esper. he has been serving as acting secretary since june, following patrickgnation of shanahan, who temporarily replaced former defense secretary james mattis in january. mr. esper, currently army secretary, was asked about u.s. policy toward iran, cybersecurity, and nuclear deterrence, among other topics. this is just over 2.5 hours. requirede the 8 questions you will have to respond to audibly so we can get that in the record. if you would hear to the regulations of interest? >> yes sir. >> have you taken any actions that would appear to presume the outcome of the confirmation process? >> no, sir. >> exercising your responsibility makes it important that this committee, subcommittees, and other appropriate committees if congress received testimony briefings, reports, recordings, records, and other information from the executive branch on a timely basis. do you agree, it is confirmed, to testify before this committee? >> yes, sir. >> do you agree to provide records, documents, electronic c

esper. he spent the majority of his life in the armed service, the u.s. military academy at west point. he continued through his carrier in the army active guard reserve, service to the white house, service to this body. in fact, dr. esper has seen it all as an active guard and reserve member. work in the private sector, think tanks on national security policy, service to house and senate committees, service to individual senators, and service to republican administrations. you are familiar with his biography, but i wanted to share two instances of working with dr. esper, which has led me to the conclusion he is the person of character who should lead the department. one of the first phone calls i received after introduced legislation to address challenges with the and -- with the unacceptably high unemployment rate of military spouses was from then secretary esper. he thanked me for the legislation, and talked about his own concern about this as secretary of the army and wants -- wanted to

esper: thank you, mr. president for your kind words, confidence in me and this incredible opportunity. fork you justice alito administering the oath of office. i want to think the senate armed services committee for its quick action on my nomination and a strong bipartisan support i received today from the entire united states senate. it is in honor of a lifetime to be appointed secretary of defense and to lead the greatest military in history. do so with that same energy and commitment to duty, i had forcountry that nearly four decades since my early days at west point. a privileget, it is for me and for my family to be here today. thank you for your leadership and commitment to a strong to ourl defense, and service members. our military has made tremendous gains thanks to your leadership, and we stand ready today to take on any challenge. airmen,r soldiers, sailors and marines stand guard, we will ensure their families are taking care of. i will it to think my wife who has been -- i would like to think m

esper: i, mark esper do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that i will bear true faith. and allegiance to the same, that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office from which i am about to enter. so help me god. justice alito: congratulations. [cameras shuttering] [applause] pres. trump: would you like to say something? yes, sir. if i may. thank you, mr. president for your kind words, confidence in me and this incredible opportunity. thank you justice alito for administering the oath of office. i really appreciate you being here this afternoon. i want to think the senate armed services committee for its quick action on my nomination and a further strong, bipartisan support that i received today from the entire united states senate. it is an honor of a lifetime to be appointed secretary of defense and to lead the greatest military in history. and i will do so with that same energy and

esper.en and women who serve at the pentagon know well, since day one of this administration president trump has taken decisive action to make the strongest military in that history of the world stronger still. presidentet cuts trump fought for insecure the largest increase in our national defense and more than a decade, including the largest military pay raise in over 10 years. [applause] at the president's direction we produced a national security strategy that puts america first, pursued the modernization arsenal.clear as the secretary just said, our nato allies are contributing more to the common defense than the strong, and with support of members in congress we are well on our way to establishing the sixth branch of our armed forces, the united states space force. today, congress will vote on a budget deal, thanks to the presidents leadership, that preserves the historic investments we have made in our national defense. it provides for our veterans and ends the defense sequester once a

secretary esper, if confirmed, i am confident you will do so. thank you, mr. chairman for holding the hearing. i look forward to the hearing and hearing from our nominee. thank you. >> thank you. senator kaine, you are recognized to introduce our guest.

