tom perez: absolutely. keith ellison: let me tell you, we will have to look at what went wrong, across the numbers and get specific, because we have an idea what we want to ask others about it. the real thing is we have to win. people are expecting us to win. we have to be geared toward winning elections in this time to come. not just 2017-2018, 2020, we are and we on redistricting are looking back but looking back to look forward. >> thank you so much everybody. here on c-span, washington journal is next. at 9:15 a.m., we will take you live to the national governors association winter meeting in washington, d.c. for a discussion on ending child hunger. later this afternoon on newsmakers, we hear from leonard leo who serves as an advisor on judicial nominations for the trump administration. coming up on today's washington journal, a look at the trump presidency and its impact on conservativism and the future of the republican party le of thes ant washington journal. theheather vogel shares details of a new

i trust tom perez. me, they need to trust tom perez, as well. i had the benefit of sitting next to this man on many debates. vision that i share. it got to a point where, we agreed on a lot of things. there was one press report, and i love you guys and you know that, but one report said there's not enough arguing going on in this particular race because there is a consensus. as tom said, we are going to build from the dock after to the senate and fight in every state and territory and abroad. there are fights going on like today. our revolution that began with bernie sanders, who i want to thank. he is having rallies and every congressional district. we have to win elections. mr. perez: absolutely. >> do you agree with your new -- presidentor trump has done several things that bring up the question of impeachment? seenerez: you have not republicans asking for an investigation. you cannot have the attorney general out on the stump for president doing the .nvestigation we have to make sure -- it's the tables have been turned and hillary clinton ha

and all hands on deck, i trust tom perez if they trust me, they need to come on and trust tom perez as's what i'm telling them. and let me tell you, i've had the benefit of sitting next to this man on many, many debates. and tom and i were friends before that i have heard a vision that i share. it got to the point where you know, we kind of agreed on a whole lot of things, you know. it was one press report, i love you guys and you know that. but one press report that said there's not enough arguing going on in this particular race, i think there's a consensus that and tom said, we're going to build from dog catcher to the senate and we're going to fight in every state, every county, every territory and democrats abroad. there are fights going on like today. stephanie, stephanie hanson is on the ballot today. our revolution, led with bernie sanders, who i want to thank by the way, is having rallies in every congressional district. there's a lot of action. but it's got to be channeled into the democratic party, into the dnc so we can win elections, is that right, tom in. >> absolutely. >

tom perez as the new head of the dnc.ith ties toeteran the establishment as the new face of the resistance to donald trump. tom perez will lead a democraticed national committee which has been reeling from the 2016 vote. that left the party firmly in a minority. democrats were worried at the buoyedliberal outcry -- at the wave of liberal outcry. our phone lines are open. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. is the headline from the washington post. tom perez elected as the party chair. more highlights from the event in atlanta in just a moment. first fred from new jersey. democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. the press watching conference and they were talking about doing in autopsy as to what went wrong over the last year. theorymy own dear he -- as to pennsylvania and wisconsin and michigan. i think it was the sanctuary cities issue. i know that was a big issue in pennsylvania because i live just outside of philadelphia which is a sanctuary city. pat to

tom perez being the new chairman.what happened here. >> reporter: this was a pretty dramatic day here in atlanta on this second ballot, tom perez comes in with a victory. perez collected 235 votes on that second ballot to keep ellison's 200 but on the first ballot, brianna, where tom perez collected 213.5 votes falling short of the threshold needed to win the election but on the second ballot, perez was able to bring together the coalition necessary to win. what's sbesiinteresting though w this is playing out in the room and something to keep an eye on. there were many keith ellison supporters that represent the progressive wing of the party, the bernie sanders wing and after it was announced that perez won, they started yelling in the back of the room. no big money, party for the people. and they continued to do it. even while donna brazil was trying to calm the crowd down and call for unity. that's the next big question for the democratic party. can they unite behind tom perez and form some sort of coalition that ca

