tom perez. [applause] [cheering] thank you. [applause] mr. perez: thank you so much. thank you so much. folks, i would like to begin by making a motion. a motion i have 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 suspending the rules, if i may, to appoint keith ellison deputy chair of the democratic national committee. [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 w

tom perez as the new head of the dnc.ith ties toeteran the establishment as the new face of the resistance to donald trump. tom perez will lead a democraticed national committee which has been reeling from the 2016 vote. that left the party firmly in a minority. democrats were worried at the buoyedliberal outcry -- at the wave of liberal outcry. our phone lines are open. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. is the headline from the washington post. tom perez elected as the party chair. more highlights from the event in atlanta in just a moment. first fred from new jersey. democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. the press watching conference and they were talking about doing in autopsy as to what went wrong over the last year. theorymy own dear he -- as to pennsylvania and wisconsin and michigan. i think it was the sanctuary cities issue. i know that was a big issue in pennsylvania because i live just outside of philadelphia which is a sanctuary city. pat to

tom perez being the new chairman.what happened here. >> reporter: this was a pretty dramatic day here in atlanta on this second ballot, tom perez comes in with a victory. perez collected 235 votes on that second ballot to keep ellison's 200 but on the first ballot, brianna, where tom perez collected 213.5 votes falling short of the threshold needed to win the election but on the second ballot, perez was able to bring together the coalition necessary to win. what's sbesiinteresting though w this is playing out in the room and something to keep an eye on. there were many keith ellison supporters that represent the progressive wing of the party, the bernie sanders wing and after it was announced that perez won, they started yelling in the back of the room. no big money, party for the people. and they continued to do it. even while donna brazil was trying to calm the crowd down and call for unity. that's the next big question for the democratic party. can they unite behind tom perez and form some sort of coalition that ca

i trust tom perez. me, they need to trust tom perez, as well. i had the benefit of sitting next to this man on many debates. vision that i share. it got to a point where, we agreed on a lot of things. there was one press report, and i love you guys and you know that, but one report said there's not enough arguing going on in this particular race because there is a consensus. as tom said, we are going to build from the dock after to the senate and fight in every state and territory and abroad. there are fights going on like today. our revolution that began with bernie sanders, who i want to thank. he is having rallies and every congressional district. we have to win elections. mr. perez: absolutely. >> do you agree with your new -- presidentor trump has done several things that bring up the question of impeachment? seenerez: you have not republicans asking for an investigation. you cannot have the attorney general out on the stump for president doing the .nvestigation we have to make sure -- it's the tables have been turned and hillary clinton ha

i want to you support tom perez.you put your energy and time, your resources behind making this the best democratic national committee it can possibly be. and i think i can speak for all of the other candidates in the race, tom, and all of us are united in the idea that tom is our chair and we're proud to be part of the dnc. and we're proud to say that this day is the day that the democrats come together, chart the new course for a bright future for the american people. thank you. >> is today a turning point for the democratic party? >> i think we're very excited about today. you see people all across america, there's moralies today. we're going to win an election in delaware, we've got an opportunity here in the sixth congressional district of atlanta. i think we have a real shot there. we're moving forward in new jersey. in virginia. i think we're going to elect a democratic governor in both of those states. so we're ready to hit the ground running, what we also know is that our party succeeds when we have a real p

tom perez. [applause] secretary perez: thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you so much. you know, folks, i would like to motion, aaking a motion that i have 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 suspending the rules, if i may, to a point chair ofison deputy the democratic national committee. [applause] -- etary perez i'm not -- not sure tell me the phrase i'm supposed under. did i hear a second? for? opposed? the silence is deafening. the motion passes. yours.sman, the floor is congressman ellison: allow me to congratulate our chair. on successfully passing his first motion. but i just want to say to you i'm very, very proud of .hairman perez in this race, he conducted himself with tremendous class, grace. i want to say that everybody you think front of you -- i it is so funny. there was a news report that our race was boring because we were not attacking each other. do you remember that? we were all quite proud that we were not forming the circular firing squad. i just

