>> now the rose parade begins tomorrow morning at 8:00. >> all right. that will do it for us as we mark the new year across other parts of the world and hurtle toward 2025 here in the bay area. you're going to want to have a coat handy. happy new year to you, my friend. yes, and i will see you next year. next year? yeah. quick reminder you can stream ktvu news on your smart tv, or you can download it on your android or apple device. just search for fox local and select ktvu. thank you so muc r joining >> a historic political comeback. donald trump prepares to return to the white house with lofty promises and a team of loyalists. >> we have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly. we're going to fix our borders. we're going to fix everything about our country, from tariffs and technology to court cases in congress. >> the impact and influence of trump's second term when he takes the oath of office at noon

on january 20th, he is going to alter the dynamic of american politics in the immediate future, and big changes coming to local government and the lawmakers who represent us in dc. generational change on tap. >> i want them to remember me for hopefully speaking truth to power and raising their voices. >> ktvu fox two presents transition of power. welcome to this ktvu special program, transition of power. i'm greg lee. following the november election, big leadership changes are coming to local, state and federal government. over the next hour. we hope to keep you informed about what's to come and dig deeper into changes to watch. we begin with donald trump's historic return to the white house. >> i want to thank the american people for the extraordinary honor of being elected. your 47th president and your 45th president. >> donald trump celebrated his victory on election night. he improved on his 2020 performance, picking up votes in key demographics. trump, the

first former president to win nonconsecutive terms since grover cleveland. he's also the first convicted felon to win the office. trump and vice president elect jd vance relished in the victory as vice president kamala harris conceded. >> this will truly be the golden age of america. >> i think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the united states of america. >> anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. at the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the constitution of the united states. >> harris called trump to congratulate him after news outlets projected his victory. mr. trump became only the second republican to win the popular vote since 1988. the raw vote margins were close, the second closest since 1968. mr. trump cruised to 270 electoral college votes, capturing all seven

battleground states on his way to 312 electoral college votes to vice president harris 226 for at least two years. republicans will control all levers of government. they flipped the senate and will hold a 5347 majority come january. south dakota republican john thune elected senate majority leader to take over for mitch mcconnell in the house of representatives, a historically small margin for speaker mike johnson and republicans. after the final race was called, the gop solidified a 220 to 215 majority. however, that margin will shrink, with matt gaetz resigning, mike waltze set to resign to become national security adviser, and elise stefanik expected to leave to be the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. that will bring the tally ultimately to 217. 215 the president elect tapped into many voters concerns about the economy and everyday expenses. the economy consistently ranked as the top issue in polls. and on the issue, voters broke heavily towards trump. mr. trump

rang the bell at the new york stock exchange, his first time doing the honors on wall street. he was joined by his wife melania, vice president elect jd vance and his daughters ivanka and tiffany. >> and for those that are running the big companies, those great, big, beautiful companies, nobody's going to be leaving us. you're going to be coming back. you're going to be bringing them back to the united states. we are incentivizing everybody to come back to the united states. we want you back here. car manufacturers. everybody. >> mr. trump was invited to ring the bell after he was named time magazine's person of the year for the second time. the magazine's editor said, quote, for better or for worse, he had the most influence on the news. in 2020, four days after the election, president elect trump returned to the white house for a meeting with president biden. president biden revived a long standing tradition to invite the president elect to the oval, something that did not happen four years ago when trump was voted out of office. the two

said they promised to put their differences aside and ensure a peaceful transfer of power forward to having a, like we said, a smooth transition and do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated what you need. >> politics is tough and it's many cases. not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today and i appreciate very much. >> the white house did not release many details about the closed door conversation in the oval office. president elect trump has moved quickly to choose many of the people he wants to serve in his cabinet and in other senior positions. here's a look at a graphic from politico showing some of the faces nominated to serve in his second term. many of these candidates have been on capitol hill meeting with senators ahead of confirmation hearings. some of the names include robert f kennedy jr for health and human services secretary. senator marco rubio for secretary of state. and tulsi gabbard for director of national intelligence. it has not been smooth sailing for all of these nominees. republican congressman matt gaetz was nominated for

