be back here tomorrow night at 8 p.m. eastern. for now, stay right where you are because there's much more news coming up on msnbc. >> a very good day to all of you from msnbc world headquarters here in new york. welcome, everyone. to alex witt reports. we begin with the breaking news on the catastrophic wildfires raging in los angeles today, a critical day for fire crews who have made some progress against the area's two biggest fires and

are racing against the arrival of more powerful winds. >> at least 16 people are dead. >> over 100,000 residents under evacuation orders. >> authorities warn the death toll is likely to rise. california governor gavin newsom giving updates on meet the press earlier today, saying he has suspended environmental laws for victims to rebuild their homes and businesses and that it could take nine months to a year before rebuilding can begin. >> yeah, we got 14,000 people working the line right now. >> we doubled the national guard. we have 1680 out there helping on the logistics side. i was just with folks from mexico. >> 73 folks will be leaving some of our hand crews. we've got nine states that are now providing under this emac system support. >> so we've got the resources. >> but we have more important this. we have the winds that have changed and that allows us to be more resourceful with existing resources, particularly the aerial resources. >> newsom also said he has

called for an investigation into the shortage of water that has hampered firefighters efforts. right now, the area's two biggest blazes, the palisades fire and the eaton fire. they are 11% and 17% contained, respectfully. firefighters largely stopped the palisades fire spread toward homes in the brentwood neighborhood. many of the city's residents, though, are grappling with the heartbreak of having their homes reduced to rubble while recalling how they helped each other escape from danger. >> i grabbed him by the hand. >> he couldn't even barely get dressed as he was trying to drag himself in the car. >> he had his phone, a charger around his cable and his walking cane, and i dragged him in the car that embers were coming in the car at the same time, it's like we're living an alternate reality. >> yeah, i still don't feel like it's real. even this morning i was like, no, the house is still there. >> we'll be able to go back. >> and i was like, no, it's gone. everything is gone.

>> absolutely the stuff of nightmares. but we've got reporters and a meteorologist in place ready to go over all of these new developments for us. and we're going to start with nbc's dana griffin, of course, joining us from los angeles, where firefighters are working against the strong winds to contain these fires. we know they're coming. dana, what have we heard from officials on the ongoing efforts? >> yeah, well, that effort remains. >> and you can see just by the presence behind us, not only with the national guard trying to keep people out of this evacuation zone because they are still moving trucks in and out, and you're actually going to see one coming here. you know, these crews are still moving in and out of the mandeville canyon. this is where they had that flare up yesterday. we came and we saw firefighters putting as much effort as they could, doing air drops and trying to cut down that fire. luckily, no new flare ups overnight, which is the good news. but there is that public health emergency because of that toxic ash and smoke in the air, they're reminding people to wear your p 100 respirator or n95

mask. and as you can see, we've got a caravan of fire trucks in hand heading into the mandeville canyon. not sure if there's anything going on at this moment. sometimes they do this just to get into place because like you mentioned, those winds are picking up and so they want to put as many resources into those areas so that they can be prepared to respond. now, there have been concerns about an issue, the water supply issue when it comes to low pressure in the fire hydrants and that reservoir that was offline and empty ahead of those fires. and even governor gavin newsom has been getting a lot of questions about it. and he even addressed part of the concerns on meet the press. >> listen, was it pipes? was it electricity? it was a combination of pipes, electricity and pumps. what was that drawdown? impossible. because you lost seven plus thousand structures right here. anyway, in every single structure we lost had a pipe that was leaking, and we lost that water pressure. anyway. did it contribute in any way to our