tom perez: absolutely. keith ellison: let me tell you, we will have to look at what went wrong, across the numbers and get specific, because we have an idea what we want to ask others about it. the real thing is we have to win. people are expecting us to win. we have to be geared toward winning elections in this time to come. not just 2017-2018, 2020, we are and we on redistricting are looking back but looking back to look forward. >> thank you so much everybody. here on c-span, washington journal is next. at 9:15 a.m., we will take you live to the national governors association winter meeting in washington, d.c. for a discussion on ending child hunger. later this afternoon on newsmakers, we hear from leonard leo who serves as an advisor on judicial nominations for the trump administration. coming up on today's washington journal, a look at the trump presidency and its impact on conservativism and the future of the republican party le of thes ant washington journal. theheather vogel shares details of a new

how is keith ellison or tom p perez going to reach those folks? >> let me bring you in here, rich, because the way that jayne is answering the questions and what jamel just said, the schism between the party and the establishment wing and the progressives so-called bernie sanders' wing of the party had not necessarily been sort of smoothed over, but gr what i am hearing, can that rebuild the party with that schism there? >> well, rarely is the chairman of one of the two major parties without the presidency, the spokesperson for the party. i have been thinking here that the last time it happened was haley barbour and people were looking to newt gingrich and bob dole back in those days. and people will look to nancy pe low si and chuck schumer not necessarily to the chairman of the dnc. and jamel, i'm fascinated that the mtv guy is leaning towards the establishment. showing you how far the tv has gone. >> you have the wrong impression. it is not leaning towards the establishment, but the democratic party is larger than bernie sanders' wing of the pa

tom perez fell one vote short. and now the second ballots are being collected by the dnc staff, and they want to count them twice to to see if they are good, and any moment, when donna brazile, the interim chairwoman is going to be coming out the announce the results. many people think that tom perez has got it because he was so close, but keith ellison's team is insisting they have a chance on this, and they fell 15 votes short, and not far off themselves, and the field has been eliminated aside from the other candidates. they dropped out, and most of the votes were held by sally boynton brown who was the idaho party drirector, and maybe she can give keith ellison enough votes to win it, but it is going to be tight here, and we are waiting any minute, richard, to see what happens. >> where are the bargaining chips? where the convention will be? how well they work on the ground? back and forth? >> well, this is a unusual race, and you can see the entire voting population of it, so it is a one to one kind of situati

tom perez, the former u.s. labor secretary was chosen today to guide the democratic party through what he calls an all-out battle to deny donald trump a second term as president. cnn's ryan nobles is in atlanta. >> reporter: yeah, brianna, it was certainly a dramatic afternoon here in atlanta, as democrats picked their next chairman. and it will be the former labor secretary, tom perez. but it wasn't easy. perez fell one vote short on the first ballot, before capturing the nomination on the second ballot. but he understood that this is a fractured party. and that he needed to welcome in those progressives that didn't necessarily support him. that's why he brought up the man who came in second, minnesota congressman, keith ellison, and made him his deputy chairman. take a look at that moment. >> i would like to begin by making a motion. it's a motion that i have 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 suspending the rules, if i may,

perez barely defeating congressman keith ellison. on the right-hand side of this picture. that vote even went to a second ballot. >> as i have said and as keith has said, we're at this moment in our nation's history. someday they're going to study this era in american history, and they're going to study it along are side the know nothing movement, and they're going to 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 looking out across america, we will all be able to say the united democratic party led the resistance insuring this president was a one-term president and elected democrats across this country from the school board to the senate to the state treasurers to the state attorneys general, to state secretaries of state and senators and governors. >> former president obama congratulated perez in a statement that reads in part, "what unionitis our party is a belief, an opportunity, the

perez is the dnc's first latino chairman.ged to rebuild the democratic party at both the state and local level. perez also vowed his party would wage an all-out battle to deny the president a second term. yesterday president trump reacted to perez's victory and what he said after he won. the president tweeted congratulations to thomas perez. i could not be happier for him or for the republican party. perez responded with his own tweets saying call me tom and don't get me too happy. keith ellison and i and democrats united across the country will be your worst nightmare. >>> in another tweet last night president trump posted he will not be attending the white house correspondents dinner this year. the annual dinner is a nearly sendry-old tradition. it's usually a time when the president and the press get an opportunity to mend fences. it involves the master of ceremonies roasting the president and the president responding with his own jokes. recently there's been quite a bit of tension. recently president trump declared the me

