we put mark esper in. mark is highly experienced. i think he will fit in easily. >> [question inaudible] >> let's see what he does. i can tell you that the eu, if you look at the euro, they have a different stance than our folks do. we did something today that was very dramatic and frankly it's helped that part of the world. so we'll see what happens. they'll be making an announcement very soon. we'll see what happens. i want to be given a level playing field. so far i haven't been yeah, i would be allowed to speak to them easily. i speak to them anyway. >> [question inaudible] >> most likely that's what i'm thinking about doing. pretty soon. >> [question inaudible] >> we're looking at iran. a lot of things going with iran. we're very prepared for iran. we'll see what happens. let me say this. we're very prepared. regardless of what goes, we're very, very prepared. if you look at what has taken place, if you look at what they have done, if you look at -- i'm not just talking about over the last week. i'm talking about over a long per

i thank pat for his outstanding service and we'll be naming secretary of the army mark esper to be new acting secretary of defense. i know mark and i have no doubt he will do a fantastic job. we heard a week ago when the president was overseas he had been floating different names. is it that or really the road block pat shanahan has come up against in the confirmation process? >> reporter: i think there are some road blocks, steph, and of course nbc news first reported last week that the president seemed to be having second thoughts about officially nominating patrick shanahan because the white house had yet to submit his nomination to the senate. so we asked, in fact, i asked the president, himself, if he was having any hesitations. he said, no. it has to go through the normal process. that was last week. this is today. we know that there were some concerns about his security clearance, that that was one of the things that was holding this process up. as you point out, steph, president trump, while he was in normandy at the d-day celebrations, was talking to officials and aides close

mark esper isa is mark esper coming in.ds, and this would do two things. demonstrate secretary pompeo's working relationship with the president, but also demonstrate that esper has a more hardline view consistent withjohn esper has a more hardline view consistent with john bolton and secretary pompeo, where the president may be a little less hardline. so we have a group of hawkish people when it comes to the issue of iran now surrounding the president? i would say with mark esperin president? i would say with mark esper in the job, it is certainly the case that may have pushed those important positions more to the right. you have come back from the region, do you think the united states and toronto —— united states and iran are coming closer to conflict? it is my experience that no—one once more, it is preferred that this a set of diplomatic and everybody is concerned that a wrong slip, a bad mistake, something like we saw with the oil tankers, may precipitate an armed conflict that nobody wants. let me talk to you about th

all we know now is he has withdrawn, and mark esper is a great choice. >> melissa: okay, and how do you -- you say he's a great choice. in what way? what do you think he would do differently, or in this current situation? >> well, mark has been the secretary of the army for quite some time and has done a great job there. i think he gets what's going on in the world, and he understands the dod's role. >> melissa: yeah. let me ask you about everything else, all the news of the day in terms of the secretary of state pompeo talking about what's going on with iran, moving those troops there. i know you were on the mission to the middle east to capture saddam hussein and he did have the opportunity to interrogate him for six hours. one of the things he talked about a lot with the invasion of iran and iran itself. given that perspective, what do you think of the current moves were the most recent moves that iran has made? are we making things worse by bringing troops over there, or are we de-escalating the situation? what is your expert opinion? >> i would say this is part of the continuum. it

you know if mark esper. he worked with him before.e bit about his style. >> he is a great guy. he worked -- first, he was at west point. he later worked in the senate majority leader's office as a national security advisor there. he knew the nation's top secrets and worked on them. iran, north korea, u.s. muscles, policy, and of course defense policy. i think this is a good move by the president to elevate the secretary, and i expect good things from him. mitch mcconnell has got a point. let's make him go through a hearing and get him confirmed so that he can sort of exercise all of his rights. >> dana: that is going to take at least 90 days, right? >> i'm afraid so. usually. now, maybe since he has been already confirmed, a little bit quicker. >> dana: we appreciate you. thank you. president trump kicks off his reelection campaign's night in orlando. is he adding selfies as part of his strategy? plus, they say they've identified the man they believed hired hit men to murder david ortiz. you're headed down the highway when the guy in

