mcconnell reached the president on air force one. >> mcconnell told him two things. he said, "first, i'm going to put out a statement that says we're going to fill the vacancy." second, he said, "you've got to nominate amy coney barrett." >> narrator: amy coney barrett, a 48-year-old nservative appeals court judge, mcconnell's way of securing control of the supreme court for years to come. >> to be able to say that, conservative court for another generation" is important to him. for mitch mcconnell, the court is everything. >> this is going to be a rough battle on capitol hill... >> narrator: mitch mcconnell's determination to transform the supre court had been his life's work. >> ...the dismay of several senators, u.s. supreme court nominee clarence thomas managed to elude... >> potentially ensuring a m conservatiority for decades... >> narrator: through bruising confirmation battles... >> ...democrats to keep an open mind about kavanaugh... >> narrator: a struger ideology and power... >> ...white house has been packaging clarence thomas like a political candidat..

mcconnell was ruthless and brilliant. >> narrator: mcconnell kept the republicans in line.heruld be no hearings, no votes, no consideration of judge garland. >> the one thing that i've learned about mitch is if he says this is the way it is, that's theay it is. >> (chuckles) i don't ever question mcconnell. i mean, i worked with him-- you don't want to mess with mcconnell. >> democrats are outraged byaj senateity leader... >> narrator: mitch mcconnell had done what had never been done-- he'd bcked any considerati of a supreme court nominee.de now he none more thing-- a republican president. >> donald trump will be the 45td prt of the united states. >> senator mcconnell turned to his colleague and said, "looks like we're going to be making america great again." i have to think that a big part of that is what he saw as a coming to fruition of the plans that he had for the supreme court. >> narrator: with trump in the white house, mitchcconnell would be able to fill scalia's seat. within months, conservativeri fa neil gorsuch joined the cot. >> ...confirmed as justice gorsuch.

the mitch mcconnell i read about in barack obama's book is a mitch mcconnell that joe biden will not yeah, and this gets to the question he was asking, it was communications related to calling out i think the increasing radicalization, and i use that word deliberately of the republican party. there was a through line we all of lived. david lived in it, but mitch mcconnell's rabid obstruction to donald trump. this was not all donald trump, right? it was mitch mcconnell who made it his single purpose, single-minded purpose to block whatever barack obama wanted to do. i think what's really different between the two of them barack obama wanted to acquire people to do things for people, to help people. mitch mcconnell wants to acquire power for power's own sake. and i think at the end of the day what we really have in this country and this book coming out after joe biden's been elected i think shows in sharp relief there's two stories of america and american politics. and barack obama represents a kind of inclusive politics, progressive politics, a politics of government trying to help pe

. >> how do you describe the relationship between mitch mcconnell, majority leader in the senate and the former senator now president-elect joe biden? >> it's a good one. they struck a number of deals in the relationship between president obama and majority leader mitch mcconnell is not good and was not good when obama was president so really it was the dealmaking came down to the joe biden and mcconnell and they struck a number of fiscal deals and president obama now criticized mcconnell in his new book and i don't think that means we will see a lot of kumbaya in washington but a lot of big sweeping a partisan deals in the deals that were struck basically between mcconnell and biden were must haves and government shutdown and raising the debt ceiling and dealing with taxes that were about to expire and they were kind of deals that had to be made for the most part so the relationship is good and mcconnell and biden certainly criticized each other on the campaign trail this year but at the same time, and never got personal. cap personal between harry reid, majority leader at the time

now we have mitch mcconnell doing similar. more traditional, mainstream republicans who are now going to bat for the president and standing with him on his baseless claims about voter fraud. the question is, how long does that delay the formal certification of the results of this election, and how does that move going forward? but they're making clear they are not breaking with the president on this, and i think that's because, brooke, we saw how much support the president got on the day of the election, and they know how their base feels, and they're not going to break with this president. >> 70 million votes. kaitlan, thank you very much for that. >>> i want to turn the corner and talk coronavirus, because as all this is going on, cases continue to skyrocket across this country, surpassing that 10 million mark today. what local officials across this country are planning to do to stop the spread. ♪ ♪ ride... ♪ relax... now you're cloud surfing (record scratch) ♪ ride... ♪ relax... or psoriatic arthritis, little things can bec

