>> i certainly respect general mattis' service to our country. as an outstanding general and served our country with great distinction. there's a reason we want civilian control of our military. since its birth. the law prohibits anyone who's been in service within seven years to serve as secretary of defense. that requires us to change that law for general mattis to be considered. that's a matter that's going to be taken up in the congress. not just the senate but in the congress itself and i'm sure different views. >> your colleague, senator gillibrand of new york already said she would oppose a waiver for general mattis. are you with her? >> i'm going to listen. look, i'm concerned about some other appoints whether, how much military will be at the highest ranks of the cabinet. we want to make sure we maintain civilian control of our national security. so the department of defense is certainly an important position and see who he appoints secretary of state. two issue, first, whether qualified to serve because of the prohibition of recent retir

general mattis doesn't support it. >> different on russia. >> multiple, multiple places. tonight donald trump is going to walk out. he's going introduce the general. the general is going to speak and then donald trump is going to speak to the crowd. general mattis is going to have time to speak to the kroutd. and donald trump again, trails by 2.6 million votes in the popular vote. can he reach out to the people tonight? last time he did this, there was one other time they chant lock her up. he kind of tried to ignore it. >> and i think that is one of trump's biggest challenges. that he still has not shown us how he is up to facing that challenge. and the challenge i'm talking about is bringing people together. i think what's important about tonight is that here you have two very distinguished gentlemen who aren't necessarily trump supporters who are saying what a great pick mattis is. that is why i think this is a very important momentum n not j for mattis but also trump. there are clearly things we have to think about with this pick. as we do with all confirmations. we al

. >> reporter: trump announcing his secretary of defense pick, general james mattis. touting the four-star general, nato member and work during desert storm. >> i look forward to being a civilian leader as long as congress gives me the waiver and the senate votes to contend. >> reporter: all this comes on the heels of the shake-up in the trump transition team. trump firing the son of retired lieutenant general michael flynn for pushing a baseless conspiracy theory that let a man fire a rifle inside a pizza shop. jake tapper grilling the vice president-elect for flynn's son. >> you're downplaying his role, but you must be aware that the transition team put in for security clearance for michael flynn's son. >> i'm aware in talking to general flynn that his son was helping with scheduling, jay. he was helping his dad arrange for meetings and provide meetings, but that is no longer the case. >> do you need military clearance for scheduling? >> i think that was the appropriate decision for us to move forward. >> reporter: donald trump is now named "time" magazine's person o

this is where general mattis comes in because i think mobs of the military people that were concerned about donald trump believe mattis to be the voice of reason, and for that reason i think paul bagalla is right, he will get through the senate. >> hover picks, general rat mattis, but whoever he specks for secretary of state, donald trump will be sending the policy to the secretary of state that will have to execute. what president-elect says or a candidate says is often different or even what they set out as president hoping tore their foreign policy or lack of involvement in the world, they often get sucked into things. we've seen it time and again. >> yeah, well, i mean things -- obviously terrible things can happen like 9/11 happened and it completely changed george bush's view of the world and view of foreign policy. i think that what trump was doing here was actually sort of taking a bipartisan slap. i think he was talking about the bush administration and the obama administration. i don't think he was just talking about syria. i think he was talking about we need to stop the cy

he recently said general mattis feels differently. what does general mattis do?e's obviously a military man. he follows a chain of command. if president trump were to order him to water board, would he do it? >> well as the commander in chief you also have a set of advisors around you. i think general mattis will be a terrific advisor and give the president the right advice at the right time. >> so you don't think that order will come. >> well if you had a decision of whether water boarding and the city of new york city was in jeopardy and you knew an individual had information that would save the city, i think -- certainly i would. i would use any means available to save new york. but those decisions are yet to be unfolded. i think general mattis gave the correct response, in his experience he hasn't seen it used effectively. we've heard reports of water boarding being used 200 plus times. that clearly is not effective. we need a leader and a policy behind it, a warrior that doesn't want to go to war but if he's tasked to go to war we're going to go war to win.