tom pÉrez: yo quiero ser un luchador para la gente que no tiene voz.repÚblica dominicana en estados unidos en la Época del dictador rafael trujillo, su madre quedÓ a cargo de pÉrez y de sus cinco hermanos cuando el jefe del hogar muriÓ de un ataque al corazÓn. tom pÉrez; yo quiero ser el lÍder para toda la comunidad de las personas en los estados unidos. >> su trayectoria ha sido excelente, Él ha trabajado como fiscal, ha trabajado como secretario de trabajo, es una persona que ha luchado por los trabajadores. reportero: su prioridad es sacar a los demÓcratas de la crisis ahora que los republicanos tienen el control de la casa blanca. tom pÉrez;¿ el partido demÓcrata va a decir que usted no tiene nuestros valores reportero: el nuevo lÍder demÓcrata tendrÁ que luchar para que en 2018 en su partido no sÓlo estÉ bien sino que gane posiciones en las elecciones de medio tÉrmino que se avecinan. donald trump felicitÓ a tom pÉrez, dijo que no podrÍa estar mÁs feliz por el partido demÓcrata. fÉlix: el presidente donald trump anunciÓ hoy que romperÁ con la trad

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

clinton demanded perez.oderator of "meet the press," chuck todd, going to join us now to break this all down. another back and forth between the president and a person who you said is now elevated. >> look, it's good politics for trump. i see what he's doing. sanders supporters were pretty important to him. either those who didn't show up to vote in places like wisconsin or michigan, or crossed the aisle and voted for him. he'd love to keep that divide going. i think tom perez is very aware of it. it's why the first thing he did was make keith ellison the deputy chair. i'm sure it was perhaps a quid pro quo on that, no matter who won. look, donald trump is probably the best tool tom perez has to unite the party. the bigger challenge he's going to have is how does he break the institutional hierarchy of the party that is organizationally almost structured as a presidential party, totally focused on a cult of personality. that's what's missing. the republican party was about the republican party for the longes

perez is great, he is a progressive. i would have supported keith if i had a vote once buttigieg was out. the base of the democratic party was in the airports, all over america where the women's march and in these town meetings. and the dnc is completely divorced from all of that. and that's what they've got to rebuild. you can't just do the 50-state strategy anymore. now you got to do a 50-year strategy. this first global generation that's out there that supported barack obama twice and hillary clinton, they're not democrats. vote in presidential elections. they don't vote in the off-year elections. one of the reasons we're in bad shop. tom perez, first of all has to rebuild the democratic party and reach out own bring people into institutional politics which they don't want to do right now. >> let me ask you, cornell, if you had the slice the pie right now and said the outside, the youth, minorities maybe, have a different vision what the democrat should stand for, the usual people running the party for years, what are

perez and ellison are close to winning. the rest of the candidates are scattered with not much support. , it is not ae secret ballot. they will roll call this vote, and if someone has the majority on the first ballot, they are done. if not, people drop off. that,of before any of they are doing 10 minute presentations with one final pitch for support. people i have talked to will change their minds based on are, but the people who undecided are avoiding public pressure. it is possible you can move a handful of votes with that, but it is fairly decided in people's heads right now. they just have to go to this process of voting. washington journal continues. democrats electing a new leader for the dnc today in atlanta, we want to get your thoughts from democrats only for the selection of the next leader, not only who it should be, but what should they focus on. democrats only on the lines. give us a call depending on the time zone you are in. jerry andith shreveport louisiana. go ahead. caller: yes, i would like to see the dem