attorney general but withdrew from consideration amid scrutiny over a house ethics report. trump's pick for dea administrator also withdrew. florida sheriff chad chronister from hillsborough county drew backlash from some conservatives over his strict crackdown of covid restrictions during the pandemic, including the march 2020 arrest of a megachurch pastor who held services with hundreds of people. the bay area is represented in the picks. san francisco's harmeet dhillon, a former vice chairperson of the california republican party and a national committeewoman of the republican national committee for california, has been nominated as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the justice department. dhillon responded to the nomination on x, writing, quote, i'm extremely honored by president trump's nomination to assist our nation's civil rights agenda. it has been my dream to be able to serve our great country, and i am so excited to be a part of an incredible team of lawyers led by pam bondi. mr. trump describes kimberly guilfoyle as a close friend and ally. she's

been named u.s. ambassador to greece. guilfoyle and donald trump jr reportedly became engaged more than two years ago, though the two have not been seen publicly together in months. guilfoyle is the former assistant da in san francisco, as well as the former wife of gavin newsom when he was mayor. mr. trump continues to reiterate his pro cryptocurrency stance. he reiterated plans to create a u.s. bitcoin strategic reserve. bitcoin has seen major gains since his election. he's also created new posts for silicon valley. venture capitalist david sachs as the country's first ever white house ai and crypto czar. in a statement, trump said sachs will work on a legal framework so the crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for and can thrive in the u.s. in a rare move, fbi director christopher wray plans to resign when president biden's term in office comes to an end. wray is in his seventh year of a ten year term, but with the incoming administration, he was faced with two options he could leave or wait until president

elect donald trump removed him. trump had signaled his intent to replace wray with ardent supporter kash patel. wray says stepping down is the right thing for the bureau. >> my goal is to keep the focus on our mission, on the indispensable work each of you is doing every single day. and in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work. >> wray was originally picked for the position under trump, but their relationship soured after fbi agents searched trump's mar-a-lago estate for classified documents two years ago. the head of the federal aviation administration is also stepping down. mike whitaker made the announcement in a message to faa employees. his resignation clears the way for trump to name his choice to lead the agency. whitaker's final day is january 20th, as mr. trump

moves to place loyalists in his cabinet. he's floated the idea of using a tool known as recess appointments. if used, it would skip over the senate's typical role of vetting and approving nominees. it would call for a temporary appointment and expires at the end of a congressional session with a conservative supreme court. a house and senate controlled by republicans. mr. trump returns emboldened to washington, d.c. so what does that mean for the state of american politics and democracy? i spoke to dee dee kuo, senior fellow at the freeman spogli institute for international studies at stanford. you researched democracy, political institutions worldwide. so as we await a second trump presidency, what did we learn the first time around? >> well, president trump was very clear, even in his first campaign in 2016, that he thought the government was corrupt, that he thought there was a deep state that needed to be rooted out. and he did devote some of his time as president to trying to eradicate who he saw as political opponents in

government. so we know he fired inspectors general, for example, and he claimed that some of the investigations into foreign election interference in 2016 were politically motivated. that's also a claim that he's carried into investigations into his own personal or presidential wrongdoing. so now, given that he's had four years to think about how he might, you know, do a second administration, he's been much clearer that he wants to politicize the civil service. he wants to use some of the levers of government to really go after and investigate opponents, members of the media and press. and what we've learned from his first administration is that a lot of leaders, not just in the united states, but around the world, when they face political challenges, they may be much more likely to lash out at their opponents rather than accept responsibility, they're very likely to want to consolidate power in the office of the executive. so we see president trump doing things that are also happening outside in other democracies. >> dee dee, what are the long

term consequences of politicizing the civil service? we saw in south korea the lever of the martial law of the president, who didn't feel like he could get anything done with the opposing party. and then what are the sort of the levers to safeguard big democracy and keep those things in line? >> it's a great question. i mean, we one of the difficult things about politicization, for example, of government, is that a lot of times leaders can do it because citizens don't really trust government. for many decades thought that leaders are not super responsive or that government doesn't do anything beneficial. it might be excessive and wasteful. unfortunately, the way government works is that you have a neutral administrative civil service that oftentimes when it's working well, is not hyper visible. so we learn to take it for granted. and we also do want to protect our civil servants from political interference so that they can do their jobs. they can apply their expertise, they can get their sort of routine regulatory and administrative tasks done without being worried that

