. >> did anyone ever hear of desantis desanctimonious desantis? >> at one point, a pro-trump group produced an ad mocking desantis over a news report that desantis had been seen eating pudding with his fingers on a plane flight. >> tell ron desantis to keep his pudding fingers off our money. oh and somebody get this man a spoon. >> and desantis hit trump where it hurt. >> i don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. >> i just i can't speak to that. >> and in a town hall hosted by wolf blitzer, if donald trump is the nominee, the election will revolve around all these legal issues. >> his trials, perhaps convictions if he goes to trial and loses there, and about things like january 6th, we're going to lose if ron desantis is brought into the trump administration, he will have to navigate a tricky relationship with trump's incoming white house chief of staff siouxsie wiles, who used to work for desantis and was pushed out of desantis circle in a very bitter internal political fig

i think many, many republicans are huge desantis fans still. so i think they'd be very excited to see him as a replacement. but again, that depends on if pete hegseth doesn't continue forward as the nominee. and if he does, i think it's all going to hinge on that background check. whether you know, by the fbi or someone else, a lot of senators saying also that they want to make sure that is an fbi background check. i think kennedy came out and said that maybe some others saying that behind closed doors that they want the fbi to dig into some of these allegations, specifically during his time at some of the veterans organizations. >> yeah, we don't know that texas would agree to an fbi background check that isn't a guarantee as part of this agreement, that the trump team has signed. all right, chuck, i will tell you what i am hearing, john, that they are going to be putting forward everyone's names as they move forward. >> i'm hearing that it will be not just 1 or 2 people being fbi checked, that they're probably going to put forward everybody.

desantis is open to the job. what do you make of that? just knowing politics and how things work and when you kind of like, see this kind of churn happening around one nomination, you well, you know, there's kind of a game sometimes, sometimes people play, you know, it's going to be a bad day when, uh, you know, it's going to be a bad day for you when talk of your successor is already out in the press. >> uh whether it be ron desantis or joni ernst or somebody else that's not a good sign. coming from mar-a-lago. if you are in fact, the secretary of defense designate, i want to also ask you because very soon republicans will be in charge of in control of the white house, the house and the senate. >> and this is a moment when democrats we know congressional democrats are looking to rethink and shake up their approach to being in the minority. this time. and part of that comes with committee leadership. just yesterday, you threw your hat in the ring to be considered to be the next top democrat on the house oversight

picking desantis would amount to a stunning turn for trump, but in desantis trump has a well-known in the military and executive experience who shares trump's and hegseth's view on eliminating so-called woke policies from the armed forces. meanwhile, we are indeed learning more details about some of those growing concerns that could imperil hegseth's nomination. three current and seven former fox employees tell nbc news that hegseth drank in ways that concerned his colleagues. two of them said he smelled of alcohol before going on-air as a co-host of fox and friends weekend and did so more than a dozen times. as nbc notes, three current employees said his drinking remained a concern up until trump announced him as his choice to run the pentagon. at which point, hegseth left fox. for the sake of national security, i really hope he has stopped drinking, said one of the former fox employees. he should not be secretary of defense, another fox employee said. his drinking should be disqualifying. this follows a report from "the new yorker" earlier this week that detailed accusations of impr

but desantis has a few things that you mentioned a couple of them.t are interesting to trump and to the maga movement. one way to neutralize to prevent him from running against jd vance four years from now is to include him. but there's still a lot of trust deficit there between trump and desantis and we'll see what happens with hegseth. but it is a close call whether desantis is actually the backup candidate for secretary of defense. >> what do you think about all of this? desantis is one of the most unlikable governors in the u.s. what do you think is at play here? >> i think trump is just as maga as the maga base would love. he run on must die. he made it permissible to run over protesters during the black lives matter protest. those protesters were protesting civil rights. this is a guy who has fought tooth and nail against all things equity quite some time and made it known how he is for immigration. sending a lot of the undocumented migrants to places like chicago and new york and other urban centers across the country. specifically those seen

when you think ron desantis for d.o.d., what does that say to you?well, first, i just have to start by saying it's got to be really embarrassing to be ron desantis in this moment because he's gone from believing he would be the next president of the united states and chastising people in his own party for kissing the ring of donald trump to playing understudy to the fox news host who may not get the job because he has a drinking problem. so, set that aside, the embarrassment that it is to be ron desantis, i think what people should understand is that donald trump really values certain qualities in people like ron desantis and pam bondi. the first one is that they are also shamelessly self obsessed. that they are desperate for power at every single turn and will anything to get it. you talked about it. remember, he trafficked immigrants into empty parking lots to use them as campaign fodder. he used government agencies against businesses, small and large, who disagreed with the policies he was putting forward. he has built a political career on terror