esper. the senate confirmed him as the 27th secretary of defense in a 90-8 vote on tuesday. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [gunshots] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stay standing for the united states anthem by the united states navy band. whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight oer the ram parts we watched were so gal aptly streaming and the red rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ [commands] >> it's a great day for a prayer and great day for our nation and thank the lord for the opportunity to be here in this great weather here in washington, d.c.,. let's pray with me today. lord ks we come to you in this moment and seek your blessings upon this ceremony. defense secretary esper of the united states of america. thank you for your presence with us today and thank you for your presence with those of our forces and familie

esper.ing, everyone. to the troops on the field, you look fantastic. [applause] president trump, vice president pence, members of congress, and distinguished guests, thank you for joining us today. on behalf of of the department of defense, welcome to the pentagon. this historic building is not only the headquarters of our armed forces but a prominent symbol of america's military power. and of our willingness to defend our people and our interests around the world. to generations of americans this place, this building embodies our national security. however, a building is nothing without the people within it and the spirit and dedication they bring to it each and every day. as such, i want to thank the great patriots, military and civilian alike, who come to work here and focus on one thing, supporting the more than 2 million soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who sacrifice and serve in defense of our great nation. they all represent america's best and i am proud to serve with them and a

esper. given these extraordinary set of circumstances the chairman and i agree that it is important to consider the nomination of secretary esper as expeditiously as possible. let me be clear, his confirmation shoopen a routine matter. while secretary esper has been performing the duties of the secretary for the past several weeks, serving as sblgt of army, the duties of secretary are unique. as such i believe it is incumbent upon this committee to vigorously vet his nomination and review his qualifications. secretary esper, as we consider your nomination, we must bear in mind the national security challenges facing our country. currently the department is focused on competition with peer adversaries like china and russia as the department pursues the new strategic direction established by the national defense strategy. also, iran and north korea replain dangerous and the threat posed by the violent extremists organizations is not diminishing. furthermore, the department must continue to rec

esper is an outstanding choice. i don't need to tell anyone how essential a position of the secretary of defense is to our national security. the secretary of defense is key to ensuring that our nation is prepared to meet and defeat any threat. dr. esper has the experience, the knowledge, and the character for the job. he has an illustrious resume. west point grad, gold four veteran, bronze star recipient. rifle company commander. a total of ten years on active duty and an additional 1 1 in the national guard and army reserve. and in addition to his practical military and leadership experience, he has extensive experience on the policy side of things as well. he has a masters degree from the john f. kennedy school of government at harvard and a doctorate in public policy from george washington university here in the nation's capital. he worked as a senior professional staff member on the senate foreign relations committee and governmental affairs committee. as policy director for the house armed services committee a

mark esper. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. and to the troops on the field, you look fantastic. [applause] president trump, vice president ants come up of congress and distinguished guests, thank you for joining us today. welcome to the pentagon. this historic building is not only the headquarters of our armed forces, it is a prominent symbol of america's military and our willingness to defend our people and interests around the world. ,o generations of americans this place, this building embodies our national security. however, a building is nothing without the people within it and the spirit and dedication they bring to it. as such, i want to thank the great patriots, military and civilian alike have come. to work to focus on one thing. supporting the. thing,on -- focus on one supporting the 2 million who sacrifice absurd defense of our great nation. they represent america's best and i am proud to support with them and alongside. -- alongside them. mr. president, thank you for your confidence. honor of a lifetime to the point

esper. he spent the majority of his adult life in service to the country starting with his entry into the united states military academy at west point and continuing through his career in the army, active, guard, reserve, service to the white house, service to this body. in fact, dr. esper has really sort of seen it all as an active guard and reserve member, work in the private sector, work in think tanks on national security policy, service to house and senate committees, service to individual senators and service to two republican administrations. you are familiar with his biography but i just wanted to share two instances of working together with dr. esper, which has led me to the conclusion that he is the person of character who should lead the department. one of the first phone calls i received after i introduced legislation to address challenges with the unacceptably high unemployment rate of military spouses was from then secretary esper. who thanked me for the legislation, who talked

esper has served as army et

esper gave brief remarks, thanking president trump for his nomination to the pentagon's top job. pres. trump: thank you very much everybody. we have a very important moment in our country's history. we have a lot of our great republican senators in the white house and i invited them over. many of them wanted to be here. as you probably heard, the vote just took place and it was 90-8.