how is keith ellison or tom p perez going to reach those folks? >> let me bring you in here, rich, because the way that jayne is answering the questions and what jamel just said, the schism between the party and the establishment wing and the progressives so-called bernie sanders' wing of the party had not necessarily been sort of smoothed over, but gr what i am hearing, can that rebuild the party with that schism there? >> well, rarely is the chairman of one of the two major parties without the presidency, the spokesperson for the party. i have been thinking here that the last time it happened was haley barbour and people were looking to newt gingrich and bob dole back in those days. and people will look to nancy pe low si and chuck schumer not necessarily to the chairman of the dnc. and jamel, i'm fascinated that the mtv guy is leaning towards the establishment. showing you how far the tv has gone. >> you have the wrong impression. it is not leaning towards the establishment, but the democratic party is larger than bernie sanders' wing of the pa

tom perez fell one vote short. and now the second ballots are being collected by the dnc staff, and they want to count them twice to to see if they are good, and any moment, when donna brazile, the interim chairwoman is going to be coming out the announce the results. many people think that tom perez has got it because he was so close, but keith ellison's team is insisting they have a chance on this, and they fell 15 votes short, and not far off themselves, and the field has been eliminated aside from the other candidates. they dropped out, and most of the votes were held by sally boynton brown who was the idaho party drirector, and maybe she can give keith ellison enough votes to win it, but it is going to be tight here, and we are waiting any minute, richard, to see what happens. >> where are the bargaining chips? where the convention will be? how well they work on the ground? back and forth? >> well, this is a unusual race, and you can see the entire voting population of it, so it is a one to one kind of situati

i trust tom perez. if they trust me, they need to come on and trust tom perez as well. that's what i'm telling them. let me tell you, i've had a benefit of sitting next to this man on many, many debates, and, of course, tom and i were friends before that, and i have heard a vision that i share. it got to the point where, you know, we kind of agreed on a lot of things. you know? there was one press report -- i love you guys, and you know that, but one press report that said there's not enough arguing going on in this particular race because i think there's a consensus that, as tom said, we're going to build from dog catcher to the senate, and we're going to fight in every state and every county, every territory, and democrats abroad. there are fights going on like today. steph nir hanson is on the ballot today. our revolution led to bernie sanders, who i want to thank, by the way. i want to thank having rallies in every congressional district having a lot of -- it's got to be channelled into the democratic party, the dnc, so we can win elections. is that right? >> yes. >>

tom pÉrez: yo quiero ser un luchador para la gente que no tiene voz.repÚblica dominicana en estados unidos en la Época del dictador rafael trujillo, su madre quedÓ a cargo de pÉrez y de sus cinco hermanos cuando el jefe del hogar muriÓ de un ataque al corazÓn. tom pÉrez; yo quiero ser el lÍder para toda la comunidad de las personas en los estados unidos. >> su trayectoria ha sido excelente, Él ha trabajado como fiscal, ha trabajado como secretario de trabajo, es una persona que ha luchado por los trabajadores. reportero: su prioridad es sacar a los demÓcratas de la crisis ahora que los republicanos tienen el control de la casa blanca. tom pÉrez;¿ el partido demÓcrata va a decir que usted no tiene nuestros valores reportero: el nuevo lÍder demÓcrata tendrÁ que luchar para que en 2018 en su partido no sÓlo estÉ bien sino que gane posiciones en las elecciones de medio tÉrmino que se avecinan. donald trump felicitÓ a tom pÉrez, dijo que no podrÍa estar mÁs feliz por el partido demÓcrata. fÉlix: el presidente donald trump anunciÓ hoy que romperÁ con la trad

tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. [applause] [cheering] ms. brazile: i hear a motion. there is amotion -- motion by mr. buckley. we will hear from mr. buckley. gavel] you, madam chair. now is the time for us to unite we cast a that ballot as secretary tom perez as the chair of the democratic national committee. ms. brazile: is there a second? mr. applebaum? >> >> i am stuart applebaum from new york and the executive vice president of the 1.3 million member united food workers union. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we listen to each other, we have learned from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. our country, our democracy. -- our democracy demands it. motionoud to second the to make the selection by acclamation. thank you. [applause] all in favor say aye. opposed? arise. it is my great honor to present the next chair to the democratic national committee, a champion for working people, a visionary, a great american, mr. tom perez. [applause] [cheering] thank you. [applause] mr. perez: thank you so

