist. and some have scandals because they are outside of the pale of polite society. it will not be a lot of the trump appointees like jim who want to be like, who want to do the responsible job for the government. when you pick somebody with a sex or a financial scandal, they are on your side because they have no other route to a career. they are going to be total trump loyalists, and their mission. isto disrupt the institutions now, i happen to think a lot of her institutions need some disrupting. we have got a lot of, why can't be build subways in this country and build fighter planes in this country? a lot of these institutions have gone creaky, so they need of

reform but they do not need a blowtorch. especially in the attorney general, that's not cleaning out the bureaucracy. that is taking a blowtorch to the neutral institutions of justice. >> jonathan back on the trump transition because there is still a lot of questions around the nominee for secretary of defense pete hegseth. some crutches about allegations of sex assault and troubling details that came out and released police report related to that. we saw a number of senators voiced concerns over matt gaetz in the allegations he was facing. do you expect those senators to stand up and voice the same concerns about hegseth? >> yes, i expect them to do that. do i actually think they will do that? i am not sure. i have not heard much from the senators when it comes to the nomination of hegseth in the way that we saw with former congressman matt gaetz. to jump on something david was saying, i am all for disrupting

the bureaucracy and disrupting sleepy agencies, but with all of these, with most of these appointments that we have seen, these folks are not just about disruption. they are about destruction. and that is what i am most worried about, the blowtorch that david is hopeful will not happen, i think they are off to the sidelines flicking the match trying to get the blowtorch to work. in time for them to take their places in the administration once he is inaugurated on january 20th. david there is a point in all of this as we speaking about when matt gaetz was still running, there were four people that had been named to key posts who all had some kind of sexual assault or misconduct allegation they are facing, not even counting mr. trump himself. is it that hard to find qualified candidates who have not faced some of these allegations? >> well, narcissists like to appoint people like themselves. maybe that is a tell.

the fact that they are scandal riddle make some super valuable that the proves that they are permanent outsiders. the hegseth nomination alarms me almost as much as any because we are in a very complicated moment in defense history where the drone technology is here, it is making our traditional weapon system from tanks to aircraft carriers not obsolete, but really much less important. we need a secretary defense who can adjust from the kind of weapon systems and the kind of military we had for decades to something completely different. and so, a whole series of incredibly important decisions have to be made about how we handle information flow, how do we do the systems across 5g, all of these things are super technical decisions that have to be made by the secretary defense, and a guy without long experience is just not going to be able to make them competently. and facing the chinese and god knows what will happen over the next two years, it is tremendously alarming to have basically a novice.

i worry about incompetence more than authoritarianism. >> jonathan, we know votes in this election are still being counted. we have been reporting over the last two weeks, we know trump won the electoral count, but we -- they were saying it was likely he would win the popular vote and be the first republican to do so since 2004. the latest figures show that he received 76.8 million votes, 50% of voters. harris received 74.2 million votes, 48.4% of the electorate. we've seen mr. trump say he won in a lance line, that he has a mandate -- in a landslide. his margin of victory is the smallest popular vote margin since 2000. do you see this as a mandate for him? >> no. i don't see it as a mandate. but i see how he thinks it is. also, i remember president george w. bush, republican president is always say that

they have a mandate simply because they have been elected. but when looking at donald's victory, again, as you pointed out, it is the smallest victory in about 20 years. some news outlets are reporting that he went all the votes are counted he will be below 50 percent. but they say that they have a mandate simply because he won the white house, republicans held onto the majority in the house and they retook the majority and have 53 seats in the senate. and so, a company trifecta in washington i think is fueling this idea that they have a mandate. but what we are going to see once he comes into office and starts acting on all of the things he told us he was going to do, we will see whether the american people believe he has a mandate to do all the things he has promised, including mass deportations on day one. >> david, is it a mandate? >> a mandate is what you make of it and presidents always

overrate. i do not even know what a mandate is. joe biden overreached his mandate. he decided it was time for new deal 2.0. he ended up losing. i fully expect donald trump will overreach. he does not care about the middle. and i expect there will be some blowback. and we should say in the midterm, one of the things we learned about the midterm elections is that college-educated voters vote and high school voters vote less frequently. democrats have a national advantage -- a natural advantage in the midterms. there will be some blowback before long. >> i have to ask you because i know you been talking to your sources when democrats are in the postelection postmortem, have they reached any consensus about a way forward? >> no. because democrats are gonna democrat. no, they have not reached a consensus but what i would say to them is it's only been a was