acting defense secretary mark esper will spend his 1st days on the job at nato headquarters trying toconvince his european counterparts their own interests are at stake in the street too u.s. ambassador to nato kay bailey hutchison has been laying the groundwork it's a nato folks but iran attacking ships. say the they're going to go back into preparing for a nuclear weapons that's pretty strong to stand up to it but esper is still likely to have a tough time getting european support for military action one of the problematic parts of trump's agenda from the very beginning is this idea of a bitch other to how much they spend on their militaries now there is article 3 which states that all government should continually and affectively improve their capabilities and to be sure some don't but never before has the commitment to collective defense been quantified or questioned europeans are spending more on their militaries now and will spend even more in the future but rather than easing tensions with the u.s. a new front has been opened that's because the european union is earmarking almo

trump said he'll name army secretary mark esper as the new acting defense secretary. but declined to say whether that would become permanent. shanahan is the former boeing executive who had been running the defense department since james mattis resigned in protest in december but only in an acting capacity until trump announced last month he would make things official. but the paperwork was never filed. raising eyebrows inside of the white house about why. >> i can't tell you how long the process is supposed to work. >> reporter: and now cnn learned the resignation came amid details of a contentious divorce including an allegation that he hit her during a dispute nine years ago, an allegation that shanahan has denied. his ex-wife was arrested and charged with assault and the charges were later dropped. in a statement today shanahan said he was resigned to protect his children. writing, i would welcome the opportunity to be secretary of defense but not at the expense of being a good father. the sudden withdrawal leaves the pentagon without a permanent leader amid escal

we will see if mark esper gets the job full time. that is uncertain. >> there could be months before there is a permanent defense secretary. thank you. >>> more breaking news. cnn has learned that the house judiciary committee plans to question president trump's long time confidant and aide hope hicks about the hush money schemes to cover up trump's extra marital affairs. manu raju is up on capitol hill. you're getting new information from the sources. what are you learning about the line of questioning hope hicks is about to face from lawmakers? >> reporter: we expect a -- a confrontation behind closed doors tomorrow and we're learning the white house sent a letter to the house judiciary committee asserting immunity saying hope hicks is a high-level adviser single-digit doesn't have to testify -- and doesn't have to testify about her time in the white house. this is a similar tactic for don mcgahn, to prevent his testimony. now after hope hicks agreed to go behind closed doors to testify, they're saying she doesn't have to respond t

mark esper to replace shanahan. >> mark esper is very well respected within the army, he's been the secretary of the army for the last two years. he served in desert storm with the 101st airborne division. and got into the reserves while he did some activities in and around the washington area. he was in the washington, d.c., reserve group. he served a total of about 20 years in the army reserve, he has a good feel for the building. having been a liaison to raytheon corporation. he was a soldier, also was a businessman. and as connected to the heritage group in d.c. however, what i'd say is, there's a vast difference between being secretary of the army and being secretary of defense. army is an internal role focused on maintaining carrying and equipping one branch of the military. the secretary is more of a policy making role, certainly national security policy that will be a step for mr. esper as he fulfills that position. why did mr. shanahan wait so long? that's a great question, alex, i think he probably knew his background was eventually going to come to hurt him, he was hoping it won th

thanks for taking the time. >> good afternoon. >> neil: mark esper has his work cuts out for him., do we know any more about what they're going to do? >> i think we can build on what we've heard from our intelligence community and what we've seen in the papers that iran, through its proxies and others was talking about additional attacks on u.s. interests and allies. we've seen the video of the ship and the mine. i think this is about forced protection. about making sure that we protect ourselves as we should, our troops, our men and women in uniform overseas and our facilities and other interests that we have. >> neil: yesterday we had rand paul here. he said be careful about another entanglement that could go way far from what was intended. very concerned about what these troops will do and what message the president who doesn't think is going to get involved in any sort of a quagmire does. how do you make sure of that? >> well, i think there's a couple of things that are clear here, this is a forced protection measure. these are troops going over there to make sure that our all