mitch mcconnell is silent.hy is sort of pretending to go along with this, you know, playing footsy with trump and the entire cabinet is going along with this. robert o'brien who is supposedly a normal guy, he said in the philippines maybe donald trump will be the president next term. this is madness. the reality is you cannot look at this, you not look at the republican party's silence and complicity if you're somebody like me and says this is salvageable. this is kind of where we stand right now, and i'm out. >> tim, i heard somebody describe the republican party this past weekend as a post democratic party. post democracy party. which is something that, you know, you and i we spent the entire adult lives fighting for what we believed in and we had a lot of crazy attacks thrown at us for being republicans. i mean, again, you know, every four years whoever we nominated somebody called them a fascist or a nazi. but in this case, if the label sticks, i mean, they've got to wear it. they certainly look right now l

is mitch mcconnell focusing on?cusing on two races in georgia that will determine whether he is the majority leader or not come 2021. so donald trump doing all of this, attacking his senators, donald trump is making mitch mcconnell's job of saving the senate for the republican party that much more difficult and at some point i can't believe we aren't going to get some sort of message, maybe it is quietly, that donald trump needs to back off because republicans are in danger of losing the senate. yes, it is a stretch. but if donald trump acts abhorrently over the next month or so, before this election, it could spell bad news for republicans and make two races they should win fairly easily much more difficult. >> those runoffs aren't until january 5th so a lot could happen between the two months between now and then. and to your point and to jonathan's about mitch mcconnell and other republicans, there has always been a republican palace guard ready to ride to the defense of donald trump and we're just not seeing tha

it house democrats and leader mcconnell? ms. pelosi: yesterday there was a meeting of the staff, of the four corners, the house and senate democratic and republican leaders. the anticipation was that it was really about the omnibus. you have to remember, we have to have an omnibus bill. we must keep government open. that's a very important responsibility during the lame duck. we don't want another continuing resolution. i don't think they do either. so we have an expression, yesterday was, for the stress to deal with what we pull, the ash and trash. some of the things that are not up here, but need to be resolved so that we can move forward. and that hopefully we would have been able to begin a path to the covid. that didn't happen. but hopefully it will. reporter: who do you need to engage with? the white house, leader mcconnell? ms. pelosi: these were the four leaders. reporter: secretary mnuchin said this morning that he is meeting with leader mccarthy and leader mcconnell later today to talk about -- [indiscernible] -- deal

mitch mcconnell is the king of obstruction.oe biden once to win georgia so he has a chance to get his agenda through. i wouldn't be surprised mitch mcconnell blocked cabinet posts let alone judicial picks. so yes this is a very important election for the joe biden agenda, america overwhelmingly supported joe biden, he won back by 5 million votes nationally. this is a very important election, i would expect donald trump -- >> bill: i'm sorry, i've got breaking news. thanks to you. >> we'll go from here. there is one aspect of last week that has gotten lost but i want to single out right at the sta start. by every indication, the 20/20 election appears to have been free from meaningful foreign interference. if there is no suggestion that our foreign adversaries were allowed to undermine the integrity of our process. according to the director of cybersecurity and infrastructure security administration, "we have no evidence any foreign adversary was capable of preventing americans from voting or changing votes." the head of the nfa

beyond that, mcconnell has his eye on 2022. currently he has his eye on georgia and expanding his majority. president-elect biden, as much as he may have the clinician for bipartisanship, he's dealing with a changing democratic party that does not have a huge appetite for working with republicans after four years. presidentsition as reminds me a bit of the position house speaker john boehner in 2011 and 2012. he liked bipartisanship and wanted to work with someone like biden and president obama but was constrained by the tea party movement and by the right wing who urged him not to cut any deals. biden could face a similar dynamic from the left where he may have the inclination to cut a deal, but an offended left-wing may say hold off until we get everything we want. host: on the majority leader, you know if mitch mcconnell has spoken to president trump since the election? guest: i don't have direct reporting if he has spoken to president trump but they do speak regularly. i have not heard about mcconnell calling president-elec

where mitch mcconnell is aligned with the president -- in this interim time where mitch mcconnell is aligned with the president, is it potentially harming that relationship or putting a damper on it ahead of the biden presidency? guest: relationships for mitch mcconnell are not a driving force in his own political operation. they are important but they are important but they're not the animus, the animating force. what you see for mitch mcconnell is a long-standing report with biden. i used to see ayden when he was vice president go -- i used to see biden when he was vice president go to the capital. when there was a budget standoff, biden and mcconnell seemed to cut a deal at the 11th hour. that was always revealing because washington has become broken in terms of congress functioning and getting legislation done. mcconnelland mitch have been able at different times to cut budgets deals together. beyond budgets deals, it is hard to see how a biden-mcconnell relationship plays out in any huge way in 2021. the appetite in the republican conference is limited to do some sweeping bill o