tom perez." the democratic national committee now has a new chair..tom perez / dnc chairman: "thank you so much. i would like to begin by making a motion. butt sot.. to appoint keith ellsion deputy chair of the democratic national commititee." the fight for a new leader was the focus on the final day of the d-n-c winter meeting.of the seven candidates who were originally on the ballot.. former labor secretary, tom perez ...and minnesota congressman, keith ellison remained the top frontrunners. ellison and perez represent the two forces that divide the party - the progressive movement versus the establishment.but on saturday, both candidates delivered messages of solidarity.rep. keith ellison / -dnc deputy chair: "unity is essential. we've got to walk out of here in unity. not just between the candidate but between the groups that support all the candidates.butt sot tom perez / dnc chairman: "no matter who wins i know we'll cross the finish line together because a united democratic party is not on

tom perez.etrium 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 did the white house send? tom perez. i saw how he brought people together and i am grateful to my city and the american economy for tom perez saving the u.s. economy. over timen him make count, i have seen him do it for communications workers, home care workers, i have seen him stand up for white-collar jobs, and as a son of refugees, a powerful message at this time we are closing our borders and building walls. let us break one down and elect tom perez as the next chair. he

host: if it is, rest, what -- tom perez, what will he do with the decision? guest: what irony is that it is heated this fight a lack of disagreements between the candidate. like ellison has said the party was out of touch over the last eight years and critical of the way it was under barack obama. and debbie wasserman schultz who ran the party for five years. it did not do house calls, one-on-one campaigning locally. they did not invest in all 50 states and territories. a more localized party. a lot of talk about technology. more about investing locally and early to organize all the time. something the democratic congressional campaign committee has started to do. the lesson taken from the 2016 election, his not -- his ideas not much different than the one allison has come other disagreements are -- host: that is coming from the result of the 2016 presidential election and a new role for the dnc, at least a new effort or a vision or direction perhaps would you say? dnc under debbie wasserman schultz was seen as becoming kind of disconnected to listless and no

galo arellano nos cuenta mÁs de tom pÉrez.demÓcrata tiene sangre latina y se llama tom pÉrez. al pronunciar esta tarde su discurso de agradecimiento por el triunfo prometiÓ revivir a los demÓcratas a nivel nacional en posiciones como las juntas escolares y hasta en el senado. nunca antes un apellido hispano habÍa sido, en cuenta para liderar un partido demÓcrata uno de los grupos polÍticos mÁs poderosos de los estados unidos pero que vive uno de sus peores momentos. >> la elecciÓn del hispano como el lÍder es algo maravilloso para nosotros porque estamos luchando por las comunidades inmigrantes. galo: su principal contrincante tambiÉn pudo haber hecho historia ya que es el primer musulmÁn en aspirar a ese cargo pero se impuso ante el pÉrez con 35 votos mÁs. tom pÉrez: ya que no ser un luchador para gente que no tiene voz. galo: habla espaÑol, proviene de una notable y pudiente familia del caribe, su padre fue embajador de repÚblica dominicana en estados unidos en Época del dictador rafael trujillo y su madre quedÓ a cargo de p

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

i trust tom perez. if they trust me, they need to come on and trust tom perez as well. that's what i'm telling them. let me tell you, i've had a benefit of sitting next to this man on many, many debates, and, of course, tom and i were friends before that, and i have heard a vision that i share. it got to the point where, you know, we kind of agreed on a lot of things. you know? there was one press report -- i love you guys, and you know that, but one press report that said there's not enough arguing going on in this particular race because i think there's a consensus that, as tom said, we're going to build from dog catcher to the senate, and we're going to fight in every state and every county, every territory, and democrats abroad. there are fights going on like today. steph nir hanson is on the ballot today. our revolution led to bernie sanders, who i want to thank, by the way. i want to thank having rallies in every congressional district having a lot of -- it's got to be channelled into the democratic party, the dnc, so we can win elections. is that right? >> yes. >

labor secretary, tom perez. hundreds of d.n.c. members gathered in atlanta for their most dramatic leadership vote since the 1980s. perez, the first latino chair of the d.n.c., is now in charge of rebuilding the party and turning opposition to president donald trump into votes for democrats. as for the president, he tweeted that he could not be happier for perez or for the republican party. here's tony dokoupil. >> pass your ballot in, please. >> reporter: the future of the democratic party came up for a vote on saturday. >> a united democratic party is not only our best hope. it is donald trump's worst nightmare. >> reporter: and former labor secretary tom perez won the day. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: perez is now the new chair, narrowly defeating minnesota congressman keith ellison, a charismatic progressive in the second round of voting. . >> and the motion i would like to make to the body is the motion suspending the rules, if i may, to appoint keith ellison, deputy chair of the democratic national committee. ( cheers

