. >>> and the current defense secretary, lloyd austin, speaking out tonight on hegseth's comments that women should not serve in combat and on russia's potential use of nuclear weapons. courtney kube spoke with austin for an exclusive interview. >> reporter: tonight, secretary of defense, lloyd austin, weighing in on escalating tensions with russia, after the u.s. made the rare move to temporarily close its embassy in kiev, amid a threat of a significant russian air attack. and president putin lowered the threshold for his country to use nuclear weapons. is there a reason to believe that vladimir putin may use a nuclear weapon? >> we've known for several weeks that they were revamping their policy on use of nuclear weapons. i don't see an indication that there's an imminent intent to use nuclear weapons. >> reporter: is he bluffing with this change? >> he has rattled his nuclear saber quite, quite a bit. and this is dangerous behavior. >> reporter: in his first interview since donald trump was elected again and chose media personality and veteran pete hegseth to take over the pentagon,

>> captain lloyd austin would be very concerned. i think it's important that young, young officers, young soldiers and sergeants be able to see to see themselves in our senior leadership. this is the third time i've served with general brown directly. he's one everybody the most competent officers i've ever worked with. >> reporter: i asked if pete hegseth has what it takes to be secretary of defense. and he said he doesn't know him. lester? >> courtney kube, thank you. >>>>> also, the of the house speaker of wading into the controversy over trans rights, issuing a new policy on the use of bathrooms at the capitol. ryan nobles explains, it comes after the election of the first openly-transgender member of congress. >> reporter: delaware's sarah mcbride made history in november, becoming the first openly-trans woman to win a seat in congress. >> thank you so much to the progressional congressional caucus. >> reporter: her win as the c her win came researches made opposition to trans rights a main part of their campaign strategy. now

that's what i feel about schedule >> we believe therefore live coverage of defense secretary lloyd austin on into pacific strategy in fiji with the country's prime minister. >> [speaking another language] ladies and gentlemen of the media, welcome to the press conference of the two leaders this afternoon. as you know, the leader has his opening remarks before we open it up to the questions from the floor. we also take this opportunity to welcome those who are with us through the livestreaming of the fiji government facebook page. welcome. we will start with the opening remarks of the honorable prime minister. >> secretary of defense lloyd austin, members of the press corps, ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to this bilateral press conference. i'm sure you will agree that today marks a historic moment in the united states and fiji's relationship with its first ever visit by a united states secretary of defense to fiji. fiji and the united states have a long-standing bilateral defense and security relationship. it has been my privilege and my honor to welcome the united states

. >> defense secretary lloyd austin delivered remarks from laos on the sidelines at the association of southeast asian nations summit caret he talks, addressing women serving in the u.s. military and responding to a reporter's question about donald trump's defense secretary nominee. other topics included military readiness, attacks in the red sea an additional aid for ukraine. >> again, thank you for being here with us. secretary of defense lloyd austin: it's great to be back at the admm-plus for my fourth time as secretary. being here is a priority and a sign of our strong support for asean's central role in regional security. tomorrow, we'll publish our vision of u.s. defense engagement with asean. it's focused on practical cooperation and mutual respect, and that includes training the next generation of leaders and tackling emerging challenges and deepening maritime cooperation. i'm also pleased to announce the second asean u.s. maritime exercise for next year, which asean member states approved earlier today and i look forward to meeting with key allies and partners. now, i regret

here's more from defense secretary lloyd austin, reacting to this news in an interview with nbc. >> butes ca late, announcing that he's lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, announced this right after press reports that the u.s. had authorized atacm strikes inside of russia. is there a reason to believe that vladimir putin may use a nuclear weapon? >> we have known for several weeks they were revamping their policy on the use of nuclear weapons. as i look at what they're doing, and i -- we watch their strategic forces, you know, very carefully, i don't see a change in their strategic force posture. and so we'll continue to remain vigilant in this regard. but at this point, no, i don't see an indication there is an imminent intent to use nuclear weapons. >> nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons has more on the latest developments in the region. >> reporter: good morning. this morning, former russian president dmitry medvedev writing that nato could be targeted with weapons of mass destruction. he made those threats many times before, but the confrontation bet