so let's hope, let's hope that mcconnell's pause will end. we have been working on the omnibus bill. would be a segue into this. let's hope that it is. it is curious to see how they are impeding progress. and another misguided act of responsibility, secretary mnuchin said he would end many critical emergency lending initiatives at the end of the year. now why would they do that? drawing a rare rebuke from the senate. that really speaks out. as the fed said, it would prepare the full fleet of emergency facilities -- excuse me, facilities established during the coronavirus pandemic to continue to serve their important role as a back stop for our still strained and vulnerable economy. the fed. the fed. would prefer the full fleet of emergency facilities established during the coronavirus pandemic continue to serve their important role as a backdrop for a still strained and vulnerable economy. it is highly unusual for the fed to comment on that matter on something said by the secretary of the treasury. again, why? why? because they want to impede

mcconnell: good afternoon, everyone. we just had our leadership elections for the leadership team for the next two years. going, even to get though there is some suspense about whether we will be in a majority or not, which will be answered in georgia on january 5. we have one member of our team that is brand-new, senator rick scott from florida. i will call on my members for a couple words and we will take a couple questions and see you again after lunch. jump in. >> thank you, leader. congratulations to you and all members of our leadership team. this is a terrific leadership team and wonderful, very diverse conference. we have some great new members. we are excited to get to work to take on the challenges that face the american people. i think the election made it very clear that people across this country reject the agenda that was put forward by the democrats. if you look at the defund the police movement, the green new deal movement, all those things, it was pretty clear voters across this country said we don't wan

we are all going to miss you. >> mitch mcconnell will show up. friend of the one who antagonized president obama. >> our top political priority over the next you should be to deny president obama a second term. >> perhaps not the dynamic duo but the odd couple. shannon: it will be very interesting. most-watched, most trusted, most grateful you spent the evening with us. good night from washington, see you back here tomorrow. i am shannon bream. if you have medicare, listen up. the medicare enrollment deadline is only days away. with so many changes, do you know if your plan is still the right fit? having the wrong plan may cost you thousands of dollars out of pocket. and that's why i love healthmarkets, your insurance marketplace. with healthmarkets' fitscore, they compare thousands of plans from national insurance companies to find the right medicare plan that fits you. call or visit healthmarkets to find your fitscore today. in minutes, you can find out if your current plan is the right fit, and once you've let the fitscore do the work, sit bac

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mitch mcconnell won his election. he's the boogieman for democrats on the supreme court supreme court. lindsey graham, judiciary chairman, won the election. susan collins has voted for every supreme court justice in her history on capitol hill, besides this last one, besides amy coney barrett. she won re-election. john cornyn won re-election. so, i mean, every single person who democrats dumped money into to beat one won. that's amazing! that's an amazing political feat. so you know, should they hold somebody responsible? yes. if it was a business and you missed every single mark that you laid out, you would be held responsible, but it's not a business. it's politics. and they're going to find a way to survive. >> i wonder what the winning message was, for republicans, whether it was the supreme court and this idea that democrats were going to, as republicans were saying, pack the court. democrats call it court reform. jake, though, i want to ask you this, if joe biden -- and we're still in if, if, if, because we don'

>>> plus, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says an orderly transfer of power won't be delayed. but with the president still refusing to cooperate, the question is what's mcconnell doing to make sure that happens? >>> and rockets hit baghdad, just hours after the pentagon announces plans to cut troop levels there and in afghanistan. military leaders say they'll execute the plan, but the question is, will they endorse it? it's "way too early" for this. ♪ good morning, and welcome to "way too early," the show that wears a mask, especially on capitol hill. i'm kasie hunt on this wednesday, november 18th. we'll start as always with the news. before president-elect joe biden takes office, thousands of troops in afghanistan and iraq are expected to withdraw, that's within the next two months. the acting secretary christopher miller said the number of troops in afghanistan would be halved to 1500. in iraq, troop levels would also come down to 2500 from 3,000. the announcement comes as former pentagon chief, mark esper, who was fired by a tweet by president trump earlier this month, cir