the new acting secretary of defense will be mark esper. currently the secretary of the army, this is the civilian head of the army, he and the other civilian heads of the services will meet with shanahan later today, according to ryan brown. they will discuss a transition ahead. this comes at a busy time. not only do we have the iran tensions heating up, shanahan was expected to go overseas in the coming days. in a few weeks, he was expected to travel again to asia, which has been a priority of his. this now will have to be worked out, staffed, there will be significant changes i suspect on the secretary's steenier staff, these are all people shanahan brought in. the pentagon will move on, the u.s. military will move on. the u.s. military is expert at one thing. military come and go. people have a job, they move on, they leave, they get promoted. they retire. so the military will absolutely move on. policy and operations will be uninterrupted. but we are now six months plus without a permanent secretary of defense for the united states. >>

more on army secretary mark esper and his credentials amid tensions with iran. >> the fact is, we're iran have a nuclear weapon and when they agree to that, they are going to have a wealthy country. they're going to be so happy. and i'm going to be their best friend. ♪ ♪ applebee's new loaded chicken fajitas. now only $10.99. the first survivor of ais out there.sease and the alzheimer's association is going to make it happen. but we won't get there without you. visit alz.org to join the fight. it's a revolution in sleep. the sleep number 360 smart bed is on sale now during our lowest prices of the season. it senses your movement, and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. it even helps with this. so you wake up ready to hit the ground running. only at a sleep number store. it's the lowest prices of the season. the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is now $1,299. save $400. only for a limited time. sleep number. proven, quality sleep. is this ride safe? i assembled it myself last night. i think i did an ok job. just ok? what if something bad happens? we just move to the

but where will mark esper fit into the national security apparatus in this white house? will he align himself with pompeo, a well-known iran hawk? how will he work with john bolton? a lot of people say esper will be very anxious to please the president, to get that nomination, to get confirmed and please president trump. but the real reality is right now nobody knows once he is confirmed, if he is confirmed as secretary of defense, how mark esper will really feel about sending troops overseas, possibly getting into more wars. this is something we just don't know about him just yet. >> and we don't. the role issue is the challenges facing the united states, the very real challenges facing the united states all around the world. barbara starr, thank you very much for your reporting. >>> on that note, president trump calling off a strike against iran. he's calling off i.c.e. raids as they were about to begin. so wes who use natural compost. to help keep the soil healthy. and the coffee delicious. for future generations. all for a smoother tasting cup. green mountain coffee r

. >> reporter: the president says he will probably nominate the current secretary of the army, mark esper, to be the next secretary of defense. he happens to be a west point classmate of secretary of state mike pompeo. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >>> president trump officially kicked off his 2020 campaign with a vow to keep america great. last night mr. trump addressed tens of thousands of supporters in orlando, florida. he was joined by the first lady, vice president mike pence, and donald trump jr. the president used the rally to lash out against democrats. laura podesta is in florida. laura, what did the president have to say about his rivals? >> he accused the democrats of targeting him since his first day of office, he slammed at what he calls the fake news media, and he took aim at his 2016 rival hillary clinton, but his overall message, he's the best pick to serve a second term. >> keep america great. >> president trump made it official last night, kicking off his 2020 re-election bid at a packed rally in orlando. >> i stand before you to officially launch my campaign for

acting defense secretary mark esper will spend his 1st days on the job at nato headquarters trying to convince his european counterparts their own interests are at stake in the street too u.s. ambassador to nato kay bailey hutchison has been laying the groundwork. nato folks . are. attacking ships. say that they're going to go back into preparing for nuclear weapons that's pretty strong got to stand up to it but as for is still likely to have a tough time getting european support for military action one of the problematic parts of trump's agenda from the very beginning is this idea of. basically every nation fighting for itself in a kind of arena of actors that's the way some of the people around trump put it in the beginning of his term so i mean in my view that doesn't work then there's the u.s. president's casual linkage of article 5 all ally solemn responsibility to defend each other to how much they spend on their militaries now there is article 3 which states that all government should continually and affectively improve their capabilities and to be sure some don't but never bef

secretary of the ay mark esper will now take over as acting defense chief amid-escalating tensions with tehran nbc's peter alexander has more >> reporter: president trump speaking out about the sudden departure of his acting defense secretary patrick shanahan >> it's a difficult time for pat. but he's going to take a lite time o for family service and and for working things out >> reporter: the abrupt exit comes just as "usa today" reports the fbi has been examining a violent domestic dispute from 2010 between shanahan and his then wife kimberly as part of a ckground investigation where both claimed to police they had been punched by the other shanahan, a former boeing executive, told "usa today" "i never laid a hand on my then wife." and the "washington post" reports there was anothe ir domesticident in 2011, this time between kimberly and the couple's then 17-year-old son, lliam. the "post" reports the teenager used a baseball bat to brutally beat his mother, leaving her unconscious with a fractured skull. two weeks later shanahan sent a memo arguing his son acted in -d selfense, writ