there are some political perils in this for desantis. if he says yes oh yeah. >> i mean, look at mike pence he didn't do so hot in the trump administration in the very end, he was his vice president working for donald trump is a tricky thing you can get fired by tweet or by a truth social post. that's a problem. but ron desantis governor, who is only going to be able to serve for two more years, what's he going to do after that? and the defense department is an attractive job. it's a big massive, mammoth agency. what, an $800 billion budget. florida's budget, just in contrast, is about 117 billion. this is a huge challenge. this is a an agency a department that needs reform and the challenge of it would be attractive to ron desantis. so i think that's what he gets out of it. what does trump get out of it? he likes to have big names rfk, he's got marco rubio and a whole bunch of other people who are chosen to be on his cabinet. they're not obviously confirmed yet and desantis sort of checks that box. also, i understand, and there's a disp

for ron desantis, it's the perfect opportunity.ve your country as secretary of defense and he is a lame duck now as governor but would not be should he be secretary of defense in the first term of the trump administration, perhaps it does set him up to run for president again, which is ultimately ron desantis's long-term goal. >> all right. ryan nobles, vaughn hillyard, courtney kube, former congressman david jolly, thank you on a very busy day of developments on the hill. >>> coming up in 90 seconds, what the nypd calls a brazen, premeditated atact by a suspect laying in wait. the new details we're learning about the murder of united health care ceo and the manhunt for the gunman who ambushed him. hi. i'm damian clark. i'm here to help you understand how to get the most from medicare. if you're eligible for medicare, it's a good idea to have original medicare. it gives you coverage for doctor office visits and hospital stays. but if you want even more benefits, you can choose a medicare advantage plan like the ones offered at huma

as the paper notes, picking desantis would amount to a stunning turn for trump, but in desantis trump a well-known conservative with both military and executive experience, who shares trump's and hegseth's view on eliminating the so-called woke policies from the armed forces. joining us now the reporter who broke the story from the bulwark, mark caputo. what more can you tell us? is this imminent? are there any other catches that could hold this up? >> well, i was told it was a really serious conversation they've been having, they've been having it for a while. it's not donald trump's people talking to ron desantis' people, it's donald trump talking to ron desantis about it. i have to say having covered both of these guys and having covered the republican primary it's hard to see this happening, but i've been assured and was reporting it out yesterday that, no, no, this could really happen. it's not just that pete hegseth has these problems, it's that donald trump is serious not just about getting the woke out of the military, is that he believes that there's a certain amount of bloat

and the way they aren't about ron desantis and ron desantis. you know despite the tensions between the two, the one thing about desantis that i've heard appeals to sort of some of the trump team, the guy is a nerd. the guy is a wonk and and so why does this appeal to the trump team? well, because the pentagon is a huge, sprawling bureaucracy, and they feel like maybe he actually would be good for that. >> let me say this if if desantis does become a secretary of defense, i mean, look if he gets to the senate, he will be confirmed if he becomes in. we're talking about now a redrawing of what the maga political party is going to look like you know, in a couple of years, because now ron desantis is going to be taken out of florida, where he knows he's been very successful. he's been a successful governor. now he's going to get that foreign policy background you know, with him, and then it's going to be jd who, you know, there's going to be. >> well, yeah, i mean we're setting up for a yes i mean for for desantis. definitely some significant steps

we'll see about desantis. other thing this reminds me of, ana, remember the embattled nomination of brett kavanaugh to be a supreme court justice. the sharks were circling, a full-fledged washington frenzy around his nomination. reports came out that trump wasn't sure if he could make it or not in the end. i think that hegseth is following the kavanaugh playbook of being combative, going on fox, putting his mother on fox to defend him. we'll see if that same script works this time. >> vaughn hillyard, courtney kube, susan glasser, thank you all. >>> right now we're watching high stakes at the supreme court. the justices hearing a case that could have major ramifications for transgender rights. we're back in 90 seconds. power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. e*trade from morgan stanley power e*trade's easy to-use tools make comple

first of all, the desantis thing is real. this is coming from the president-elect himself we're told. multiple sources saying he has talked about it and he had that as bill mentioned direct conversation with governor desantis about the possibility if pete's nomination falters or he withdraws. that he would be another possibility and there is interest, we're told. here is what it comes down to. it comes down to numbers on capitol hill. you heard that hegseth met with senator roger wicker, a very quick meeting. he is the incoming chairman of the senate armed services committee. the most important meeting perhaps today for pete hegseth was senator joni ernst scheduled today. she expressed not committing to supporting hegseth. you have three senators that could vote against him and still get through. the number we're told is about six, maybe even seven. gop nos, that's an uphill climb. hegseth took to x today saying i'm doing it for the war fighters, the left is afraid of disrupters and change agents and afraid of donald trump an