ller said where is mitch mcconnell? here he is come up a couple of comments on capital hill regarding the stimulus talks. >> i've seen no evidence that several of my colleagues have suggested that they are open to it. mcconnell talking about pandemic aid. congress comes back next week and we will see what happens. we are trying to tie all of this to the state of small business in your community. this is small business saturday, all of this against this backdrop of this headline, nearly 100,000 establishments could temporarily shut down because of the pandemic, now out of business. kevin is calling from texas. good morning. caller: small businesses here at the beginning were really hit .ard and now everything is starting to get back up again. people are out shopping and in restaurants. we have to wear a mask when we distance. we socially people are doing the responsible thing. they do not need government to tell them how to do everything in their lives. i shop just as much as i did before the pandemic, the same amount. a

deeply divided washington, as well as his relationship with mcconnell? i was speaking to a couple of senate republicans this week. and they said the best thing that happens here is gridlock. and they welcome gridlock. and maybe getting some budget deals done but beyond that, not much, maybe just executive orders. based on your reporting, your interviews with president-elect biden, how do you see it? evan: you know, there is no president in the world that would want to inherit a state of polarization of the kind that we're dealing with right no but when i talked to president-elect biden, and candidate biden, about exactly this question and how do you actually begin to unwind this state of paralysis that we're dealing with? i said do you honestly believe as you've said before that there will be a kind of epiphany among republicans if in fact president trump is gone? and he doubled down on it. he said look, the honest answer is i do believe there will be an epiphany. but i don't mean it in the way that people sometimes lampoon. i don't think they're all goi

mcconnell did the same act. none of the people sound like they have interest in doing anything other than accumulate more power. to be honest. i don't think anyone believes these people will put the country first. biden planning executive orders. back on the paris climate accord. reverse the withdrawal from the world health organization. repeal the ban on travel from muslim countries. reinstate dreamers program. he has to do a lot by executive order. >> absolutely. and i want him to. the fact of the matter is extend the olive branch. let them know what the programs are. ask to join. if they don't, let's go with the executive order. i sthad to president obama all the time. i'm saying that here. remember joy, the emancipation proclamation that was an executive order. this country never passed legislation to out law slavery. we got the 13th amendment. adopted. 1868. from 1863 down to 1869 it was the emancipation proclamation. the armed services integrated by trueman that was an executive order. they can do a lot of

i think if biden knows mcconnell, too. he knows how to put the pressure on mcconnell.nd i think he can get some results. >> john podesta, thank you as always. good to talks to you this afternoon. very much appreciate it. want to bring in joe scarborough, host of msnbc's "morning joe" and perfect holiday gift and new book "saving freedom" so good to see you on this sunday afternoon. i'm used to seeing when i've gotten three or four hours of sleep. it feels like old times but not. >> exactly. by the way, congratulations on actually having a show where you don't have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning. >> thank you, joe. i got to say, as i was researching you coming on the show today to learn more about president truman, i got to say there's two things i learned. first, there's so much i didn't know. and secondly i should have listened more in history class back in elementary school certainly a lot that i missed. thank you for writing your book so now i can catch up. so, talk me through this. i actually want to start off where i left with john podesta, and that is a situat

we hope that we can find a partr in mitch mcconnell to do just that. simultaneously, it's my understanding that a lot o progress has been made with respect to the needs to fully fund the government in the current fiscal year. it remains to be seen whether there will be crossover negotiation. but the president i think has been erected to speaker pelosi but let me yield catherine wasalso a distinguished member of the committee . >> we completed our appropriations bill back in the summer and we are now hearing from mitch mcconnell. that he too is willing to begin the process. they are behind we will continue to work with them to make sure they're given a shutdown and we have never left the negotiating table when we passed the heroes act . we understand what is at stake for the american people . it cannot just be a relief package or for relief's sake. we cannot leave out the territories. state and local governments. we have to make sure that this is a package that will deliver aid where we need it. but it is a negotiation and our concern is twofold. we are