we're digging into time m magazine's cover story. >>> and mark esper, what we're learning about him. that and a check of the weather, we'll be right back. at and a ch, we'll be right back. xfinity mobile is a wireless network designed to save you money. whether you use your phone to get fit or to find the perfect gift, you'll use less data with a network that automatically connects to millions of wifi hotspots and the best lte everywhere else. so you save hundreds of dollars a year on your wireless bill. xfinity mobile has the best network. best devices. best value. simple. easy. awesome. click, call or visit a store today. >>> welcome back, president trump is denying a new allegation of sexual assault which prominent advice columnist claims happened 23 years ago in a dressing room near trump tower. carol writes about the alleged incident in a new book excerpted in today's issue of new york magazine which the publication has viewed a million times. she says trump forced himself on her and that she fought him off and ran away. at the white house, president trump says it never happened

acting defense secretary mark esper has briefed his nato counterparts on iran at a meeting at their headquarters in brussels in mark asked his 1st meeting with the alliance he appealed for a broader denunciation of iran and mention the possibility of a plan to protect the city jack strait of hormuz he said the u.s. wanted to avoid war and move from a military track to focus on diplomacy but this comes after a recent spike in tensions which included president transporting off planned military strikes on iran in response to the downing of an unmanned u.s. drone jonah how is following developments from brussels. acting secretary of defense mark esper i think broadly speaking successful here at nato in convincing allies that the iran question is a global one in need of a global diplomatic solution as opposed to simply a problem involving the u.s. and iran successful also in setting out the parameters of the u.s. approach aimed at bringing iran back to the negotiating table by squeezing it economically and winning i think broad support among the allies for that approach this was what jens stoltenberg

the table to iran has said it would respond firmly to any aggression or threat from washington mark esper has been nominated to be the new u.s. secretary of defense the 3rd man to lead the pentagon in 6 months and that sudan's leading protest group has accepted a plan for a transitional government put forward by the prime minister of ethiopia. to see rebels have attacked saudi and sudanese military positions around the saudi border with yemen the rebels reportedly fired rockets on a dry run inside saudi arabia as well as midi in northwest yemen several people is said to have been killed and injured well it comes after the world food program suspended some operations in yemen after failing to reach agreement with the rebels on distributing food supplies that decision is expected to affect around 850000 people in the who seek control capital you need help mohamed. panic buying and sun all city after the u.n. world food program said it would stop distributing food aid before the war this market was a bustling procope point for vendors who sold fruits vegetables and exotic spices but 4 years

drone new acting defense secretary mark esper had earlier told his counterparts in brussels that washington wanted to avoid conflict but it couldn't tolerate any additional incidents he said the u.s. also held iran responsible for 2 attacks on tankers in the gulf of oman earlier this month but didn't want the situation to escalate. kuala nato secretary-general stoltenberg welcomed espers statements let's take a listen to what he said and then we'll take it from there. i think that woman message is thought. is that the united states so clearly the house stated that they don't want a war they actually said very clearly that there it is to talk with iran without preconditions and it was a message from allies today that we support efforts to deescalate to avoid in the miscalculations incidents accidents and especially that they spotted of out of control and create a really dangerous. dangerous situation all right let's take you now to the nato h.q. to w.'s teri schultz who's covering the summit for you terry good to see you everybody apparently trying to defuse the tension is can you tell us mo

he'll be naming secretary of the army mark esper. i have confidence in him and know he'll do a terrific job. >> mike pompeo spoke to reporters earlier about ongoing military teches with iran. his remarks came from the command headquarters in tampa, florida. >>> good afternoon, everyone. thank you all for joining me here today. i had a good evening and a really good morning. i spent time getting briefed by generals at centcom and general clark and his team at socom. the purchase of my visit was to come down here and visit and make sure that the state department and the department of defense were across a whole broad range of issues and we discussed the ongoing tenth in the gulf and if we're to deliver on the president's diplomatic objectives we have to be tightly woven with general mckenzie, and general clark to make sure they were doing just that. we had extensive conversations about tactical operation and strategic levels of work between our two organizations to make sure that when we present options and alternatives to president tr