inability to fight the fire, or were 99 mile an hour winds determinative and there was really no firefight that could have been more meaningful? >> you know, we're kind of hearing a sentiment that this firefight was unforgettable just because you had those hurricane force winds and embers being carried at least a mile. and even behind me, you've got more fire trucks staged here. the ones that just rolled through, they kept going down this road. and they're even more assets out here. these firefighters, they are weary but resilient, and they will once again be put to the test as they have to battle these flames under red flag warnings because they are moving in and could impact us during the beginning part of this week. alex. >> yeah, dana, you know, i know the area well. i know mandeville canyon. i feel like where you are might be just up from sunset boulevard. correct me if i'm wrong, but if so, mandeville canyon extends flat for a bit before it really starts getting windy into the canyon. how far up are those fires? those homes

behind you in the flatlands of mandeville? are they at all in danger? >> they're not today, but they were yesterday, alex, because we were inside, deep into that canyon. and it's and i don't know if it's because the service is spotty because of the fires, but when you start to lose cell service, that usually is an indication that you're really deep in that canyon. and so we saw spot fires coming down the hill, homes just yards away. but again, we kept seeing airdrop after airdrop. and it was really, really kind of interesting to watch firefighters giving it their all. and they luckily were able to save a lot of homes in this canyon. we know at least one of them did go up in flames, but that's a really good number, considering that this entire neighborhood could have lost homes. and that was not the case. alex. oh yeah. >> boy, a for effort with those guys. thank you so much, dana. i know we'll check in with you again. meantime we have joining us nbc meteorologist denise isaac once again today with a

look at the forecast and this return soon of those powerful santa ana winds. denise. so when can we expect the worst of it and when can we expect them to subside? let's also get some good news, if we can. >> i know. >> well, alex, the good news is that this afternoon we could see those winds subsiding just a bit, but we're expecting them to ramp up once again later on tonight. so as we take a look at what we can expect currently we do have these winds gusting to 15mph over the palisades fire, where it's only 11% contained. we're expecting at least the winds to really be subsiding by around 3 p.m. or so, because we'll have this onshore flow coming in towards us. so hopefully that will be enough to at least help some of the firefighters try to just battle these fires. but by tonight, the winds pick back up once again, gusts anywhere between 40 to 60mph. >> and the fire threat tomorrow expands all the way south into

escondido, where we do have a critical risk. >> and then for the next three days, another santa ana event will happen across the area where high pressure drops down toward the great basin. we'll have these downsloping winds and that warm air across this dry vegetation and wind gusts anywhere between 40 to 70mph, with humidity levels ranging between 5 to 15%. so that's extremely dry with just help aid these fires to develop once again. and this is typically the rainy season for northern and southern california. >> so where's the rain? >> it's been bone dry. well most storms are now taking a northerly track impacting the pacific northwest in canada. and that's pretty much the scenario all week long alex. so we could see by next weekend a system bringing in a few spotty showers with less than a quarter of an inch expected. so not great news when it comes to at least downpours expected for southern california. back to you. >> i got to tell you, that is

brutal when you say that the concern extends all the way down to escondido. we're talking close to the baja california border. that is extraordinary. okay. thank you very much for that. we'll see you again. huge. meantime, amid the destructive fires, there is a huge show of kindness. this morning, residents flooded to santa anita park that's right near the eaton fire to give what they can to people who've lost everything. things like shoes, clothes, food and more. an example of how compassion will inspire through the worst of times. cnbc's bianca beltran reports. >> i mean, look at how many people are here already. >> a lot of them are volunteers who showed up this morning. they saw it on the news, they saw it on social media, and they showed up and said, how can i help? and a big way that people are helping is by organizing. look at all of these donations. tons of clothes. there's water, there's food, there's diapers. almost anything that people can need is here. and so it's a big task. you can see volunteers

trying to make it clear to people what it is that is available. and when they opened their gates here at seven this morning, i started talking to folks who were displaced by the fires, a couple who was displaced from pasadena, they said, asked them, what are you looking for? they said, well, we lost everything. >> we really don't know where to begin. >> and so they're going to go through the process here to find what, what can help them as they take those next steps. >> they said they haven't even been back to their home and are just starting to process that loss. >> but this helps them with just clothing a few items to help them get back on their feet. >> wow, extraordinary effort there. thank you bianca for that. in just a moment, we're going to hear from congressman john garamendi of california. he's going to talk about the insurance challenges for homeowners and how this catastrophe will make california's housing crisis significantly worse. and later this hour, what's being done right now to help the pets stranded by these fires? we're my name is dawn. stranded by these fires? we're back in i live in central texas.