i think people far supersede his role, the role lloyd austin has done as secretary of defense.tle and dislodge a lot of the things that are hampering our u.s. military right now from being effective. we are stripping out the diversity, equity and inclusion projects, we are stripping out crt. stop acting like politicians and start recruiting the best men and women who will cite and possibly die for what we hold dear in the u.s. caitriona: former u.s. anchor turned two-term congressman from missouri. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. caitriona: former republican congressman charlie dent told the bbc that matt gaetz would face severe consequences if the report was released to the public. >> this is a really interesting situation. ordinarily what would happen is when a an investigation is completed they would vote on the report and then release it to the public. if a member resigns from congress, as is the case with matt gaetz, the ethics committee loses all jurisdiction. that said it appears this investigation was complete and the report was ready to be issued. the ethics co

. >>> and current defense secretary lloyd austin speaking out tonight on hegseth's comments that women should not serve in combat and on russia's potential use of nuclear weapons. courtney kube spoke tonight. >> reporter: tonight, weighing in on escalating tensions with russia, after the u.s. made the rare move to close its embassy in kyiv amid a significant russian air attack. and president putin lowered the threshold for his come country to use nuclear weapons. >> is there a reason for putin to use nuclear weapons? >> we've known for several weeks that they were revamping their policy on use of nuclear weapons. i don't see an indication that there is an imminent attempt to use nuclear weapons. >> is he bluffing with this? >> he is rattlings should nuclear saber quite a bit. and this is dangerous behavior. >> reporter: in his first interview since donald trump it was elected again and chose pete hegseth. austin addressed some of hegseth's views. >> your possible successor has said that women should not be in combatting roles and they make fighting more complicated? >> i have spent 41

so lloyd austin, in his memo reminded the us military of their duty to abate all lawful orders of the president of the united states who is also the commander in chief of the us military. he further went on to say that it is their duty to stand apart from the political arena. thanks so much kimberley. how could the now us president elect donald trump as being celebrating is victoria, is a states in florida? not only did he when the, like total college, he's a head by nearly 5000000 in the popular vote to the 1st republican candidate to do so in 20 years. well, these pictures posted by a long mosque on his social media platform, x of a private celebration with trump. the president elect has kept a low profile since tuesday night. and russian president vladimir putin is congratulations, jump on his election when speaking as an international conference in the blacks the result of salty fruits and said he's ready to speak to the us president select. he also said any ideas on facilitating an end to the war and ukraine, this of attention, the view, the shop of all about joins us now live fr

defense secretary lloyd austin defending women in the military after the man pick today replace him questionedn combat roles. courtney kube, i know you spoke with secretary austin there. what did he say? >> reporter: yeah, this the first time he sat down for an interview since the election and since president-elect donald trump selected pete hegseth to be secretary austin's successor, to take over as secretary of defense. i asked about several of the policy decisions that pete hegseth has been very vocal about. one of those, his pronouncement even just in recent days that women should no longer serve in combat roles. secretary austin had some pretty forceful things to say about that. here's what he had to say. >> do you have any concerns about women in these combat roles like the ones that you mentioned when you were serving in iraq? do you have any concern that women impact readiness of these units? >> they do impact readiness. they make us better. they make us stronger and again what i have seen from our women is quite incredible. and i'm not -- this is not hyperbole. i'm telling you what i

the us defence secretary lloyd austin speaking to the sect israeli defence minister, yoav gallant, thetagon has said. the leaders of more than 50 european countries, have been meeting in budapest. security is on the agenda, with real concerns about what happens next in ukraine. since russia's full scale invasion, the us has been the largest single donor to kyiv�*s war effort, and the fear that a government in washington could stop, if not end the flow of military aid. katya adler is in budapest. it was game on today for hungary's prime minister, who chose to host this meeting in budapest�*s main football stadium. donald trump's loudest fan amongst european leaders was clearly pleased he'd picked the winning team. translation: the situation in europe is complex - and dangerous. our transatlantic relations are key to the future security of europe. but not all his guests agree. donald trump's return to the white house makes them anxious about european security, ukraine in particular. we have to give a clear message here today to the united states and the new administration that we support