desantis confirmation would be a lot easier.ers but there are still bitter feelings towards desantis inside trump world. >> reporter: two separate issues. the desantis part of it, donald trump sort of famously loves a convert. if ron desantis is willing to take a job with donald trump, i think trump himself would be willing to give him one. i think it's likely there's more hard feelings between the staffs including someone like susie wiles who had been forced out of desantis' inner circle. just not a lot of good feeling between their two political operations. of course, that only matters if hegseth withdraws his nomination or is told to withdraw it by donald trump. i don't think that's at all clear at this moment. trump likes a fighter and what we're seeing i think today from hegseth including in that clip you showed just a moment ago and the fact that he's sitting down for at least one interview today with megyn kelly, is that he is doing more fighting on his own behalf today. even his mother appearing on fox news this morning

there yeah. >> can we talk about the desantis aspect of this? because, you know trump is considering a few other people there's joni ernst his name has been thrown around bill hagerty and obviously. but having a conversation with ron desantis about this job just obviously struck so many people in trump's orbit. i know he had kind of talked about desantis putting him at the department of homeland security a few weeks ago when he was going through these nominations. but the idea that he had a conversation with someone who was one of his fiercest critics about a year and a half ago is quite notable for this moment yeah. >> look it's it's the kind of thing donald trump loves right? he has told people that privately that it would be a big story if he brought in somebody who he had had this feud with in a primary, but it would be a big story because he's a conquest and he's somebody who trump not just beat but trounced in those primaries who ron desantis is the person who the new york post had put on their front page in 2022 as defuture and that obvio

and i hink trump will put desantis forward or her forward. i don't think any democrats would have stopped her and it comes down to joni ernst, maybe lindsey graham, but mostly her because she has influence among her colleagues and she can stop this single handedly. >> you got him using this language of a deployment saying i don't have -- i don't have a problem with alcohol. if i'm deployed, i won't take a drop. >> look, i mean, there is so much stuff out there right now, and there is probably more to come. this is damage control. >> did you know all this stuff? i feel like -- >> no, i didn't know any of these allegations, right, but he is known throughout the community as a person who is political, who has become much more extreme, who said crazy stuff on tv on a regular basis, written crazy stuff, so that part is public and america is getting to know the guy that most fox viewers know. there is a large part of the country that didn't know pete hegseth and are now getting to know him. putin loves to see this kind of crap, the disruption and t

host: if the nomination falls apart for whatever reason, is ron desantis the next man up? guest: it looks that way where we stand now. one of the dangerous things is predicting what donald trump will do. it is what makes him a unique figure. it is confirmed donald trump did call ron desantis when the initial crush of bad headlines started to tear away at hegseth and in that conversation trump had mentioned the possibility to desantis of being secretary of defense. this is a conversation he started having in june. it was not really in june, trump had not been elected yet. in conversations just a few days ago, trump has dangled this possibility and ron desantis signaled that he was interested in it. that does not mean he will necessarily do it and does not mean it will be offered. there are a lot of things that have to happen in between but the main thing that has to happen is hegseth needs to withdraw one way or another and right now he is saying he will fight like hell, donald trump has told other people he likes the fact that peter hegseth fights like hell and he is start

ron desantis is one of them. other people would like to see mike waltz it would still be sort of mind boggling if ron desantis does get chosen and trump does pull the rug out from under hegseth because you will just hear a replay of all of these things that desantis said about trump in their primary, including about trump's first indictment in manhattan and the trial related to a hush money payment to a porn star. putting all of that aside, trump is sending signals to these senators again, you know i'm not really committed on this until he starts really working the phones on this himself. it sort of leaves hegseth dangling. there can we talk about the desantis aspect of this? >> because, you know trump is considering a few other people. there's joni ernst his name has been thrown around. bill hagerty and obviously. but having a conversation with ron desantis about this job, it's just obviously struck so many people in trump's orbit. i know he had kind of talked about desantis putting him at the department of home

>> reporter: david, sources tell us that trump and desantis did speak about this yesterday, and desantis made it clear he is interested in the job. but they were bitter rivals during the primary. it would be something to see desantis join the trump administration, given their past. david? >> david: mary, thank you. >>> we're also learning more tonight about the massive chinese hack into phone systems right here in the u.s. federal authorities acknowledging for the first time chinese hackers successfully stole data from hundreds of thousands of americans, hacking at least eight telecommunications companies, and now suggesting that americans who don't want their text messages and conversations stolen by china to use apps for encrypted messaging. here's pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee telling abc news millions of americans could potentially be impacted by a massive chinese hacking and espionage campaign. authorities now say at least eight american telecommunications giants were compromised as part of a recently discovered global hacking