tom perez.etrium or his his entire life has stood up for the ideal that americans anywhere and everywhere can -- should have their god-given rights to the fill their dreams. i have seen this man, when of the smartest people i have ever known. i have felt his heart in my city. when workers said they deserved the minimum wage, who did the president send, tom perez. we raised the minimum wage. and when the economy was losing $1 billion a day and dockworkers and one out of 50 workers who depend on their work were threatened, who did the white house send? tom perez. i saw how he brought people together and i am grateful to my city and the american economy for tom perez saving the u.s. economy. over timen him make count, i have seen him do it for communications workers, home care workers, i have seen him stand up for white-collar jobs, and as a son of refugees, a powerful message at this time we are closing our borders and building walls. let us break one down and elect tom perez as the next chair. he

galo arellano nos cuenta mÁs de tom pÉrez.demÓcrata tiene sangre latina y se llama tom pÉrez. al pronunciar esta tarde su discurso de agradecimiento por el triunfo prometiÓ revivir a los demÓcratas a nivel nacional en posiciones como las juntas escolares y hasta en el senado. nunca antes un apellido hispano habÍa sido, en cuenta para liderar un partido demÓcrata uno de los grupos polÍticos mÁs poderosos de los estados unidos pero que vive uno de sus peores momentos. >> la elecciÓn del hispano como el lÍder es algo maravilloso para nosotros porque estamos luchando por las comunidades inmigrantes. galo: su principal contrincante tambiÉn pudo haber hecho historia ya que es el primer musulmÁn en aspirar a ese cargo pero se impuso ante el pÉrez con 35 votos mÁs. tom pÉrez: ya que no ser un luchador para gente que no tiene voz. galo: habla espaÑol, proviene de una notable y pudiente familia del caribe, su padre fue embajador de repÚblica dominicana en estados unidos en Época del dictador rafael trujillo y su madre quedÓ a cargo de p

tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. [applause] i hear a motion by mr. saunders. ms. applebaum? we will hear from mr. buckley. order please. go ahead. buckley: thank you, madam chair. for all those who ran for this office, for all those who were involved in this campaign, now is the time for us to unite. i move that we suspend the rules and cast one ballot for secretary tom perez as the next chair of the democratic national committee. [applause] chair: is there a second? mr. applebaum. sisters and brothers, i am stuart applebaum, dnc member from new york and the executive vice president of the officialon member workers union afl-cio. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we have learned from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. our country, our democracy toands it, and i am proud make this motion to election by acclamation. thank you. >> it has been moved and seconded by affirmation. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present the next chair of the democratic national committee, champion of working aopl

pete: tom perez was hillary's guy. >> tom was hillary's guy. he was also barack obama's guy. i'm told she does back in 2020. and if bernie sanders' guy, ellison had been in charge of the committee, democratic national committee, she would have had a hard time. pete: pause though you are saying hillary clinton, your sources are telling you this dnc election could help propel a candidate clinton again in 2020? >> here is what hillary has in mind. she is going to write a book for simon and shuster memoirs as you know. she will do paid speeches. i'm also told she is planning a listening tour, just the way she did when she ran for senate. clayton: she had high marks and high approval rating when she was senator of new york and she listened. she went around to all counties. it seemed like she failed to listen during this election. >> she sure did. pete: failed to connect with voters this time. how old would she be at this point? >> 73, 74. clayton: you really think that's going to happen? >> i think she thinks it's going to happen. do i think it's going to happen? no. pete: last bo