they're going to be fired. for example, these are the kinds of protections that sometimes took decades to build in the early 20th century. and now we see that leaders can very quickly, overnight, get do away with those protections if they're so inclined. >> many of these folks are loyalists to him. and you have written before, perhaps not with this in mind, but parties are susceptible to capture by narrowly organized private interests. is there concern about what we're seeing in terms of the cabinet picks and writ large for the republican party? >> yes. president trump has been enormously successful at basically co-opting an entire political party. even in 2016, there were questions about how, with a really open field of 16 candidates, how one candidate was able to mobilize a lot of support, even though he was not necessarily winning majorities of the primary votes. and in short order, he's really been able to capture a lot of the party loyalists. he's been able to turn the party into a vehicle

of loyalty to him personally. and we've seen that many sort of center right or traditional republicans have been sidelined, or they've lost their primary elections to people who are more aligned with trump's political agenda. as a result, president trump is able to capitalize on a lot of the distrust that exists in the party system. it's funny because even though he is now in its ostensibly in charge of a party, he also frequently rails against the established republicans and also against the democratic leaders, arguing that these are all special, special interests and part of the swamp, you know. so his promise to drain the swamp often comes in the form of bringing in his own political loyalists and experts. >> you've written a lot about the importance of parties in general, distrust of them, and you've said that democratic institutions are antiquated and don't reflect our contemporary values. can you expand on that? and what do the parties need to do? >> well, there's a long history

here where, you know, democracy requires political parties to operate effectively. parties are really the intermediary organizations that bring citizens interests into the policy workings of government. you know, they link us and our demands into actual governance and political agendas. but for many years now, citizens don't feel as if the parties of the left or the right really represent their interests. instead, they often think that parties are only working for economic elites, for example, or for lobbyists and people who have more time and resources to try to get what they want out of government. and as a result, people feel very disconnected from their political leaders. they don't have necessarily many ways of participating actively within party organizations. so we see now that even though we have high levels of polarization between democrats and republicans, the fastest growing group of party identifiers are independents. now, over 40% of americans identify as independents. and the trouble with that is that they don't necessarily feel as if, you

know, one set of party leaders is super responsive to them. they often become even more cynical about politics as a result. so deep polarization is fueling an anti-party animosity overall, and that's very likely to further alienate people. and parties therefore need to do a little bit of work building up trust with voters, going back into communities, listening to their concerns and trying to craft policies that really respond, especially to the economic and material concerns of voters. >> as president biden finishes up his time in the white house, he made waves by issuing a full pardon for his son, hunter, protecting him from potential prison time for federal gun and tax convictions. the president's pardon doesn't just cover these known crimes, but any crime hunter may have committed between january 2014 and december 2024. notably, the pardon is something he and the white house insisted for months that he would not do as a president. >> as a father, he talked about how difficult it was to make

this decision. he thought about it this weekend. he did. he thought about it this weekend. he wrestled with it. >> anybody could have understood if biden had just looked america in the eye and said, look, this is my son. i know it's abusive, but i'm going to pardon him. they would have understood that a lot better than the series of lies. but the series of lies were driven by the election calendar. >> the president released a statement saying in part, i believe in the justice system, but as i have wrestled with this, i also believe raw politics had infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. and once i made the decision, there was no sense in delaying it further still to come. mr. trump's plans on the topic of immigration and the border reaction and concern over promised mass deportations and other actions. >> plus, it's not just unified control of the government. it's where donald trump wants to drive politics in his own image. >> what kind of political capital does trump walk into the white house with? coming up, an

expert weighs in on what to expect from the president and republicans. stay with us on the transition of power.

>> one of the big differences between the first term and the first term, everybody was fighting me in this term. everybody wants to be my friend. i don't know my personality

changed or something. >> in his first post-election news conference, the president elect covered a wide range of topics. he made policy changes in his first term, but it's widely believed he'll be moving more quickly with a better understanding of government among what he's promised in a second term, making as many as 50,000 civil servants political appointees. he's insisted that the wars in ukraine and gaza end. he's proposed tariffs of 10 to 20% on foreign goods. on climate change, he said he wants to get rid of virtually all biden administration regulations intended to cut carbon emissions and move away from fossil fuels. and on the topic of immigration, he's promised the largest mass deportations in history. president elect donald trump's plans on immigration include some sort of compromise for adults who were brought to the country as children, and an end to what's called birthright citizenship in the u.s. ktvu sally rasmus explains the executive order that could come in january. >> if somebody sets a foot just a foot, one foot, you don't need to on our land, congratulations,