we will take a short timeout and learn more about general mattis, the new defense secretary. he will talk to someone who knows him. plenzler, colonel joe retired with the u.s. marine corps. he worked closely with the general. we will take more of your calls. we will be right back. ♪ >> this week on c-span in primetime, tonight at 8:00 eastern, hear from some of the democrats vying to lead the ofty including the chair south carolina's democratic already, and keith ellison from minnesota. lown 2014, we hit a 70 year in voter turnout. the democratic caucus is smaller than any time since truman. this last year we hit a 20 year low in presidential turnout. we have a lot of rebuilding to do. >> president barack obama and japanese prime minister shinzo abe visit the american naval base at pearl harbor. the promised or is the first sitting japanese prime minister to visit the site of the japanese attack during the war two. topics include the flint michigan water crisis, the wells fargo unauthorized account scandal. >> you found out that one of your divisions had created 2 million fake

and this is where general mattis comes in. most of the military people that were concerned about donald trump, believe mattis to be the voice of reason. and for that reason, i think paul begala is right, he'll get through the senate. >> that's the thing. whoever he picks, you know, we have general mattis, but whoever he picks more secretary of state, donald trump is the president and is going to be setting the foreign policy agenda. but, you know, are what a president-elect says or what a candidate says is often different -- or even what they set out as president hoping to be their foreign policy or their lack of involvement in the world, they often get sucked into things. we've seen this time and again. >> yeah, well, things, obviously, terrible things like 9/11 happened and that completely changed george bush's view of the world and his view of foreign policy. but i think what trump was doing here was actually sort of taking a bipartisan slap. i think he was talking about the bush administration and the obama administration.

heard from adam schiff having some concerns about having too many generals, let's say, in donald trump's cabinet. with that in mind, mattis is the one that's nominated, i'm sure general clark wants to weigh in on that as well, i heard the chuckle, betsy, on the political side, what do you think that means for some of the other generals who are up for consideration? what does that mean if adam schiff is coming out saying don't put too many generals in your cabinet, and you have david petraeus lingering out there as a consideration for secretary of state or other lingering issues? >> it might be a slight complicating factor. there are other issues for petraeus despite the fact he's a general. i think it's fascinating mattis will be the first figure we really talk about this issue of civilian control of the military with, given that he's one of the most thoughtful thinkers on this question. he recently co-edited a book with another hoover institution scholar that looked at the civilian military divide, the fact it's probably wider than it's been almost any point in american history and in august, he said the next president n

meet retired marine corps general james mattis. nickname mad dog stuck after the battle of fallujah. his call sign, chaos. here's the general in his own words. >> you have to earn that respect. you have to earn that every day because when it's all over and done with, you're not going to win any fights as a leader. your troops are going to win those fights. trying to be a popular person as a leader, that's a road to failure. but affection that you create in a unit, an affection so strong that the troops will stick by one another, they will carry out the mission even in peril, the more you can build that kind of affection in a unit, when the going gets tough, when people are getting shot down around you, it will pull together, it will pull through. >> one of my next guests describes mattis as a cool, calm deliberate leader. in 2003, the day before the invasion of iraq, mattis wrote a letter to his marines. here's part of it. quote, you are part of the world's most feared and trusted force. engage your brain before you engage your weap

who is general james mattis, also known as mad dog in the warrior monk. where he stands on foreign policy and some of his eye-popping quotes. we'll talk to a marine who served three deployments under the general and is a big, big fan. >>> also ahead, following breaking news out of north charleston where police officer michael slager is facing charges in the murder of walter scott. developments right now in the courtroom. we're back in a moment. this is cnn. you pay your car insurance premium like clockwork. month after month. year after year. then one night, you hydroplane into a ditch. yeah... surprise... your insurance company tells you to pay up again. why pay for insurance if you have to pay even more for using it? if you have liberty mutual deductible fund™, you could pay no deductible at all. sign up to immediately lower your deductible by $100. and keep lowering it $100 annually, until it's gone. then continue to earn that $100 every year. there's no limit to how much you can earn and this saving applies to every vehicle on your policy. call to lear

