she was defeated by gerry connolly. representative gerry connolly defeated alexandria ocasio-cortez, putting him to be a protagonist of the president-elect. it said it was former house speaker nancy pelosi who has had a chilly relationship with ocasio-cortez, urging colleagues to back gerry connolly. democrats only on the future of the democratic party. in irving, texas, hello. >> caller: good morning. i'm david from irving, texas. the future of the democratic party needs to go to someone like jasmine crockett. that may sound bizarre and out of the box, but that's what i'm doing. when they go low, we need to go in the basement. trump got elected because he gave the people they didn't have, or felt like they didn't have, and a voice that wouldn't back down. that's what i see jasmine crockett as. the different between trump and crockett, at least crockett is going to be honest. she's not going to take any crap off trump and his trumpys. the difference between democrats and republicans quite frankly is that republicans rul

i want to start with the selection of gerry connolly.ics of that choice was jen psaki on msnbc. here is what she had to say about that. >> this is one of the few committees in congress who actually generate national attention or media coverage. while have deep, deep respect for nancy speaker pelosi, has been on a show many times, she is fierce, nothing against congressman connolly at all, this felt like an obvious chance to apply some of the legends we should've learned from the november election. >> bill: julian, is she right? >> no, i think she is wrong. and i used to be the staff director. look, i know gerry connolly. i think he is competent. he is old. i think you can make a case all you want for a younger candidate. i don't think aoc is that candidate, when you hurt her go up against somebody like tom homan on immigration, bill, you should be familiar with that exchange, she was not able to hold her own, when she was on a show called "firing line" and ask simple questions about the conflict in israel and gaza with the terrorists, sh

our next guest, congressman gerry connolly, is also seeking the position in. letter to his democratic colleagues sent earlier this week, congressman connolly said, "i have 16 years of experience serving on this committee and in the majority and in the minority. we must expose and dismantle bad faith republican efforts to promote conspiracy theories, intimidate witnesses, and undermine democratic processes." the committee on oversight and accountability is a beat i know well and right now we need an expert who can bury the worst republican attacks on our institutions and deliver reform where it is necessary and needed." joining us now is democratic congressman gerry connolly of virginia, current member of the house oversight committee, who is vying to be its next ranking member. congressman connolly, thank you for being here. no matter who is leading the democrats on the committee, you're all going to have your work cut out for you. how can you effectively counter this corruption while being in the minority? >> well, you know, we were in the minority when darrel

the 35-year-old is running against 74-year-old congressman gerry connolly of virginia. in the role they are vying for open up earlier this week when congressman jamie raskin threw his hat in the ring for the top democratic spot on the judiciary committee, opposing the 77-year-old who has held the position. currently the making -- ranking member on the oversight committee. it is great to have you, straight to the source of executive happening in your caucus. first of all, what is happening here? it feels like, correct me if i am wrong, there is maybe a new generation that is driving for house leadership. >> generational politics is always present in congress in the country. but i think what is really happening is that the democrat feel that we are in the fight for our lives and we want to deploy and redeploy people to different positions to get ready for the fight, to defend our democracy, our freedom in our constitution. and i think it is really what is going on right now. >> is everyone on board with this changing of the guard, if you will? i know leader hunter jeffrey

if you look at, nothing against gerry connolly, if you look at the energy he brings versus the energy aoc brings, the amount of people who are interested in listening to her and her ability to push a message, to hammer home points during debates, during committee meetings, this was a major miss. >> not to mention her outreach, consider something like social media loan, the ability to speak to an audience i would argue gerry connolly cannot reach, not saying he is not an effective communicator, he will not reach the masses in the same way someone like aoc is, and somebody, that may be a critique of the media environment that we live in, some of the draws attention. aoc, ultimately when she speaks, people cover her, watch her, listen to her, that is what you need to mobilize the spotlight from a minority position in the oversight committee. >> absolutely. someone that can grab onto the megaphone and speak to the masses and let people know what is happening within the administration, the administration does not want you to know about. this specific income thing trump administration, that