you are now a citizen of the united states of america. yes, we're going to end that because it's ridiculous. >> can a president do this with the stroke of a pen? u.s. legal scholars will tell you, no, it's not that simple. birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th amendment of the u.s. constitution, and has been the law of the land for 150 years, since the end of the u.s. civil war. >> the 14th amendment says that if you are born in the united states, with very limited exceptions, you are a citizen of the united states. >> changing it would require a change to the u.s. constitution, which needs two thirds of both the house and senate and three fourths of the nation's state legislatures to ratify any change. a very big hurdle and not likely to happen. mr. trump believes he can do it anyway, using an executive order as president, it would almost immediately be challenged in court. and because it's been the law for so many years. 150 uc law professor david levine says even the conservative supreme court would be unlikely to side

with trump on this. >> only the supreme court would be able to make a change. so. and that would require really this radical reinterpretation of what's at 150 years of precedent, very unlikely to happen. >> mr. trump also spoke about what should happen to daca recipients, so-called dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the u.s. as children and later were given work permits and temporary protection under a program enacted by president obama. while mr. trump says he's open to a compromise with democrats on daca, immigrant rights groups say more needs to be done on the issue. >> overall, i think that exploring opportunities for legal pathway is great again, but we have to look at that with all mixed status families in the country. again, dreamers are are one specific community that have been here for a while and have have been working and doing different things here in this country. but we need to make sure that we're addressing the larger issue of immigration. >> president elect trump also

says his administration will continue with plans for mass deportations, starting with people with a criminal history. ali rasmus, ktvu, fox two news. >> communities in the bay area are reacting to the incoming administration's aggressive talk about immigration, including those threats of mass deportation. tom homan, who also served in trump's first administration, is in charge of carrying out the president elect's top priority. he was the face of trump's family separation policy. now, homan has a warning for governors who have vowed to protect sanctuary cities. >> they're going to look for sanctuary cities. sanctuary cities don't want to help. get out of the way. i'll double the workforce in that sanctuary city. we're going to do our job despite the politics. we're doing it. so get used to it because we're coming. >> san francisco sheriff paul miyamoto says his office will not turn over anyone in their custody and care to federal immigration authorities based solely on an administrative warrant. however, that doesn't stop federal immigration officials from coming into cities and deporting people. no question trump has upended the

political world. he continues to lead the republican party as democrats evaluate what went wrong and how to rebuild after big losses. in november, sonoma state political science professor dave mcewan tells us what all this means for the two party system. start with the political capital that donald trump now heads back to the white house with a conservative supreme court, a house and a senate that are both controlled by republicans. i mean, what does this mean for what we can expect from this second term? >> yeah, i mean, the second term will be historic in many ways. look, it's not just unified control of the government. it's where donald trump wants to drive politics in his own image. and of course, that's going to drive democrats nuts. democrats are in the midst of generational change and kind of still shellshocked from from november for donald trump and his team, for the america first policy team, what they're doing is reshaping government throughout. and that means they're going to be bold. they're going to be bold, and that's going to be

that's going to carry with it not just notions of symbolic politics. donald trump loves the political theater of what's gone on. he's upset all of our norms for politics. for the ten years that he's been on the national political stage. and when he takes the oath of office at noon on january 20th, he is going to alter the dynamic of american politics in the immediate future. now, that means that that's going to have a lot of links down to california. the political future of gavin newsom, for example, is hugely important, but it's the political future of so many, as well as who inherits the maga movement, because he doesn't start as a lame duck. but those first 100 days are going to be so filled with activities, with proposals. and it's really about the first 30 days. the first ten days, it's not really even the first 100 days. and it's that unprecedented nature of donald trump resetting american politics. that is exactly the place he wants to be and driving forward that change.