hillary clinton tweeted a few moments ago as well saying congrats to dnc chair tom perez and deputy keithcited for strong unified party standing for best of our country into the future. and justin as we were talking, another tweet from president trump, saying congratulations to thomas perez who has just been named chairman of the dnc. i could not be happier for him or for the republican party. tongue-in-cheek there. msnbc political reporter alex sykes wall is live in atlanta. you heard all of that. are they together now? was that the sense on the floor that they had made that it's okay keith ellison didn't win, tom perez is the winner now? >>. >> certainly all the efforts to show that tom perez and his new deputy dnc chairman keith ellison held a joint press conference right after this vote, and they switched campaign buttons, so tom perez is wearing a keith ellison button and keith ellison is wearing a tom perez button. this is a question of whether that can deliver on healing divisions inside this paert. it's not just the division between ellison and perez, folks, but between the inside

and it will be the former labor secretary, tom perez. but it wasn't easy. perez fell one vote short on the first ballot, before capturing the nomination on the second ballot. but he understood that this is a fractured party. and that he needed to welcome in those progressives that didn't necessarily support him. that's why he brought up the man who came in second, minnesota congressman, keith ellison, and made him his deputy chairman. take a look at that moment. >> i would like to begin by making a motion. it's a motion that i have discussed with a good friend. and his name is keith ellison. and the motion i would like to make to the body is a motion suspending the rules, if i may, to appoint keith ellison deputy chair of the democratic national committe committee. [ cheers and applause ] now, i'm not -- i'm not -- i'm not sure -- [ cheers and applause ] >> tell me the phrase i'm supposed to utter. that was fine? okay. i'm not sure -- did i hear a second? all for? >> aye! >> opposed? wait a minute. wait a minute! the silence -- the silence is deafening! the

you look at someone like tom perez. he was his live-through bias and prejudice.e's spent years fighting for social justice and civil rights, and he also as secretary of labor did more to think about how do we reeducate people for the next generation of jobs than just about anybody? he's a constructive person. he's got lots to criticize and that's part of his job, but he brings a broad background to the job. >> i hear you, but you have hillary clinton saying resistance. using that actual word which for a clinton, any clinton just seems like a shock to the system, but you heard chuck schumer say dump trump. he's the senate democratic leader. a week after the election, he was saying if we agree with him we'll work with president trump and that seems to be gone, and is that going to bite the democrats at some point? >> well, i don't know. i think some of them, people like senator schumer has got to be thinking back to when president obama was first elected and within a couple of weeks that same kind of anger was being used against him and they would do anything to be

tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. i hear a motion. there is a motion by mr. buckley, mr. buckley. order. go ahead. >> is there a second? >> i am stuart applebaum from new york and the executive vice president of the 1.3 million member united food workers union. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we listen to each other, we learn from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. our country, our democracy. selectionto make the by acclamation. thank you. >> arise. it is my great honor to present the next chair to the democratic national committee, a champion visionary, people, a a great american, mr. tom perez. [applause] thank you. thank you so much. thank you so much. begin by making a motion. discussed with a good friend. and his name is keith ellison. and the motion i would like to make to the body is a motion suspending the rules, if i may, to appoint keith ellison deputy chair of the democratic national committee. [applause] -- i'm not sure tell me the phrase i'm supposed to utter. that was fine? did i hear

speeches by the two front runner candidates from earlier today beginning with former labor ecretary, tom perez. mr. perez: all right. good morning. good morning. . od morning e thank you jamie, and thank you to all of my friends here. here. it is such a privilege to be with you here today. this is a truly humbling moment for me. only in america can the son of immigrants and pell grant kid who helped his way through college picking up golf balls, should have used the helmet had the opportunities to make a difference under the likes of barack obama. only in america and only in the democratic party. because you know what? we are indeed the party that turns hardship into hope. we are the party that turns doubts into dreams. we are the party of inclusion and opportunity. and we make sure inclusion and opportunity is in every zip code for e. you know 50 years ago, dr. king gave a speech right here in atlanta where he asked a simple but critical question, where do we go from here? how do we fight for shared values and continue our march for jobs and justice and fill this nation's promise for inclusio