democratic congressman gerry connolly of northern virginia. i understand you're battling cancer and just wanted to say it's great to see you doing so well. thanks very much for your time. >> thank you. thank you. it's going well. all right. >> really appreciate it. all right. coming up donald trump is slamming joe biden's pardon of his son. hunter will continue that conversation next cnn heroes on all star trivia. >> all star tribute. meet and celebrate the honorees, then find out who will be hero of the year. plus, a special tribute to michael j. fox cnn heroes, an all star tribute sunday at eight on cnn. >> whether you're a professional driver or just a fan, vehicle breakdowns are costly. >> it started tugging. it started making some really weird noises. the last thing i remember is just the engine cut out. >> if your check engine light comes on tomorrow, the repair could easily cost thousands. >> if that transmission, it's an exhaust leak broken axle. >> but with endurance, you could never pay out of pocket for a costly repair. >> again, th

i think that, you know, let gerry connolly do his thing. he feels like he's in it. ra ra ra. absolutely. let's get all of his experience and all of his seniority right. let's take advantage of that. but aoc will be there. and i think she's going to have a major role in the party. >> it's not just democrats. no, it's not, it's not. >> that's true. but you know what? nancy pelosi was pulling the strings on this one, just like she did in ushering biden out. and it's one mistake after another. >> i don't think i would think, oh, you don't think that she was behind the aoc call? i mean, there will know more, but there were a lot of issues, as i understand it, as to why aoc didn't win. >> i feel like we're speaking of mandare yang former members of congress. >> this is, you know, would like to. >> segment my hair. >> let me state the obvious. aoc is one of the more effective communicators in democratic politics today. in american politics today. but this race was less about, you know, young versus old and more about relationships within the caucus and the perception that people hav

community, chaired huffman will be the ranking member of the natural resources committee and gerry connolly, government oversight. also want to congratulate those who ran against them, alexandria ocasio-cortez, jim costa, melanie stands borough. we are the democratic caucus. there are different ideas and viewpoints within the caucus but we're moving forward and this is part of our internal process. we will now populate committees and get ready for the 119th congress. i don't think there's much more to read into that other than democrats run for offices and some of us have run for offices and come up short in his leadership elections. so nothing is final, and congratulate those ranking members who are taking leadership positions of these committees and look forward to working with them over the next congress. >> on government funding, do you feel speaker -- speaker johnson -- [inaudible question] >> we will see. with democratic caucus the details matter. we're going to review the language on its merits. i haven't seen any details or any final language yet. we've been hoping that would be pos

i think maybe some of the important words in your opening, there were pelosi ally gerry connolly, whodoubt, even with her fall and hip replacement surgery and recuperation, now was certainly hoping that this would be the outcome and working to that. and she still has a lot of sway within her caucus and the steering committee had, you know, sort of made clear before it went to the full caucus that they were with connolly. this was an uphill battle for aoc. i mean, she was never the favorite for this. and unlike some of the other generational changes that we've seen in the democratic caucus and the chairmanships, this was one that went all the way through to the caucus for a reason. you know, jerry nadler stepped down to allow jamie raskin that that was not happening here. this was a fight that the old guard wanted to win. and they did so pretty decisively. >> yeah. and look, i mean, obviously she is among the most well known members of congress, democrats, the people who were pushing for her were arguing, why would we not have you know, a great messenger, somebody who knows how to comm

to be clear, i'm sure gerry connolly will do a fine job.stand the ways seniority works in congress. often there's a reason for it. you learn a lot over the years but in light of everything that has happened, feels democrats still have not learned a pretty important lesson. back in 2013 when some liberals call for the retirement of ruth bader ginsburg, then president obama invited her, 80-year-old cancer survivor, to an infamous lunch meeting. the president gently applied for her to pass the torch when democrats were expected to lose the senate making it possible to replace her with an liberal on the court. she refused to step aside. >> you are 83. the oldest serving member on the supreme court. how long do you think you can do this? >> at my age, you take it year by year. what will be next year, i am hopeful, because my most senior colleague, the one who most recently retired, stepped down at age 90. i have a way to go. >> republicans retook the senate and held it until 2021. ruth bader ginsburg died in september 2020 and three years after