>> when people had concerns about the economy, they in large part broke towards donald trump. so how does he have to keep that promise to avoid a big upending in two years when we hit the midterm? >> yeah, i mean, for democrats, right. they want to focus right away on those midterms in november 2026. but but the concern that individuals have over their pocketbook, over affordability, over issues related to grocery prices and gas prices, those are right away important considerations for donald trump. health care costs hugely important. and you know, we saw debates and we saw elements of this amongst voters who are concerned about their economic future. and donald trump built a coalition that just by a hair or a margin, changed all over the map, similar to what joe biden did in 2020. so donald trump grabbed, you know, got more of the working class, got the latinos and latinas at higher rates, african american males. but what's common amongst all the

voter subsets is these concerns about the household pocketbook and affordability. so that means he has to tackle these things right away and continue the mojo in the engine of strong economic growth. and this is where some of his policy prescriptions could be problematic or something to watch for, like tariffs for example, those they're going to create inflationary price pressures and inflation. as we know this past year was the death knell of all ruling parties. there were 54 democracies that held elections in 2024, and the ruling party lost in all 54 of those democracies because of inflation. inflation had gone up or been an issue in the previous 12 months. in all, 54. and donald trump and republicans know that if there are inflationary pressures, that will be costly for them heading into the 2026 midterms, where does this party go and where do people like a lisa murkowski or a susan collins exist in this space for the next couple of years? yeah, this is fascinating. both major political parties in the united

states are at a tipping point. there's obviously a generational change going on in the democratic party, but there's almost an ideological, generational identity change going on with the republican party. donald trump owns the republican party, owns the maga brand. who inherits that? is that jd vance, or is that the. are those the tech bros? is that elon musk or what about laura trump? if the daughter in law becomes an element of a u.s. senate campaign, or are there family members that become hugely important? because what we have seen this time is, as donald trump 2.0 has put together their transition, he's expanded the team, a post-trump gop as a still trump gop and maga with a different voice. and there's going to be a lot of egos and a lot of identity amongst republicans to seek to inherit that mantle. does that go to an extended family member, or does that go to someone like, say, secretary of state designate marco rubio? does it go to someone like ted cruz?

there will be a lot of people in and out of politics, mind you, that will be part of this. and that's to kind of bring it back to this notion that what donald trump has done in these last ten years is create political theater of one the political theater of donald trump, and that's allowed him to dominate american politics, much to the chagrin of democrats. and at the same time, position the republican party moving forward for a different kind of focus. >> california versus trump. round two. coming up, how the state's leaders are preparing to reprise their role as chief opponent of the administration and taxes on trade, mr. trump threatened sweeping tariffs. how our neighbors to the north are reacting and the areas of commerce it could impact.

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>> at this time, i expect him to be a little sharper on the follow through, not just the rhetoric. trump 2.0, i think, is going to be, from his perspective, aiming to be more effective than 1.0. there was a scattershot quality to it. >> california governor gavin newsom, once again positioning himself as chief antagonist to the trump administration, the governor promising to defend the state's progressive policies in addition to raising money for his political action committee, the governor called a special session to ensure the state has

enough money to pay for legal resources to counter the administration. lawmakers expect to face challenges on issues regarding civil rights, climate change, immigration and abortion access. newsom has proposed giving california attorney general rob bonta $25 million to prepare. >> just left the white house, met with senior officials, met with the president himself, talking about everything we need to do to prepare for this transition, to prepare california, protecting our environmental leadership in california, issues related to health care, disaster recovery, disaster relief. fema funding is a great day at the white house. >> newsom also paid a visit to president biden while he remains in office. the president elect responded on truth social, writing in part, governor gavin newsom is trying to kill our nation's beautiful california. the state's attorney general called a news conference days after the election in san francisco. bonta explained how he and his office are preparing for a second trump term. less than 36 hours after former

president trump again won the white house, california's governor and attorney general, positioning the state at the center of the resistance to his second term. >> we lived through trump 1.0. we know what he's capable of. we know what plans he has in store. the silver lining is just that we know. >> california attorney general rob bonta held a news conference in san francisco moments after governor newsom called a special legislative session to increase money for legal fights against the new administration. newsom wrote, quote, the freedoms we hold dear in california are under attack and we will not sit idle. california has faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond. >> the affordability crisis in california, i think that's probably top of mind for most californians. and i think, look, this is mostly just political. >> california assembly republican leader james gallagher says state leaders should be holding special sessions on the cost of living.