esper.you live. plus this. >> good. >> sandra: thank god for our first responders, a fiery crash there leads to an heroic rescue. we'll speak to the officer who risked his life to save that driver next. >> nothing special about what i did. honor off duty any of us -- any of my partners would have done the exact same thing. e of us. it was an instant savings and i should have changed a long time ago. we're the tenney's and we're usaa members for life. call usaa to start saving on insurance today. our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy! whoo-hoo! great-tasting ensure. with nine grams of protein and twenty-six vitamins and minerals. ensure, for strength and energy. so, every day, we put our latest technology and unrivaled network to work. the united states postal service makes more e-commerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country. with sofi, get your credit cards right- by consolidating your credit card debt into one monthly payment. and get

esper served on active duty for over 10 years. he's a gulf war veteran.d as the army secretary. he had to step down as acting defense chief due to a decade old law. the chairman of the armed services committee hopes to have a vote confirming esper by early next week. liz: rerealing to critics they are i tell aren't and bullying and that's who they really are. they are being accused of their go-to is race i'm. their default, blame america first. showing the vacancy sign in their policy shop as the fight between president trump and the four congress women continue today. here is the president today. president trump: they should love our country. they shouldn't hate our country. you look at what they have said. i have clipped right here. the most of vile comments about our country. and about israel. >> it's interesting we are spending all our time on the floor of the house of representatives where the speaker is calling the president names. to the point where the majority leader of her own part i called her comment out of order. this does nothing to address

. >>> moments from now, the senate is expected to vote on the confirmation of mark esper as the next secretary of defense. he's expected to be confirmed overwhelmingly. it's been 204 days since there's been confirmed defense chief. meanwhile, another vote we're anticipating, the september 11th

secretary esper, congratulations again to you and your family. this is an incredible day in the life and fabled history of the united states. secretary of defense. do you ever see that one? as i watch all these great men and women, you're going to do a great job. i have no doubt. absolutely no doubt. [applause] no doubt. we cannot wait to see all that you will achieve for our nation as the new secretary of defense. i want to think everybody for being here. very special. god bless you, god bless our military, and god bless america. thank you very much, everybody. thank you. thank you very much. >> harris: the president of the united states, congratulating and welcoming his new defense secretary, mark esper, in grand fashion. full colors at the pentagon. the "washington examiner" reporting that the first time all ceremonial stops have been pulled out for a new defense secretary in recent memory. a very special day, we heard from the incoming secretary of defense, mark s period and we heard from the present just then on the day in which the colors m

and say mark esper is the other say mark- i would esper is the other big one. democrats have been doing these domestic votes because they would like to say here is what we are trying to accomplish for you. mitch mcconnell wants to confirm as many judges as he can because he has an agenda of reshaping the courts. that is part of the message he takes out with him in august. with the towns hall meetings, there seems to be one thing. do you see one thing emerging? guest: i think trump is such a dominant figure and the tweets aimed at the squad, it is hard to see how that does not dominate the entire new cycle. host: noah bierman, what does the month of august look like for the president? guest: he likes to spend a couple of weeks in new jersey. i think we will probably see that. hopefully for him, the weather will cool off a little bit. i think that is the main thing. later in august, he will be going to the g7 in france. that will be a big international stage. the g7 before, he had quite a few clashes with allies and it dominated any of the official business that

in fact this is general esper speaking now. by the senate overwhelmingly on tuesday. he was confirmed 90-8. he was sworn in later at the white house. this is of course president trump's second defense secretary after general mattis' departure in december. you will probably remember that patrick shanahan was president trump's original pick. mr. esper, 55 years old, says that his top priority is the welfare of the men and women in the military and the department of defense. those comments ongoing right now. there will be a 21-gun salute as well. again, the new defense secretary, mark esper, making his comments right now at the pentagon. we'll keep an eye on that. >>> also this morning, new face media giant has agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine for privacy violations. it is the largest ftc fine ever levied against a tech company. on top of that facebook must also create an independent privacy oversight board. ceo mark zuckerberg will be required to provide quarterly reports and what the company is doing to protect our data, a