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time to getting these projects done. and so we want to fast track by eliminating any skill requirements. i've got coastal act changes that we're making. california leads the nation in environmental stewardship. i'm not going to give that up. but one thing i won't give into is delay. delay is denial for people. life's traditions, places torn, part torn asunder. >> joining me now we have democratic congressman from california, john garamendi. it's good to see you, sir. back on the broadcast with us. and i want to get to that executive order in just a moment. but first, the devastation in your state, your district around the sacramento area, it's not in the line of fire. it's several hundred miles away. but is the area feeling any of the effects of the smoke or your constituents? are they worried about your own level of fire danger there? >> well, we certainly have had major fires in northern california back in 1991. the oakland berkeley hills fire, a couple thousand homes burned,

one of the first big ones. my first introduction as insurance commissioner to the problem of insurance claims management and the like. and we've had numerous fires even this year. well, in 2024, in the area. and we're always concerned about an urban firestorm, which was the situation in palestine, a palestinian state, as well as in altadena. so yes, we are sending to southern california every available piece of equipment that that is on the road, and much of it is already arrived. so this is an all hands all across the state, all across the western united states. resources are flowing into southern california. >> absolutely. we heard gavin newsom saying that there are nine states represented. we know there are firefighters from canada and from our neighbors to the south in mexico. it's an extraordinary communal effort. i want to pick up on what you talked about with the insurance, because some of the state's largest insurance companies stopped providing home insurance to homeowners in the pacific

palisades and other areas in los angeles that are susceptible to wildfires. and that happened well before these fires. this week, california's insurance commissioner barred insurance companies from canceling or renewing, rather not renewing, home policies in the fire affected areas for at least the next year. and to your point, as you mentioned, you served, what, two stints, right, in that role as california insurance commissioner. so what happened before now? and what can be done to protect homeowners in the line of fire? >> well, in the palisades area, state farm, which is the biggest insurer in california, canceled about 70% of its policies last year in the palisades area. >> and so there is a real serious insurance crisis for, i think, almost 1700 homeowners in that area that lost their insurance. >> they probably went to the california fair plan, which is the insurer of last resort, a

very bare bones policy basically assures the house and nothing else, but nonetheless it would provide insurance going forward. there is going to be a major challenge for all of those people that lost their homes, either totally or partially. and that's the claims management. my experience at this is this is going to be very, very difficult. the insurance companies have a long history of lowballing, slow rolling and not paying claims. however, every one of the people that lost their homes, or partial or complete has a video either partially of their home. maybe it was a celebration, a birthday or something. that's very, very important. and for those people that are still in their homes that may face evacuations, they ought to get that cell phone out, turn on the video, go room to room, describe everything in the closet, whatever there is, and take it with you. that is

invaluable information when it comes to claims management. >> yeah, that's very important. let me ask you, denying insurance, is it to encourage people to not move into areas at risk of natural disaster? is that the argument? >> well, i think there's an unknown here. the insurance commissioner really has the power to answer that question in full company by company. he's hesitated to do so. and in a recent order, he basically gave the insurance companies free reign to increase rates, whether they were justified or not. so there's going to be a serious problem going forward about coverage and about rates. but first and foremost is this claims management issue. we wrote a regulations decade and a half ago. the legislature followed up with laws about claims management, and i would suspect the insurance companies are now mobilizing, bringing

into those resource centers their own claims management people and anybody that lost a home should be going to them. and i would suspect that the insurance department is also doing that. i do know that many of my colleagues, representatives from the area are also providing support in that area, but it's got to be really tough. >> oh yeah, this is going to be hugely tough. congressman, it's very good to see you my friend. thank you for joining us. we'll see you again. meantime waiting and wondering what's in the jack smith report on election interference. those expectations next. >> meet avocados best selling green mattress made with certified organic cotton wool and latex, plus ergonomic coils to support your body's natural curves for cool and restorative sleep. featuring a one year in-home sleep trial, complete your bed with organic pillows