. >> un hombre encapuchado le disparo en el nombre del g gobernador de florida, ron desantis, como secretarionsa en lugar de pete hesed, en la mira por denuncias de c d conducta sexual inapropiada e intoxicacion por alcohol en eventos laborales. >> mas de 200 millones de p personas sienten el frio polar que llega a varios estados del noreste. >> en camino viene otra tormenta tormenta invernal que seguira dejando gran cantidad de personas del noreste. >> estados del viene y todo listo para que esta noche se ilumine el arbol de navidad del rockefeller center de nueva del este y podran verlo a traves de la en vivo. >> asi que no se lo pierda. >> television mediodia, con nicol suarez y octavio pulido. >> hola, ¿que tal? >> muy buenas tardes. >> gracias por acompanarnos en noticias telemundo mediodia. >> como siempre, gracias por su sintonia y que bueno que estes de vuelta, octavio, te e extranabamos. >> vamos a la informacion. >> y bueno, tenemos esta noticia de ultima hora. >> asesinanan a plenluz del dia en manhattan a brian thompson, director ejecutivo de la as aseguradora unitedhealthcare. >>

jd vance and desantis said things about trump, then they crawled back. marco rubio is a nominee likely to get bipartisan support and probably should get a partisan support in this nomination process. so, i just think this shows donald trump is taking the wrong message from election day. i think he is taking the wrong message from election day for donald trump in his own mind thinks it was a mandate when he won-- three quarters of a percent of a vote, 100,000 voters, he would have lost, and if you would have switched 7000 democrats are being controlled the house, and i think this is another example, and i actually think democrats are taking the wrong message from this whole election and what happened in the course of this. i don't think the voters up there who gave trump the win, the small amount of voters up there thought this is what they were getting. i think they thought they were going to get competent people who would know how to run the government and provide them services they need, that they would simultaneously do something about inflation and d

do you want ron desantis there? you think pete is going to be a disrupter. ron desantis even more of a disrupter like when you got poland, let the process play out. >> steve: we have got on our show an exclusive later on in the 8:00 hour, pinal pay hegseth, pete's his or her is going to be on. she wanted to explain the scathing email she sent and what happened after that and she will be here exclusively on "fox & friends." >> brian: you want some good news. i saw those citizens shout down idiotic mayor for backing sanctuary cities and then i watch a mayor in new york city say i want to talk to tom homan because i want to make sure that we have an illegal immigration problem and i want to work with this guy. listen. >> we are willing to take migrants and asylum seekers that are not criminals and committing crimes. we're willing to take them, but they have to be able to work. i don't understand why this wasn't clear to the previous administration. those who are here committing crimes, robberies, shooting at police officers, raping innocent people, have been a

could he be replaced by former trump rival ron desantis? >>> the shooting at an elementary school in california, two students injured. what we know about the gunman. >>> the new arctic blast threatening millions from north dakota to maine. heavy snow and powerful winds. >>> the search for the grandmother believed to have plunged a sinkhole while looking for her cat. >>> counting down to tonight's lighting of the world's most famous christmas tree and the moving story about the family behind it. >>> good evening. welcome. there are chilling new details tonight following what police say was the premeditated murder of the ceo of unitedhealthcare on the streets of manhattan early today. the images are graphic and you may find them upsetting. video capturing the moment brian thompson was approached from behind by the shooter. his outstretched arms leveling a handgun at the victim's back. he was shot at least twice. the minnesota man was pronounced dead at the hospital. the suspect is at large. thompson's wife saying he had received threats. for

let's talk about suddenly ron desantis's name is in the mix. this is a guy was had a couple get a pass with donald trump. what is more important to trump, super loyalty, which he will clearly get from hegseth, or administration with the likes of ron desantis, marco rubio, jd vance, it is like he is casting the next season of the presidential apprentice. >> i think if donald trump's priority is first is super all the time all away loyalty, then if that doesn't work, then if you attacked him, as long as you crawl back, you are fine. marco rubio said as bad of things about donald trump as ron desantis did, and so did jd vance. and jd vance got picked as his vp. he crawled back, got takes, and marco rubio is a nominee for secretary of state who is likely to get bipartisan support and probably should get bipartisan support in this nomination process. so i just think this shows donald trump is taking the wrong message from election day. i actually think he is taking the wrong message from election day. donald trump in his own mind thinks it was a man