i had a chance to work with tom perez for three years.ere are few people who understand better the struggles of working-class americans than tom perez. he grew up in buffalo, worked his way through college as a trash collector. he has spent his career as a progressive fighting for fair housing, voting rights for higher wages. he transformed the department of labor during our time there. he has fought for equality, opportunity, justice and inclusion. this is not only a great day for democrats but donald trump's worst nightmares. >> why do you say that? >> the party is more united than it has ever been before. yesterday, tom in his first act, made keith ellison the deputy chair of the party and tom and keith together are going to crisscross the country talking about how to move this country forward. that's why donald trump should be afraid right now. >> you know, ellison and perez working together and we were watching some of the body dynamics, as you probably were yesterday as the announcement was made, clearly also wanted to win as perez

not big money. >> little did they know that tom perez was about to announce that keith ellison was going to be his deputy chair. now, with the democrats in their weakest position in almost 100 years, perez's first job will be to unite the party and then lead them out of the wilderness. mr. chairman, congratulations. >> thank you, chuck. it is good to be with you. >> let me start with the fact that that was a pretty divided room. all party elections can feel personal, can feel petty. but the fact of the matter is you do have a lot of sanders supporters from the primary who were skeptical of the clinton wing of the party and see you nothing more than an extension of that. how do you unit this party without simply making it an anti-trump party? >> i thought we had a great day yesterday trump, and deputy chair el son and i, we were there together. we were united and our unity is our greatest strength and our unity is donald trump's greatest nightmare. he's tweeted this morning about the election being rigged and he ought to be looking at the u.s. election last november. what we saw yesterday

he's former labor secretary tom perez, a favorite of the party establishment. he beat minnesota congressman keith ellison, backed by the party's more liberal faction, by 35 votes. immediately, perez moved to unite the party, naming ellison deputy chair. ellison quickly embraced the unity message. >> if you're wearing a keith t-shirt, or any t-shirt, i'm asking you to give everything you've got to support chairman perez. >> reporter: perez has a tall task ahead, replenishing the party's dwindling cash supply and trying to elect democrats to governor's offices, state legislatures, and congress we need to listen to op need to. >> reporter: if perez has any advantage, it's that the young presidency of donald trump has energized large groups of opposition. >> i know we can win the battles ahead. i know we will win the battles ahead, when we put our values forward, when we lead together. >> so now more than ever, we need to stay engaged, in the field and online. >> reporter: the collapse of hillary clinton's campaign still looms over the democrats. but with their form

tom perez. congratulations. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was outgoing chair donna brazile announcing the new leader of the democratic national committee over the weekend. former labor secretary tom perez, first latino leader of the democratic national committee. the contest for party chair turned into a proxy war you might see between the obama/clinton wing represented by mr. perez and the bernie sanders wing which backed keith ellison. politico reported ed meeks was reportedly threatened by supporters of ellison and sanders with a primary challenge if he backed anyone else. perez, however, had a big hand to play. former president barack obama along with joe biden, quote, called the members, himself, to push for the labor secretary. in a sign of union, he named ellison his deputy. >> if you came here to support me, wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i am asking you to give everything you got to support chairman perez. >> we will all be able to say whether you're sitting here, whether you're sitting outside, or whether you're looki

former labor secretary tom perez won out over bernie sanders. keith ellison in what many saw as a proxy war between the obama/clinton wing of the party and the sanders wing the party. but the two men put on a clearly united front with ellison accepting perez's offer to serve as deputy chair of the party and both setting their sites squarely on president trump. let's get to the new boss himself, the dnc chairman. mr. perez thanks for joining us. >> pleasure to be with you, jake. >> i know your voice is from vigorous campaign. >> yeah. >> so nobody at home should sound any alarms. >> yeah. >> but i want to ask you, president trump told cpac on friday that the republican party from now on will be the party of the american worker. and in november president trump carried white voters without a college degree, work being class voters by a stagger 37% age points. what is your plan to win these voters back into the democratic fold. >> we lead with our values and we lead with our actions. we talk to them about how literally hours into the trump administr