tom perez knows about winning elections. he won elections in california and california is a blue paradise compared to some other places. but they did it by organizing and organizing is how we're going to win. i'm asking you with your precious vote to support me. support me to be chair of the d.n.c. because what we are going to do is win elections and raise voter turnout and raise the money we need from dollar donations -- [cheers and applause] mr. ellison: we believe. we believe we would rather have million donations of $10 then $10 of00,000. we have to go to the grassroots. let me just say this. unity is essential. we've got to walk out of here, not just between the candidates but the groups that support all of the candidates. we have to come out of here hand in hand, brothers and sisters because trump is right outside of that door, but trump, but trumpism which includes kasich, snyder and scott which is taking a women's right to choose and right to live free with dignity. it's not just one fight we have to fight. we have t

tom perez. mr. perez, congratulations.point could keith ellison deputy chair of the democratic national committee. [cheers and applause] pete: that's former labor secretary tom perez edging out keith ellison as the new dnc chair. but ellison is still getting a seat at the table as you heard. abby: next guest lifelong democrat said he would leave the party if ellison was in charge. what does he think about this development? pete: joining us is harvard university law professor alan dershowitz. so you saw these results. was this -- the election of tom perez is this a real decksal change more moderates is the establishments in charge or last gasp of the clinton-obama regime but the party really does want to move further left? abby: and are you staying in the party? >> i'm staying in the party because ellison was defeated and the ellison defeat is a victory in the war against bigotry, antisemitism, the anti-israel push of the hard left within the democratic party. look, i wish that perez hadn't appointed ellison to any position

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

tom perez."re in and the democratic national committee now has a new chair..tom perez / dnc chairman: "thank you so much. i would like to begin by making a motion. butt sot.. to appoint keith ellsion deputy chair of the democratic national commititee." the fight for a new leader was the focus on the final day of the d-n-c winter meeting.of the seven candidates who were originally on the ballot.. former labor secretary, tom perez ...and minnesota congressman, keith ellison remained the top frontrunners. ellison and perez represent the two forces that divide the party - the progressive movement versus the establishment.but on saturday, both candidates delivered messages of solidarity.rep. keith ellison / -dnc deputy chair: "unity is essential. we've got to walk out of here in unity. not just between the candidate but between the groups that support all the candidates.butt sot tom perez / dnc chairman: "no matter who wins i know we'll cross the finish line together because a united democratic party

>> reporter: this is how olga perez's home looked the last time she saw it, the waters cresting forcing her family out. >> i don't have my own space, i can't provide my kids their own space. 6 >> reporter: her children are still struggling to accept that everything they know is gone. >> it's hard to get it and process it through your mind that it's all gone and that you need to start from the beginning because you can't do anything about it. >> reporter: the perez family came to the school today to try and recover some of what they lost, sifting through piles of clothing and food collected by the school district within a matter of hours today. >> this is been just going on since 8:00 a.m. >> reporter: the donation center is one of the ways they're trying to help community members like the perezs. >> we had community members lining up before we opened at 9:00. >> reporter: they say the community center, closed to the press for now, is staffed with

clinton demanded perez.ng me now from new hampshire, corey lewandowski, former campaign manager for mr. trump, still sometimes an adviser and now a political consultant. corey, welcome back to "fox news sunday." >> thank you for having me. chris: first, i want to get your thoughts about the election of tom perez, a relative centrist as chair of the dnc. what does it say to you about how democrats are going to deal with president trump? >> you know, chris, what this says to me is that they've now put someone in the chairman of the democratic party who doesn't understand what's going on in america. you have an opportunity, they would have had an opportunity to pick a candidate that understood what middle america's about and not someone who's just concerned about the east coast or the west coast. and instead what we've seen is more of the same in the democratic party which is what caused them to lose this election at the presidential level. tom perez was a close confidant of hillary clinton, and if you look at