not this. >> we know you don't like donald trump. fine. you know, but work on the real issues that affect everyday californians. >> bonta said he's been working with attorneys general from other blue states, preparing potential litigation to respond to actions from a trump agenda. >> full frontal attacks on reproductive freedom, the full frontal attacks on our immigrants, the full frontal attacks on our environment, on our civil rights, on the rule of law. >> what happens to the federal judiciary? how much do they stand as a quote unquote, backstop when actions are apparently illegal? and how much do they act as potentially a rubber stamp? >> this is not new for california, but his predecessor filed more than 120 lawsuits against policies during trump's first term, a major concern the president elect's promise to conduct the largest mass deportation campaign in u.s. history. bonta spoke directly to the state's immigrant communities. >> and we will do everything in

our power and use the full authority of the office to defend you, to protect you. we see you, we value you. we will fight for you. >> there are limits to the state's powers in these legal fights. immigration is largely a federal issue, but constitutional law expert jessica levinson says california can push back. >> part of what the federal government might need is help from the states. and that's a place where california can say, absolutely not. >> under no circumstances on the world stage. mr. trump's threat of imposing larger tariffs on imports. canada's prime minister, justin trudeau, is now warning it would hurt the economies of both canada and the u.s. president elect trump has proposed placing 25% tariffs on everything coming into america that includes from canada and mexico. trump says he would only lift the tariffs if the two countries stop illegal immigration and the flow of drugs into the u.s. >> president elect trump got elected on a commitment to make life better and more affordable for americans. and i think

people south of the border are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from canada would make life a lot more expensive from for americans. >> trudeau says the u.s. imports 65% of oil from canada, along with electricity, natural gas, steel, aluminum and crops. for criminal indictments. so what happens next? the roadmap for mr. trump's criminal cases now that he's been reelected, what we know so far, plus, president of the united states don't talk about jailing their political opponents. >> it's that's what dictators do. >> california's newest senator prepares to continue his battles with the new president. a discussion with adam schiff.

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usa, usa january 6th, 2021. a mob of trump supporters attacked the u.s. capitol nearly four years after the riot. hundreds of people involved have been convicted for their involvement in what the fbi has called an act of domestic terrorism. in a recent interview, the president elect said he will most likely begin pardoning jan six defendants federal charges against mr. trump related to the riot and his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election have officially been dropped. special counsel jack smith asked the judge to dismiss the case because the justice department

cannot prosecute a sitting president. smith also requested that the federal classified documents case filed in florida be dismissed. >> made this election the largest effective jury verdict in history by reelecting donald trump. the special counsel found himself at odds with his own department's longstanding policy against the prosecution of a sitting president. >> trump's georgia election interference case has largely been on hold, though the da has been thrown off. a judge in new york refused to dismiss his hush money case, saying he does not have immunity in the conviction. one of trump's chief antagonist is now the newest u.s. senator from california. adam schiff beat out steve garvey to claim the seat long held by the late dianne feinstein. what did it mean to be sworn into the upper chamber? >> it was really, i think, powerful moment for me, for my family to consider that i will

now be representing this incredible, big, beautiful state of 40 million people. and just to step onto the senate floor, to sit at the desk where dianne feinstein sat, recognizing her incredible legacy. it was really emotional. and i still can't quite wrap my head around it. >> tell us about the priorities that i know you've already got in mind. >> as i travel around the state during the campaign, what was really so apparent is how much housing is an issue everywhere. in the first instance, people's rents are going up beyond their ability to pay their rent. so many families can't make the down payment or can't afford the mortgage on a home, and they all come back to the same central problem, which is we're just not building enough housing and we're not building it fast enough. we're not building it cheap enough. and as a result, some are left completely homeless, which is the other

aspect of this challenge. so addressing that, building a lot more housing, bringing those costs down. there's also a huge childcare crisis. many heads of household, particularly women, can't enter the workforce because they would have to pay more for childcare than they'll earn in the workplace. and that's bad economics. it's certainly not very equitable either, and we need to address that. healthcare is a big challenge everywhere in the state, but most particularly in rural areas where hospitals have been shutting down, where labor and delivery units are becoming fewer and farther between. this is a problem, obviously, around the nation, but i'm already talking with other senators who have rural states about how we can work together on that. >> you've also spoke long, spoke about defending democracy, and that's been a cornerstone of your political career. >> obviously, the president elect said on sunday that the january 6th committee, including