. >>> mark esper was on capitol hill yesterday.te, growing concern of competitors. >> i'm an avid supporter of the national defense strategy and its clear out assessment. it warrants a refocus to high-intensity conflict across you aof the military services. the international rules-based order in the wake of world war ii is the order that's assured proper operator and security for 75 years. i'm fully committed to that. i think that's one thing certainly under threat from russia and certainly china. china wanted to reorder the global order. >> esper also said he would resign if he was asked to do anything el legal. that hearing became heated an elizabeth warren questioned about his ties to raytheon, a top contractor for which esper was a lobbyist for before becoming the secretary back in 2017. esper sold his stock in raytheon last year and recused himself from duties related to the pentagon yesterday. but yesterday said he would continue that blanket refusal if confirmed as secretary of defense. >> joining us the senior reporter for

esper? >> he has a different professional background, i'll take that as a yes. you detailed ethics to your obligations by getting you can get a waiver to participate in matters that directly and predictably affect raytheon's financial interests if it's, quote, so important that it cannot be referred to another official, end quote. this smacks of corruption, plain and simple. so here's my question. will you commit that during your time as defense secretary that you will not seek any waiver that will allow you to participate in matters that affect raytheon's financial interests? >> well, senator, let me correct the record with regard to what you said. at any time in the past 20-some months to include the last three weeks did i request or seek or receive or be granted any waiver? >> i appreciate, dr. esper, that you have not in the past asked for one, but you have -- you're the one who has detailed an exception to your ethics obligation by saying that you can seek a waiver in the future. so i'm asking if you're confirmed will you agree not to seek such a waiver? i

david: mark esper is the confirmed defense secretary. he has a lot of experience in the military.former infantryman and he's well respected. we have a very well-respected member much our panel. you just returned from marla --m malawi. you have kids there who have sports programs in their schools because of what you have did there. >> one of the greatest honors i have is to deal with poverty around the world. i built a sports and education facility for a bunch of people in the worst area of the world. only 2% of the country has electricity. david: well done. he does this all over the world literally. we wish you have well in your project, john. that doeso does it for "bulls and bears." liz: a reluctant robert mueller set to testify in less than 15 hours. the democrats organizing a mueller interest net blitz. this as america polls show have moved on. the scorecard of what you can expect. why miler is saying he'll only testify on what's inside his report. it covers an important section

and say mark esper is the other say mark- i would esper is the other big one. democrats have been doing these domestic votes because they would like to say here is what we are trying to accomplish for you. mitch mcconnell wants to confirm as many judges as he can because he has an agenda of reshaping the courts. that is part of the message he takes out with him in august. with the towns hall meetings, there seems to be one thing. do you see one thing emerging? guest: i think trump is such a dominant figure and the tweets aimed at the squad, it is hard to see how that does not dominate the entire new cycle. host: noah bierman, what does the month of august look like for the president? guest: he likes to spend a couple of weeks in new jersey. i think we will probably see that. hopefully for him, the weather will cool off a little bit. i think that is the main thing. later in august, he will be going to the g7 in france. that will be a big international stage. the g7 before, he had quite a few clashes with allies and it dominated any of the official business that

esper be confirmed as quickly as possible, assuming he qualifies on the other issues.the nominee. i am concerned that the president is trying to politicize virtually every institution in this city, starting with the intelligence community, the federal reserve, and the independent judiciary, et cetera. i'm really concerned about him politicizing the military and i saw the evidence of that, for example, when secretary mattis was falling out of favor with the president. the president said i think he is a sort of democrat. that is a very bad signal to be sending. what the president says, well, my generals will commit to waterboarding, he is sending a signal if you're in the military, we respect you to be loyal to a particular party. you can't -- notwithstanding jim mattis hookers on the battlefield and one of the most decorated soldiers in our history and most revered to say he is sort of a democrat really is demeaning, certainly secretary mattis and trying to debase an institution that it's a political instrument and not an interest force for the american people. >> as we