then you also had desantis who got caught off guard. there's so many what if's, but one of them in the republican primary that i have always wondered, and i have had this discussion with a lot of republican sources, is what is the since if it had gone into january right after the big win? i have had plenty of people say to me 100 house republicans would have endorsed desantis in january. trump was toxic still in january put you 23. there were a lot of republicans ready to move on, then he delays getting in for whatever reason. because he wanted these legislative sessions to set up what he thought was going to be his policy agenda, so i understand how he was thinking if donald trump did not exist. the dissent's plan of announcing in may it made a lot of sense. -- the desantis plan. that moment, i don't think we fully appreciate. there's so many butterfly effects here, right? merrick garland's decision to not do anything for a year on trump contributed to this moment that gave trump this sort of fire -- by the way, there is a fine line be

possible replacement but ron desantis is there.resident-elect had rough boards during the campaign. >> that is interesting that desantis is in the same room with trump and second with pete hegseth. something else may be that work, a chance for mending to get people who have opposed you and manage those fences but the president has asked desantis to have lara trump. he wants lara trump and fill the senate spot marco rubio is vacating secretary of state so this may be a chance for the president to say two things, one is the desantis and put lara trump and that spot also prepare just in case. in the back of secretary of defense nominee. >> i want to put up on the screen washington post exit poll that showed veteran support for the candidates in the election included 34% of those veterans supported kamala harris 65% trump so i'll, target rich environment i guess you could say appearing at the game. >> is a good way to put it. one person we haven't talked about elon musk also in the box and he's being showed once again as a close ally a

ron desantis estarÍa en esta baraja. las reuniones con los senadores. dijo que donald trump lo respalda hasta el final. [habla en inglÉs] reportera: comentarios que surgen cuando se reporta que habrÍa seis senadores republicanos que dicen que no lo van a apoyar. pete hegseth enfrenta acusaciones de mala conducta sexual, acusaciones que niega. una revista dice que el nominado se vio obligado a dejar de dirigir dos grupos conservadores por mala gestiÓn de fondos y por estar intoxicado en el trabajo. >> me gustarÍa que dijera que va a dejar de tomar mientras estÉ en el cargo. reportera: the new york times obtuvo un correo electrÓnico escrito por la madre del nominado y que lo acusaba de maltratar a mujeres. ella misma saliÓ a defender a su hijo en fox news. [habla en inglÉs] reportera: entre algunos reemplazos podrÍa estar ron desantis. >> es un buen candidato. es el gobernador de florida. tiene experiencia administrativa. tambiÉn estuvo en las fuerzas armadas. reportera: el ex presentador de fox dijo que es vÍctima de difa

host: ron desantis, navy veteran.o you think he would be a better defense secretary than pete hegseth? caller: well, to be honest with you, i could not say. with regard to what branch of service or anything like that, i believe that hands-on experience , living that life prior to your political career that you will have a better understanding of how the military functions. we have to get rid of that crt and dei because that was garbage. it was not necessary when i served and i don't see a need for it now. those things are driving people from enlisting. host: when and where did you serve? caller: -- to be a representative and as a secretary of defense. host: when and where did you serve, william? caller: the seventh infantry division under the reagan administration. reconnaissance scout radio operator. host: thank you for that call from cleveland. alexandria, indiana. steve on the line for republicans. caller: i think pete would be a great pick for this job. he is highly intelligent. i have been watching him on the new

if we saw hegseth drop out and a desantis come in, desantis does have a history as a member of congress. so he is known on the hill and here in d.c. but i think it would be looking at a gaetz-pam bondi situation, that somebody new comes in and senators are, you know, just so happy to get a new name, get to move on from the controversy of another name so they'd be ready to rally behind the likes of someone like desantis. >> i think that's probably right. alex, briefly, it is deliberate the trump transition team, the show of force, how quickly nominations have come. trying to say we have momentum. but, you know, we know he objected to that characterization in the "wall street journal." but he's had stumbles now. matt gaetz had to powell. the dea pick withdrew. there's real questions whether hegseth can make it. tulsi gabbard, kash patel. they will face scrutiny. talk about the mood on capitol hill. >> they were rapid fire. getting people that weren't thoroughly vetted like a pete hegseth, getting names out really quickly. and now i think the fact we saw the president-elect come out agains