emily: general mattis has a very interesting silicon valley connection.on the board of the very controversial blood testing company theranos. as far as we can tell, he is still on the board today. he would have to step down if he becomes secretary of defense. we also, as we understand it, try to get the military to use theranos technology, unsuccessfully. what do you make of this? david: i am sure general mattis had no idea that the tests did not work. i hope he learned that it is a good thing we have the fda to set the rules and apply scrutiny on what it is the company's will sell to the public. when we talk about cyber security, this is an area where we need those rules. we need those regulatory regulations, like the ftc and the fcc and sec and the cms for health care and the federal regulatory commission. these agencies are all trying to identify, promote, and enforce cyber standards among companies and among government agencies in order to make cyberspace safer for everybody. i am hoping general mattis will be -- will pay more attention to the value t

we'll be going there live, with him tonight, general mattis. general mattis will be running defense department for this president-elect. soon to be president donald trump. i never heard so much, site am about a -- excitement about a man taking over defense department as we heard and watched with general mattis. >> by military and civilians. i think in 4 or 8 years, he will be one of the great significant forces in this country for good. i think he will redefine this country in the defense area. lou: in fayetteville, near fort bragg. this speech tonight with general mattis, with the soon to be commander in chief, appropriate, i imagine crowd that you are looking at is every bit as anxious as roas rest of the country to hear from president-elect and his secretary of defense. ed rollins thank you. >> thank you. lou: there of a lot happening today, a lot in trump center, much in washington. the roast in the world, we'll have it for you, stay with us, we're coming right back. president-elect today meeting with more secretary of state candidates. >>

general mattis, as we know, the retired marine corps general has a potential legal hurdle he has to clear in order to be considered for his nomination. >> reporter: yes. you know, wolf, but trump's team is saying they are well on their way to getting a congressional waiver. trump spokesman jason miller, in fact, this morning saying that senator john mccain is right now drafting legislation that would get general mattis around that law that mandates that uniformed

i can tell you one thing that president elect trump has winners and leaders and certainly general mattis is that all in one. >> reince priebus talking about general james mattis. we are told that an official announcement about the defense secretary and mattis being the choice could come as soon as monday. however, officially from the campaign tonight they are not confirming that. james mattis is a retired marine general, served 44 years in the u.s. military, retired his command in 2013. has a lot of active duty under his belt. he also has blunt spoken straightforward language that sometimes puts some administration officials on their heels and he was at odds with the obama administration over iran specifically and u.s. troop withdrawals in the middle east. one of the hiccups or hurdles that we're being told by the administration is about this waver because he retired in 2013, there is a law that goes back to 1947 that says military men anyone in the military has to have seven years before they take an administration job. however, shannon kofen writes this law means that congress will hav

then just the other day he said he asked general mattis and general mattis said i can do much better with a pack of cigarettes and a six pack of beer. i hope he took general mattis' word for it and i think he might because it's obvious he respects general mattis. ronald reagan was not interested in conflict but the lessons of history sew you have to show a steadfast strong position which then your potential adversary doesn't want to run the risk. but if your adversary and your adversaries, my best example lately, and i'll stop with this, i still -- honestly it wakes me up, here is two american vessels manned by american sailors put on their knees with their hands clasped behind their neck in the most gross violation of international law by the iranian s and what does our secretary of state do? he waits until they return and thanks the iranians. my friends, that picture of the american sailors on their knees, that was everywhere all over the middle east and don't think it doesn't have an impact. if these people think we're w k weak. and i think we need to return to the days of old and

it is not just general mattis who is our hero, but if he takes general petraeus or met romney or john bolton. up thelton would shake state department in a way that is long overdue, my dear friends. so, general kelly, there is nobody that knows more about our own hemisphere then general kelly. and by the way, there is a scourge. manufactured mexican heroin that is an epidemic in the northwestern and northeastern parts of this country and i'm sorry to tell you the distribution point is phoenix, arizona. so he is assembling a team that should be listened to. life is full of anecdotes. president-elect trump said he was going to do waterboarding and worse. said he askedhe general mattis and general mattis and i can do much better with a pack of cigarettes and eight six pack of beer. i hope you took general mattis's word for it and i think he might because it is obvious he respects general mattis. the message has got to be sent that the united states of america is not interested in conflict. ronald reagan was not interested in conflict but the lessons of history show you have to show a stea