. >> reporter: the white house naming a knew nominee, the widely respected army secretary, mark esper, who will need senate confirmation. >> martha, with mark esper moving to the acting defense secretary role, there are a number of top positions at the pentagon that have not gotten senate approval. >> reporter: in addition to the defense secretary, there's the deputy defense secretary, the air force secretary and the chief management officer. of course, it comes at a time of escalating tension with iran. shanahan just approved those 1,000 additional troops yesterday to the region. but the president tried to assure everyone today about the situation in iran, saying the administration, david, is very well set. david? >> it is still unsettling timing, all of this. martha, thank you. >>> and of course, all of this unfolding as president trump officially launches his 2020 re-election campaign tonight with a major rally in orlando. thousands have been lining up in the rain there. and ahead of the rally, the president now saying he will deport a million undocumented immigrants next week. but

the acting secretary will be there, mark esper with who's expected to be nominated by president trump for the permanent position. but what defense experts tell me it's different. the sense of temporary never really leaves the mind of people dealing with an acting secretary of defense. >> the president's pick right now, at least the acting secretary mark esper, talk about the leadership changes that would have to come if he is d nominated and confirmed by the senate. what would that look like in the shuffling of the cards at a moment where there's so many questions with how this country is going to deal with iran. there's going to be a crazy carousel. of course patrick shanahan was six months or so as acting secretary, expected to be nominated and then withdrew last week from consideration. mark esper was put into this position, but the law says esper will actually have to step down as soon as his nomination is normally sent to the senate, and so we will have the secretary of the navy, richard spencer, expected to take on that acting secretary job. a lot of turn owe over, tur mail, a l

>> i look forward to the administration nominating somebody, whether it's mark esper, secretary of thecer, or someone else. but i think it's important to understand that esper has been defined as a lobbyist the last several days by the media. but that's only kind of the latter part of his career. he is a graduate of the u.s. military academy, he was an army officer, spent considerable time on capitol hill. in fact, when he was at the house armed services committee, i was at the pentagon. he and i worked to try and reduce the burden of reporting requirements that congress had in the pentagon. so this is someone who can would, across the aisle. this is somebody who can work with congress. and that's really what defines him. a soldier, a scholar. in fact, he's a phd in public policy from the george washington university as well. so we have a pretty well-rounded individual who's going to go rain the reigns for a while. >> well, ray is high as far as gw is concerned. i'm all for that. but, sir, you were senior adviser to ash carter when he was defense secretary. what is the negative impact

mark esper now in charge and it remains to be seen if president trump goes ahead and tries to nominate esper to be the permanent secretary. >> we are watching that. also raising questions about vetting issues. thank you, barbara. >>> it's a very important morning on capitol hill. we are waiting for hope hicks to arrive for testimony to the house judiciary committee. this will be behind closed doors, but there will be a transcript made public. she'll face tough questions about episodes of alleged obstruction in the mueller report. but the answers might be few and far between. lauren fox live on capitol hill. and lauren, we're learning this morning the president will exert executive privilege to keep hicks from talking at least some. >> reporter: that's right. a lot of anticipation this morning just a couple of hours before hope hicks goes behind closed doors with the house judiciary committee. we expect the democratic staff wants to ask her a few questions including the payments that were made in the leadup to the 2016 elections to cover up the president's alleged extramarital affairs.