that really brings us back to tom perez and keith ellison. perez kind of representing the establishment wing of the party, former labor secretary in the obama administration and keith ellison, the congressman from minnesota. who many bernie sander suppo supporters are backinging. listen tolt pitch he made earlier to this crowd. >> a united democratic party is not only our best hope, it is donald trump's worst nightmare. and we will be there. together. with hope. with hard work and with a hell of a lot of organizing, we will turn this party around and get democrats winning again. >> if you were to poll this room, there are probably more keith ellison supporters in the room, but only have the roof is eligible to vote, so there is certainly some passion by keith ellison supporters, but there are likely more tom perez voters standing behind me, and they're the ones who are going to decide who's the next chair, but the key here, is that next chair is going to have to unite both ends of this room if they have any hope of organizing the party and be

tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. and applause] [inaudible conversations] >> i hear a motion, a motion by mr. saunders, mr. saunders -- >> no, no. >> mr. applebaum? there's a motion now by mr. buckley. mr. buckley, we'll hear from mr. buckley. order, please. go ahead. >> thank you, madam chair. more all those who ran for this office, for all those who were involved in this campaign, now is the time for us to unite. so i move that we suspend the rules and cast one ballot for secretary tom perez as the next chair of the democratic national committee. [cheers and applause] >> is there a second? mr. applebaum? >> democrats, sisters and brothers, i'm stuart applebaum, dnc member from new york and the executive vice president of the 1.3 million member united food and commercial workers union, afl-cia. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we've listened to each other, we've learned from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. [applause] our country, our democra

tom perez." the democratic national committee now has a new chair..tom perez / dnc chairman: "thank you so much. i would like to begin by making a motion. butt sot.. to appoint keith ellsion deputy chair of the democratic national commititee." the fight for a new leader was the focus on the final day of the d-n-c winter meeting.of the seven candidates who were originally on the ballot.. former labor secretary, tom perez ...and minnesota congressman, keith ellison remained the top frontrunners. ellison and perez represent the two forces that divide the party - the progressive movement versus the establishment.but on saturday, both candidates delivered messages of solidarity.rep. keith ellison / -dnc deputy chair: "unity is essential. we've got to walk out of here in unity. not just between the candidate but between the groups that support all the candidates.butt sot tom perez / dnc chairman: "no matter who wins i know we'll cross the finish line together because a united democratic party is not on

tom perez."re in and the democratic national committee now has a new chair..tom perez / dnc chairman: "thank you so much. i would like to begin by making a motion. butt sot.. to appoint keith ellsion deputy chair of the democratic national commititee." the fight for a new leader was the focus on the final day of the d-n-c winter meeting.of the seven candidates who were originally on the ballot.. former labor secretary, tom perez ...and minnesota congressman, keith ellison remained the top frontrunners. ellison and perez represent the two forces that divide the party - the progressive movement versus the establishment.but on saturday, both candidates delivered messages of solidarity.rep. keith ellison / -dnc deputy chair: "unity is essential. we've got to walk out of here in unity. not just between the candidate but between the groups that support all the candidates.butt sot tom perez / dnc chairman: "no matter who wins i know we'll cross the finish line together because a united democratic party

amy: after tom perez was elected chair of the dnc, donald trump tweeted -- the race for the dnc chairman, of course, totally rigged. bernie's guy, like bernie himself, never had a chance. clinton demanded perez!" that is what trump tweeted. bernie sanders appeared on cnn's "state of the union" sunday. host jake tapper asked sanders if he thought trump had a point. >> no, he does not have a point. one e of the things tomom will e to chahanges to o figure out hoe elect n national democratic -- i am not quite impressed with the process that now exists. amy: tapper also asked senators if he would be handing over his 2 million or so member list to the dnc. he did not say he would. zed jilani, your response? to read interesting before keith ellison was defeated, the dnc voted on a resolution that would have barred corporate lobbyists and corporate donations to the dnc, and that resolution was voted down to it actually, a lot of the very same arguments used at the dnc were used at the rnc over the summer when a few reformist republicans tried to put out a simmer -- similar resolution. these thi