he worked closely with secretary panetta, general mattis is a strategic thinker, a can-do general.e understands what the troops face day in and day out. he's also very thoughtful, very careful. and i think he really helped ensure that our posture in the middle east was arrayed correctly after we drew down in iraq, and i think he'll be an excellent secretary of defense. it's the secretary of war and the secretary of the pentagon. and he'll be an excellent secretary of war, because he knows combat. as for being secretary of the pentagon, managing the 3 million people in the department of defense, that's where i think i will need to have around him, and i think he'll get people around him who can help him manage that mass of bureaucracy and manage this enormous enterprise that is our department of defense. >> before we get to the issue of qualifications for the job and how he would do the job, let's go to the congressional prohibition of him doing the job that has been there and has been only that one exception that we cited. senator gillibrand saying she absolutely respects that sens

jim mattis is a general very well-known in the pentagon and throughout the military. t as many people know, his nickname is mad dog mattis. a marine general, highly de decorated, more than 30 years of service. served in many jobs, in combat zone, served as the head of the u.s. central command overseeing military operations in the middle east up until 2013 when he retired. now, that 2013 date is vital. because the law requires that an active duty military person be retired for seven years before they can become secretary of defense. so the trump administration will have to have legislation submitted to congress for a waiver for jim mattis. and in fact we know very quietly congress itself was beginning to look at what that legislation might have to look like. it will be very short, it will be very brief. it will be a waiver that will allow general james mattis to serve as secretary of defense. like you, jim, i have covered general mattis for many, many years. one of the most plain spoken blunt generals out there. do not expect him on revisit the trump campaign, don't exp

general mattis is not a warmonger.nk he believes in order to have peace, in order to have diplomacy, it has to be backed by military strength. >> i don't think that includes threatening -- can i finish for a minute? >> jeremy, let me let phyllis finish her point. >> the point is this is partly about principle. that the principle of our country is civilian control. now can you say seven years isn't long enough, ten years, it maybe should be 20 years. some of us, myself included believe that no one who was in the military as a general should become the secretary of defense. that inherently should be a non-military figure. but there's also the question of this individual person. he's not by any means the worst of those being considered. but the fact that we have somebody who seems to glorify this notion of killing people, he talked about who having to kill, liking to kill. i will kill you if you f with me. these are not the wds o somebody who is thoughtful and cautious about wanting to go into war. >> i think unfortunatel

general james mattis. he does face one legal hurdle. marine general james mattis has only been retired for three years. congress will have to waive a law requiring military officers to have been retired for seven years before they can take power of the pentagon. there has been a similar exemptions when george c. marshall was secretary of defense in 1950. kirsten gillibrand of the senate armed services committee is vowing to oppose the waiver saying civilian control of the military is a fundamental principle of american democracy. i will not vote for an exception to the rule. ben carden is the top democrat on the foreign relations committee. thank you very much. thanks for being with us. first of all your initial reaction to general mattis's nomination and to what senator gillibrand said. >> andrea, good to be with you. as you pointed out, general mattis is well respected for his military service. i think that's shared by both democrats and republicans. this is a very important law about the civilian control of the military. it's not gran

he said general mattis.no, i mean, he said, who is the officer of the day. he said general mattis. and here comes the brigadier general and he has his sword and the commandant said what are you doing here? he said, a young lieutenant was on duty today and he has a wife and children and i thought it important he have christmas with his family. that's the find skinned of man he is. independent, strong and will be good for the country. >> woodruff: we're off to some high praise here. let's talk about something else donald trump did this week. that is, the first public speech he made since the election, he went to indianapolis, and announced a deal that he's cut with the carrier corporation, air conditioners, furnaces, to save a thousand jobs, not all the jobs that were going to mexico, but a lot of them. what kind of precedent does this set? what do we make of it? >> i agree with sarah palin on this one. she wrote an op-ed today where she called it crony capitalism and source of corruption and i think that's tr