how do you see the mcconnell mcconnell/biden relationship playing out. >> i think it's interested thatgieg is worried about the republican party. you look at nancy pelosi was going into the election thinking she was going to have a super majority and she lost five races thus far, probably going to be 10 raising and she's going to be a much weaker speaker of the house. she's going into these negotiations with mcconnell from a much more weak position and her fantasies of having a socialist agenda pushed through congress and put to the president's desk is not going to happen now with mitch mcconnell being in the majority and really mitch mcconnell will be the most powerful man in washington, d.c. if president trump is not reelected. jillian: what do you think is going to happen in the senate, especially what's going to play out in georgia? >> i think in the end the recounts that are going on right now are going to push perdue you over the 50% mark and he will win without having to go to a special election. we'll have a special election in the other race and that's going to be an incredy e

we are communicating with senator mcconnell.all accounts we are going to hold the senate and pick up seats in the house so we think we are in a strong position. caroline: it feels as though neither are dialing back their focus and neither seem to be willing to compromise for the meantime. joe: it is possible we will get something. there does seem to be a little bit of interest. but after this acrimonious election, it seems like a long shot. on the other hand, supposedly if biden does end up pulling this out, he has a history of perhaps working with the other side. maybe could get that next stimulus through the door. joe: for more on this, let's bring in andy blocker. andy, thanks so much for joining us. we don't know who is going to win the presidency. we don't know who is going to control the senate. suppose we get a situation with divided government one way or another. in your view, should investors completely write off the prospect of further stimulus deal, or could we get a miracle and the sides come together for a compromis

>> you covered mitch mcconnell for years. one thing that has been explained to me over the last 24 hours is that mitch mcconnell's support of the president actually has to do with georgia. mitch mcconnell is concerned about depressing support among the base for the president or turning the president off from being involved in the georgia runoff. but my question to you is where does -- i'm not sure i fully understand where this does stop. where the republicans giving the president a long leash now, where does it stop and how can they be sure it will? >> sources close to mcconnell told "the washington post" that once it becomes clear that trump has indeed lost the election, that mcconnell will make it clear he believes trump should move on. that vice president -- or president-elect biden should go on with the business of transition. but when does that point come? what we saw yesterday, mcconnell had been pretty quiet in terms of the president, you know, contesting the results and arguing over twitter. but yesterday the senate f

iwill mcconnell will prevent that from happening.e races are not yet called. to that will not be decided until january in georgia. so there is a moment here in which the president—elect, the current senate majority leader, the outgoing president, have an opportunity to show the american people that we are able and willing to come together. i will remind you, six months ago, the senate of the united date past, unanimously, a $2.3 trillion covid-19 unanimously, a $2.3 trillion covid—19 relief package, the single most sweeping and largest piece of legislation passed in decades. we know how to do it. wejust passed in decades. we know how to do it. we just have to want to do it. we just have to want to do it and joe biden is the person who can lead us into that moment of compromise and progress. have you had any conversation with mitch mcconnell that his approach to a biden presidency might be different? i have spoken to republican senators but not mitch mcconnell but i frankly did not want to get out of my lane. i think that is more appr

as senate majority leader mitch mcconnell continues to defend h previous elections.ten to what he said on november 9th in 2016, when donald trump got the electoral votes but not the popular vote against hillary clinton. >> the american people understand that if you get 270 electoral votes, you're president. the election is over. we know who won. and we're going to move on from there. >> president trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities. let's not have any lectures. no lectures about how the president should immediately, cheerfully accept preliminary election results. >> joining me now are adam jefferson, former deputy chief of staff to harry reid and brendan buck. thanks very much to you both. what do you make of mcconnell's stance now compared to what he said in the past, the day after the election, long before it was certified where here he's supporting the gsa holding it all up. >> yeah, i mean, the hypocrisy here is undeniable. of course, this comes only a month after mcconnell rams through a supreme court nominee after saying i

don't think mcconnell is not hearing that. don't think that mcconnell is doesn't understand that there is a segment of the country that feels this president is still going to be president. so he's -- i'll watch how mcconnell handles this. it will be a delicate tight walk. unification or following this new era of trumpism even though the president will not be president anymore. >> what's your take? what does the republican party look like going forward? donald trump might not be the president anymore. he'll in some ways own the party. still wield remarkable influence over members of congress. fearful of trump retribution. does the party have to change once trump is gone? >> he changed the party. look at the exit polls from the election. republican party is a working class party. multi-racial working class party. trump got the highest share of the non-white vote of any republican presidential candidate since 1960. that came from working class hispanics and african-americans and white americans as well. the party has changed and