>> mark esper? >> he's been the army sect tri for about two years and he's been -- had a great relationship with president trump and really good relationship with the hill during that time. that is one of the reasons his nomination animation was accelerated. it all went through in about two weeks which is very fast for this. i think part of that was the fact that members were tired of having an acting secretary of defense and wanted someone in a permanent position especially given all the tensions with iran, all of the world issues going on right now. they really wanted someone who was in there as a permanent job. mark esper is said to have a very good relationship with president trump and also with some of the people who surround president trump on defense and national security issues. he is a west point grad and he went to school with some of the people who are the trump whisperers on these issues. he is expected to have a more powerful position and have more juice in the job than acting secretary

how do you see this confirmation process going for esper? >> people think he will slide through this confirmation. it's possible he will get voted, confirmed and sworn in this week. then they can start working on the other more than a dozen open slots for political appointees, including esper's number two. that he wants the deputy secretary of defense. we could see a nominee on that as early as next week. so far this hearing has not had a whole lot of fireworks. we expect mark esper who is the army secretary as he is awaiting confirmation, we expect him to get questions on things like tensions with iran. we expect him to get questions on personnel issues like the ongoing back and forth about whether transgender individuals can openly serve in the military. and we did have -- we have one interesting back and forth with him already where he defended the u.s. military role along the border. let's hear what he had to say. >> in many ways the operations that d.o.d. is providing at the border in support of dhs is not unlike what we have done in th

liz: the senate confirming mark mark esper as defense secretary. reporter: mark esper was sworn in as president trump's defense secretary a few minutes ago. the senate confirmation vote was overwhelmingly in favor of esper. elizabeth warren asked him to recuse himself. he said he would follow in jim mattis' wake who resigned in december. >> is it safe live to say you are more aligned to secretary mattis than trump? >> i don't know how to pick between the two. but i share secretary mattis' view ofs and i expressed that publicly. reporter: he faces a host of challenges, among them, iran. the u.s.s. boxer destroyed at least two iranian drones with a new jamming device. south korean fighter jets fired 360 warning shots at this russian fighter jet when it crossed into south korean air space. liz: thank you so much. the u.s. oil boom helping to keep oil prices low as tensions with iran escalate the strait of hormuz is in play. french president emmanuel macron is set to meet. margaret thatcher and ronald reagan basically changed the world. will boris john

esper, currently army secretary, was asked about u.s. policy toward iran, cybersecurity, and nuclear deterrence, among other topics. this is just over 2.5 hours.

and say mark esper is the other say mark- i would esper is the other big one.ts have been doing these domestic votes because they would like to say here is what we are trying to accomplish for you. mitch mcconnell wants to confirm as many judges as he can because he has an agenda of reshaping the courts. that is part of the message he takes out with him in august. with the towns hall meetings, there seems to be one thing. do you see one thing emerging? guest: i think trump is such a dominant figure and the tweets aimed at the squad, it is hard to see how that does not dominate the entire new cycle. host: noah bierman, what does the month of august look like for the president? guest: he likes to spend a couple of weeks in new jersey. i think we will probably see that. hopefully for him, the weather will cool off a little bit. i think that is the main thing. later in august, he will be going to the g7 in france. that will be a big international stage. the g7 before, he had quite a few clashes with allies and it dominated any of the official business that was supp