general selection. first flynn. then mattis. are there more generals to come? how many generals can fit in the trump cabinet? and president-elect trump, did he ever plan to pick mitt romney for state or was it all payback to humiliate a former foe? this is "mtp daily." and it starts right now. it's friday. good evening. i'm chuck todd in washington. welcome. certain things presidents say that you never forget. read my lips, no new taxes. if you like your health care plan, you can keep it. how about this one? i did not have sexual relations with that woman. folks, a huge way we, the cuba, watch dogs, oversight bodies and congress and voters hold presidents accountable is based on what they say. yet, right now, we are being told those rules do not apply any more. we are being told not to take the president literally. i'm not making this up. literally, don't take him the words he says seriously. so how is trump's -- that is how trump's former campaign manager corey alllewandowski said yesterday. take a listen. folks, it's not just corey or trump supporters. the pr

what do we know about general mattis "mad dog" mattis and what legal hurdles lie ahead. tired lieutenant general mark hertling. it says a person may not be appointed secretary of defense aft within seven years after relief from active duty. why does this exist in the code? why this law? >> it has to do with our tradition of civilian control of the military, john. that's an important concept. when you're taking orders from someone, they should be in your chain of command, but also give an informed approach. that's the civilian control. george washington established that as part of his concept of how the military should be run. the excuse of pulling military commanders away from any civilian department is critically important. but, as you know, it's been overlooked in the part of general george marshall during world war ii after he was the chief of the staff of army for the entire period of the war he became first secretary of state. took another year off and then became secretary of defense. there is precedent for this. >> there could end up being quite a few generals in t

general mattis would be the first career officer to head up the pentagon since just after world war ii. more on his background later. the general needs more than just the senate confirmation to get the job. under's law a nominee for defense secretary must be owl of the military for at least seven years, the idea-for-civilian control of the military. all been the way. retired general mattis, retired three years ago so congress has to give him a waiver, and then the north dakota senator on the left here. she told reporters she had no idea what the meeting was about but if the senator were to take the job with team trump there would be a special election to replace her. north dakota is a very red state so analysts say her loss would give the republicans a chance to increase their numbers in the senate other. two fer they call it. what's the reaction to the president-elect's pick for secretary of defense. >> we're already hearing from one democrat in senate, which has to con firm trump are nominee for defense secretary, and also has to give him the waiver because e was not been retired for

>> the thing about general mattis and the selection of general flynn. they are not yes men. they pushed back against their commander-in-chief and they pushed back against president obama. mattis will offer sound advice the trump. i think the selection to be able to put him in there, a guy who is not considered a yes man is a great asset for commander-in-chief. charles: there may be some rumblings, he involved in a company that turns out to be maybe a scam. it doesn't look too good. and his position on women in combat which is something you are passionate about. >> i think he will be an ideal choice. he has been vocal about women fighting in ground combat. we have no evidence it will sustain our forces lit alone maintain combat readiness. it's always those who have no experience with boots on the ground like senator gillibrand. all of the lactation stations will be removed from the army field offices. they will insure we don't have transgendered getting surgeries and non-deployable. she is upset women won't be able to fight isis in hand-to-hand combat. the liberals are terrifi

that retired marine general james mattis is in, as next secretary of defense. l have to go through the confirmation process of course. let's bring in retired four-star army general jack keane, chairman of institute of study of war and fox news military analyst who knows all the players very well here. general, good morning. good to have you with us today. >> good morning, martha. martha: apparently he doesn't love the nickname "mad dog ," general mattis but his new boss used it last night with vigor when he announced him. some will use that moniker against him and being overly hawkish. is that true. >> absolutely not. certainly general mattis in the statements he made, is colorful military general, in tradition of very successful battlefield commanders who have, have a espirit about them and charisma and use that to help motivate the troops that is what we have, in that part of jim mattis. likely some will use it against him and particularly some of rich language he used at times, listen the other side of jim mattis is very this. he is very cerebral, contemplati

general mattis is a great choice. s far as having too many generals, yeah, there is a certain point you don't want everybody coming from the same background. i don't think we have hit that yet. the choices the president made, i'm fine with. >> i want to ask you about comments donald trump made in his time magazine man of the year interview where he questioned whether or not the intelligence community's unanimous conclusion that russia was behind the hacking that targeted democrat ic institutios and were trying to influence our elections. he said i don't believe it. i don't believe they interfered. he's refusing to acknowledge something that dni clapper said was the conclusion. what do you think? >> i have to be careful how i say this. as far as the director of national intelligence and comments made about the democratic national committee the evidence is strong that the russns are involved there. as far as the other e-mails, for instance, john podesta, it's not as clear, not as certain. some of the trademarks may have