it was tom perez who fired back saying, call me tom. and don't get too happy. i and the democrats are united in the country and we will be your worst nightmare. so already a spirited debate between the two heads of their respect actirespec respective parties. dinners have been on the president's mind, willie. last night in d.c. he went just down the street to the trump hotel, which is on pennsylvania avenue. he traveled there to have dinner with daughter-in-law bianca, son-in-law jared and others. the white house press did travel along but was kept outside. what makes that interesting is the president was dining openly in the public and social media [000:05:58;00] did not provide the dinner and so forth. and more dinner news, the president announced, again using twitter, that he will not attend the white house accordance dinner. that is something that presidents of both parties have done for decades. he will be a no-show this year. willie? >> kelly o'donnell on the white house and on the dinner beat. kelly, thanks so much. chuck todd is moderator of "meet the p

tell me, what are the challenges that tom perez faces?ve a president who has clearly set a different type of tone. we have a majority republican senate, a majority republican house, and statehouses all over the country. so, it's an uphill battle for democrats, to say the least. how does tom perez put his arms around this to put a strategy together to deal with this landscape? >> well, first and foremost, rev, thank you so much for having me on. thank you also for coming down to south carolina recently to say words for our dear, departed friend, representative joe neel. we really appreciated that. >> thank you. >> it was comforting for the family, so thank you. as it relates to the challenges the democratic party faces, listen, there's a lot of optimism. tom perez is a progressive, a strong progressive who is a fighter. and he is really going to galvanize our forces on the democratic side. the one thing that we have to do very early on is we have to build capacity in state parties. when we think about why we're in the situation we're in, p

the democrats are now focusing on rebuilding their party after electing former labor secretary tom pÉrezthe new chairman of the national democratic committee with the party facing a serious divide with centrist and liberal fashions, pÉrez plans to shift to grassroots organizing, we need to make house calls, we need to listen to people, we need to get back to basics and we need to move forward because i am confident, my friends, i am confident that when we lead with our values and lead with our actions we succeed, that is what the democratic party been about and that what -- that is what the democratic will continue to be about. are. >> good to see you. >> hi, uma. >> the fact that they were hoping that he was going to win, some of them are already saying that the establishment wing of the party essentially took over and that's why they're very upset. how much of an uphill battle is going to be to try to win the folks over? >> i think it's going to be a challenge just like it was in the general election. obviously donald trump isn't helping us that much tweeting this morning that the syst

it wasn't that long ago when tom perez was nominated to be labor secretary. there was this -- it was going to be a tough push to get him confirmed because there was this feeling that, oh, is he too progressive? is he too outside the so-called establishment democratic mainstream to get confirmed in the u.s. senate? so the point is that the establishment knew it was afraid of bernie sanders and the warren wing totally getting control of the party through keith ellison, so by recruiting tom perez, it was a progressive they could live with. i think it shows you how far the democratic party has moved left. what the tweet fight tells you, willie, while there are divisions in the democratic party, there is no person who can unite the party more than anyone, and that person is president trump. >> chuck todd, thank you so much. we'll be watching you on "meet the press" this morning. chuck will be joined by the new democratic party chair, tom perez. >>> indra peterson is here while dylan is out on maternity leave. she has a look at the weather. >> let's start with the

tom perez. >> former labor secretary tom perez, who got the most votes from delegates gathered this weekendlanta. the press immediately named the man who trailed him not far in votes, congressman keith ellison as his deputy chairman. >> because we were always united in our values. and we'll always continue to be united in our values. and we are united in our love for the democratic party. our love for the diversity of the democratic party. our love for the robust discussions that occur in the democratic party. >> and this just a few minutes ago, a tweet from president trump. he writes congratulations to thomas perez, who has just been named chairman of the dnc, i could not be happier for him or for the republican party. cnn's ryan noebls is in atlanta where the dnc delegates are gathered this weekend. so it sounds like not quite the most sincere congratulations there. but it actually sounded like donald trump had been rooting for keith ellison and to peg the more liberal wing of the democratic party as its leadership. really as its face, right? >> i thing there's an argument to be made ther