that's why he's on the phone talking to ron desantis about whether he wants the job. it is pretty surprising. it kind of shocked me yesterday morning when i heard it, but that doesn't mean desantis is going to get the job. what it means is that donald trump has doubts about whether hegseth can actually get the votes. >> gretchen carlson hegseth mom appeared on fox news defending him this morning. this comes after the new york times, a few days ago revealed that she wrote him a really harsh email in 2018, in which she accused him of mistreating women in his personal life this is, i think, during his second divorce. um, we should note that she also, in that new york times story, also said that she, a few hours later apologized to pete for writing that email. take a listen to penelope hegseth earlier today i wrote that out of love and about two hours later i retracted it with an apology email but nobody's seen that he's a changed man, and i just hope people will will get to know who pete is today especially our dear female senators that you would listen to him, listen wi

as for governor desantis, sources tell cbs news he is interested in the job and considered confirmablekole killion, cbs news, capitol hill. >>> the supreme court heard arguments in one of the most significant cases this term, whether states like tennessee can ban gender affirming care for minors. it is an issue that could have sweeping consequences on the lives of transgender people. here is cbs's natalie brand. >> reporter: parents of transgender youth on both sides of the issue made their voices heard outside the u.s. supreme court as the justices weighed arguments inside. >> normally in these cases one group receives something that the other group does not. >> the case challenges the constitutionality of a tennessee law that bans what is known as gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender minors. >> it is a sweeping, categorical ban where the legislature didn't even take into account the significant health benefits that can come from providing gender-affirming care including reduced suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. >> reporter: more than

the very public float of ron desantis as a possible replacement for pete hegseth.so deliberate from the trump team and then to have desantis not deny it how could it not have an impact that's right. >> that was the moment that i thought oh, this is over. once the trump team is officially floating, alternatives that means that they know it's done. um, and the fact that, frankly, much like the situation with matt gaetz versus pam bondi, the person that they are promoting or floating as an alternative is someone who does have more experience and does answer some of the questions that one would have about pete hegseth. so i think they know. and this is just a, you know, a ticking time bomb, and it's going to go off at any any day now. >> yeah, i mean the flow to desantis, matt. it made me think for republicans and frankly, even some democrats looking at this saying, you know what this is someone they would say who's just a better pick. like, you can have someone with all the same views who's just a better pick. so why not look, i think we should be careful on desantis.

desantis was on an earlier list of potential defense secretaries. that other names being floated are former pentagon official eldridge colby and iowa senator joni ernst. nbc news has not independently confirmed the reporting and is seeking comment from desantis. >> so many fast-moving parts to consider. brie, thank you. >>> ashley benefield, th ex- ex-ballerina convicted of killing her husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison and 10 years of probation. she shot her husband after an argument turned physical. >>> we are learning new details about the stow away who was able to g through airport security in new york and board a flight to paris without a ticket. stephanie gosk has the update. >> reporter: new details about the woman who allegedly snuck on board a delta flight to paris from new york's jfk airport over the holiday. a passenger shot this video that he says shows her being questioned when the flight landed. >> she ended up pulling out this pass and gave it to the flight attendant, and it was just not a boarding pass. >> reporter: french b

get rid of hegseth now and just go with desantis. is what i'm hearing. >> so i want to play some sound here is the inevitable sound. we don't have the sound, but but in in 2015 and 2016, hegseth would go after donald trump. it's kind of a rite of passage. you come out in public life as a republican trump supporter who trump likes, and you run clips of him in 2015, 2016. to him criticizing. it doesn't seem to bother trump. you don't think it's an issue? >> not not at all. i mean, look who's elected. the vice president was jd vance, obviously very critical of him. you'd be loath to find someone who hasn't criticized trump in the republican party at some point in the ten years since he came to brian sikes that honestly, what he does actually love is he loves converts. he does love converts. and so that there there might be issues that could cause his nomination to go off the rails. this isn't close to one of them. do you think that the central premise of what you heard from senator schmidt forget the der die part of it, but the reform p

so desantis and trump go to the same place at the same time. interesting. with us now, cnn political commentator bakari sellers, former white house spokesman for president george h.w. bush, pete seat first this trump statement. pete, because it comes after a full night of reporting that noted that donald trump wasn't going to call senators to lobby for pete hegseth. that was what the washington post flat out said. texas has been told not to expect trump to apply pressure on republican senators. now we see this social media post. is that pressure on senators, or is that kind of a middle ground it's a bit more of a middle ground. >> i think at this moment although pete hegseth is walking a tightrope with little net, he's doing quite a good job of balancing. he has former fox news colleagues who are coming to his defense on the record his mother, of course, went live on the air to extoll his virtues and talk about him as well. >> and hegseth himself is not shying away from the accusations from the reports he's talking to senators one on one and answering these