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country and in the world right now is still developing. tonight, now is the time. so we're going to do it. settle in. i have a story to tell you. >> watch this space. jack smith made it official. stepping down from his special counsel position. while donald trump's allies intensify efforts to block the release of smith's final report. the department of justice is objecting to any further delay in releasing that report. d.o.j. confirmed. smith completed his work and submitted the report tuesday and separated from the department friday. trump reacted with false claims that trump had been fired, department that smith had been fired, saying, quote, he left town empty handed. meanwhile, starting tuesday, senate confirmation hearings began for trump's cabinet picks. that includes his next attorney general. for more on this week's hearings, nbc's alex talbot is joining me from west palm beach, florida, right near mar-a-lago. alex, welcome. so after weeks of anticipation, what can we expect to hear on capitol hill?

>> well, alex, get your popcorn ready. >> it's going to be a busy week up in washington. on tuesday, we're going to see trump's pick for secretary of defense pete hegseth have his confirmation hearing on wednesday. marco rubio and pam bondi, trump's picks for secretary of state and attorney general with their confirmation hearings on thursday. >> scott bessent, trump's pick to lead the treasury department. and those are just some of the many names that we'll be seeing having their hearings on capitol hill this week. now, we can anticipate some of the pushback, some of the grilling that these picks are going to get from democrats. questions surrounding pete hegseth. personal life and qualifications. for example, questions surrounding pam bondi, who is one of the loudest voices in echoing president elect donald trump's baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. but what matters here is not necessarily what democrats think about these picks. what's most important is what republicans think about these picks. and that's because republicans control the senate. and all that trump needs is a

simple majority. enough republicans to vote for his picks in order for them to be confirmed. now, i want you to hear from a couple of republican senators about how they're perceiving the senate confirmation process. >> the most important aspect of this, maria, is the fact that we need to move quickly. and if my colleagues don't grasp the gravity of this, just look at the crises happening in california right now. >> when i talked with pam bondi, she committed to me to getting back to doing the job of the people, to getting back to doing what the department was, was created to do. >> now, it's important to now it's important to note, alex, that the last time that a cabinet pick got shut down during senate confirmation hearings was a long time ago, 1989, 35 years ago. but in today's political climate, never say never. rarities are becoming less and less rare. >> alex. okey doke. alex. tavis.

thank you. thank you so much. from west palm beach, florida. we're going to go now to charles coleman jr, former brooklyn, new york prosecutor, now civil rights lawyer and msnbc legal analyst. a good friend to us. so here's the question, charles, are you convinced pam bondi, again, trump's pick for ag will operate with the independence we should expect from that office. will she push back if trump wants her to go against doj regulations and bury the special counsel report? >> alex, to answer all of those questions, the answer is no. >> we can. >> we've seen this movie before and we know how it ends. >> we can expect very little from pam bondi except for doing exactly what donald trump wants her to do. >> as you have already talked about, the office of the attorney general, the department of justice is supposed to be an independent law enforcement arbiter. that basically makes sure that the law is upheld. and i don't necessarily know that under a pam bondi regime, if you will, that the department of justice is going to do that because of the immense pressure

that i would expect donald trump is going to put on her. now, i will say this as an attorney, pam bondi is incredibly qualified and very much so accomplished. and so i don't necessarily anticipate that she will push things beyond the legal limits of the law. but when you talk about a slant and an agenda, that will absolutely be something that comes from the 47th president. okay, good. >> you distinguish with those because she does have a reputation, as you described there. so as early as today, we could potentially see volume one of jack smith's report concerning trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. but the debate over the timing of the investigation that is raging on. in fact, here's what a former doj spokesman told our colleague jonathan capehart yesterday. take a listen. >> it's important for the historical record that it comes out. absolutely. >> but it's also important to rebut this narrative that doj was dragging its feet on investigating donald trump early on. >> let me tell you, doing during this period in 2021, when people