. >>> in 90 seconds, an exclusive with defense secretary lloyd austin. we will play for you what he said about the possibility of putin using nuclear weapons in the war in ukraine. >>> plus, breaking moments ago, donald trump's attorneys fire back after the manhattan d.a. in his hush money case refused to dismiss his conviction on 34 felony counts. >>> plus, two major weather events combining to make one of the strongest storms systems to hit the west coast in decades. >> i'm all stocked up. who knows? these are small roads. anything could happen. and it keeps our clothes fresh all day! [sniff] ooo imma be feelin it at work today. she smells so good i'm actually paying attention! smell unstopable. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. our advanced matching helps find talented candidates, so you can connect with them fast. visit indeed.com/hire breaking news from new york city where president-elect donald trump and his legal team asked a judge overseeing the new york hush money tria

. >> defense secretary lloyd austin and fijian prime minister sitiveni rabuka held a joint news conference from fiji, marking the first visit of the defense secretary to the island nation. have a long-standing bilateral defense insecurity relationship so it's been my privilege and honor to welcome to this part of the world. we all pray it is not an indication that we are looking at some danger in the years ahead. we are here to talk about peace and how we protect and promote that piece. it's my privilege to welcome secretary austin. he is a general. great issues of mutual importance to nations. and once again, welcome. our meeting today builds on a number of engagements that we have had with the united states this year, including the signing of a new transport agreement in august. the establishment of the usaid office in fiji and the framework agreement in october and the continuing engagement and expansion with the peace corps in fiji and the region. these are hallmark agreements between fiji and the united states and its indicative of the strength of the united states support towards fij

administration, has also given keep the go ahead to use american land mines. us defense secretary lloyd austin says that is a positive step of their fabricating their own and our personal land mines right now. the land mines that we would look to, to provide them with the land mines that to that are not persistent. you know, we can, we can control when they would as a self self activate, self designate in the and that makes it uh, you know, far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own. or earlier i spoke with joe metella in the sacramento, so she's a senior lecturer in security and development at kings college london. she told me more about the non persistent landlines that the us defense secretary was talking about i think what, what is meant is, are these non lines very kind of safe destruct or they have, are sure to sort of live span because the sort of a lose the battery charge, and from what i've read, you know, they could, they could be active be between sort of from 4 hours to maybe 2 weeks. so they're not on minds that, that are active for, for long, lo

secretary of state lloyd austin port secretary of defense i should say it lloy lloyd austin spoke s israelinterpart on saturday is the worst dragging on this was the moment saturday israeli airstrike hit a mosque near a refugee camp this war has displaced nearly the entire population 2.3 million people across the strip experts are warning the widespread devastating where the growing shortage of food, medicine and basic supplies have caused cost to sort the price of bread is more than $13. aback here in israel today the body has been found of a rabbi who'd gone missing in dubai where he lived. >> may god avenge his blood. this murder was committed and the united arab and. that murder of his and israeli is a criminal anti- semitic terrorist attack. the 28-year-old had been missing since thursday sparking fears that he had been potentially abducted. arthel: all right alex hogan thank you. eric: this comes senior age of the iranian supreme leader is warning ironic will soon retaliate against israel for its attacks against its proxy hezbollah and iranian military target right a retired four-star