-- january 5, leader mcconnell has leadership at stake, and the senate majority at stake.was a point that was made clear to me by sources that i spoke with yesterday. that is point number one. secondly, there are still political implications in the short term beyond georgia. thursday 2020 two midterms, and yes, the 2020 for open primary for the presidential run. if the president is weighing his future political options, he wants to keep those options on the table, whether to be another run, or whether it be playing a kingmaker role. those are the political implications, divorced from the democratic implications of this. tom: clinton lost, and the democratic party weighed their future implications with a concession speech and a graceful exit. i don't think it is the same, is it? kevin:kevin: obviously it is not the same. and again, i am reporting, tom. --ed upon my reporting tom: i think that's a "surveillance" lecture from kevin. reporting,d upon my it is in stark contrast to republicans like governor larry hogan from maryland, senator mitt romney, as well as gary cohn, wh

caller: i think mcconnell. host: mitch mcconnell? why? caller: he gets to the point.s things done right. hey has expressed very concerned about the american people. strongly that democrats have always -- they are always fighting with the republicans. for instance, president trump. he wase has been elected outside of the box and not a politician. they were out to destroy this man from the beginning. they haven't allowed him to do the job right. going through the voting system or the fighting in oregon. democrats could start all of these nonsense is, these people destroying america, destroying some of the states. it will cost more money redoing the states. new paris, pennsylvania, democratic caller. caller: i really think that the republicans and democrats need to come together, and there needs to be some compromise on both sides. it is sickening to see all of these families in lines for food, and all of those people have their food and everything they need. they will have a big thanksgiving/christmas dinner. if donald trump is the president still, he should be doing so

what could we expect to hear from senator mcconnell?ell is as good as anyone at not saying anything he doesn't inted nd so. his only comments on the election is about counting all the votes before anything occurs. unlike a lot of the other senators who have only their own personal relationships with the president and only their seats to worry about, mcconnell's job is to defend his majority in the u.s. senate. the majority is very much still at stake with the runoff election coming up in georgia. so i think when mcconnell takes the floor, we should expect to hear comments largely focused on that race. to the degree it reflects on the presidential race, it is not in mcconnell's best interest to say the elections are being stolen, votes don't count. he needs republican voters to go vote in the two runoff races coming up in january. i suspect that'll be the focus. his office has not confirmed so far whether he's spoken to joe biden since the call on saturday or really at any time over the last week, or whether he will say anything particul

let's remember the way that mitch mcconnell dropped obama. that's the mitch mcconnell i expect to see. if you're joe biden, you want that majority. the senate is still overwhelmingly moderate. you'll have the moderate house which can tussle with the senate. i can't imagine a president that doesn't want the trifecta. the idea is if he can get that, we can talk as a party how to deliver. >> rahm and then heidi. >> two quick things. the vice president is going to reach out to republicans and bring them to table. >> you always want the majority if you can get it. >> yeah, you want the majority, exactly. it's a fact. he's going to deal with reality, not what he wants, but what he has. i think mitch mcconnell has to make a big choice. the other thing is, this is on all of us. joe biden has talked about all of america. i've made this mistake. we talk about red and blue america. our language has to contribute to an environment where we see each other. >> fair point. heidi heitkamp, weigh in here. >> george, i think that everybody has underestimated a

mcconnell doesn't seem to give a damn.ou see in signs any of the caucus care anymore than he does? >> let me under score that level of desperation. i came from connecticut from a food distribution event for the holiday weekend and the organizers were panicking a bit because they had enough food for 300 people. and tla had what looked like 300 cars lined up prior to the beginning of the event. they were scrambling to figure out what to say to the families who were faced with going hungry over the holiday weekend. people are at the end of their rope. you are right, mcconnell is refusing to do anything. what we need for mcconnell to do is just enter the negotiating room. he has refused to negotiate with anybody. with nancy pelosi. chuck schumer. again, because he's afraid of splitting the caucus. about half the republicans want to do nothing. they think of this is should be up to the state or joe biden should be saddled with the entirety of the problem. and so mitch mcconnell is putting the unity of the caucus ahead of the su