like me and many other people were begging them to take notice of an extraordinary attempt to remain in power by president trump, if somebody came into my office, a reporter and said, anthony, we're going to report on x, y, z about a grand jury proceeding, i could not even. >> i could not. i couldn't even confirm the mere existence of a grand jury. >> is the criticism of the doj fair? >> no, it's not fair. >> but at the same time, it's to be expected. because in today's society, in today's world, we are used to having access to all things information at all times. and what people have to understand is that the doj operates differently, and most law enforcement agencies, particularly around investigations, operate at a different pace and with different rules and regulations. so there's nothing that the doj did that was wrong. but i believe my colleague anthony colby was correct in that clip because he pointed out the fact that the historical record matters. and when you're talking about an administration that is potentially keen on narrative control as well as donald trump, just as an individual with

respect to his multitude of platforms, it's really important for the historical record that the public know the truth now that they can know it. >> okay, i want to take a look at a blemish on our history, which is the doj also releasing a new report on the 1921 tulsa race massacre. it is the first full official government account of this horrible event whose history, by the way, is not taught in schools. one official cited its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving black community. charles, first remind us what happened there and why this report is important. >> the tulsa massacre was the result of essentially a race riot in tulsa, oklahoma that occurred after a number of different series of events led to it. it led to buildings being burned, burned down, businesses being ruined, people losing their lives and ultimately communities. a thriving community that was commonly known as black wall street,

essentially being burned to the ground by a number of white mobsters and looters who were mad because they had lost their previous fight outside of a police station. this is a whole long story that goes with it. historically, this is one of the worst examples of what america is, and when i say that, i'm referring to the notion that you have a thriving black community of professional people who are ultimately living in a striving to in the midst of segregation, in the midst of reconstruction, the american dream. they are building their own businesses. they are knee deep in respectability. there is not anything that can be said about this community that is nefarious, malicious or illegal. and yet and still they were not able to live amongst themselves, to thrive amongst themselves, and to feed and provide for their families without outside influences, not only burning them down, not only savagely brutalizing them, but then also, in most instances, not ever

being held accountable. and so this is a very important point in american history that many people are not aware of. but unfortunately, tulsa is not the only one. there are several other communities across america that have had this similar thing happen, and it is a shame that in today's world, these are things about america that we still do not know. >> i'm going to leave it right there. you said it beautifully. thank you very much, charles coleman. we'll see you again. we're going to head back to southern california to find out what one veterinarian is doing to help dozens and dozens of animals left homeless by the animals left homeless by the wildfires. prilosec knows, for a fire... one fire extinguisher beats 10 buckets of water, and for zero heartburn 1 prilosec a day... beats taking up to 10 antacids a day. it's that simple, for 24 hour heartburn relief... one beats ten. prilosec otc.

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racing to contain those fires with the santa ana winds that helped fuel the inferno in the first place, expected to return over the next few days, authorities are giving a stern warning to evacuated residents. conditions remain too dangerous for people to return to their homes. this morning, fema director deanne criswell gave an update on the challenges they are facing. >> i think the biggest concern that i have right now is the fact that we are still in such a dangerous situation. >> the red flag warnings have been reissued, the winds are coming back, and we still want to make sure that people are in a safe place. >> and i know that that's hard for so many because they want to get back in. >> they want to see their home.