yourself, should go to jail. you've long been a target of the president elect. so what is your response to him and what is your work look like under another four years of president trump? >> well, my response is president of the united states don't talk about jailing their political opponents. it's that's what dictators do. and so the president of united states needs to realize, no, you may be reelected. you may have been reelected by a, you know, a good margin, but that doesn't make you the dictator of the united states. you're not going to jail your opponents. those of us that have served on the january 6th committee are enormously proud of the work that we did. we held, i think, some of the most important, consequential public hearings since watergate, exposing what went into that massive attack on the capitol and the former president's role in it. i'm going to continue to do my oversight. i'm going to continue to make sure that the congress plays its historic role as a check and balance on the

power of the executive branch. otherwise, we get to a place where the administration is becomes a den of corruption, because absolute power will corrupt. absolutely. >> obviously, you talked about the senate being a check and balance to the executive office. a lot of focus has been on nominations and cabinet picks by president trump. is there any one candidate or this entire process that gives you pause and why? >> well, some of the people the former president have nominated has nominated are just patently unfit for office. matt gaetz certainly was, and i was glad to see republican senators as well as democrats, force his withdrawal. there are still some in that category. kash patel as fbi director. he has no business being fbi director. he's essentially a political animal conspiracy theorist who wants to

close down fbi headquarters and open up a deep state museum. that's more appropriate for someone who wants to troll on the internet than it is for fbi director. and i also have concerns about tulsi gabbard, who's the nominee for the intelligence community. she has no experience in intelligence, never worked for an intelligence agency, never even served on a relevant committee in congress. that is the intelligence committee. but more than that has shown very poor judgment. at a minimum, you know, defending dictators like bashar al assad, who was gassing his own people. echoing kremlin talking points, taking the kremlin's side, apparently over ukraine in that invasion of our ally. so this is not someone i think you want advising the president of united states, whispering in their ear. >> i want them to remember me for hopefully speaking truth to power and raising their voices. >> barbara lee's legacy. the

longtime east bay congresswoman reflects on her impact and influence over the last 25 years. (♪) make the most of your season during the kia season of new traditions sales event. gift yourself some savings and visit your local kia dealer today.

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>> i say farewell to all of you, my colleagues. this has been the joy, the privilege and the pleasure of my life. >> it is the end of an era. bay area congresswoman anna eshoo delivered her last scheduled speech on the house floor as she was elected to congress 32 years

ago. she was the first democrat and first woman to represent her district on the peninsula. she also joined by congresswoman barbara lee, who is ending 26 years in the house after running for u.s. senate. as lee mulls the next chapter of her life, she's reflecting on a quarter century representing oakland and the east bay. >> i feel a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to not only serve my community, but to advance justice, equity and peace throughout our country and the entire world. >> congresswoman barbara lee delivered an emotional final speech on the house floor. lee, nearing the end of a more than 25 year career representing oakland and the east bay in congress, lee sitting down with ktvu to reflect on her legacy. >> i want them to remember me for hopefully speaking truth to power and raising their voices and putting a lens that was not in the united states congress on every single public policy. i want them to say that i did the

best i could. i want them to say that i was very concerned about their daily lives and hope i helped to make their lives better. >> first elected to the house in 1998, lee is the highest ranking african-american woman appointed to democratic leadership. before that, she was the first black woman elected to the state senate from northern california, serving a total of seven and a half years at the state capitol. always blazing a trail. >> i hope they remember me for wanting every single woman, woman of color, every woman, every black woman to have a shot at the opportunities that public service presents. but i had to fight. i had to fight really hard to make sure that as as i climbed that they were lifted also. and i'm really proud of the person who's going to take the 12th congressional district to the next level. >> on that note, in your it's really important for women, especially women of color and black women, everyone who's been marginalized and shut out to keep fighting for the next generation. that message

instilled in her at mills college in oakland by shirley chisholm, the first black woman elected to congress and first african-american to run for president for a major party. what do you think shirley would say to you if she was still here? >> she would say, well done, but keep at it, because your job is not complete yet. >> lee's voted on thousands of bills in her time on the hill, but one in particular will always be remembered. the congresswoman was the lone vote against the authorization of the use of military force. in september 2001, in the aftermath of nine over 11. >> you don't make critical decisions like this when people are angry, grieving and mourning. let's take some time. let's try to be provide a rational response to this constitutional that accomplishes what the goals are. we don't tolerate terrorism, death threats, harassment. myself, my family still. i mean, life is different after 2001 in many respects, because the hate came after me like you would not believe. but you know, those moments come in your life where