senate has confirmed mark esper as defenssecretary. the position was vacated longer than ever beforen the pentagon's history following the resignation of jim mattis last year. mr esper received support from republican and democratic senators and is being sworn i south korean fighter jets fired warning shots at a russian military craft that twice entered its airspace. russia denies any vlation, but it also drew a response from japan. it said south korea's actions had been totally unacceptable. democrats and republicans in congress are lining sp questions foial counsel robert mueller, who takes the hot seat on wednesday for a pair of highly anticipated hearings. is due to discuss the findings of his report into ruian election meddling an explain some of his decisions regarding president thump. justice department officials have warned mr. mueller to not go beyond what has been released to the public. for more can i spoke with rormer federalcutor joseph moreno. ifnde sticks to this report, there is every indication he will, what aree going

army secretary mark esper will lead at the pentagon and he is set to be sworn in tonight.pentagon has had without a permanent leader in american history. jennifer griffin reporting period >> this afternoon, the pentagon has the first permanent defense secretary in seven months. the vote was 90-8 and the nos included nearly all the democrats running for president in 2020. kamala harris, amy klobuchar, ron wyden, cory booker, kirsten gillibrand and elizabeth warren who had unsuccessfully pressed esper to recuse himself of all decisions including his former employer, the defense giant raytheon or whom he was chief lobbyist for seven years before being appointed army secretary by president trump. >> so is it safe to say that you are more closely aligned to secretary mattis than president trump? >> i don't know where to pick between the two but clearly i share secretary mattis' abuse. >> esper was a west point graduate and graduated in 1986 and served as an infantry officer during the first gulf war. he faces a host of immediate challenges including what to do about rising tens

mr esper is a former industry lobbyist and had been serving as army secretary.od without a confirmed leader — following jim matti's resignation seven months ago. take a look at these pictures from sydney, where police have arrested a man accused of carrying us$1a0 million worth of drugs after he crashed his vehicle into police cars outside a police station. he's been charged with supplying drugs and negligent driving. let's get more on our top story. borisjohnson has won the race to become the tory party leader and so will be appointed the uk's next prime minister on wednesday. earlier, i got the thoughts of kulveer ranger — a former advisor to borisjohnson on transport matters during his stint as the mayor of london. he isa he is a unique politician. he energises people, the room, and, yes, he put some bold statements are there. it is what he had to do when he became mayor of london. he also, much as he has done now, realises he's come at a time of great challenge, the people are questioning him as an individual, his character. and he wants to rise to the chall

esper had pretty overwhelming support here.gon. what's your take on his approval here and what it means going forward. >> reporter: kasie, as you well know, i'm here on your stomping grounds. he was suspected to sail through confirmation. he only had one hiccup, he was a defense industry executive for a long time. there was some consternation whether he would recuse himself about issues when he was in the defense industry and he declined to recuse himself from those issues. there was back and forth with elizabeth warren about it. he was confirmed by a wide margin. he's expected to be sworn in today and a more formal confirmation swearing in at a later time we're waiting to hear about. the next piece is his deputy secretary of defense, which has been david norquist just nominated from the white house. he's been serving in the performing duties of deputy secretary of defense since jim mattis resigned in september. we expect him to be confirmed pretty easily in a short period of time as deputy secretary of defense which means we w

the secretary of defense mark esper was confirmed and took the job last week. so now they're going to confirm the deputy secretary of defense. the other position that is out there that mcconnell views as a key position for confirmation, is the u.s. ambassador to the united nations. kelly kraft, who is trump's nominee for that position, is the current ambassador to canada and probably, importantly as well, because it is mcconnell who sets the schedule, she lives in kentucky and she and her husband are major supporters of mcconnell and his operations. >> also 19 district judge s, the majority leader filing cloture on those. why is this a priority for mcconnell and how will he get it done under senate rules? >> the rules make it doable now. remember, we only have an allowance in the senate for a couple of hours of debate once cloture is invoked, and debate is limited on each one of them. what we could see is a long, long series of votes on those district judges. but it is a priority for mcconnell and president trump to continue to fill these vacancies. president t