donald trump has nominated the army secretary mark esper to be the next secretary of defense early this week acting defense secretary patrick shanahan withdrew his nomination after facing questions over his personal life as it will take over on sunday if confirmed to be the 3rd man to lead the pentagon in 6 months russia has suspended flights to georgia following protests in the capital tbilisi on thursday they were sparked by the visit of a russian politician the opposition has accused the government of being too friendly with moscow the speaker of parliament has resigned and some protesters are calling for an early election. polls have just opened in mauritania's presidential election with around one of the half 1000000 people eligible to vote could be the country's 1st peaceful transition of power in decades 6 candidates are vying to succeed president mohamed odeh busies who took office after coups in 2008. a human rights activist based in chechnya has been freed on parole after a russian court granted his early release of was sentenced to 4 years on drug possession charges in march

i thank pat for his outstanding service and will be naming secretary of the army, mark esper, to be the new acting secretary of defense. i know mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job. i know we are just getting wind of this and you're there at what is supposed to be the official kickoff rally for the president later today, but this does not come as too much of a surprise to you. tell us a little bit about the context around this, finding out that the secretary of defense, who's been acting patrick shanahan since jim mattis resigned, tell us about this now that it's no longer going forward. >> yeah, patrick shanahan has been acting defense secretary since james mattis resigned last fall, left in december. then patrick shanahan took over. he's this former boeing executive. for so long he languished in that role as acting defense secretary. he and the chief of staff, mick mul mulvaney, pushed the president to nominate him because they said it was affecting his abilities to carry out the job to the best of his ability. then the president announced, yes, he did intend to nominate

i >> reporter: the president says he will probably nominate his current secretary of the army, mark esper to be his next secretary of defense. esper happens to be a west point classmate of secretary of state pompeo. >> >> upreeval at the pentagon comes amid a growing threat of conflict between the trump administration and iran. secretary of state mike pompeo paid a visit to central command. charlie d'agata has that. >> president trump does not want war, and we will continue to communicate that message while doing the things that are necessary to protect american interests in the region. >> reporter: but protecting american interests means boosting american troops, something that has only added to tensions. the iran president also insisted today that iran does not seek war with any nation, but that we are in a face-off with america. china warned the u.s. against opening a pandora's box, along with russia calling for restraint, they aring e i fearin of hostilities. the pentagon won't say exactly where the additional 1,000 u.s. troops will be sent. the u.s. already has a significant military

mark esper will be officially nominated by the president.se are the plans according to three administration officials to have mark esper be the next secretary of defense. there have been some concern on capitol hill about always having these acting. the president has talked about how he likes acting. he would be subject to senate conffirmation and if confirmed have the full authority invested in that position. it's in the nuclear chain of command, there's important authorities this position has which is why on capitol hill they wanted the secretary of defense to actually be confirmed. this starts that process, and we'll see how quickly they can get this done. remember the senate has a recess coming up in august. chris? >> nbc's hans nichols, thanks for that. >>> up next mariana atencio talking to latinos in florida. will they vote for trump in 2020? some interesting reactions, next. [beep] you should be mad your neighbor always wants to hang out. and you should be mad your smart fridge is unnecessarily complicated. but you're not mad, becaus

it just came up and i think we did it very quickly. .at shanahan was acting we put mark esper in.e is highly experienced. reporter: [inaudible] federal reserve. pres. trump: let's see what he does. i can tell you draghi, with the eu, the euro, they have a much different stance. as you know, he did something dramatic. was very we will see what happens. they are going to be making an announcement pretty soon so we will see what happens. i want to be given a level playing field. so far, i haven't been. allowed to speak to him very easily. i speak to him anyway. reporter: [inaudible] pres. trump: most likely, that's what i'm thinking about doing. pretty soon. iran, we have at a lot of things going with iran. we are very prepared. we will see what happens. we are very prepared regardless of what goes on. you look at what has taken place , and i'm not just talking about over the past week, i'm talking about a long period of years, they've been a nation of terror. romaine: we were just listening on his president trump way to his rally in florida, giving a wide range of responses to iran.

with regard to mark esper we all know him.d be better off by far to have a secretary of defense actually confirmed by the senate. >> i hope that they get him up to the senate and get him confirmed as soon as possible. it matters to have a fully confirmed secretary of defense. reporter: he takes over as acting defense secretary monday. liz: president trump crow aiding doubt over u.s. force over oil tanker attacks in the oman golf. this as six oil tankers were attacked near a shipping point near the strait of hormuz. a navy investigator presented what he says is evidence of iran's involvement laying out the most of details assessment made public since the incident. joining me now, a former intelligence advisor to second general david petraeus. mike pompeo is privately delivering warning that any attack by iran or its proxies resulting in the death of even one u.s. military service member would bring an attack. >> i would like him to say any attack that injures an american would be cause for some response. liz: why do you say tha