that is why, in the end, we need term limits. >> jessica: then gerry connolly is out. >> tyrus: i'm finell out. >> judge jeanine: coming up, this college sports president has lost his mind. he thinks women athletes should find a new locker room if they don't want to share it with a man. ♪ ♪ whether you need to lose 10, 20, 50, or over 100 pounds, make the healthy choice with golo. head to golo.com that's g-o-l-o.com need a last minute gift idea? get the weathertech gift card! for laser measured floorliners, cargo liner, pet feeding system or the new garage wall protector. get your gift card instantly at wt.com ♪ ♪ >> tyrus: that's right, "sunshine in a bank." it looks like the ncaa doesn't care about biological males beating up on female athletes. president charlie baker making some truly boneheaded comments on biological males showing up in ladies locker rooms. >> your guidelines say that transgender student athletes should be able to use the locker room shower and toilet facilities in accordance with their gender identity. here they are right here. >> everybody else should have an oppo

that is why, in the end, we need term limits. >> jessica: then gerry connolly is out. >> tyrus: i'm fine of them, get them all out. >> judge jeanine: coming up, this college sports president has lost his mind. he thinks women athletes should find a new locker room if they don't want to share it with a man. ♪ ♪ the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time, and over time it can help lower your a1c. ♪ this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us ♪ when i got diagnosed with skin cancer, it was right under my eye. i was told that surgery was the only option, and i did not want to get cut open on my face. i asked my women's group to pray for me, and one of the other ladies told me about the procedure that her friend had and it was gentlecure. if you, like millions of others, are affected by skin cancer, it's important to know that surgery isn't the only option. there's another choice, gentlecure. gentlecure uses low energy x-rays to kill cancer cells with a 99% cure rate. plus, there's no cutting, no surgical scarring, and no downtime. i had no pain.

gerry connolly who has technically earned the right to be head of committee is 74 years old and also. may be there is some middle ground person who is like in their 50s, which is what jamie raskin was, he moved up to a different committee assignment, but i can understand people thinking, at this moment, when we lost the podcasting wars, shouldn't we have people that can show up anywhere, anytime, and talk to anyone? you can imagine aoc on with joe rogan, lex friedman, andrew scholz, alex cooper, the "pod save america" brose, she can go anywhere and i think we desperately need that. it is a working class voter problem. tyrus has said this many time. the only color that mattered this election was green. you have to message on that. and our party, you might be able to pull off winning an election without working-class voters, but most democrats i know and the way i feel is i don't want to do that, i don't want to be a party of just people with college degrees and above, so we need to focus on that kind of messaging like with dan osborne did, what pat ryan did, et cetera. >> joey: kenned

. >> joining us now, congressman gerry connolly of the commonwealth of virginia, member of the house foreign affairs committee and the incoming ranking member of the house oversight committee. as always, thank you for coming to the saturday show. your thoughts and reactions to the chaos on capitol hill at the behest of elon musk. >> i think it is really ominous for the incoming republican majority in congress. there were three big losers this week, donald trump who got eclipsed the an unelected billionaire who, as you pointed out, was ranting and raving with 150 tweets, still with disinformation, self-interest, self fueling, made up fabricated back's, distortion. all of this was designed by president-elect donald trump and elon musk to essentially sneak in a debt ceiling extension so that they can get a $2.5 trillion tax cut next year. that failed miserably. 38 republicans in the face of primary challenges said we will not do that. the second big loser, speaker mike johnson. i think his speakership is on life-support going into january 3 and i know we will face multiple votes on a ne

that is why, in the end, we need term limits. >> jessica: then gerry connolly is out. >> tyrus: i'm fineudge jeanine: coming up, this college sports president has lost his mind. he thinks women athletes should find a new locker room if they don't want to share it with a man. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> tyrus: that's right, "sunshine in a bank." it looks like the ncaa doesn't care about biological males beating up on female athletes. president charlie baker making some truly boneheaded comments on biological males showing up in ladies locker rooms. >> your guidelines say that transgender student athletes should be able to use the locker room shower and toilet facilities in accordance with their gender identity. here they are right here. >> everybody else should have an opportunity to use other facilities if they wish to do so. >> okay, the burden is on the women. your guidelines say that biological men can go in and use the women's locker rooms if they want to. what the women want has nothing to do with it. they are not mentioned in here at all. >> i believe our guidelines give people optionality with res

we'll see if her against gerry connolly works.s is a man who has been, as you said, working toward this, who has a lot of respect across the caucus and frankly across capitol hill, so this will be probably the hottest contested test case that we're seeing. but this is something that's not just happening on capitol hill. it's also happening across the country when it comes to the democratic party. we have the dnc chair race that is starting to kick off. but you also have democrats around the country trying to understand what are the changes they node to make within the party to be in their eyes more successful, to win more elections. i think right after the presidential election, folks felt really nervous. i think it's starting to die down a little bit as we're seeing some of the ways in which the election wasn't as far apart as folks originally thought. but that means that there is a chance of overcorrecting, and huffman, when i had him on the podcast, talked about the possibility of them overreacting to these kinds of things, and