you just have to stand and i'm a person of faith. and i prayed and i fought back. >> lee says she forced both parties to focus on poverty and peace. >> when asked what she's most proud of. she points to her work on trying to decrease the pentagon budget, abortion rights, and the fight against hiv aids. >> i have to push the envelope on everything, so i'm very proud of the fact that i've been able to help save 25 million lives through my hiv aids work. as a progressive, you have to want the best for people. you have to want peace. you want to have to want to support and grow the middle class. you want to lift people out of poverty. you want people not unsheltered living on the streets. you want public safety for every community. that's what being a progressive is. >> lee leaves the house after running for the senate seat vacated by dianne feinstein and won by adam schiff. >> while she figures out what she'll do next. she's overwhelmed by gratitude for the people in her district who've supported her along the way.

>> i just want to say thank you for trusting me, and thank you for listening. and thank you for pushing me hard. and thank you for your clarity about democracy. >> lee is weighing calls for her to run for oakland mayor. the position is now vacant after xiang tao was recalled by voters in november. tao's final day in office was december 17th. her shortened term, fraught with conflict and controversy that includes her firing of police chief leronne armstrong, an fbi raid and a massive budget deficit. a special election will be held on april 15th. >> i don't regret any of those decisions because i was always putting the city of oakland at the forefront and not politics, right? for a politician, a lot of times i do see folks put politics at the forefront. but for me and my team, i'm very proud of my team because we led with our values and we were unapologetic about it. >> tao says she'll now be focusing on her two children as she figures out what might be next. san francisco has a new

mayor, daniel lurie. the philanthropist and native son from the levi strauss family defeated a field of candidates, including incumbent london breed. the first time candidate is in the process of building his team, and he said he wants to give san francisco a new start. he said he wants his administration to focus on accountability, service and creating change, prioritizing the city's crime and drug problems. >> if we come together, we are a city that has innovators and entrepreneurs. our spirit is alive and well, and i plan to bring everybody together, work with everybody, whether they supported me during the election or not. i'm going to be a mayor for all san francisco. >> lurie will be sworn in as san francisco's 46th mayor on january 8th. countdown to inauguration day. donald trump. trump prepares to be sworn in again. what to expect and who will be in attendance for the ceremonies?

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>> i, donald john trump we are transferring power from washington, d.c. and giving it back to you, the people. >> scenes from donald trump's inauguration in 2016. then he was sworn in as the nation's 45th president. during that speech, he called for unity while attacking the washington establishment on january 20th. mr. trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the usa. mr. trump has broken with tradition and is inviting foreign heads of state to the

transfer of power. chinese president xi jinping was invited but will not attend. mr. trump's team called it an olive branch to ease tensions. the leaders from argentina and el salvador are among those who have also been invited. the president elect is receiving support from three tech giants. meta and amazon are each donating $1 million to trump's inaugural fund, along with openai ceo sam altman. amazon will air the event on its prime streaming service. founders mark zuckerberg and jeff bezos have clashed with trump in the past, but now say they look forward to working with the administration. here are some key dates to watch ahead of donald trump's return to the white house and the federal government. january 3rd. the 119th congress will be sworn in, and members will pick a speaker. january 6th. congress will convene to count the electoral college votes. january 20th. white house move in day for the trumps and the inauguration. a reminder if you want to see this show again, you can see it on our fox local app.

it's a free download for your smart tv or phone. you can find this program and lots of other extra content from our newsroom. that is our special report. thanks for watching the transition of power i'm greg lee. we'll see you next time. >> three, two, one... it's showtime! >> ♪ we're gonna have a real good time ♪ ♪ feel good time ♪ ♪ spreading love and joy and laughter all over the place ♪ ♪ we're gonna have a good time ♪ ♪ we're gonna have a good time ♪ ♪ it will be so legendary ♪ ♪ sherri's got you feeling good ♪ >> announcer: and now, your host, sherri shepherd!