he says he will name secretary of the army mark esper as the new acting defense secretary.dent trump revealed the news on twitter. he says he will name secretary of the army mark esper as the new acting defense secretary. shanahan's exit comes as reports of alleged a mystic abuse with his former wife have surfaced. senate minority leader chuck schumer says -- >> here to tell the people at a rally want you want to do in iraq. the policy in iran has been erratic and opaque. nobody knows what their plans are and why they are doing what. as we have learned since the 60's, unless the american people on board with a strategy, ultimately it will not get their support, and congresses support. mark: there are concerns about increasing tension between washington and tehran in the persian gulf region. iran says it is breaking compliance with the international agreement that keeps it from making nuclear weapons. the trump administration followed that announcement by ordering 1000 additional troops to the middle east. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is welcoming next week's mi

army secretary mark esper will fill the role. he will take over on sunday, we're being told. again, he's had a fairly narrow portfolio of secretary of the army overseeing that one service. he's currently getting a crash course in a variety of issues, including nuclear weapons, international security affairs, policy. he is an army veteran. he spent a lot of time on capitol hill so he is familiar with some of these issues. again, a real speed transition going on as he steps into the most senior level role at the pentagon. >> definitely unexpected. thanks, ryan. >>> turning now to the democrats. front-runner joe biden on the fundraising trail later today in the maryland suburbs of washington. the former vice president stopped by the stonewall inn, the scene of a 1969 uprising that sparked the gay rights movement. the fight for lgbt rights must continue. >>> bernie sanders reaching out to his backers on social media last night after the president's rally. the senator from vermont evoking the twilight zone. >> i want to take you into another universe, a parallel universe from wher

defense secretary mark esper told his counterparts in brussels today that washington wanted to avoid that conflict and he says that washington cannot tolerate any further incidents and he went on to say that even though the u.s. held iran responsible for 2 tax on tankers in the gulf of oman this month washington does not want this situation to escalate take a listen our goal is to bring iran to the negotiating table to conclude a comprehensive enduring deal that addresses iran's nuclear program its a ballistic missile development of proliferation its support for terrorism and other malign activities. our strategy is at its core an economic and diplomatic one again we do not seek armed conflict with iran but we are ready to defend u.s. forces and interests in the region right there was the acting u.s. defense secretary speaking in brussels today the european union is calling on italy to find a quick resolution to its standoff with a german organization whose migrant rescue ship has entered tell you the waters in defiance of a ban from rome now the ship is carrying 42 people picked up

army secretary mark esper takes over monday. president trump spoke to sean hannity last night about an hour after the u.s. drone was shot down. >> i worry about iranian proxy wars. >> president trump: don't worry about a thing. everything is under control. iran is a much different country. much different today than when i took over. it look like there was no stopping them. >> lindsey graham spoke to bret baier. >> my red line. if there is any more -- take out their navy and bomb their refineries. go after the iranians so they'll feel pain. >> the drone can fly up to 60,000 feet and loiter for 30 hours at a time used to spy on iranian military communications and tracks shipping in the busy waterways. each drone costs up to $180 million. last night officials say iranian-backed forces launched cruise missiles into saudi arabia targeting a power plant. >> bill: topic a for the administration today. >> there was a secret meeting at the white house last night after these reports of the iranian-backed forces launching cruise missiles t

gillian turner has more from washington. >> reporter: mark esper is slated to become acting secretary house announced president trump hopes to ultimately make the secretary gig permanent. esper served at the army secretary for a year and-a-half now and the a announcement of his appointment comes on the heels of patrick shanahan's withdrawal of consideration from the secretary of defense post this past tuesday. >> mark esper, who is a highly respected gentleman with a great career, a tremendous talent, was just named acting secretary of defense. i think he'll do very well. >> reporter: the white house has been touting his resume, saying he's a former vice president of government relations and a defense contractor. he's worked under senate committees. he has a doctorate in public policy and is a recipient of a dod medal. news that the president hopes to make esper permanent went over like a ton of bricks with democrats on the senate armed services committee. >> there's no permanent defense secretary. i imagine you think it's important at this moment in time when this is happen to have o