jeffries: many members in the house democratic caucus and gerry connolly and alexandria ocasio-cortez. we are going to work together as part of our conversations with each other to make sure we are decisively communicating with the american people. that effort is going to be led by the communications and under the leadership of debbie dingell and laura underwood and maxwell frost who are excited about the caucus-wide gigment and making sure we communicate with the american people. reporter: ranking member adam smith put out a statement he was voting against the ndaa because of antitransprovision. will you be supporting the ndaa and how many democrats will oppose due to that particular provision? mr. jeffries: it's a member-to-member, case-by-case analysis in terms of people making decisions as to what is the right thing to do. there are a lot of positive things in the national defense re-authorization act and there are some troubling provisions in a few area as well. i haven't taken a position and i'm still looking at the four corners and going to the floor today. reporter: on the tax

virginia congressman gerry connolly, it is good to see you, sir, happy holidays. >> happy holidays. >weather you are picturing when you're california dreaming on such a winters day. such a winters day. our battle was legendary. maybe now my friends will believe me. we did this for one delivery, see what we can do for your business. fedex. ♪ rinse it out ♪ ♪ every now and then ♪ ♪ i get a little bit tired of the stinks ♪ ♪ that just will never come out ♪ ♪ pour downy in the rinse, jade ♪ ♪ every now and then i rinse it out! ♪ fights odor in just one wash. nothing makes a gathering great like eggland's best eggs. they're just so delicious. with better nutrition, too. for us, it's eggs any style. as long as they're the best. eggland's best. speaker: who's coming in the driveway? speaker: dad. dad, we missed you. daddy, hi. speaker: goodness. my daughter is being treated for leukemia. [music playing] i hope that she lives a long, great, happy life and that she will never forget how mom and daddy love her. saint jude-- maybe this is what's keeping my baby girl alive. [music playing] narrat

gerry connolly, who is an older representative from virginia argues he made it ably state.mittee. by a healthy margin i think 131 votes to 84. do you read anything into that about the democrats appetite for the next generation or their appetite for more of a partisan brawler as it were? >> i think in cases like this these elections a lot is about personal relationships, a lot about the cork of the caucus. gerry connolly beating aoc for this position is sort of a setback for aoc but at the same time i don't think it matters. i think aoc will be a higher profile member of congress and more if she decides to run for higher office in the next few years including possible president. in the other case you can say the insurgent who was jamie raskin beat jerry nadler. right now you have the governors and possible presidential candidates and then you have the legislative people who would be pretty visible going forward and be the very vocal minority party. donald trump will always make them very visible and the spread is very narrow at this point. >> a holy washington ahead. i'm sur

gerry connolly beat out alexandria ocasio-cortez. think that's the right person to to lead the house oversight committee? >> i think gerry is a very able leader. i think alex ocasio-cortez is excellent, too. i thought we had an abundance of talent competing today, and i think that he's going to do a great job. >> some of the arguments we heard was that it was maybe time for generational leadership change in terms of who's in charge of these committees, that there is no, you know, term limit. as mike mccaul, the republican there, knows, he's term limited out. do you think that there should be term limits for for democrats on these committees? >> well, i think seniority is no longer the defining kind of characteristic or trait that's going to decide these leadership elections, as you can tell. and i think now we're in a new world, right? i mean, donald trump won the presidency. and so now we have to obviously put our best foot forward. and whoever is the best person to take the baton in any given committee should get elected. >> and do

a new fbi director. >> i think it's good for the country. >> virginia democratic congressman gerry connolly joins me now from capitol hill. congressman, i want you to listen to the reason director wray gave for resigning. sure. >> my goal is to keep the focus on our mission, on the indispensable work each of you is doing every single day. >> and in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work. >> so he's suggesting that resigning helps to take the politics out of the fbi. i was told by some sources at doj that there is concern that by resigning, he's doing the opposite. he's setting precedent that the fbi director is political, meaning the term of a president ends. they get a new director, which is not the case. it's a ten year term. what's your view? >> i tend toward that view. >> i maybe, you know, director wray is right, that by removing himself, he removes a target, but he's going to be replaced with a partisan hack who has no real experience with the fbi or, for th