yesterday, the senate overwhelmingly voted to confirm mark esper, 90-8. time that the pentagon has gone without a congressionalal agreed vote. the supreme court justice samuel alito swore in esper during a ceremony last night in the oval office. esper who was president trump's second acting defense secretary takes over for jim mattis who resigned. >>> and domestic terrorism motivated by white supremacist views has sharply increased from last year. that's according to fbi director wray. when pressed on specifics, here how wray responded. >> through the third quarter of this fiscal year, had about, give or take, 100 arrests in the international terrorist side which includes the homegrown violent extremism. >> this year? >> this year. but we've also had just about the same number, again, don't quote meehan out exact difficult on the domestic terrorism side. and i will say that a majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we've investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacists, but it includes other things as well. >> so,

senate resumes work on the nomination of mark esper to be the next defense secretary. a confirmation vote is expected tuesday. also tuesday, boats on the house approved 9/11 victim compensation fund. in the house next week, members will consider a bill to secure retirement savings for workers and retirees. also legislation to address border security and accountability at the department of homeland security. life here onse c-span and you can see the senate live on c-span two. and see both on c-span.org and listen to congressional debate on c-span's radio app. this week marks the 50th anniversary of the apollo 11 and a new c-span poll shows that nearly three quarters of americans watched footage either live or recorded of the moon landing. >> t -10 minutes and counting. t -10. >> starting tonight at 8:00 eastern, watch the footage of the apollo 11 mission beginning with flight preparation. >> we have been performing final checks from the tracking beacons and instrument units during the pilot phase of flight. >> lift off. we have liftoff. 32 minutes past the hour. apollo

the senate confirmed mark esper as the new secretary of defense tuesday. the pentagon had been without a confirmed secretary for seven months afterer james mattis exid in december last year -- the longest period ever without a permanent head. esper is a former aerospace executive and was a top lobbyist for raytheon. five of the eight democratic senators who voted against esper are 2020 presidential candididas -- elizabeth warren, cory booker, kirsten gillibrand, kamala h harris, and amy klobuchar. fbi director christopher wray told members of the senate judiciary committee that crime driven by racism and white supremacy is on the rise compared to the previous year and that his agency recorded arouound 100 a arrests foror doc terrororism in the past ninine months. >> a majority o of the domestic teterrorism cases that we have investigated a are motivated by sosome version of what you might call white supremacists. amy: during his testimony, wray alalso said russia is s intent n interfering with u u.s. electios and that china represents the greatest counteri

earlier today president trump on her confirmed secretary of defense mark esper.rmation means the pentagon has a permanent leader for the first time in about seven months for close to it. during a speech this afternoon, president trump said he has absolute confidence in esper's ability to lead the defense department. military officials busting more than a dozen marines for illegal activities ranging from drug offenses to human smuggling. this happened during early morning blast at camp pendleton in southern california. our national security correspondent, jenna jennifer griffin, live at the pentagon. speak of the marine corps announced 16 marines were arrested during a battalion forn charges ranging from human smuggling to drug related offenses. eight marines from the first marine division were taken in for questioning on their involvement in alleged drug offenses unrelated to today's arrest. information gained from a previous human smuggling investigation precipitated the arrest. none of the marines arrested or detained for questioning served in support of the so

gregg: defense secretary nominee mark --e esper.ng his true colors perhaps support for former secretary james mattis, not necessarily president trump, listen who that esperseid. >> i don't think that you can -- i don't know where to pick between the 2. but, i share secretary mattis' views. gregg: to talk about it, it christian quit white whiten. good to see you. here is a guy who seems to besides with mattis. who heads with president. what is the deal? >> mattis is not a good cham exm told follow. he did one thing. following through president's orders to kill isis. repositioning the pentagon for fight again china, may be drawing down in europe could taking trump's vision of world and converting military to something that works for this point in 20th century, mattis did not of that, my hope is esper is telling senators what they needed to hear to vote on him. the process, personal destruction of characterization has filtered down. gregg: all right, ask you about tray's story. saying ma america has to stop selling military hardware an