>> while an epic aerial assault worked to prevent the palisades fire from scorching homes in brentwood and encino, it still remains only 11% contained. but there is some good news the kenneth fire that burned through more than a thousand acres or so is no longer considered active. it joins the lydia, archer, woodley and sunset fires, all fully contained. however, three fires remain. but amid the devastation, one veterinarian is doing her part by rescuing and sheltering dozens of helpless animals. and joining me now is that veterinarian doctor annie. marvelous. working, working, of course, in la you run two animal hospitals. so hats off to you, annie. thank you for joining us. so this all began after your brother asked you to take his pet cat and rabbit. while he had to evacuate the palisades fire, you realized what was happening. you go and post on facebook that you could help shelter pets for evacuees. so what was the reaction after that? the reaction was amazing.

>> i couldn't believe it. >> it was like, right away i received so many messages, so many messages, so many emails. >> and the amazing thing was, the vast majority of the messages were people ready to help. how can i help? how can i help? >> we actually didn't get as many people needing help as we thought we did. >> we were so inundated with people that were were willing to help. and the moral of the story there is, you know, how great is it that people are coming together to help each other in this time of crisis? >> it's a beautiful thing. >> oh, yeah. yeah, that is definitely a silver lining to all this. just heartbreak. how many animals do you have right now, and have you been able to find space for all of them? because, you know, it's not like they're all going to get along, right? or do you find animals that they're in shock, they're scared, and they're kind of more sheltered in their behavior when they're with you? >> yes, it does take a little while for them to warm up to being in a new area. currently

we have 18 dogs here, and these two cats behind me that both these cats need homes. >> we're we're trying very hard to get them in and get them out as fast as possible, basically because of what you just said, they get really stressed out. and i don't want to have these animals be stressed out any more than they need to. >> so the ones that are are very nice and sweet and can go into homes. >> we're putting them into foster homes. >> got it. okay. and i mentioned two animal hospitals that you have, but you also run the nonprofit animal wellness foundation. describe that work, annie, and how it has helped prepare you for what you have had to deal with with this disaster. >> so i've been doing rescue work, you know, rescuing mostly dogs and cats for actually 25 years. >> but animal wellness foundation, i started 14 years ago, and there are three main

things that we do. the first thing is we do rescue, rehabilitating and rehoming dogs and cats and occasionally other other animals. we've been doing that for a long time. we also assist people that have, you know, pets that are in low income families. so we've been helping those families with veterinary care for about 14 years. and then lastly, we do help out in situations like this where there's just a special need to help out with animals. several years ago, i helped do a caravan of veterinary supplies and dog foods to the ukraine to help during the ukrainian war. so we're we're definitely this is an organization that's been doing things like this for a long time now. but we never took on anything of this magnitude. and it's really because it's in our back. it's in our backyard

essentially, of course. >> well, again, for everyone, it's the animal wellness foundation. you are doctor annie. and i'm just going to say this. your last name rhymes with marvelous. so if anybody's looking you up there, it goes from one big fan to you. thank you so much. thank you. >> thank you so much for having me. >> i'm glad to have you. and if hearing these stories has you wondering if you can help, you sure can scan the qr code on your screen to find out how. coming up next. who just got behind one of donald trump's behind one of donald trump's most controversial cabinet oh... stuffed up again? so congested! you need sinex saline from vicks. just sinex, breathe, ahhhh! what is — wow! sinex. breathe. ahhhhhh! no prepping, no cooking. just heat up and dig in to delicious

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take the hearing life 30 day risk free challenge. >> with eight days until donald trump returns to the white house, we're getting some new insight into his cabinet picks. senate confirmation hearings begin tuesday, including for pete hegseth, trump's choice for defense secretary, and new hope today for tulsi gabbard. at least one senator says he's changed his mind on supporting her nomination for director of national intelligence. >> are you now a yes on her? >> yes, i am, and that was a very important piece for me. if someone is planning to attack us overseas, we find out about that. we should be able to act on that. that's what 702 authority allows us to be able to do, should vote against that in the house. when she was a member of the house of representatives and it said she wanted changes, she's now coming in and saying those changes have been done because even since she was in congress, there have been quite a few changes that we've