. >> joining me right now to talk about this and much more is democratic congressman gerry connolly. congressman thank you for coming in. we've got a lot to discuss but this just came through this nomination is an important one. and this nomination for to for pete hegseth to be the next defense secretary is in real question right now. what do you think of what you heard from. well, now we see kind of a i don't know if we can call it a campaign, but we know that pete hegseth mother is now going out to appeal to donald trump on fox news to say we believe in him and you should as well well, you know, one can sympathize with maternal love and concern for a son but i think all of us are struck by the fact that whether the emails she's referring to that she wrote her own son was written in haste or not. >> how many of us have received an email like that from our mothers? >> i never did. >> um, and so something very serious was going on beyond the emotion of a difficult divorce she was speaking truth to her own son, urging him to get help for behavior and impulses that are injurious to wome

let's go now to democrat congressman gerry connolly of virginia.e was just elected by his party to be the leading voice against the incoming trump administration on the oversight committee. he beat congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez in that vote. congressman, we have a lot of news to discuss. i do want to ask you briefly how you're feeling after your recent cancer diagnosis i feel fine. >> you know, i'm in treatment. it's going well. prognosis is good. my energy is back, and i'm ready to, you know, get into the struggle. >> so house minority leader, democratic leader hakeem jeffries says he is a quote, hell no on this pared down spending bill. is that your vote as well? >> i'm going to follow. >> certainly. hakeem jeffries, in opposing this bill. because at the very bottom of the line, we have cannot hand over government to unelected oligarchs who are trolling the trough for their own self benefit, like elon musk. i couldn't more fundamentally disagree with my colleague. we just had on mr. barr, uh, crs funding of government don't bloat governm

congressman gerry connolly, as always, thank you very much for your time. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure, jessica. >> thank you. thanks. still ahead, the new details we're learning about a california couple's violent death during their trip to mexico. you're in the cnn newsroom you only come across an artist like luther vandross. >> once in a lifetime. >> he was a boss from the beginning. >> luther said, i have a sound in my head. i got to get it out. you are my shining star. >> my. >> it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> if we were to be able to talk to luther as fans, we'd be able to say we just love you. >> luther. >> never too much new year's day at eight on cnn. okay, everyone, our mission is to provide complete, balanced nutrition for strength and energy. >> ensure with 27 vitamins and minerals, nutrients for immune health and ensure complete with 30g of protein. when you're the leader in disaster cleanup and restoration, how do you make like it never even happened

terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible. >> and that's why, in the end, we need term limits that gerry connollys out. okay. >> i'm fine with it. yeah. oh, mitch. all of them. get them all out. >> all right. coming up. this college sports president has lost his mind. he thinks women athletes should find a new locker room if they don't want to share it with a man. i'm dreaming of a white christmas with every christmas card i. >> hello. i'm former arkansas governor mike huckabee. a lot of times you can't control the amount of sleep that you're getting. i know it's scary unless you use relaxing sleep. relaxing sleep is a product that's made from natural ingredients, and it usually works from the very first night you try it. >> relaxing sleep is studied, tested, and designed by a neurologist to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up refreshed. >> relaxing sleep worked. from the very first night i took it, i had more focus and mental clarity than i've had in years. >> i wake up feeling alert and like i've had the best night's sleep. >> stop being afraid and start sleeping your f

you know gerry connolly in the 70s, ocasio-cortez and i think we have pictures of these two individuals, ocasio or cortez, in her 30s. what do you just make of this? i think generational tension, in a way, inside the democratic party i mean, you've seen it. >> you saw jasmine crockett challenge debbie dingell, debbie dingell ended up winning that race. uh, aoc is one of the more exciting. i don't agree with her politics on everything, but she definitely is not the future of the democratic party. she's the right now of the democratic party um, so i don't have any problem with these challenges. what people have to turn the page and see is the reason that you're seeing that is that there is a real belief that in 2026, democrats are going to take the house back. and so these individuals who get these ranking leadership positions will be in line to be chair of these respective committees and have that platform and have that perch. but for a long period of time, the democratic party was old and stale. um, our leadership was old. uh and we remember a republican party that was marco rubio, that