he's former labor secretary, tom perez, a favorite of the party establishment. he at minnesota congressman, keith ellison, backed by the party's more liberal faction by 35 votes. immediately perez moved to unite the party, naming ellison deputy chair. ellison quickly embraced the unity message. >> if you're wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i am asking you to give everything you've got to support chairman perez. >> reporter: perez has a tall task ahead, replenishing the party's dwindling cash supply and trying to elect democrats to governors' offices, state legislatures and congress. >> we need to make house calls. we need to listen to people. we need to get back to basics. >> reporter: if perez has any advantage, it's that the young presidency of donald trump has energized large groups of oppti >> i know we can win the battles ahead. i know we will win the battles ahead. when we put our values forward, when we lead together. >> so now more than ever, we need to stay engaged, in the field and online. >> reporter: the collapse of hillary clinton's campaign s

listen, what tom perez and the democrats have to do, they've got to get unified, together.ot to play nice in the sand box and power share with tom perez which is why keith ellison was named deputy chair of the dnc. secondly, they've got to get on the ground and energize their base and go after those trump voters who are democratic voters who have grown tired of the democrats and believe that the economy has left them behind. if they do those things, on that map 14 of 35 governorships are up in 2018. those 14 open seats are what the democrats have to target. after that in 2020, they've got to go after the senate and the house, any open seats there, but they've got to have a progressive economic message that talks to white working class, former dems as opposed to at them. elizabeth: okay. >> because when the dems talk to that white working class, they don't believe in that message. elizabeth: okay. when we pop up that governors' race screen, and people may ask at home why are we talking about gubernatorial races. they are very important because governors make huge decisions.

will tom perez be able to unite the party?ing me. i'm fredricka whitfield. all right. president trump facing another high-stakes week. the president's agenda includes a prime-time speech to u.s. congress and a revised executive order on immigration. but first he'll renew his focus on replacing obamacare. the president is set to meet monday with a group of governors at the white house where worries about replacing the affordable care act is expected to dominate the discussion. cnn's athena jones joins me from the white house. athena, the governors are expecting a replacement plan from the president. will there be specifics? >> reporter: hi, fred. that is the big question. we're not getting a lot of indications that the specifics have been worked out. we know what is one of the president's main campaign promises and i don't think a big speech has gone by that he hasn't mentioned the need to repeal and replace obamacare. of course this has been a main goal of republicans on capitol hill for several years now, and house republican

tom perez was selected yesterday by democrats gathered in atlanta. as head of the republican party, it was president trump who offered congratulations, but he also suggested that he could not be happier for him or the republican party. feint praise in that tweet. and then tom perez fired back saying, call me tom. don't get too happy. i and the democrats are united in the country and will be be your worst nightmare. already a spirited debate between the two heads of their respective parties. now, dinners have been on the president's mind, willie. last night, in d.c., he went out just down the street to the trump hotel, which is on pennsylvania avenue. he traveled there to have dinner with daughter ivanka, son-in-law jared, and other guests including florida governor rick scott, and the head of the brexit movement, nigel farage. the press pool did travel along but was kept outside. the president was dining openly in the public and social media showed photos of that, but the whousz did not provide the list of guests for the dinner and so forth, and more

will they embrace a tom perez chairmanship? this will be a big clue because they represent a larger group of democrats from the progressive wing of the party that have been frustrated with the democratic party over time. that's going to be a big thing for us to watch here in the next few minutes. fred? >> so it has been expected that there would be many ballots because like you mentioned, 441 that are cast but the majority are needing at least 221 or 221.5 or 222 and you've got five in the running even though you mentioned the two kind of leading candidates there. is there even a time frame? must they do this by a certain amount of time or simply whoever gets the majority no matter how many ballots, phases are cast? >> reporter: that's exactly right, fred rericfrederica. they'll keep voting until they find a candidate over the 50% threshold but in terms of the full fleet of five candidates. if they don't meet a bare minimum percentage, they actually come off of the roster and it goes to the next group of voters. so we should st