made in congress to make sure we're protecting the civil rights of americans. >> house majority whip tom emmer says the gop is eager to put the trump agenda in place. he says reluctant republicans will get in line to support trump's vision of one big bill that includes tax cuts, spending cuts and lifting the debt ceiling. >> my job is to work with our members, which we have been doing for the last two years. plus, this is a new group. we added some new members last week. and when you say that we have members that will never do something, be careful with that. >> really. i mean, you can acknowledge they've never done it yet. >> absolutely. >> there's only two that i know of that we have right now. but that doesn't mean that that's not going to change under the right circumstances. >> meanwhile, trump's incoming national security adviser acknowledges russia's war against ukraine has not ended before the inauguration like trump said it would. but hopes remain for a ceasefire. >> well, we would like to see a

ceasefire in any minute, any day. i think that would be a positive, an incredibly positive first step on both sides. everybody knows that this has to end somehow, diplomatically. >> i just don't think it's realistic to say we're going to expel every russian from every inch of ukrainian soil. >> with me now we have don calloway, host of the caucus room podcast and ceo of pine street strategies, along with republican strategist susan del percio and former republican congressman david jolly. both are msnbc political analyst. good to see you guys, especially on this sunday. what a week it has been. little did we know what we'd be dealing with right after we all were together last sunday in terms of california. but let's talk about the senate confirmation hearings. i'm going to start with you, don, as they get underway. pete hegseth is the biggest name on day one. democrats are pushing for enough time for all senators to review fbi background checks, with some republicans backing them up on

that, in fact. can the gop get away with trying to rush through this process? >> you know what i'll say about even the most specious of gop nominees for this trump administration is that while 1 or 2 of them may not be confirmed, the trump agenda will certainly be confirmed. >> and after the holiday break and some time off, i think pete hegseth will probably be confirmed, despite the fact that he's probably unqualified. in addition to his ongoing character issues, we have seen no real opposition for the last couple of weeks. again, that's been the holiday break. but the reality of the matter is that it feels like a whole lot of democrats are just willing to concede now that they got matt gaetz out of the way, they're probably going to concede on pete hegseth and go on. >> but even for the worst and least qualified of these nominees, the trump agenda is what will be confirmed. >> and that's probably what's most troubling. >> even after you get past the personalities of it all. >> but, you know, it's not all democrats, susan, because hegseth, he appears to still be facing at least the most skepticism. he met with the

senior democrat on the armed services committee, that being senator jack reed, who said the meeting did not relieve my concerns about mr. hegseth lack of qualifications and raised more questions than answers. so, look, trump doesn't necessarily need democrats to confirm his picks, right? but what kind of fireworks could we see on tuesday and during then hegseth subsequent hearing with the full senate? >> right. >> i think the initial hearing will be more issue driven. basically, what what in your resume thinks makes us think that you are qualified to do this job because nothing has shown up thus far. and i think, i hope at least that the senators keep to the issues and not the personality. now, when you have the full senate hearing, that's when you see a lot of folks taking their time to make names in the press, and they'll do their thing. i don't hold it against them. republicans do it all the time, you know, did it all the time with with biden and other

democrats. so it's part of the process. but i do think that we are in for a few surprises. we have had a quiet lull, but it's almost been too quiet. we haven't heard anything about oh, so and so is more comfortable with the fbi checks. we haven't heard that yet. so i'm very curious, but i completely agree with don. it doesn't matter who's in there. this will be a trump agenda nominee no matter who it is in the big picture. so david, marco rubio, secretary of state, is seen as one of trump's safest choices for that. but even he could face some complications. he has been banned from china after railing against what he called the country's genocide against the uighur muslims. he's also clashed with musk, who, of course, has deep business ties in china. he might get confirmed, but could there be conflicts that crop up later on? and a reminder, trump's first cabinet had a lot of turnover. >> yeah. >> look, i think marco rubio's biggest conflict is going to