instead, they said they were endorsing congressman gerry connolly. my next guest is congressman dan goldman, a democrat who sits on house oversight. so the perfect person to join us tonight. who do you think should be leading the house oversight committee for your party? >> look, i think it's a really interesting battle. i think both of them are very talented, very qualified and truly excellent messengers, excellent members, and it does reflect a little bit of this generational shift, at least challenges from the next generation. and so i really have no idea who who's going to come out on top, although i think they're both supremely qualified. >> but you'll be deciding this in the coming days. i mean, who would you put your support behind? >> well, i have put my support behind aoc, who's my neighbor here in new york, and we've had some very good conversations about the direction to take the oversight committee. and i feel comfortable that it will be a committee that is representative of the full caucus. and i think that's very important for any ranki

and it's not that gerry connolly is a moderate by any means, so i'm not sure that was actually about, you know, i think that was more about seniority than anything else. exactly. but this idea that there's a number of high profile democrats in the media in their own bubble, calling for more far left ideas and policy positions when the country thoroughly rejected that and they lost to trump. the second time thoroughly, i think is very interesting, and we'll see if that can play out for them. but right now they're losing a coalition, and they are not listening to people who just want some normalcy in their lives. jessica, you know, one of the people in this new york times discussion, it was a written discussion online, wherever that is, i don't know. i'm ignorant to those kind of things, i guess. but one of the people said she was asked, i don't remember which one, i just use her name, but she was asked, is the democrat party actually the toilet? and she said, well, a toilet has some utility to it, so that might be a generous description. so, you know, i know that you don't feel that wa

trying to unseat debbie dingle and yesterday, they voted for gerry connolly over 35-year-old cortez fromvid scott as ranking member of the agriculture committee. despite all of it, 2024 was not a mandate for republicans, this one was a very small number of votes in a few districts in certain states. what is the democratic party supposed to do. founder of 1063 west brood and author of the book "flip the table." >> let's unflip this table, sis. kamala harris came up with the change that voters demanded but when you go to the house and senate no generational change ,does it make sense to you >>. >> it does not make sense. >> reporter: i love the lead in with her remarks about staying in the fight and . >> we could of had . >> reporter: i play that song all of the time every time i think about her. she was a disrupter. barack obama was a disrupter, folks did not want him to run for president when he decided to and look at the historic precedency that we had. so, i actually believe that democrats have been talking about it, not on tv because i have been taking care of myself, but i have been

gerry connolly, an older representative from virginia, he argues he made it a blue state.crats appetite for the next generation or their appetite for a kind of more of a partisan brawl as it were? >> i think in cases like this, the congressional elections, it's about personal relationships and about the quirk of the caucus. gerry connolly winning for this position is sort of a setback for aoc but i don't get matters. i think she will be a higher profile member of congress and possibly more if she decides to run for a higher office over the next few years including possibly president so we will see. you could see the insurgents who was jamie raskin beat jerry nadler so there's two tracks working on that right now. you've got the governors and possible presidential candidates then you have the legislative people who will be pretty visible going forward as the vocal minority party but donald trump is going to make them very visible and the spread is very-very hard at this point. >> it's a whole new washington ahead and i'm sure you'll have lots to say about it. mark leibovich

what's very interesting about this is she is going to face gerry connolly who had, you know, kind ofuple of years before. but again, i think she's the favorite here because of what you suggested, that there is this appetite to bring in, usher in new blood. >> let's talk more on the potential there for aoc. she's obviously one of the brightest stars in the democratic party. polarizing, you know, to be sure. but a remarkable political talent and communicator. if she were to ascend to that post, what would that mean for democrats, and should we be looking for other top committees also where maybe younger, newer voices might ascend? >> yeah. i think she'll have support. you have to realize republicans essentially own washington right now. so the only position for democrats is just going to be sort of those pit bulls that defend democrats. so they're going to need somebody at the top of the ticket who has -- who's a big figure and can kind of push back on some of the republican agenda that will probably pass because they have so much, you know, with both chambers and the executive branch.