weeks and therefore won't remain a threat to local civilians. return to the area defense secretary lloyd austin claimed, explained rather the policy reversal as a reaction to new tactics used by russian infantry on the ground rights groups have slammed the decision. the mines are part of a larger a trunk to ukraine. ukraine's present below them is landscape. welcome. the prospect of receiving more weapons from the u. s. we have a new support package from america. it is worth $275000000.00. with package includes drones, ammunition for high mars and artillery, and very important to choose minds to stop russian assaults. this will really strengthen our troops at the front state is holding its largest ever artillery exercise in europe. 5000 troops have gathered along the alliance as eastern flag blocks. newest member of finland is hosting some of those troops. and as far north alexandra phenomena reports from a training area not far from the countries, 1300 kilometer border with russia. friend caesar howitzers, swedish archers, american multiple launch record systems firing, and it called united ef

keep the go ahead to use american land mines. us defense secretary lloyd austin, says that is a positive step that they're fabricating their own and our personal land mines right now. the land mines that we would look to, to provide them with the landlines that, that are not persistent. you know, we can, we can control when they would just as a self self activate, self designate in the and that makes it, uh, you know, farm. ready or a safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own. i for more now i wanna pull into, i'm gonna tell us our most. so she's a senior lecturer in security and development at kings college in london. it's, it's good to have you with this. if i could, i'd like to pick up on what the us defense secretary said right there. what exactly does he mean when he talks about non persistent land mines and i have no very nice to be in your program. i think what, what is meant as are these non lines, very kind of fish destruct or they have are sure to sort of live span because that they sort of, they lose the battery charge. and from what i've read, you k

think abouis is also something,i question should also be to the service chiefs and to lloyd austin andought this? we had developments on the russian developments of hypersonics and more and going up against putins and his desires and he'll strike back at expense of his own people. you don't escalate unless you're frankly incompetent and say to the service chiefs and pentagon and lloyd austin, what are you doing because biden has always been incompetent on foreign policy. larry: i'll tell you, you know, i want pete hegseth in the pentagon because i don't know if the generals will stand up and what kind of advice they give and this guy that i knew working in the white house turning around saying everything is okay with trump after going hog wild against trump for several years and acting like a woke fool to tell you the truth. joe concha, none of this makes sense and american voters aren't stupid and they can see the disarray and none makes sense and no logic or consistency to it. >> it's an unwinnable war and to david's point, putin will throw bodies at it till he wears out zelensky com

let's listen to the us defense secretary lloyd austin, who said that that is a positive step. there, fabricating their own personal landmines right now. the land mines that we would look to, to provide them with the land mines that, that are not persistent. you know, we can, we can control when they would as a self self activate, self designate in the and that makes it, uh, you know, far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own that's, i mean, this is an interesting one because ukraine is a signatory to the mine bend treaty while the us and russia are not. how do you think he will justify using these us applied and type personnel landlines? i think there is an old with these are these portfolio because of a lot of people who are very supportive of ukraine. no less to be worried about long. so sex a bunch of press no much. and also if that's with a breach in a, in, in the use of i 2nd country to, to them are the only will be around the threat that rush suppose to is, particularly the need to create a strong defensive belt the rush. it couldn't p

also being supplied to ukraine by the us, it's been confirmed by the us, it's been confirmed by lloyd austinheir use — doesn't this mean that ukraine is surrendering some of the moral high ground, that it should occupy? high ground, that it should occu ? ~ ., ~ ., �*, occupy? well, for ukraine, it's either surrendering _ occupy? well, for ukraine, it's either surrendering its - occupy? well, for ukraine, it's either surrendering its people | either surrendering its people to the russian war crimes or surrendering some of the international obligations. and clearly, if ukraine is not provided any other capabilities, be it air force artillery, and this is the only capability that's being given, then ukraine will use it — because we do see you now quite a significant formation of russian and north korean soldiers in the kursk region trying to bolster this large ukrainian territory. so this is a very hard dilemma to which i'm sure ukrainians are prioritising defence of sovereign territory and its people stop by a lot of this is being framed as preparing for the moment donald trump takes office at