now tom 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 presi

it didn't take too long for donald trump to troll perez tweet, "congratulations to thomas perez, who has just been named chairman of the dnc. i could not be happier for him or for the republican party." now, perez clapd back, telling trump fot to get too happy because democrats will be trump's worst nightmare. as perez set seths about rebuilding the democratic party, he could take a lesson from delaware, where democrats won a crucial local victory saturday. stephanie hanson won a delaware state senate race ensuring that the party will retain the majority in the state legislature. hanson, who was backed by joe biden, is the first example of a democratic win buoyed by a grassroots outpouring of anti-trump protests, energy that that party is counting on far resurgence at the ballot box. raul reyes, e.j. dion, author of "twer change we seek," seed phillips, author of "brown is the new white," terrific book, and jane cleb, chair of the nebraska democratic party. thanks for being here. jane, given our conversation yesterday in the 2:00 hour i have to start with you. let me flay something t

i had a chance to work with tom perez for three years.ere are few people who understand better the struggles of working-class americans than tom perez. he grew up in buffalo, worked his way through college as a trash collector. he has spent his career as a progressive fighting for fair housing, voting rights for higher wages. he transformed the department of labor during our time there. he has fought for equality, opportunity, justice and inclusion. this is not only a great day for democrats but donald trump's worst nightmares. >> why do you say that? >> the party is more united than it has ever been before. yesterday, tom in his first act, made keith ellison the deputy chair of the party and tom and keith together are going to crisscross the country talking about how to move this country forward. that's why donald trump should be afraid right now. >> you know, ellison and perez working together and we were watching some of the body dynamics, as you probably were yesterday as the announcement was made, clearly also wanted to win as perez

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 cou

that really brings us back to tom perez and keith ellison. perez kind of representing the establishment wing of the party, former labor secretary in the obama administration and keith ellison, the congressman from minnesota. who many bernie sander suppo supporters are backinging. listen tolt pitch he made earlier to this crowd. >> a united democratic party is not only our best hope, it is donald trump's worst nightmare. and we will be there. together. with hope. with hard work and with a hell of a lot of organizing, we will turn this party around and get democrats winning again. >> if you were to poll this room, there are probably more keith ellison supporters in the room, but only have the roof is eligible to vote, so there is certainly some passion by keith ellison supporters, but there are likely more tom perez voters standing behind me, and they're the ones who are going to decide who's the next chair, but the key here, is that next chair is going to have to unite both ends of this room if they have any hope of organizing the party and be

i don't think pÉrez is, you know, centrist choice by any means. he was far left years before this.going to continue the path of identity politics, gender politics and, you know, in bad need of an economic message because that's what donald trump won on in the the midwest specially with blue-collar voters and that's what they need to get back to. >> jessica, bernie sanders was rather measured in his response to the victory. mr. pÉrez saying in a tweet that 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 messa

tom perez.are in and the democratic national committee now has a new chair..tom perez / dnc chairman: "thank you so much. i would like to begin by making a motion. butt sot.. to appoint keith ellsion deputy chair of the democratic national commititee. "the fight for a new leader was the focus on the final day of the d-n-c winter meeting.of the seven candidates who were originally on the ballot.. former labor secretary, tom perez ...and minnesota congressman, keith ellison remained the top frontrunners. ellison and perez represent the two forces that divide the party - the progressive movement versus the establishment.but on saturday, both candidates delivered messages of solidarity.rep. keith ellison / -dnc deputy chair: "unity is essential. we've got to walk out of here in unity. not just between the candidate but between the groups that support all the candidates. butt sottom perez / dnc chairman: "no matter who wins i know we'll cross the finish line together because a united democratic party