david: i am sure general mattis had no idea the test did not work.ully, what he learned from that is it is a good thing we have the fda to set rules and to apply scrutiny as to what it is that companies are going to sell to the public. when we talk about cyber security, this is an area where we need those rules. we need those regulatory -- these agencies are all trying to identify, promote, and enforce cyber standards among companies and government agencies in order to make cyberspace safer for everybody. i am hoping general mattis will pay more attention to the value that these agencies bring then theranos has to the fda. emily: that was bessemer venture partner david calendar. coming up, we get arianna huffington's take on how the media should cover president-elect donald trump. check us out on the radio, you can listen on the bloomberg radio app, bloomberg.com, and in the yuan -- no not do -- this is bloomberg. ♪ >> you are watching "bloomberg technology." when a simmons influential women in media and technologies preaching that the ultimate key t

this is retired general james mattis. tell us a little bit about the general and the issue with his nomination. >> this is a very popular figure in the marine corps, known for colorful language and being a warrior scholar. someone who is a respected in congress and expected not to face too much opposition. there is the problem of the national security act in place which says if you have served in the military, you have to wait seven years before your eligible to be secretary of defense. general mattis retired only a few years ago. four years whether time this comes around. he will need a special waiver to get through. there are a few lawmakers who have already raised an eyebrow about that. >> how long is that restriction been in place on a member of the military serving in a civilian role? >> this has been a loss in the 1940's. as soon as congress passed it they immediately granted a waiver for former secretary of defense marshall. passed the first original restriction was 10 years. back in the 1980's they shortened it to

general mattis saying it's kind of a done deal and you can't do it.es he go about taking the job and handling iran? >> first let me say that i would march behind general mattis anywhere. he was a pick that made both sides of the aisle and specially united, the republican foreign establishment because he's such an impressive pick and distinguished background. i think it's important to note that general mattis is no dove on iran. this is a guy basically let go by the administration because he refuse today -- refused to tow a line on iran. the most important thing is not specifically what he does with the deal but does he enforce the deal, does he enforce sanctions. congress just snap back sanctions. there's no enforcement that we let iranticipate -- iran get away with everything. i think that that's not what you will see in a new trump administration, that's not the kind of attitude that, i think, you will see from general mattis as it relates to iran. it's important to note that iran is still the largest state sponsor funder of terrorism in the world a

and i'm a big fan of general mattis myself.re together not -- i didn't serve for him, but we were together in iraq the same time you were embedded with him. i was over in baghdad with the first armor division and he is an extremely capable and exceedingly great tactical and operational battlefield commander that's critically important because the troops will love him for that. and when i say troops, i'm talking about all those in the pentagon and outside the pentagon around the world when he has chosen for secretary of defense, but there are other things that are involved with being the sec-def as it's called. there will be some challenges for sure that he'll face. >> one of the things i know from being with the marines in those two theaters, what they love about him, plain spoken. he came up with the phrase no, better friend and no worse enemy, but he also has that line about be polite, be professional and then have a plan to kill everybody in the room. he sort of talks about due alty of war there that you must have a discipli

i'm hoping general mattis will be -- will pay more attention to the value that these agencies bring thanily: what about privacy, security? what about those issues under president trump and mattis at the pentagon? europeook, we are behind in setting standards for information privacy to protect citizens. emily: we were just talking about that. dave: what large extent, businesses have had this thing for these business -- information privacy rules. i think as we look at the prospect of not having them, if we look at what happens that jamieson has espoused decimating the fcc, if we eliminate headcount within the ftc -- if we actually roll back the effort to bring protections to the we will citizens, then europe.lly behind i think i would welcome those kind of privacy laws just like we have seen americans perhaps looking to switzerland for a safe haven for their money and canada for their families. i think we will see a flight of data as we look at europe as a safe haven for the data. we had that with the snowden revelations. i think americans will join them. germany looks like a safer place f