secretary of defense lloyd austin: it's great to be back at the admm-plus for my fourth time as secretary. being here is a priority and a sign of our strong support for asean's central role in regional security. tomorrow, we'll publish our vision of u.s. defense engagement with asean. it's focused on practical cooperation and mutual respect, and that includes training the next generation of leaders and tackling emerging challenges and deepening maritime cooperation. i'm also pleased to announce the second asean u.s. maritime exercise for next year, which asean member states approved earlier today and i look forward to meeting with key allies and partners. now, i regret that the prc chose not to meet here. the prc's decision is a setback for the whole region. as i've said consistently, the right time to meet is any time. now, before i get to your questions, i have one more announcement. later today the white house will be announcing additional security assistance for ukraine worth up to $275 million to meet critical battlefield needs, and that will include munitions for rocket systems and

five: 30 p.meastern defense secretary lloyd austin holds a joint news conference in fiji with the country's prime mister marking the first visit to the island nation by a u.s. defense secretary. tch live on c-span, c-span now, our free mobile video apps or online at c-span.org. >> listening to programs on c-span through c-span radio is easy. tell your smart speaker to play c-span radio and listen to washington journal daily at 7:00 a.m. eastern. important public affairs events throughout the day. weekdays catch washington today. listen to c-span any time. tell your smart speaker to play c-span radio. c-span. powered by cable. all weekend book tv will be live with the miami book fair. coverage begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern on saturday at 11:00 a.m. eastern on sunday with highlights including stacy abrams author of the children's book "stacy speaks up." karen swisher and her book burn book. malcolm gladwell with "revenge of the tipping point.". a round table featuring dave barry, mitch album, and stephen king. at eight: 30 p.m. eastern astrophysicist mario livio explains the search for life ou

the us defence secretary, lloyd austin, has said he expects thousands of north korean troops massed inmbat against ukraine soon. around 10,000 north korea soldiers have been sent, it is widely believed, in exchange for russian oil and anti—air missiles. whether or not the north koreans have been actively engaged in combat, while we have not seen significant reporting of that to date, i said a while ago, a couple of days ago, that there are some 10,000 or so north korean soldiers in the kursk region, and they were being integrated into the russian formations. based upon what they've been trained on and the way that they've been integrated into they've been integrated into the russian formations, ifully expect to see them engaged in combat soon. meanwhile, vladimir putin says russia has a stock of powerful new missiles that are ready to be used after moscow fired a new hypersonic missile, at targets in ukraine. russia's use of the oreshnik missile ended a week of escalation in the war that also saw ukraine fire american and british long—range missiles into russia for the first time. ukra

the pentagon plans to appeal a military judge's ruling that defense secretary lloyd austin did not haveced plea deals that would allow the coconspirators to plead guilty to the lesser charges and death penalty. after backlash, new york firefighters and some republican lawmakers, secretary austin said he would withdraw the deal. a military judge found that austin did not have the power to avoid agreements. joining us now, is nbc's courtney kube. great seeing you. so much back and forth in this case. what is it, as of right now, that case stands and then what is going to happen going forward? >> yeah, i mean, you can say that again. this has been a dizzying back and forth between the prosecution and then that shocking move by secretary of defense lloyd austin over the summer to essentially invalidate the plea deals that had been agreed to by these detainees, 9/11 coconspirators, not only could the plea deals no longer go forward after they were agreed to but the judge for the military commissions process, known as the convening authority also could no longer be a part of that plea agreeme

like replacing former four-star general lloyd austin with someone who cut his teeth interfering trumpin diners and hawking ammo online in goofy sunglasses. helps to have the unqualified and unserious in place if you want the military to obey unlawful orders since the dedicated public servants currently there wouldn't go along. so naturally the trump administration has plans for them, too. and that's coming up next. rough, or tired? with miebo, eyes can feel ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ miebo is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number one cause of dry eye: too much tear evaporation. for relief that's ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ remove contact lenses before using miebo. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. what does treating dry eye differently feel like? ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ for relief that feels ♪ miebo ohh yeah ♪ ask your eye doctor about prescription miebo. a bend with a bump in your erection might be painful, embarassing, difficult to talk about, and could be peyronie's disease or pd, a real medical condi