can you think of any reason why biden and mcconnell might in a position to do a deal? favorite,e is our old the debt ceiling, which will come back into effect in the summer. there is the need to deal with that. appropriations for another budget deal. perhapssee all of those tailored with some long-term fiscal restraint, maybe an entitlement or two. we have the medicare trust fund running out of funds in 2022. you could see a stimulus or a victim for structure package all -- a stimulus or a big infrastructure package. biden will have to pay a toll. what is an update on going on down there in washington particular with the current congress. coming up, we will talk about the next big presidential administration coming in in january. joe biden rolling out news on what his economic team will look like. we will discuss his pix with former federal reserve economist. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ andline: i am caroline hyde what did i miss? see what i did there. joe biden is moving swiftly to build out a diverse administration. rounds to cecelia lead the national council of economic

republicans will keep this senate majority but biden's friendship with senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is going to be key and will they get along. by one of his greatest strengths and why he was probably selected by president obama is well is his deep relationships on capitol hill and he is somebody that has through his entire career worked across the aisle so i think if any president from the democratic party could work with mitch mcconnell it absolutely would be president biden. i think there is going to be a lot of concern if the democrats don't take back the majority we're going to because already signaled that he's going to stop a lot of cabinet appointments and i just really groene said government to a halt so i have great hopes for president elect biden but see a lot of challenges ahead let's just get policy analyst thank you very much thank you well leaders have been sending messages of congratulations to biden and

mitch mcconnell don't do this, mitch mcconnell, don't do that, et cetera.blican party right now with this president perhaps out of the white house but omnipresent? >> the republican party will have to come to grips with the fact he actually changed the complications of the party, brought in new people and will rekindle the relationship he's driven away. it is a hard thing. the reality is 93% of the republican vote, he ran a much closer race than a lot of people thought was possible based on the national polling, and republicans really do like his attitude even if his policy influence will be waning once he leaves the white house. my advice for donald trump frankly is you have a chance to bounce back immediately. the next couple of big thing that's will happen in this country could happen on his watch. he has a chance to leave office on an upswing, political upswing if he helps them hold the senate majority. he's got a lot of influence and a lot of bounce-backs that make him really relevant. >> maggie, he has uncertainty instead. there are investigations in

i know that mcconnell -- mcconnell lives for moments like this.ell wants to put somebody on a board -- many of these fed terms are as long as 14 years. this one is a bit shorter, mcconnell wants to, as you said, seed the earth with as many people as he can put in that trump wants that will cause mischief for joe biden. it's not exactly patriotism of the highest order but it's what mcconnell does to show -- to give more power to the already powerful, to give mauer wealth to the already wealthy. that's what mcconnell is. that's what trump is. that's essentially why trump was defeated. his incompetence and malevolence on the virus and his always, always, always siding with the richest and most powerful people in this country at every fork in the road. >> let me ask you a final question about -- about the virus and where things are. you know, you represent the state of ohio. the governor, mike dewine, was quite aggressive in the beginning. he's now come under the, you know, he's been targeted by the president for a primary challenge because he had the

i think this is a time for diplomacy in the case of mitch mcconnell. in managing the current affairs which is donald trump is still president and there's still things they would like to do with this administration as well as transitioning to the next. >> i think the if game is over frankly, senator, at this point now that pennsylvania and michigan have certified, nevada has certified. i'm going to go to bakari on this. at this point it's all but done, the president is going to the commonwealth today, i guess, with a continued effort to overturn the election results there, but it's not going to work and there is a "politico" article today by tim albert at that which includes a quote which i think gets to the president's failure of imagination perhaps on this. tim delves into michigan and talks about the fact if nor for aaron van length felled we would have a constitutional crisis to thank you to him, thank you to brad raffensperger in georgia, but he quotes the president inside a meeting talking about his loss, he said, quote, i don't get it, the presid

mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, yesterday the president informed us that secretary mark esper's tenure leading the department of defense has concluded. when the president considered him, i said you could have better qualifications to run the pentagon than his i resume from west point to his time as secretary of the army, this leader has stepped up when his country needed him. the secretary brought integrity, expertise and steady leadership to the pentagon's top job. i'm great for the work and implementing the president's new national defense strategy to address the challenges of our time. a decorated combat veteran, he won the respect of our men and women of the armed forces. the country is grateful for his career of service. during this time of transition, i'm confident in the profession