oh, if he didn't get that waiver, there would be a lot of angry people. >> reporter: and both general mattisnd donald trump, they're alluding to this legal battle that mattis has in congress in order to be considered for this job. the fact that mattis is only retired from the military for three years. and there is a statute on the books that requires officers in uniform to be out of uniform for seven years. trump sending a little bit of a warning sign. a threat to congress, you better get this passed through. meantime, donald trump will take to the road tomorrow to des moines, iowa. and he holds another one of these thank you rallies friday in michigan. george and alison. >> sunlen serfaty, thank you. the government argues a short-term spending bill to speed up the mattis measure. they're adding measures on the stop gap time limits that mattis needs to become defense secretary. they want him cleared to take over the pentagon when president-elect trump is inaugurated. the federal government, though, runs out of money on friday. the house votes on spending bill thursday. >> the boeing company

i know general mattis as well and think he would make a good general.f the best -- >> a good general. >> a good secretary of defense, sorry. one of the best thinkers we have. >> e would vote for the waiver? >> we need a vote about civilian control of the military and should not give him a blanket approval. we like general mattis and can throw out this important law. a serious debate. congress has to do its job and debate whether it's okay to have someone come in after just three years, when the law says seven years, ensuring there's that break. there really is civilian control of the military. but i expect we're going to are impressed with general mattis. actually think trump has been hoodwinked here. trump xlected general mattis he has a nickmaim "mad dog," thinks he's a touch guy general, when, in fact, he's incredibly thoughtful. he's a great moral leader. the kind of check against a president trump we need. >> and the problem that some are having is national security adviser general flynn, a general. secretary of defense proposing a j general, maybe

he starts making these other nominations, it's going to place the mattis waiver in real jeopardy. >> well, we have quite a few generalshaping up in the embryonic trump administration. charlie hurt, do you get the sense that the mattis fight has been disjoined? >> yeah. i think this is probably a pretty big loser for democrats. and, of course, what we just heard from adam schiff who from california he can say these sorts of things. it's bad for two reasons. one is, you know, donald trump won and it's presumed that he will get his picks here. but then it would also be sort of attacking a military guy. and that's not a terribly good thing for democrats to be doing right now. but, you know, general mattis, i think is, a brilliant pick for some reasons. but, you know, very much an outside the box kind of pick. and somebody who is laser focused on what the purpose of the u.s. military is. and i think that if the republicans can sort of make it a fight about that, that it will behoove them very much going forward. >> a.b., there are quite a few democratic senators who are up for re-election in 2018 in states that donald trum

thank you very much, as we have been reporting president-elect trump tapped general mattis for attorneyormer captain, nice to have you with us and thank you very much for being here. >> thank you for having me kate. >> when you hear general mattis, when you heard that of your reaction? >> he's revered by many generations of our veterans. there is not a marine that would not shout off their rooftops when they heard about the initial news. >> he's a marine general and honestly, the nation that's decided that we are going to send troops who volunteered to step up and sacrifice to multiple deployments, it under scores the need to have somebody who has worn the same uniform that we have and understand the struggles that we face after constant deployments and our families. >> the other big job for someone like you, i got to imagine the veterans affair secretary, we learned that sarah palin is interested and her son-in-law put out a glossy video. what's your reaction to that in. >> i don't know that iv has the same confidence that we are headed in the same direction for secretary of va. i hope

do you make of >> i'm sure that general mattis had no idea that the test didn't work.efully what he learned from that, it's a good thing that we the f.d.a. to set the rules and apply scrutiny to what companies are selling to the public. hen we talk about cybersecurity, this is an area rules.we need these e need the regulatory agencies and the federal energy regulatory commission. to e agencies are trying identify, promote, and enforce cyber standards among companies government agencies in order to make cyberspace safer for everybody. i'm hoping that general mattis, attention to the value that these agencies bring f.d.a. the emily: that was david. coming up, arianna huffington's the media should be covering president-elect donald trump. listen on the radio. bloomberg. ♪ hong kong.0 p.m. in producers agreed to the first production curve in 15 years. arabia says it's ready to cut more than expected promising 450,000 barrels a day. russia and the other noncartel pledged to lower output 558,000 barrels a day from january. there will be real cuts and countries. >> bill engli