in august defense secretary lloyd austin said the case should go to trial and rescinded the plea agreement spared the defendants a possible death sentence. prosecutors said the deal was meant to bring some finality and justice to the case. no word on whether government will appeal the judge's decision. >>> "business insider" reports january 6th capitol riot defendants are asking judges to halt their cases saying president-elect donald trump promised them pardons. during the campaign trump said he would pardon january 6th defendants, quote, if they're innocent. lawyers for christopher carnell filed a motion yesterday to postpone a hearing in his case claiming he's expecting to receive clemency. a judge said no. another defendant, jaimee avery, filed a motion to delay her sentencing hearing until after trump's inauguration. >>> and "politico" says trump impeachment whistleblower eugene vindman was elected after defeating derrick anderson in a tight rae. anderson has not conceded. vindman, the former army colonel and twin brother reported concerns about a 2019 call between then-president trum

>> reporter: jake, it took just a couple of days after defense secretary lloyd austin to try to revoke agreements of the details that would have seen alleged 9/11 mastermind mohammed , ks and, and two of his co-conspirators, go to prison for life, in exchange for guilty pleas for all of the charges they faced, including the murder of all of the victims of 9/11. it took more than two years to reach those plea deals. but just after they were announced, austin not only revoked the deals themselves or at least attempted to, but also revoked the authority of the official in charge of getting to those deals, to make the deals in the first place. the problem is we just learned from a military judge today, was that austin didn't have the authority to do that. the official in charge of those deals had the authority to make those deals and made them with the knowledge of the pentagon and defense secretary. austin didn't have the right to revoke or withdraw the authority to reach the deals, and therefore do not have the right to revoke the deals themselves. given that scenario, the hearings will

but current defense secretary lloyd austin spoke exclusively with nbc news, and he disagrees. >> they do impact readiness. they make us better. they, they make us stronger. and, again, what i've seen from our women is quite incredible. and i'm not, i'm not -- this is not hyperbole. i'm telling you what i've seen. >> that sentiment was echoed by retired general mark milley. he served as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under trump. he spoke at an event in washington d.c. last night. >> what's your take on women in combat in the military? >> women have been in combat. it doesn't matter when that 762 hits you in the chest. nobody gives a [ bleep ] whether you're man or a woman. you're still dead. it should be a standards-based, merit-based military. >> milley says the u.s. military is still the most powerful in the world. >>> the u.s. expects its embassy in kiev to return to normal operations after specific information about an air attack forced the embassy in ukraine's capital to close yesterday. it comes as ukraine launched its first strike on russian territory with u.s.-supplied

. >> defense secretary lloyd austin delivered remarks from laos on the sidelines of the southeast nations security talks. he addressed women serving in the u.s. military and wanted to a reporters question about president elect donald trump's defense secretary nominee pete hegseth, other types included military readiness,

. >> let's listen to what the current defense secretary, lloyd austin has said when asked about seths comments that women should not serve in combat roles we'll talk about it on the other side i think our women add significant value to the united states military and we should never change that and if i had a message to to answer your question to, to our women, i would say i would tell them that, you know, we need you. >> we we we we have faith in you. we we are appreciative of of your service and you add value to the the the finest and most lethal fighting force on earth >> well, lloyd austin is right. listen women step up all the time. i've served with women in the in the beginning of my career, i was an army ranger. i was a paratrooper. i did three combat deployments to iraq. i served with women. they fought. they sacrificed. some of them gave their lives for our country. and the notion the suggestion that they're not that they're not qualified after decades and decades of service and integration of our military, is just really beyond the pale. and it just shows that he does not und