esper is an army veteran and former lobbyist for raytheon. defense department had been led by acting secretary since jim mattis quit equity nearly eight months ago. nearly 18 years after the september 11th attacks, the senate today passed a bill guaranteeing financial support to the families of first responders and others stricken trth 9/11 illnesses. chip reid has more on this emotional day in the senate. >> i'm proud that we're here haday and we got this bill passed. >> reporter: a congress that mun't agree on much of anything finally agreed on this: 7> 97 to 2. 97-- when-- when does the senate ever get that? >> reporter: the bill ensures that the fund paying for medical treatments for first responders and neighborhood victims sickened in the aftermath of nev never runs out of money. >> you are ignoring them! te reporter: former "daily show" host jon stewart has passionately championed the cause for years. >> my job was to come in at the very end and yell as loud as i could. but it was all inspired by these guys. he reporter: the bill was h

. >> earlier today in the white house oval office, mark esper was sworn in as the defense secretary. he served as secretary of the army from 2017 to 2019. following his swearing-in, mr. remarks,e brief thinking president trump for his nomination to the pentagon's top job. president trump: we have a very important moment in our country's history. greate a lot of our republican senators in the white house and i invited them over. here.f them wanted to be as you probably heard, the vote just took place and it was 90-8. that is a vote we are not accustomed to. i have to say that.

esper had been army secretary and, before that, a defense industry lobbyist. general james mattis resigned as defense secretary back in february. esper's confirmation today ends the pentagon's longest run ever without a confirmed secretary. federal judge in north carolina approved a settlement today that ls transgender people use bathrooms matching their gender identity. the agreement ends a lawsuit that challenged north carolina's om-called "bathroom bill" 2016. that bill linked bathroom use to a person's sext birth. a person's sex at birth.cr deic governor roy cooper approved the settlement over the objections of state republican leaders. ped, on wall street, upbeat earnings reports hpush stocks higher. the dow jones industrial average gained 177 points to close at 27,349. the nasdaq rose 47 points, and the s&p 500 added 20. still to comon the newshour: what's in and what's out. breaking down the newly announced budget deal. the united kingdom gets a new prime minister as the brexit deadline nears. what to expect from robert mueller's long-awaited congressio

the pressure that president trump brings on to mark esper the new defense secretary and to the pentagonthis publicly. that is a lot of pressure. and it is not as if the president can waive his hand and make this contract go away but he can put pressure on to the secretary to delay this. that brings all sorts of other problems to the pentagon if mark esper does decide to delay this contract, there is lawsuits after that as well. but we can't -- we can say that amazon is watching this and concerned about the future of the contract. we should point out amazon considered to be the leading bidder for this contract. >> and speaking of amazon, jeff bezos, the owner of amazon, who also owns washington post, president trump has been attacking him for years now going after his marriage, acting as though the washington post is a lobbying arm. how is oracle using this -- and you mentioned in the document, how is he using his hate for bezos to squash the amazon deal. >> of course he is. we have amazon employees on this chart that trump has seen alongside former pentagon officials. they are painting

esper was sworn in just a few minutes ago in the oval office as you see here.was confirmed by the u.s. senate in a 90-8 vote. his entry into the job after seven months without a defense chief ends the longest period the pentagon has gone without a confirmed leader in its history. esper called her today the honor of a lifetime and says he stands ready to take on any challenge. u.s. officials tell fox news they believe an american warship downed not one, but two iranian drones last week of the strait of hormuz. one of the official says sailors and marines aboard the uss boxer could see one of the drones go down. the other drone disappeared from radar and was believed destroyed. both girls were taken out by a new marine corps anti-drone jamming device strapped to the deck without firing a shot. iran insists it did not lose any of its drones. critics have disputed venezuela president nicolas maduro are questioning the government's explanation for a massive blackout last night. officials are blaming what they call an electromagnetic attack. phil keating has the late

espÉrate. ¿quÉ pasa, m'hijo? ¡¿quÉ?! a ver, ¿cÓmo fue eso?