alexandria ocasio-cortez for the top democratic spot on the oversight committee instead they josie gerry connolly older member backed by former house speaker nancy pelosi. why does that matter? one of the few committees in congress generates national attention or media coverage. under jamie raskin it became a political platform for countering republican misinformation. while i have deep respect for nancy pelosi. on this the show many times and fierce and nothing against congressman conley at all it felt like an obvious chance to apply some of the lessons we learned from the november election. pals the over savvy member of congress for a key leadership public role. >> katie: incredible. the democrats should be further to the left. even though the entire country shifted to the right. so just keep it up jen psaki with that great analysis of what actually happened. >> here on the weekends, when i'm filling in on the weekends. the person in the middle rachel campos-duffy. not a fan of aoc's ideology. but very quick to admit that aoc is effective. that is absolutely true. >> katie: is she effective at

. >> sandra: in the wake of all this, gerry connolly, the dem rep from virginia, says maybe we need to revisit pardon power. listen here. >> i don't believe the pardon power should be as broad as it is, and we can clearly see how it can be used and abused even with righteous cause. no other parent in america has the power to pardon their son or daughter for a crime. >> sandra: is that a discussion you believe is building, should we revisit pardon power? >> i wouldn't trade its constitutional power. it is a long-standing authority of the president. people may feel a little frustrated in this case because granted there is not the immediate opportunity to enforce accountability if that powers abused, given that joe biden is now leaving office. we do have a political process. i would imagine for some voters looking at this it confirms they made the right decision electing donald trump in november. >> sandra: interesting way to put it. always great to have you on. really interesting, you are there in washington. we've heard a lot of the washington responses. if i could have our team tea at

house democrats have picked gerry connolly for the party's top seat on the house oversight committee.nking member. he defeat 35-year-old new york congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez who campaigned on calls to pass the torch to younger leaders conley has been on the committee for 16 years. legalized sports betting has exploded in recent years. everybody knows that today the senate committee heard expert testimony about the very real dangers around it. senior national correspondent rich edson has details tonight. >> americans wagered nearly $120 billion on sports last year. the ncaa's president says record growth in legal sports betting has come at cost to student athletes. >> the abuse and harassment and the beatdown, not to mention the social pressure is not going to go away unless we manage to figure out some way to get will bets out of college sports. >> baker has been ban prop gates on wagers on specific athletes in a game. the senate judiciary committee examined the rapid expansion of legal sports gambling since the supreme court overturned the federal ban on sports betting in

listen to what virginia congressman gerry connolly had to say. >> as a father myself and as someone who biden, i can sympathize his perspective. but having said that, what other father father in america has the power to pardon his son or daughter if they're convicted of a crime? i really think we have to revisit the pardon power in the constitution, and and at the very least i think we've got to sir i couple scribe it so that you don't get to pardonrelatives even if you believe passionately they're innocent or that their cause is just. stuart: mary katharine ham joins me now. i don't think we're going to change the constitution, but congressman if connolly is highlighting the democrats' anger at biden. what because this pardon do for his legacy? is. >> yeah. i think they're angry partly because he's given them a political problem which is that they ran as the party to restore the norms and to make everyone feel good and we're the adults in the room. now, many people saw past that which is why many of them voted for donald trump and not for kamala harris. but i think this sort of puts a

here is someone who got walloped by gerry connolly just last week when she tried to be ranking memberr. i think our influence has been waiting for a while. injected her form of socialism. speaking of billionaires, at least one billionaire has dominated to the campaign. another billionaire tom soros secretly funded a trip that she and some other left-wing members of congress took to meet with left-wing latin american mem members. elon musk is an innovator, a job creator, going to get this done and doing as a volunteer. i can't help but think ramaud bowman all these people supportive and endorsed in the primaries. she knows to left-wing. >> i think she ran for the ranking to be more mainstream. whatever you do, suffering here in denmark. find out and whisper something about greenland. she says 84 votes wasn't nearly enough. i will say this. to say elon musk is a billionaire, you just diminished when he is there. he's not there because he is rich. is there because he is innovative. he is resourceful. he understands manufacturing. he's not just somebody with great ideas pretty implements

in favor of gerry connolly who is recovering from cancer.ting about this split happening that basically the question for the party is do they want to tout liberals which resonate in the left-leaning multicultural precincts of jackson heights and college point new york or figure out how to status wads of voters and new democrats in omaha, nebraska, and parts of the dakotas. the question for you is this not just a discussion about a need to move on from age but more of an ideological crossroads than an age crossroads? >> that's exactly right. it's ideological and i think we can rebuild the democratic party and we can learn anything in the horrific loss we had with kamala harris and we need to go back to politics that americans care about which is the economy and security. republicans been able to own that agenda better than we have and that's what we have lost a last election. you go back to the kitchen table issues you will find to report. >> jacqui: you don't think that democrats have a problem with their younger lawmakers tended to be more