tom perez. >> former labor secretary tom perez, who got the most votes from delegates gathered this weekendlanta. the press immediately named the man who trailed him not far in votes, congressman keith ellison as his deputy chairman. >> because we were always united in our values. and we'll always continue to be united in our values. and we are united in our love for the democratic party. our love for the diversity of the democratic party. our love for the robust discussions that occur in the democratic party. >> and this just a few minutes ago, a tweet from president trump. he writes congratulations to thomas perez, who has just been named chairman of the dnc, i could not be happier for him or for the republican party. cnn's ryan noebls is in atlanta where the dnc delegates are gathered this weekend. so it sounds like not quite the most sincere congratulations there. but it actually sounded like donald trump had been rooting for keith ellison and to peg the more liberal wing of the democratic party as its leadership. really as its face, right? >> i thing there's an argument to be made ther

congratulations to perez. i could not be happier for him or the republican party.ired back saying, call me tom, and don't get too happy keith ellison and i will be your worst nightmare. and bernie sanders said progressives are ready to take on that administration. >> i i this turnout speaks to the reality, that more and more americans are becoming increasingly concerned about what is happening in washington today, and are prepared to stand off and fight back, and instead of draining the swamp, he has brought the entire swamp right in to his administration. >> perez' primary task is to help democrats win across the country. see all the red there? there are 33 -- 16 democrat governors. in congress, the electoral map, take a look at it here, unfavorable for democrats in 2018, and democrats are defending 25 seats in the senate, including ten in states that now president trump won in 2016. >>> let's bring in the panel of political correspondents. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> amanda, let me start with you. what is now chairman perez saying about how he will w

former labor secretary tom perez won out over bernie sanders. keith ellison in what many saw as a proxy war between the obama/clinton wing of the party and the sanders wing the party. but the two men put on a clearly united front with ellison accepting perez's offer to serve as deputy chair of the party and both setting their sites squarely on president trump. let's get to the new boss himself, the dnc chairman. 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 administr

perez has to prove that.hink that's the bottom line for him. >> he wasted no time firing back on twitter, saying he along with the democratic party are going to be trump's worst nightmare. >> trump is helping him already in some ways. who is tom perez? who knows him outside of washington that much? well, donald trump just elevated him in a way that tom perez couldn't have. >> so when we talk about perez, i know you're going to have him on the show, and the job he's been tasked to do, when it comes to unifying the party, would you say that naming keith ellison as his deputy chair is a good first step? >> that was a smart first step. it sounds like they may have had a deal. they knew it was going to be a close vote, that the loser would agree to serve as the deputy chair. i think that was a smart, quick show of unity that was necessary there. again, i think it'll all be -- look, the g perezatic party. it's donald trump. >> president trump's not going to go to the white house correspondents' dinner. big deal, li

this is tom perez. >> where do we go from here?ht now, we have to facece the facts that we are suffering from a crisis of relevance here at we need a chair that can not only take the fight to donald trump, make sure we talk about our positive message of inclclusion and opportunity, and we also need a chair who can lead turnaround in change the culture of t the democratic party and te dnc. amy: we go to washington, were lalani ofined by zaid ji the intercept. his latest article is "keith ellison loses dnc race after heated campaign targeting him for his views on palestine." explain. >> he received endorsements from elizabeth warren, chuck schumer, and a wide variety of unions. he really was a unity candidate that brought together sanders' backers and clinton hackers. as the campaign developed, we started to see more and more negative hits in the media. we someone of the largest owners of the democratic party, an israeli american businessman, say he was an anti-semite and that he is anti-israel. the anti-defamation league called on k

to keep channeling, "money out of politics," and didn't want to hear anything about perez. he made a very deft move by naming ellison his deputy and that seemed to quiet the crowd. >> sreenivasan: these tensions don't dissipate immediately. >> no, they don't go away immediately. i think one of the things people wind up doing-- it's kind of fun tow me to see people put this much stock into a party chairman. like, they're not the person running for president. they're not person who, you know, is going to we've a magic wand and change the fact that democrats are out of power in state legislatures, in governorships, in congress. you know, at their lowest point of power in more than 100 years, really. so this is somebody who is an organizational figure, someone hois supposed to be able to raise money, and that's something democrats-- this group of democrats wants to necessarily be talking about. they want to talk about how they stop donald trump and that's a lot harder to do for a party chairman. it was interesting me to watch, that especially in comparison with republicans were