and then, just the other day, he said he asked general mattis and general mattis said i could do much better with a pack of cigarettes and a six-pack of beers. i hope he took general mattis' word for it, and i think he might, because it is obvious he respects general mattis. the message has to be sent that the united states of america is not interested in conflict. ronald reagan was not interested in conflict. but the lessons of history show that you have to show a steadfast, strong position, which then your potential adversary doesn't want to run the risk. but if your adversary and your adversaries, my best example, and i'll stop with this, i honestly, it wakes me up. here is two american vessels, manned by american sailors, put on their knee, with their hands clasped behind their next, what does the secretary of state do? he waits until they return and thanks the iranians. my friends, that picture of the american sailors on their knees, that was everywhere, all over the middle east. and don't think it doesn't have an impact. if these people think we're weak. they're going to take ad

general mattis is one who has seen war, is wary of it at best. >> mattis is a warrior intellectual iould say. he's not a blood and guts guy. he is a person who likes a fight when he's in it and wants to win it. he was tough on the way to baghdad in 2003. he fired one of his subordinate commanders for being insufficiently aggressive in that campaign. he was furious at the white house for not letting him push ahead in fallujah in the initial phase of the battle of fallujah in 2004. he is a fighting general. he's also an extremely well read man. he's supposed to have a library of 7,000 books. in my conversations with him over the years, they've been reflective. if you were to describe his foreign policy views, you would say he's a realist. not a guy that wants to go out and start fights. >> willie geist, not only are they 7,000 books but they're leather bound. rich mahogany wood in the library. >> i have 8,000 books. >> maybe you can be sec def next. >> so sam, he hasn't been out of active service long enough. do you think this pick has any chance of being stopped? >> let's explain why

>> there is a legitimate hurdle general mattis will have to get a waiver. we're getting different reactions as to whether senators wi we have john mccaine indicating he will back the waiver. gill brand, a democratic senator from new york, much less eager to do so >> let me ask you about donald trump dropping the bombshell yesterday at the campaign victory tour. he said he was the closest thing we were going to get to george patent for those folks who are not familiar with patton, who do you think he meant pipe >> i have no idea. i think that donald trump is that he wants to occupy certain rules. whether donald trump mean aspect historical parallel with general patton or mattis is a great guy? who can tell >> been look i want to go some of what they're calling the mattisms, makes him seem like hard line military guide. one of the quotes was be pilot, professional but have plan to kill everyone makes you have that could possibly be filling this position? is this someone that has a lot of support on both sides or are we talking more on the republican side? >>

he said that general mattis, he tolds him in the highest regard. has also been endorsed by former secretary of defense robert gates. he met with trump yesterday at trump tower. >> i told him, i thought his selection of general mattis for the secretary of defense was terrific. very supportive. >> cnn's jim sciutto says there are a few differences in opinions between trump and his defense secretary. listen. >> christi and martin, we're hearing a lot of positive reaction to the nomination of mattis, this from both democrats and republicans, but also people in uniform. some of whom were skeptical of trump. >> we are going to appoint mad dog mattis as our secretary of defense. >> reporter: mad dog, the nickname general james mattis earned leading u.s. marines in the battle of the iraq war as donald trump's pick for secretary. >> he's the closest thing to general george patton that we have and it's about time. >> reporter: mattis, 44 years of service in the marine corps and key commands in both afghanistan and iraq where he led troops in the 2003 invasio

but clearly, without question, between mike flynn at the national security council and general mattisat defense, this is a very robust public policy we're going to see develop. it's going to come out very rapidly. i'm sure mattis will get approved. he has tremendous respect in the congress on both sides of the aisle. >> donald trump and other republican candidates had voiced support for some extra legal measures, water boarding, killing families of alleged terrorists, things like that. donald trump said after he talked to mad dog mattis, he assumed mad dog would be in favor of water boarding and torture. turns out he isn't. is there some chance that mattis can have an influence and maybe moderate some of donald trump's vies on these things. >> i don't think there's any question. mattis is his own man. he has a lifetime of commitment to the values that made the marine corps great. water boarding, by the way, is not just bad policy, it's also against the law. and it's a moral hazard to the u.s. public image around the world. i don't think there's any possibility that general mattis woul