virginia congressman gerry connolly said in an interview that, perhaps, presidents shouldn't get to pardon their family members. bret? >> bret: rich edson live on the north lawn. thank you. we will have reaction to all of this, reaction of what happens next legally with trey gowdy and andy mccarthy coming up in a bit. jury deliberations begin tomorrow in the case of the marine veteran charged with killing a subway rider who was threatening other passengers. but daniel penny's defense team insists prosecutors failed to prove daniel penny's guilt correspondent c.b. cotton is outside the courthouse tonight. >> good evening, bret. the prosecution gets the final word with the jury but it comes after daniel penny's defense team asked jurors who we would want to be with on the train that day? telling jurors their client acted to protect others after jordan neely got on the train, hurling threats. defense attorney stephen razor said it's no coincidence there is only video of daniel penny's restraint because he says it's the only time people felt safe enough to take out a phone. he pointed to body

. >>> plus, democratic congressman gerry connolly will join us to weigh in on the looming shutdown. > a guest to discuss what is the real reason why americans approve of trump's disastrous transition. you won't want to miss that. "morning joe" just a few moments away. away and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only weight-management medicine proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and obesity. don't use wegovy® with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines, or in children under 12. don't take if you or your family had mtc, men 2, or if allergic to it. tell your provider if you plan to have surgery or a procedure, are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to be. stop taking and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or any of these allergic reactions. serious side effects may include pancreas inflammation and gallbladder problems. call your prescriber if you have any of these symptoms. wegovy® may caus

aoc's entrance in the race would have her face off against democratic congressman gerry connolly whork to combat the incoming trump administration. if democrats win back control of the house in the 2026 midterms, very possible, the new oversight chairperson would have broad power to subpoena and investigate the trump administration. joining us, pulitzer prize-winning columnist and associate editor of "the washington post," eugene robinson. an msnbc political analyst. good to see you this morning. this news comes on the heels of jamie raskin ousting jerry nadler for another important committee post. what do you make of aoc's bid, she's obviously a rising star in the party, and do you think it it does reflect a push from democrats to have fresh, younger faces for a second trump era? >> well, on your latter question, i think it absolutely does. and a lot of people would say it's past time. i mean, the democratic party does have the younger generation that it -- it's time for the younger generation to move into some of these leadership posts. and aoc, you know, she's is -- she has both t

seat taking on decades of experience in the 74-year-old gerry connolly. tonight, the old guard won.me to elevate the best and brightest. we is kept them from ascending to leadership positions which means they go elsewhere. >> democrats were concerned that an aoc win meant the party could veer left. ohio's marcy kaptur is the longest tenured woman in house history. she never chair add committee but she tried. >> the people that get elected in my party tend to come from the coasts. >> kaptur says former house speaker nancy pelosi partly blocked her and pelosi worked against aoc's bid now. republicans did not vote but oversight committee chairman james comer preferred alexandria ocasio-cortez. >> i hope they put her on there because she symbolizes what the democrats stand for. she is a socialist. she is the architect of the green new deal in the house. >> the vote is finalized tomorrow. but one newcomer did prevail, an from craig of minnesota. she beat david scott and jim costa to become the ranking democrat on agriculture. bret? >> bret: hey, chad, where do we stand with the bill to t

ocasio-cortez for the top democratic spot on the democratic oversight committee and said they chose gerry connollyattention or media coverage but under jamie raskin, it became a critical platform for countering republican misinformation, and while i have deep respect for speaker pelosi, she has been on this show many times, she is fierce, and nothing against congressman connolly at all, this felt like an obvious chance to apply some of the lessons we learn from the november election, right? instead, democrats passed over one of the youngest, most media savvy members of congress for a key leadership of public role. joining me now is someone who has known the importance of having youth at the table for a very long time, david hogg is cofounder for march for our lives and just announced his bid for the dnc. you have been out there since election, you have seen some things that i think are pretty interesting. you mentioned in a recent interview that when he raised concerns that kamala harris is not doing enough to win over gen z voters, you received messages from political consultants who said you did