the president plans to nominate mark esper to be the secretary of defense, the acting defense secretary patrick shanahan is stepping done after media results of domestic violence in his family. the president had already tapped esper to temporarily do the job when shanahan leaves on sunday. >>> in the coming hours, final lists for uk prime minister are set to take part in the first of many campaign events across the united kingdom. boris johnson and jeremy hunt will address fellow tories and they will try to win votes. the winner is expected to be announced in late july. >>> in hong kong, police have condemned protesters from keeping emergency workers from responding. demonstrators surrounded police headquarters to protest a proposed bill that would allow extradition to mainland china. police say they have been tolerant, but will now act on any illegal activity. >>> returning now to our top story, president trump's decision to call off an attack on iran, it begs the question what would a full-fledged war look like with iran. cnn's international diplomatic editor nic robertson has this. >

mark esper who has been secretary of the army is the new acting secretary of defense. the back story is rather ugly. the announcement came within minutes of a "the washington post" report that outlined alleged domestic violence incidents within shanahan's family. we'll have more on the story in a moment but first the president has wrapped up this rally in orlando tonight where he delivered his message to die-hard supporters. >> our patriotic movement has been under assault from the very first day. we accomplished more than any other president has in the first two and a half years of a presidency and under circumstances that no president has had to deal with before because we did in the middle of the great and illegal witch hunt things that nobody had been able to accomplish, not even close. nobody has done what we have done in two and a half years. >> the president also wasted no time going after democrats. >> our radical democrat opponents are driven by hatred, prejudice, and rage. they want to destroy you and they want to destroy our country as we know it. not accept

. >>> army secretary mark esper will be the new acting defense secretary. >>> more than 1000 american troops were deployed to the middle east as tensions escalate between the united states and iran. this comes in the wake of last week's attack on two oil tankers. it shows that iran was behind the attack. they deny orchestrating the attack. the trump administration is pushing the international community to hold iran accountable. >> every nation that has a deep interest in protecting that shipping lanes so that energy can move around the world and support their economies. they need to make sure that they understand the real threat to their interest in the region, and the threat to their countries economies. sing production of uranium. the trump administration withdrew from the nuclear deal last year. >>> president donald trump said he will hold trade talks with the president xi jinping. and investors are hoping the meeting will ease recent trade tensions. >>> a mother's heartbreak after her son is a shot and killed on highway 680. >> i want justice for what happened to my son. >> the mo

president trump nominated army secretary and former top lobbyist mark esper to lead the pentagon. he is also a west point graduate and classmate of secretary of state mike pompeo. >> sandra: all right. lucas tomlinson on the latest from the pentagon this morning. thank you. >> bill: very unfortunate matter for him and his family. mark *es percent is a good man. we're five years removed from an airplane shot from the sky over eastern ukraine and now murder charges. we'll tell you what's up with that. plus did you see this moment from last night? >> president trump: for the last 2 1/2 years we have been under siege. and with the mueller report, we won, and now they want a do-over. >> sandra: president trump calling out the 18 angry democrats working for robert mueller saying he has been under assault by democrats since his first day in the white house. andy mccarthy is on deck on all of that plus this. >> bill: that is a great white shark and a fish story of a lifetime. we'll tell you where that is happening today coming up. >> oh my gosh, dude. ♪ i have heart disease, watch what i

so mark esper is the new acting secretary, had been serving as secretary of the army for the last 18 months, since 2017. a west point grad. he was there at the same time as secretary of state mike pompeo. they are rumored to have a good relationship, a close relationship. he also enjoys a nice relationship with a number of close confidantes to president trump on national security issues. this comes at a time when there hasn't been a confirmed secretary of defense since the end of last year. there have been months without someone leading the helm at the pentagon. it comes when the united states is at a heightened level of tensions with iran. we were out seeing some of the evidence that the u.s. navy is providing what they say is evidence that in fact, the tankers last week in the gulf of oman were attacked by mines. they are saying that the explosives are consistent with types of bombs and explosives that iran is known to have, h hallie. >>> coming up, we will speak with a member of the senate armed services committee about this. senator maizie that ran know will join us. a mu of the