let's go to him and he what mitch mcconnell has to say. >> it seems to me that with 6.9% unemployment and third-quarter gdp growth of astonishing proportions that even though we still have significant economic problems, we need to think about if we are going to come up with a bipartisan package here about what size is appropriate. it seems to me that snagged that hung us up for months is still there and i don't think the current situation demands a multitrillion dollar package. i think it should be highly targeted and similar to what i put on the floor board in october and september. of course we are all excited to hear about the vaccine yesterd yesterday, i think the country -- the sense of relief that we may be able to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with regard to this awful virus. in the meantime we are all trying to emphasize there's a significant number of americans the vaccine and we will continue to wear our masks and practice social distancing and try to be a good example for the rest of the country. >> dana: that was senator mitch mcconnell. if that changes an

mitch mcconnell has been completely obstructionist.depends on whether or not mitch mcconnell is a loyalist to trump or a loyalist to power. that remains to be seen. he has shown himself not willing to work with democrats. we saw this when barack obama was president. joe biden is going to have to figure out how to use his connections to the senate to a bully convince republicans who work underneath mitch mcconnell to put the american people ahead of partisanship. we have seen them obstruct voting bills, bills that would help relieve americans financially. as far as the far left, that is going to be a complicated task. as we think about who could possibly be the next speaker of the house, nancy pelosi has said she does not want to stay in this job much longer. she said that two and four years ago. i don't think she needs to stay in the job much longer. she's done an excellent job. but there's a lot of diversity in the party, and i think new leadership is always welcome. i don't necessarily think they should choose one who is hyper progre

if mitch mcconnell wanted this bill to pass, it would have passed. he would have done it.here's no excuse as to why he cannot bring this bill to the floor for a vote and get the money to the american people that they need. i think that he seems obviously stuck on the upcoming senate races and trying to at least allow the president to have a long enough time to process the fact that he lost the election. but meantime, americans are losing their lives and livelihoods, and mitch mcconnell isn't doing anything about it. in fact, congress is home for thanksgiving. so i'm glad they have time for a break and the president has time for golf, but people have needs that are very urgent and pressing, and this is literally their job. this is why they get paid. >> anthony, does this mean we shouldn't expect covid relief? >> democrats are hamstrung. they have two senate runoff races they're trying to win. the balance of power on the senate hangs in those two places. they lost part of the their advantage in the house. it's not like they have a greater advantage in the house, which is wha

that's what mcconnell will do. is he going to approach mcconnell from that point of view? >> that's something that was raised repeatedly in the presidential primary. folks say joe was being naive. or looking a at the world through rose colored glasses talking about working with mitch mcconnell. it was joe biden as obama's vice president who was sent to the hill to try and work with mitch mcconnell on the fiscal cliff. on the recovery from the recession. on the judicial nominations. so joe knows better than anyone just how difficult and manipulative mcconnell can be. it's a difficult challenge. if there's anyone that has the ability to bring the country together and use the mandate he will have from getting the most popular vote in the history of the country, it's joe biden. he will have won back from donald trump a whole series of large states and rebuilt the blue wall. and if things continue in the current direction, he will have won arizona, nevada and georgia as well. it will be difficult. mcconnell is an exceptionally hard man to work with. if anyone can pull it off, i

we hope we will have a partner in mitch mcconnell to do just that. simultaneously, it's my understanding that a lot of progress has been made with respect to the need to fully fund the government in the current fiscal year. it remains to be seen, whether there will be crossover negotiations. that's a question i think is best directed to speaker pelosi. but let me need to katherine who is a distinguished member of the appropriations committee. ms. clark: we completed our appropriations bills back in the summer and we are now hearing from mitch mcconnell that he, too, is willing to begin that process. they are behind, but we will continue to work with them to make sure there isn't a shutdown. and we have never left the negotiating table since may when we passed the heroes act. we understand what is at stake for the american people, but it cannot just be a relief package for relief sake. we cannot leave out key territories, state and local government. you know, we have to make sure that this is a package that will deliver the aid where we need it. but i

leader mcconnell, what's he going to do and when will he speak out? what is he goio say? peter, we're going to have to leave it there but we'll get to you in the extra and keep talking politics throughout all of this. thank you so much for being here. that's all the time fe have tonight. peter baker, asma khalid, anda paid. thank you so much for being here at "washington week." and we'll keep taking you all close to the news as wer can. conversatn continues as i said on our extra, on our te. al media and web to bid farewell to "washington week's" long-time associate director mary francis sirarni. af great run at weta she will now be able to actually ayrelax on fr nights during her retirement. wish her all the bmt. obert costa. good night from washington. announcer: corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- [music] cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate a connect. we are offer a variety of no contract plans our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellularv