[cheering] [applause] mr. perez: now i'm not sure -- applause] nd mr. perez: tell me the phrase i'm supposed to utter. that was fine? ok. did i hear a second? second! mr. perez: all for? opposed to? [laughter] mr. perez: the silence is deafening, the motion passes. congressman, the floor is yours. [cheering and applause] mr. ellison: allow me to congratulate our chair. [applause] ellison: on successfully passing his first motion. [laughter] i just want to say to you that i'm very proud of chairman perez. in this race he conducted himself with tremendous class and grace. i want to say that everybody you see in front of you, it is so funny, there was a news report that our race was boring because we were not attacking each other. you remember that? we were all quite proud that we were not forming the circular firing squad, and i just want to say to you that if you came here supporting me, if you are wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i am asking you to give everything you got to support chairman perez. [applause] rep. ellison: you love this country. y

the results are 235 for mr. perez and 200 for mr. ellison. [applause] honor -- it is -- it is my honor to present the gavel to the democratic national committee to mr. tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. i hear a motion. there is a motion by mr. buckley, mr. buckley. order. go ahead. >> is there a second? >> i am stuart applebaum from new york and the executive vice president of the 1.3 million member united food workers union. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we listen to each other, we learn from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. our country, our democracy. selectionto make the by acclamation. thank you. >> arise. it is my great honor to present the next chair to the democratic national committee, a champion visionary, people, a a great american, mr. tom perez. [applause] thank you. thank you so much. thank you so much. begin by making a motion. discussed with a good friend. and his name is keith ellison. and the motion i would like to make to the body is a motion

mr. tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. [applause] i hear a motion by mr. saunders. ms. applebaum? we will hear from mr. buckley. order please. go ahead. buckley: thank you, madam chair. for all those who ran for this office, for all those who were involved in this campaign, now is the time for us to unite. i move that we suspend the rules and cast one ballot for secretary tom perez as the next chair of the democratic national committee. [applause] chair: is there a second? mr. applebaum. sisters and brothers, i am stuart applebaum, dnc member from new york and the executive vice president of the officialon member workers union afl-cio. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we have learned from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. our country, our democracy toands it, and i am proud make this motion to election by acclamation. thank you. >> it has been moved and seconded by affirmation. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to present the next chair of the democratic national committee, champion of working aopl

mr. perez: all right. good morning. good morning. . od morning e thank you jamie, and thank you to all of my friends here. here. it is such a privilege to be with you here today. this is a truly humbling moment for me. only in america can the son of immigrants and pell grant kid who helped his way through college picking up golf balls, should have used the helmet had the opportunities to make a difference under the likes of barack obama. only in america and only in the democratic party. because you know what? we are indeed the party that turns hardship into hope. we are the party that turns doubts into dreams. we are the party of inclusion and opportunity. and we make sure inclusion and opportunity is in every zip code for e. you know 50 years ago, dr. king gave a speech right here in atlanta where he asked a simple but critical question, where do we go from here? how do we fight for shared values and continue our march for jobs and justice and fill this nation's promise for inclusion for e. the democratic party is asking that same que

mr. perez: good afternoon, everyone. voice over they last few days. we've been traveling around the in the closing days of this race and i am so excited to be here today with my friend and colleague, congressman keith ellison. the new deputy chair of the dnc. wenite are uas a party. we have so much work ahead of us because across america, people are fearful. people are fearful for our future. democrats united is a hope for the future. we will put our values into action. we have a special election today in delaware. we have boots on the ground and actions all over the country today. strength in numbers, the millions of people that have been coming out since the inauguration to say, donald trump, you do not stand for our values. we have been marshaling and will be harnessing that remarkable energy going forward. the value of diversity is employed. here today.to be we have a lot of things to do and we will do it together. >> area. -- here we go. good afternoon. sorry, i lost my voice. we have been

mr. perez: good afternoon, everyone. voice over they last few days. we've been traveling around the in the closing days of this race and i am so excited to be here today with my friend and colleague, congressman keith ellison. the new deputy chair of the dnc. wenite are uas a party. we have so much work ahead of us because across america, people are fearful. people are fearful for our future.

mr. perez will not be committed to fully enforcing our nation's immigration laws. some i have worked hard on. we need to create a lawful system of immigration. he previously served as the president of the board of cassa of maryland, an immigrant advocacy organization and has taken some extreme views and has been criticized by a number of people in the media. cassa of maryland issued a pamphlet instructing iement grants confronted by the flies to remain silent. people often without lawful status come to seek work and they oppose restrictions on illegal immigration receiving drivers' licenses." he was president of the board." that was senator sessions' quote. senator sessions also commented on mr. perez directly. "i am concerned whether mr. perez will be in running the department of justice civil rights dwismtion he has been pretty active politically. when he ranke ran ran for the montgomery county council, he responded to a question, what would you like the voters to know about you? he answered,

mr. tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. >> you can hear it there, the crowd erupting in a mix of cheers and boos after former labor secretary tom perez was named the dnc chair after beating out mr. ellison. many chanted, party of the people, not of the money. but immediately after taking over, perez named ellison his deputy chairman. the two men addressed the crowd calling on fellow democrats to come together and capitalize on opposition to president trump the quickest. >> if you came here supporting me, if you're wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i'm asking you to give everything you've got to support chairman perez. >> shortly after perez's election, the rnc sent out a statement that read in part, quote, by selecting a d.c. insider, democrats only create deeper divisions within their own party by pushing a far left agenda that rejects a majority of their base outside washington. president trump tweeted, quote, congratulations to thomas perez, who has just been named chairman of the dnc. i coul

mr perez then appointed him as his deputy.is seen as critical with the republicans holding majorities in both the senate and house of representatives. after his successful campaign, mr perez made this statement to delegates. someday they are going to study this era in american history and study it alongside the know nothing movement and will ask the question of all of us, where were and will ask the question of all of us, where were you and will ask the question of all of us, where were you in 2017? when we had the worst president in the history of the united states, and we will all be able to say, whether you are sitting here, outside, or whether you are looking across america, we will be able to say, the united democratic party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a one term president and elected democrats across this country from the school board, to the senate, to the state attorneys general, two secretaries of state and senators and governors, to district six is. to newjersey and virginia. next year, we are

perez. >> it is my honor now to pres chair to democratic national committee to mr. tom perez. mr. perez congratulations. >> former secretary of labor thomas perez is elected chair of the democratic national committee winning seton second ballot. >> i am confident that when we lead with our values and agos we succeed that is what the democratic party has been about. >> democrats are working to rebuild party after republican victories in the november election and at the top aft agenda president trump. >> he has been a disaster. if this presidency were a season of apprentice donald trump done would have fired donald trump at the end of first episode. >> another area of focus getting to the bottom of russian interference in the 016 election and preventing future problems. >> if you want to know how -- us with i'm leaving next chair of 46 pages this is all i've been able toil compil

mr. tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. and applause] [inaudible conversations] >> i hear a motion, a motion by mr. saunders, mr. saunders -- >> no, no. >> mr. applebaum? there's a motion now by mr. buckley. mr. buckley, we'll hear from mr. buckley. order, please. go ahead. >> thank you, madam chair. more all those who ran for this office, for all those who were involved in this campaign, now is the time for us to unite. so i move that we suspend the rules and cast one ballot for secretary tom perez as the next chair of the democratic national committee. [cheers and applause] >> is there a second? mr. applebaum? >> democrats, sisters and brothers, i'm stuart applebaum, dnc member from new york and the executive vice president of the 1.3 million member united food and commercial workers union, afl-cia. this has been a great process with amazing candidates. we've listened to each other, we've learned from each other. now we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. [applause] our country, our democra

after his election mr perez addressed party delegates in atla nta.this era in american history and study it alongside the know nothing movement and will ask the question of all of us, where were you in 2017? when we had the worst president in the history of the united states, and we will all be able to say, whether you are sitting here, outside, or whether you are looking across america, we will be able to say, the united democratic party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a one term president and elected democrats across this country. the author and journalist jay newton—small is a contributor to time magazine. she told me more about mr perez and why he was selected. tom perez is the establishment pick. he was the cabinet secretary for obama and a dogged campaignerfor hillary clinton. he was up against a congressman who is a belief the only muslim congressmen left in congress right now. he was endorsed by bernie sanders, who you remember was hillary clinton's firebrand progressive challenge during the primary elections in 2016. and

mr. tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. i hear a motion. a motion by mr. sanders. mr. sanders. mr.ban? mr. buckley. we will hear from mr. buckley. order, please. go a hehead. >> thank you, madam chair. for all of those who ran for this office, and for all of those who were involved in this campaign, now is the time for us to unite. so i move that we suspend the rules and cast one ballot for secretary tom perez as the next chair for the national democratic committee. >> is there a second? >> mr. applebaum? >> chairman, sisters and brothers, i'm stewart applebaum and head of the afl ceo commercial workers, and this is a great process with the amazing candidates. we have listened to each other, and we have learned from each other. and now, we must be moving forward together. we must leave this meeting united. our country, our democracy demands it. and i'm proud to second the motion to make this election by acclimation. thank you. >> it has been moved and seconded. in favor, opposed? ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to present the next ch champion and visionary that i have enjo

party chair turned into a proxy war you might see between the obama/clinton wing represented by mr. perez and the bernie sanders wing which backed keith ellison. politico reported ed meeks was reportedly threatened by supporters of ellison and sanders with a primary challenge if he backed anyone else. perez, however, had a big hand to play. former president barack obama along with joe biden, quote, called the members, himself, to push for the labor secretary. in a sign of union, he named ellison his deputy. >> if you came here to support me, wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i am asking you to give everything you got to support chairman perez. >> we will all be able to say whether you're sitting here, whether you're sitting outside, or whether you're looking on across america, we will all be able to say the united democratic party led the resistance, ensured this president was a one-term president and elected democrats across this country. >> progressives saw the 2016 election results as an opportunity to move the party further to the left and now the sanders and warren wing, if you

mr. perez, secretary perez has changed the order, which the chair approves. will restart the clock. mayor garcetti will go first. [applause] mayor garcetti: good morning democrats. i guess i should say good afternoon. are we fired up? i we ready to win? are we ready to govern? are we ready to unite? i am here because i want to see a party that stands up for americans and we are the party. we are the party of opportunity. we are the party of success. and i'm here today as we are reminded of dr. king's dreams who supported a dreamer named tom perez. aetrium or his his entire life has stood up for the ideal that americans anywhere and everywhere can -- should have their god-given rights to the fill their dreams. i have seen this man, when of the smartest people i have ever known. i have felt his heart in my city. when workers said they deserved the minimum wage, who did the president send, tom perez. we raised the minimum wage. and when the economy was losing $1 billion a day and dockworkers and one out of 50 workers who depend on their work were threatened, who

the most significant task ahead for mr. perezill come in 2018 when democrats face a daunting senate map, a more favorable house landscape and 36 governors races which will determine which party is best positioned to redraw lines after the next census. on the democrat line, good morning. caller: i think two things need to happen. dnc,rt of put behind the the unethical behavior of debbie wasserman schultz and donna brazil. withecondly to come up inspiring candidates that really bring people out to vote. i think both of those contributed to the loss, which is why we are where we are in the democratic party. it takes inspiring candidates to really move on. host: who is inspiring you on the national level? caller: candidly at this point, very few people if anybody. fact there's a couple more on the republican side that are more inspiring than on the democrat side. they just don't seem to be surfacing at this point. the weekly standard is writing about the democrats. democratic attorney general's. democrats were decimated at nearly eve

mr. tom perez. mr. rez, congratulations. >>> the democratic party elected tom perez the next chair of the dnc and beating out keith ellison. some of the spourers fupporters ellison were chanting. then perez maimed ellison his deputy chairman. the two called on the crowd for the democrats to come together. >> if you came here supporting me, if you're wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i am asking you to give everything you got to support chairman perez. >> we will all be able to say whether you're sitting here, whether you're sitting outside, or whether you're looking on across america, we will all be able to say, the yuted democratic party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a one-term president and elected democrats across this country. >> mark halpern, what do you make of this new team and how it went down over the weekend? >> i think given the candidates is the best outcome the party could get. the democratic party is in an extraordinarily weak position and a lot to do and i think

mr. tom perez. mr. ons former state of labor under president obama thomas perez elected chair of the democratic national committee winning the seat on the second ballot. >> i am confident that when we lead with our values and lead with our actions we succeed. that is what the democratic party has always been about. >> reporter: democrats working to rebuild their party after republican victories in the november election. at the top of the agenda president trump. >> he has been a disaster. if this presidency were a season of the apprentice, donald trump would have fired donald trump at the end of the first episode. >> another area of focus getting to the bottom of russian interference in the 2016 election and preventing future problems. >> if you want to know how to interfere with us i'm leaving the next chair 463 pages. this is i've been able to compile. if you want to know what it's like to have your file stolen daughters harassed your staff harassed i'm leaving you with this. >> reporter: democrats are

mr. tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations. >> former secretary of labor under frez obama thomas perez is elected chair of the democratic national committee winning seton second ballot and i'm confident that when we lead with our values and lead with our actions we succeed. that is wh party has always been about. >> democrats are working to rebuild their party after republican victories in the never election. and at the to much the agenda president trump. >> he has been a disaster if this were a season of apprentice donald trump would have fired donald trump at the end of the first episode. >> getting to the bottom of russian interference in the 016 election and preventing future problems. >> if you want to know how it went with us i'm leaving next chair at 463 pages this is all i've been able to compile if you want to know what it's like to have poder files stolen and staff harassed i'll leave with you this. >> they are hoping to build on anti-trump momentum to take back congress in 2018. >> we as democr

that gave mr. perez a high he drewendorsement but a blunt response from bernie sanders, the leader of the party's progressive wing who has backed representative keith ellison. in terms of the next chair, the question is simple. do we stay with a failed status quo approach or do we move forward with a fundamental restructuring of the democratic party? nearly a dozen democrats are running for dnc chair. they are considered the leading contenders in a race that has had low visibility and low drama. the party will be voting on this later this month. let's hear from mark in oregon, an independent caller. i believe that everybody has the right for their own decisions, but i don't believe they should be boycotting something. they should be representing their state. thereuld they not show up just to represent the people in their state? that doesn't show a good to try, in my opinion, to get into the political scene, to have them not show up. -- what is that telling us? it just says, hey, we don't want to play. ho

here's what mr perez had to say after his election: some day they are going to study this era in american they are going study it alongside the "know nothing" movement, and they will ask the question of all of us, where were you in 2017, when we had the worst president in the history of the united states? and we will all be able to say, whether you are sitting here, whether you're sitting outside, or whether you are looking across america, we will all be able to say, the united democratic party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a one—term president and elected democrats across this country. and we will have more analysis of what this will mean later in the programme. in iraq, troops are pushing deeper into western mosul in their offensive to drive out so—called islamic state from the country's second city. this area of mosul is the last is stronghold in iraq. the militants are surrounded, along with an estimated three—quarters—of—a—million civilians. our correspondent wyre davies is at an advanced iraqi military base, where american troops and advisers are a key part of

here's what mr perez had to say after his election.they are going to study this era in american history and study it alongside the know—nothing movement and will ask the question of all of us, where were you in 2017, when we had the worst president in the history of the united states? and we will all be able to say, whether you are sitting here, outside, or whether you are looking across america, we will be able to say, the united democratic party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a one—term president and elected democrats across this country. from the board, to the senate, to the state attorneys general, david weigel is a national political correspondent with the washington post. he has been covering the election of the chairman of the democratic party in atlanta and hasjust flown back to washington. please explain why this is so important a role for the democrats. they have an important role as a spokesman and fundraiser. the last time they were out of power at every level of government was 2005. they wa nted level

here's what mr perez had to say after his election some day they are going to study this era in americantudy it alongside the know—nothing movement and will ask the question of all of us, where were you in 2017, when we had the worst president in the history of the united states? and we will all be able to say, whether you are sitting here, outside, or whether you are looking across america, we will be able to say, the united democratic party led the resistance, ensured that this president was a one term president and elected democrats across this country. from the board, to the senate, to the state attorneys general, to secretaries of state and senators and governors, to district six. to newjersey and virginia. it's the biggest festival families gathered on the roadside, didn't stand a chance. among those injured, children as young as three years old. it happened in a matter of seconds. we had an impact and people scattered. we expect someone is highly intoxicated and is in custody. he is at our office. an eyewitness said the driver seemed disoriented, possibly drunk and didn't appear t

jonathan, what type of signal does the election of mr. perezthe future of the party. >> as a former member of the obama administration, it certainly represents a victory for the establishment of him to the chairman ship of the dnc. during his campaign he enjoyed the support of prominent democrats but in an apparent effort to demonstrate party unity he nominated his closest opponent keith ellison to serve as his deputy chair. he enjoyed strong support by the more liberal base. he explains the strategy behind this union. >> the fact that we went in a different direction with the chair than some might have preferred doesn't mean were not going to listen. uniting the establishment and progressive wings will be important if they will rebuild after seeing electoral losses back in november. >> meanwhile i have bernie sanders who endorsed alice. what is the strategy if they are supportively united. party leaders say they will attempt to work with the administration in areas where they can find common ground but they're also hoping to demonstrate a unit

and i'm so proud that our new chair, mr. perez, chairman perez, appointed him deputy chair.hat is an indication of party unity. and i certainly know we have a lot of work to do with regard to party building. but i think, given the fact that we're coming out of here united, we're going to win some elections because both of them are going to be leading this party. >> there's a big challenge to this. in the last several years, democrats have lost governorships, they have lost seats in statehouses. and hundreds and hundreds of th them. and those are the incubators that could have been talent that could eventually run for president, right? and then you have redistributing, fund-raising, keeping the party relevant, can you talk to some of these challenges and how you see the party working toward them? >> you're absolutely correct. and this means that we cannot do business as usual. and one thing i know is that tom perez and keith ellison are working on a grassroots strategy, a door-to-door strategy, we have a plan that we must execute in result to gentlemen andering. and this is a

mr. perez thanks for joining us. >> pleasure to be with you, jake. >> i know your voice is from vigorous campaign. >> yeah. >> so nobody at home should sound any alarms. >> yeah. >> but i want to ask you, president trump told cpac on friday that the republican party from now on will be the party of the american worker. and in november president trump carried white voters without a college degree, work being class voters by a stagger 37% age points. what is your plan to win these voters back into the democratic fold. >> we lead with our values and we lead with our actions. we talk to them about how literally hours into the trump administration he was a fraud. he made it harder for first-time home buyers to buy a home, hours into his administration. days later he made it harder to save for retirement pet nominates a justice -- a judge for the supreme court who wants to e vicinitier rate collective bargaining. when we lead with our values and democrats and talk about what we've done to make sure w

mr. pÉrezthat he basically wants him to understand that it can't the same-old, same-old and it hasn't been working and that the party has to do more to bring in young people and working-class voters. the fact that he was very measured in his response, do you think that was expected? >> it was expected. bernie sanders has thing going and that's part of his charm and i totally get why people were supported and he does have a strong economic populist message and guess what it got him in a physical million votes within the primary. you listen to what bernie sanders was saying this morning on jake tapper state of the union show you look at the messaging coming out of the dnc and tom pÉrez and keith ellison. at the end of the day we know we are united right now and i respect the fact that this is a far-left progressive agenda, i think that by picking pÉrez by ellison who is more extreme to the left specially on issues like israel, that the right choice for the democrats and i really hope as bernie su

trump sent a sarcastic tweet congratulating mr. perez yesterday, today he claimed the vote was rigged. and he said he will not attend the white house correspondent's association dinner april. trump was the punchline of mr. obama's jokes in 2011. >> no one is prouder to put this birth certificate issue to rest than the donald. that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like did we fake the moon landing? >> reporter: divisions also emerged this weekend among republicans over whether a special prosecutor should investigate russian interference in the u.s. election. >> you cannot have somebody, a friend of mine, jeff sessions, who was on the campaign and an appointee. you're going to need to use the special prosecutor's statute and office to take not just to recuse. >> reporter: tonight the president and first lady will be hosting the governor's ball here at the white house. they will be joined by vice president pence and his wife, promoting a message of collective strength and shared values. elaine? >> err

. >> mr. perez, congratulations. >> with new chairman the national committee hopes to rebuild the party with the 50 states strategy. >> we hope to do it. that is the best thing. this is the making sure of working together on the issue of culture change. >> so help me god. >> tom perez a former obama secretary bernie sanders supporter keeps ellison as chair trying to unify the establishment and progressive wings. >> if they chose me, they need to count perez as well. >> democrats say they want to listen to another voting block that help the party in large numbers to support donald trump. >> we need to focus on working class america. particularly working americans. we need to let them know that democrats can create good jobs in america again. >> we have to be in partnership. everything is under attack. and the democratic party can always do these things. >> they say that they can take lessons from republicans when it comes to messaging. they say it is not enough to complain about president trump, they

>> i don't think it says anything about mr. pÉrez. it talks about the mood of the country.. >> i think union membership -- stuart: you have to get them back. >> tom pÉrez is somebody who can do it and drove a garbage truck to go through school. he's done a great job in the department of labor doing that and i have to tell you, he's also been somebody who has fought for voters rights and that's important to democrats. stuart: that's the kind of language which is not going to turn on middle america. >> i don't agree with that. stuart: workers right. why don't you talk about growth, what's your plan, what's the centrist democrat plan to grow the economy? >> you grow the economy by growing business. stuart: yes. how do you grow business. >> promoting and giving businesses an opportunity to invest. stuart: a tax cut? >> are you a democrat who can get tax cut for business. i don't believe it. stuart: i never heard of this? >> you never heard of bill clinton. stuart: that was way back when. >> bill clinton wrote the book in terms of modern democratic parties being in favor of busi

cabinet member tom perez will be tasked with turning around a party that suffered devastating losses this past election. cbs news correspondent wendy gillette has more. >> a great american, mrz. >> reporter: members of the democratic national committee picked a new national chairman saturday who they will turn opposition against president trump in to election victories. it took hundreds of state party leaders and activists two rounds of voting to pick tom chair. perez served as labor secretary under president obama. >> i know we can win the battles ahead. i know we will win the battles ahead when we put our values forward, when we lead together. >> reporter: president trump had lunch with florida governor rick scott and scott walker at the white house following his speech friday for the conservative political action conference. >> a few days ago i called the fake news the enemy of the people. and they are. they are the enemy of the people. >> reporter: white house later blocked several news outlets from attending an off camera press briefing. new york congresswoman caroline maloney said the allegations angered her. >> we find it alarming and it violates the first amendment

mr. tom perez. ♪ donna brazile unbalancing the new head of the democratic party as members gathered thiseek in atlanta. it is sunday morning february the 26th. congress is back to work following the presidents' day recess. the senate voting on a number of cabinet nominees and president trump delivering his first speech before a joint session of congress. he

ellison or mr. perez. >> and it is interesting that you say that the folks have to get over themselves, and what is interesting about jane klebb brought up in the response is why she is supporting congress ellison over tom perez is that tom perez supper ports the ttp, and the dakota pipeline. you write about the economy, and those thing, and aren't those two issues dead. so with that the case with president trump in office, and if that is the case, why should any democrat hold it over their head? >> well, iing a grew -- i argue that protections were expanded for his oversight for undox yumed workers and people eligible for overtime, and he held under the leadership, the labor department held a lot more employers accountable when they were committing wage theft, and cheating the low-wage workers. so he has a lot of contributions that are cherished by the left wing of the democratic party. if you want to look at the record, and to your point, the record may not matter for the job at hand, but if you want to

. >> mr. perezratulations. >> reporter: with a new chairman, the democratic national committee hopes to rebuild the party with a 50-straight -- state policy. >> we have to make sure that we're working together on the issues of internal culture change. >> so help me god. >> reporter: tom perez, a former obama labor secretary, nominated his closest competitor, minnesota congressman keith ellison, as deputy chair in an apparent effort to unify the party's establishment and progressive wings. >> if they trust me, they need to come on and trust tom perez as well. >> reporter: democrats say they also want to listen to another voting bloc that left the party in large numbers to support donald trump. >> we've got to focus on working class america, particularly working white americans. we've got to take a message to them to let them know that democrats can -- >> we've got to be in partnership. the union movement is under attack. planned parenthood is under attack, and the democratic party will always be ther

perez will chair the dnc. as nbc's chris pollone reports, his election was anything but a smooth one. >> mr. tom perez. >> reporter: after two ballots in atlanta, members of the democratic national committee chose a former obama cabinet member as their new party chair. he's former labor secretary, tom perez, a favorite of the party establishment. he at minnesota congressman, keith ellison, backed by the party's more liberal faction by 35 votes. immediately perez moved to unite the party, naming ellison deputy chair. ellison quickly embraced the unity message. >> if you're wearing a keith t-shirt or any t-shirt, i am asking you to give everything you've got to support chairman perez. >> reporter: perez has a tall task ahead, replenishing the party's dwindling cash supply and trying to elect democrats to governors' offices, state legislatures and congress. >> we need to make house calls. we need to listen to people. we need to get back to basics. >> reporter: if perez has any advantage, it's that the young presidency of donald trump has energized large groups of oppti >> i know we can win the b

mr. perez joins me now from atlanta. mr. chairman, congratulations. >> thank you, chuck. it's great to be with you. >> let me start with the fact that that was a pretty divided room, all intraparty elections can feel personal and feel petty, but the fact of the matter is you do have sanders supporters from the primary who were skeptical of the clinton wing of the party and see you as nothingmore as an extension of that, how do you unite this party without making it an anti-trump party as a way to unite it. >> i thought we had a great day yesterday, chuck, and deputy chair ellison and i, we were there together. we were united, and our unity is our greatest strength and frankly, our unity is donald trump's greatest nightmare. he's already tweeting this morning about the election being rigged and frankly, he ought to be looking at the u.s. election last november through special council. what we saw yesterday, chuck, not only in atlanta where the democrats were gathered, but we saw up in delaware great examples of how we are putting our activism into action. we had a special