those were desantis' words.f questions that even if he were to get that job offer, it would make him uncomfortable answering the questions about what he would be willing to do as the pentagon chief in his capacity when donald trump is the one directing him on how the military should be used. >> julie, give us a rundown on what's happening in the house involving the matt gaetz report and debate over releasing it. >> reporter: before thanksgiving, the house ethics panel came out of their meeting when gaetz was still in contention for attorney general and said they couldn't decide. couldn't come to a consensus between democrats and republicans on whether to complete and release this ethics report into gaetz's drug use, alleged sexual misconduct. so then you had two democrats file two separate motions on the house floor that would the house to put a vote on the floor whether they release this report. that is happening tonight because of course there is a deadline johnson has to follow. it only means a simple majorit

ron desantis would likely sail through confirmation as well. the intriguing thing about desantis.nimosity between the two is real, but he has the opportunity to appoint the next florida senator should marco rubio be confirmed. they want that seat to go to lara trump. is there a deal to be made? it feels kind of icky transactional. he may say you can be sec def if my daughter-in-law can be the next senator. >> stranger things have happened. i want to ask, bring in jeff mason here and ask you about elon musk and let me clear up one thing about hegseth. the over under here or gut check, because alcoholism or excessive drinking, whatever you want to call it, not speaking medically, but drinking on the job and you know, a lot of reporting, credible reporting of it interfering with his work and social interactions, is a serious impediment to being secretary of defense. i covered the howard nomination. the first one i should say that went down because of united decision making he drank too much. he's a former chairman of the armed services committee and they rejected him. led by a democr

i have reached out for desantis' orbit. waiting to hear back from desantis on that reporting.mocratic senators seemingly accepting their fate in the minority and willing to you can work with republicans. from vermont said trump won. he's the president. we have to accept that he has a right to nominate his cabinet members. our approach will be to give him the benefit of the doubt when you not a blank check. host of here's the deal with kellyanne on fox nation, kellyanne conway joins me now. what do you think about that? >> i think it's excellent and growing trend because senator welch and others have obviously seen emily, president trump move this country into a center right direction. we have gone from the obama coalition in 2012 to trump country 2024. the migration of hispanic americans, black americans, union households, jewish americans, women. you name it, going from and of course noncollege educated households, going from obama to trump in the span of 12 years has shown these senators, including those who have been there quite a while that this is a mandate from the count

trump and desantis, once rivals. >> i don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star. >> it's time for ron desantis to hang it up. >> reporter: he endorsed trump. >> he has been prosecuted and he nearly lost his life. we cannot let him down and we cannot let america down. >>>> reporte some top trump allies in a holding pattern. >> i will support whoever he wants. >> despite the challenges for hegseth, trump is moving quickly to fill posts. >> reporter: that's right. he named 13 picks so far today, including peter navarro on trade. he served four months in prison for defying a subpoena from the january 6 committee. lester? >> thank you. >>> northern california, breaking news, a shooting at an lockdown. police are working with the fbi and other agencies as they continue the investigation tonight. >> liz, thanks. >>> millions of people are under winter alerts in the northeast and midwest for a dangerous arctic blast and a lot more snow. erin mclaughlin is following it from erie, pennsylvania. >> reporter: from michigan to north dakota, snow misery strikes the midwest. part o

about desantis? >> i spoke to the president-elect this morning, he said keep going, keep fighting. >> you are in this all away. >> it is a passion for me. >> you are not withdrawing your name from consideration? lauren: we are watching minute by minute how these meetings go, whether he is able to turn the vote in favor of him it comes down to the math, the numbers and right now according to sources he doesn't have the votes he needs. he has to turn things around today and tomorrow. in the meantime we are waiting for scott bessent, the nominee for treasury secretary. he's expect on the hill later this afternoon, he will meet with the gop leaders, john thune and john barrasso, the majority whip, if confirmed will oversee the treasury department as they try to implement trump's campaign promises extending tax cuts, getting rid of taxes on tips, taxes on overtime, in support of using tariffs as a revenue raising tool and a negotiating tool to protect america's interests, he is expected have a fairly easy

the "wall street journal" says trump is now looking at florida governor ron desantis for defense secretary. the original pick, pete hegseth, will continue to meet with republican senators on capitol hill today. sheriff chad chronister has withdrawn from contention to lead the dea. his enforcement of pandemic restrictions has drawn a lot of opposition. more repercussions from bind's bard of his son, hunter. a federal judge says it may have exceeded the scope of the president pardon powers. what does it try to cover-up? on the show today, the whole idea of sanctuary now in question. an appeals court says it's okay for i.c.e. to to deport illegals even if local authorities object. the premier offal bear that -- alberta is canada's major oil produce per. daniel smith wants to to drill, baby, drill and export to america -- danielle smith. we will ask her. s december -- yes, of course, it is, december the 4th. it's wednesday, all day, 2024. "varney & company" is about to to begin. ♪ ♪ don't stop me now. ♪ if i'm having such a good time, i'm having a ball ♪ stuart: don't top me now. that may be a

one of them, florida governor ron desantis. that's someone who, in fact, some democrats are signaling they could be open to supporting, if that nomination comes forward i'm considering voting yes on desantis. >> if he's finally admits that he has lifts in his boots. i'm sure he does. you know, maybe three inches. four inches at least. >> he's a, you know a governor of one of our biggest states. he served in congress. he's you know, served in the military. so i think he has what you would look at on paper as the requisite kind of experience you would want in a secretary of defense. >> it's 100% clear to me who he wants. the secretary of defense right now that last comment coming from senator josh hawley, a republican who had a meeting scheduled with hegseth tomorrow, he told me that it was canceled but the transition tells me that they've rescheduled that for next week. >> but it all underscores the questions that are still on capitol hill about whether he will actually make it, whether they'll actually be a replacement candidat

as for governor desantis sources tell cbs news he is interested in the job and considered confirmablerah? >> norah: nikole killion with all that new information thank you very much. well, tonight, millions of americans are bracing for a blast of wintry weather, with snow moving into the upper midwest and northeast. this is time-lapse video from wisconsin. watch as i-94 fills with snow and driving conditions deteriorate in just a matter of minutes. it's not just snow, but wind and frigid temperatures are also on the way. cbs's lonnie quinn is with us now and following it all. good evening, lonnie. >> good evening, norah. there is even a chance for new york city to potentially see a couple of inches of snow tonight. this is a story, the storm that pushed through wisconsin. it is a snow maker, it sure is. it will be hitting the great lakes. it will put down snow in terms of lake effect snow, moving into the ski areas in new england and they pick up snow. how much snow? what are we talking about? look over here. the numbers are not that impressive coming to see that area and white is abou

have you had any conversations with the president-elect about him replacing you with governor desantis i spoke to the president-elect this morning. he said keep going, keep fighting. >> reporter: you are in this all the way? >> why would i back down? have always been a fighter. i'm here for the war fighters. this is personal and passionate for me. >> reporter: hoping to combat a flood of negative headlines, pete hegseth went on a full-court press wednesday, starting with a "wall street journal" op-ed defending his conduct at two veteran nonprofits, where he was accused of financial mismanagement, and in a new interview he addressed accusations of excessive bringing. >> first of all, i've never had a drink in problem. no one has ever approached me and said, oh, you should really look at getting help for drinking. never. >> reporter: his mother, penelope, also took to the airwaves and appealed to lawmakers, walking back a scathing 2018 email reported by "the new york times" where she called her son "an abuser of women." >> i wrote that in haste. i wrote that with deep emotions. pete is a

governor desantis has done a lot to protect the environment and he's in a bipartisan fashion. to your and you know what he does because is his climate czar awesome. a former of our congressional office. so that i know that out come on the best so but but but sorry i have to be negative about governor sanders one second which is that he still includes it in his culture war tax. so he leans on bipartisan environmental policy in practice which i will give all the kiddos in the world for but he still uses it to. attack the left and and if any you know average passer any average voter including. when i was thinking to florida college republicans is asked does ron desantis care about the environment? they would say no because the narrative is so still on this issue, because he sees incentive to polarize on this. the words may not be great, but the actions but actions speak for themselves. doesn't that really prompt a lot of money, does it but doesn't do anything right. the problem, right. the heat. well, it is part of your he can brag about his environmental successes is that he can

do you support desantis or hegseth as pentagon chief? >> first of all, pete is still in it. i'll meet with him. i met with a group of senators a couple nights ago. he certainly conveyed to me the priorities of what he would do as secretary and i agree with him, to focus on returning lethality to our military force, to defend this nation, root out the wokeness, the dei, the things that have really threatened our readiness, and as a war fighter himself, someone whose served his nation, i have to respect that and i just read this defense that he wrote in the "wall street journal." it doesn't sound like he's backing down and he makes a pretty good case for himself in that article. liz: pete hegseth is saying trump says keep fighting. the story is that hegseth is denying a new yorker nbc story alleging sexual misconduct, excessive drinking one story alleges expensive abuses so are the senators concerned about that? is his nomination now in jeopardy? >> i hope most republican senators take my viewpoint of the legacy corporate media. i mean, we saw the legacy media carry the russia