. >> one of the world, another clear sign defense secretary lloyd austin says the 10,000 north korean troops stationed in russia are not just for show. austin confirms about 8,000 of them have now deployed to the russia-ukraine border. expect that these north korean soldiers will join the fight against ukraine in the coming secretary of state antony blinken says this shows how desperate russia is. putin has been throwing more and more russians into a meat grinder of his own making and ukraine. he's turning to north korean troops. russia will still not confirm any military collaboration with north korea in quite the exchange at the united nations. the deputy u.s. ambassador sought answers directly from his russian counterpart. does russia still maintain that? there are no dprk troops in russia? the russian ambassador refuse to answer the question. >> but austin says of north korean troops do engage in combat. they would make themselves legitimate military targets. austin says the u.s. will announce additional security assistance for ukraine in the coming days. this all comes as north k

so what the defense secretary lloyd austin has done is clarify, but in his memo. but the new commander in chief is certainly someone to be obeyed, but that the military should only obey all lawful orders and should stand apart from the political arena. in other words, uh that is something that they should be mindful of. and so he has sent out this memo to make sure that the soldiers in the military understand and are clear about what their mission is moving forward. kimberly, thank you so much for joining us. so trump 142 percent of the vote in the city of deer board home to the country's largest air of american community. 3rd party candidate jo stein took 18 percent. those roads came in the same time as growing anger of the war and gaza. an unwavering us support for israel. teresa battle report from dearborn in the state of michigan, which is trump has flipped from democratic to republican the, the presidential election was personally for chevy of the 6. he's originally from living on, but lives in the us state of michigan where the air of american vote played ac

lloyd austin overseeing afghanistan, what a betaldebacl.o one has been held to account by the biden administration, and the american public are ready to replace them. >> jonathan: are you saying you don't care about fbi background checks? we should do away with them and you can go ahead -- it's been standard practice as you know, for a long time, but you're saying do away with it? >> certainly, jon. i have been through it myself. i have been through con mfirmatn as well. they have to do these checks ex expedit expeditiously. they need to get onto this, and we'll get this done. >> jonathan: i understand you've also had some concerns about hegseth's view on women in combat. they said pretty flatly although there are exceptions he's outlined, but he doesn't like women in combat. you disagree with him as i understand it. has he given you assurances he won't try to change pentagon policy on that? >> the policy is set by the president of the united states, not by the cabinet members. i may disagree with him. look. i disagreed with rahm but i supp

at 5:30, defense secretary lloyd austin will hold a joint news conference in fiji with the country'srime minister. his visit marks the first one to the island nation by a u.s defense secretary. watch live on c-span, c-span now or online at c-span.org. >> the house will be in order. >> this year c-span celebrates 45 years of cover congress like no other. since 1979 we have been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced unfiltered coverage of government, taking you to where the policies are debated and decided. c-span, 45 years and counting. powered by cable. >> the international criminal court has issued an arrest warned for netanyahu who is being accused of targeting civilians in the war in gaza. the prime minister responds in a statement today from jerusalem. >> the antisemitic decision of the internatio

lloyd austin spoke about the decision to supply them while traveling in laos. >> we talked about howuld potentially deploy the weapons that make sure they are doing things responsibly, recording where they are putting their mines and make sure they take advantage of the self detonating quality of these weapons. we have provided and take -- antitank minres from the very beginning. the way the fight has evolved, this is just another stage for the way we are trying to meet their needs. they asked for these and i think it is a good idea to provide them. >> ukraine reported launched british long-range storm shadow missiles for the first time in russia one day after debuting u.s. long-range missiles on russian soil. the ukrainian defense minister said ukraine is using "all the means to defend itself." british defense secretary john healey said ukraine's actions on the battlefield speak for themselves. the statement did not specify exactly when the attack took place or the type of weapon used. russia's defense ministry said today it intercepted 44 drones launched by ukrainian armed forces o

but the current defense secretary lloyd austin spoke with nbc news, and he disagrees. >> they do impact readiness. they make us better. they make us stronger. and, again, what i've seen from our women is quite incredible. and i'm not, i'm not, this is not hyperbole. this is, i'm just telling you what i've seen. >> that sentiment was echoed last night by retired general mark milley. he served as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under trump. >> what's your take on women in combat in the military? yay or nay? >> women have been in combat, and it doesn't matter if that 762 hits you in the chest. no one gives a [ bleep ] if it's a woman or a guy who pulled that trigger. you're still dead. so, if you meet the standards, our military must be and always should be a standards-based, merit-based military. period. full stop. >> he was at this event in washington, d.c. last night, and stephanie ruhle asked about the trump team's promise to make government more efficient. milley said the military could use reforms, but they have to be done carefully. >> if all you're going to do is come in with

lloyd austin and our chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general brown. cabinet secretaries, service secretaries, service chiefs, our veterans and families, and everyone watching across our great nation. thank you for being with us. the them-a veterans day 2024 is a legacy of loyalty and service. for over 160 years, arlington national cemetery's legacy has been to serve proudly and honorably as a final resting place for more than 420,000 service members and their families. i cannot think of a more fitting place than here at the very center of our nation's most hallowed grounds to commemorate and honor and america's past, present, and future service members. arlington national cemetery embodies our nation's enduring gratitude for our veterans. each grave marker and monument tell a story of service, commitment, and sacrifice. the 639 acres represent a solemn gathering place for families and friends to remember their service, celebrate their contributions, and take comfort in the everlasting legacy continues to uplift our country today. it is poignant that e

in a press briefing a short while ago, the united states secretary of defense lloyd austin announcedtance for ukraine. now, before i get to your questions i have one more announcement. later today the white house will be announcing additional security assistance for ukraine worth up to $275 million to meet critical battlefield needs. that will include munitions for rocket systems and artillery and anti—tank weapons. our eastern europe correspondent sarah rainsford explained what difference the change in policy could make. this comes after that other change in policy, which was to allow the use of longer—range us missiles for ukraine to fire at targets within russia. so, hot on the heels of that rapid change in policy is this one, which isjoe biden reversing his position that he wouldn't provide anti—personnel landmines to ukraine and suddenly saying that they will now be supplied. we don't know when, we don't know how many. we do know that this is controversial, and that's whyjoe biden has avoided taking this step until this point. but both the pentagon and the white house have told

defense secretary lloyd austin says the 10,000 north korean troops stationed in russia are not just for show. austin confirms about 8,000 of them have now deployed to the russia-ukraine border. expect that these north korean soldiers will join the fight against ukraine in the coming secretary of state antony blinken says this shows how desperate russia is. putin has been throwing more and more russians into a meat grinder of his own making and ukraine. he's turning to north korean troops. russia will still not confirm any military collaboration with north korea in quite the exchange at the united nations. the deputy u.s. ambassador sought answers directly from his russian counterpart. does russia still maintain that? there are no dprk troops in russia? the russian ambassador refused to answer the question. >> but austin says of north korean troops do engage in combat. they would make themselves legitimate military targets. austin says the u.s. will announce additional security assistance for ukraine in the coming days. this all comes as north korea test-fired a long-range missile overni

to quote lloyd austin, the us defence secretary, "the deployment of north korean troops represents aus escalation that will have ramifications far beyond "the battlefield in both europe and asia." that's the reality. you're a diplomat. you know the reality. i think that we don't care about the opinion of mr austin about that. i will say that we have a relationship with north korea for many, many years, and this is a country which we actually continue to deploy our relationship also in the field of defence. why not? yeah. it's interesting you say you have a relationship with north korea — in the past, russia has signed up to un security council resolutions trying to ensure that north korea does not develop new ballistic missile technologies. it signed... russia signed resolutions i718, 1874, 2270. you know that. you're a diplomat. there were resolutions. and you also know...you also know that now putin says he has — quote unquote — a "no—limits partnership with pyongyang". so what are you going to give the north koreans as they give you military personnel, and thousands — no, sorry, n