three weeks. it is not enough time to understand and fully internalize the results of this election. what they should do is take a page out of what president clinton told me in the interview on wednesday and that is to go across the country, talk to people, listen to them, and then figure out how you best can reach them in the next election. >> we will see if they take your advice. jonathan and david brooks, always great to see you both. thank you. >> thank you. >> comedian, actor and producer, playwright and advocate john leguizamo has a. in more than 100 films while telling a distinctly latino story from documentaries, one-man shows and dramas. jeffrey brown met him recently at the arena stage in washington to talk about his latest work on state, his larger goals and his

response to the recent election. for our arts and culture series candace. --- canvas. >> i don't understand how anybody gets to fail up but us. >> 59-year-old nelson castro born in columbia is struggling. his laundromat businesses on the brink of failure. his family is reeling in the aftermath of a shocking attack on his son. >> he is dreaming, hustling, grinding, doing everything you can, to get the american dream, and yet falls short of it all the time. >> the man who wrote the play -- john leguizamo aiming to set a latino story within the american theater tradition, family -- of dramas that includes death of a salesman and fences. >> i had the whole american candidate in my mind. how do you create an american

classic was my, my goal. >> that is a big goal. >> i dream big, just like nelson. >> this was personal for. >> yeah, of course it is very personal. in many many ways. >> now 64, john leguizamo who was born in colombia, has been a major presence on screen for decades. from roles going back to carlito's way to sid the sloth in "ice age" while telling his own story in one-man shows. >> what is the life expectancy of a latino man? >> and in the recent pbs series "voces, the untold history of latinos." >> it all starts here, the inca, the aztec. >> he's experienced the limited

roles available to latinos, and he is been an outspoken advocate for more representation in tv and film and theater. including at this year's emmy awards ceremony. >> for years, i didn't complained about the limited roles my people offer, the spicy sex pot, the maid. turns out not complaining does not change anything. we latin people are equal to white people and population. less than 0.6% of the actors on stage, there is no latin story on broadway right now. what's going on? that has been going on since i was a kid. that is not ok. i've always felt that incredible sort of erasure and in visibility -- like we are living as shallow, parallel life. >> your attitude was, if it is not out there, i'm going to do it myself?

>> i had to. because here i am seeing all of these amazing latin people in my community that are not represented anywhere. >> is the bigger goal to create a new canon? >> yes, yes, because why not? why the hell not? i know it sounds daunting and maybe perhaps egotistical but that wasn't what was motivating me. what was motivating me was to put latin people on the marquee, on the boards and put them on the great broadway. >> for right now john leguizamo a big supporter of kamala harris is also absorbing the election loss. did the results surprising? >> shocked me, shocked me. i didn't expect that. especially with all of the hate rhetoric against mexicans and puerto ricans. it was shocking you know?

but it goes with the lack of interest in latin culture and what is going on. they do not do enough studies, they do not -- fund the grassroots organizations. they do not get the money or the funding to go out and do what they need to do best. i mean, the democrats have to work much harder to get the latin vote. they have not worked hard enough. >> why do you think that trump can republicans got more of the latino vote this time? >> yeah, because their talk was easier to grasp, it's clear, it was about big business and people only care about business. that is the most important thing in their lives because i need to make a living because we are the bottom of the food chain. >> on our show, pastor's,

rodriguez, he said. >> i do believe what we experienced in this election was the official breaking up of latino community and the democratic party. >> he said it does not have to be permanent but it has happened. what do you think? >> i think that is bs. latinos did not break with the democrats. they broke for their wallets. unfortunately people have a short-term memory, they forget that we came from a terrible economy under trump and covid l nd his lack of response caused this inflation the biden had to try to fix. it is not a break with the democrats. there are still too many things we are fighting for that are the same. we had about 50 seats we got as latinos, ruben gallego, the first latino senator in arizona which is incredibly racist. we had a huge win all over the

place. i'm celebrating that. >> he's continued to work on his play about a man, family, community he calls the other americans. >> i keep working on it and retooling it. and try to write some more stuff and keep doing what i do as an artist. my success is my revenge against this this blight that just happened. >> your success to continue as an artist and writing these plays? >> to keep going is the revenge. it's also the panacea for me. >> i'm jeffrey brown at arena stage and washington, d.c. ♪ >> and that is the news hour for tonight. i am i'm none of us. think you for joining us and have a great weekend. >> major funding for the pbs

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