come from the elon musk maga online social media mob, to be honest. i mean, it won't be in the senate confirmation hearings he will sail through. and he should. >> whatever we consider of marco rubio's ideology is flip flops with donald trump. >> he's wholly qualified to be secretary of state. and in a trump administration, he will be one of the more sober, seasoned hands in a very critical area of foreign policy. but you're right to ask, how long do any of these people last? because what we learned from the first administration is the ones who last are the lackeys, are the ones who do exactly what donald trump says, even when he's stretching the bounds of his constitutional authority. and i think that comes home at a very intriguing hearing this week will be pam bondi, someone else who really is qualified, certainly as a two term attorney general of the state of florida. but we know her lies in pennsylvania. and the ultimate question for her and any nominee to be attorney general will be if donald trump directs you to prosecute an individual, will you do so? is there any independence in your department or not? that's a national conversation that i think all of

us deserve to see play out. >> yeah, yeah. let's shift on to trump's felony sentencing. there's no penalty. jack smith has resigned from the doj and special counsel. his cases are dropped. is at the end of trump's legal trouble, or has it just been delayed until he's out of office in january 29th? >> it's certainly the end of his legal troubles, or at least it should be. listen, i fully disagree with david assertion last week that joe biden should pardon him as one last symbolic act. >> but i do also think that democratic prosecutors, attorneys, generals, what have you we should move on. >> i mean, this was a despicable chapter in american history. i applaud those da's and ag's and u.s. attorneys who went after trump. they were right to do so in the 8 or 9 different substantive meritorious cases, all of them criminal. >> but at the end of the day, it didn't work out, and there was a valiant effort that made a record of history of this president's criminal acts. >> but i would hope that it ends here. >> it didn't end our way, but i

think there's some victory in the attempt. >> susan, there have been questions about the weight of his sentence being designated a convicted felon, but not much else. but trump has railed against it and plans to appeal that. so does it tell you that it really bothers him? >> no. it tells me that he wants to still raise money off of it. >> alex. that's what part of this is. we know that donald trump, he won a primary. he was he was indicted in march of 2023, ran away with the republican primary. he was convicted in may of 2024. and he won election to the white house. people, you know, his base is not letting go of this. and i do think when he spoke at the when he was being sentenced on friday, i think he wasn't speaking to the judge or the other folks in the room. he was speaking to his supporters, which he immediately turned into a fundraiser. that's all this is. i fully expect trump to keep using this and keep bringing it up as a fundraising mechanism.

wow. last question to you, david, about mark zuckerberg's meta, which has made some pretty dramatic changes ahead of trump returning to office. it is ending its fact checking program and plans to end its dei programs. it has hired a growing number of republican operative operatives rather to guide policy. what happens when trump has this big of a tech company as his ally? >> the tech companies ultimately end up losing credibility with the authentic and true factual voices. i mean, mark zuckerberg and meta are a private company. they can do whatever they want. they're not a regulated utility. fine. but you just lost whatever credibility you had left with every journalist, with every news outlet, with everybody who's actually seeking information in the new trump administration. and i would say something to look for, alex, in the first 100 days, we've seen all these billionaires and tech execs and even some in the media fall in line with donald trump now that he got reelected. maybe it's fear, but i would watch for this movement of people who

truly say, donald trump is not my president. and i know there's some patriotic questions about that, but donald trump is someone who broke his oath to the american people. on october 6th. he broke his oath to the voter and to expect voters to just return their loyalty now to him because he got elected. i don't think it's going to happen for a lot of people. donald trump doesn't represent the values of a lot of people, the voices of a lot of people. he doesn't represent the american spirit of a lot of people. so mark zuckerberg and the billionaires and media elites can sometimes fall in line. but watch for the grassroots movement to start coming back. i think it's still there. >> okay, david, susan and don, always good to see you guys. you make my sundays. thank you so much. at the top of the hour. a miracle or two, but plenty of frustration. what evacuated residents are dealing with in residents are dealing with in the ongoing california here's to getting better with age. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need, and the flavor you love. so, here's to now... now available: boost max! [uplifting music]

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