today i'm proud to nominate its newest member, for secretary of transportation, i nominate mayor pete buttigieg. i got to know pete on the campaign trail. he's one of the smartest people you'll he evever meet and one o most humble, a mayor from the heartland, a policy wonk with a big heart, a lieutenant with the united states reserve, deployed to afghanistan while he was mayor. a new voice with new ideas, determined to move past old politics. the son of professors, his husband is an educator, always, always a mark of good character is the way i look at it. and by the way, jill and i have always enjoyed seeing pete and chastain together on the trail. chastain has become a close friend of jill's and mine. what i admire about pete is he's always clear about who he is, what he believes, and how he wants to bring people in, not exclude them. he's able to walk into any room, leave people inspired with his ability to describe an america that's best for us, all of us, an america that's hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive, an america that can do literally anything. the department of transportation servic

there are a number of roles considered for pete buttigieg.usly a high profile figure, somebody who biden specifically has talked of in significant terms saying he reminds him of his son. there's no bigger compliment for joe biden, connecting anybody to his son beau. transportation is not typically one of the most high profile positions in a cabinet. needy remind you, and you can see it directly behind me, it's the joseph r. biden jr. rail station. biden has put transportation and infrastructure projects at the very front of his agenda. this summer he proposed a $2 billion infrastructure plan that included a significant investment in roads and bridges, expansion in public transit options, a number of proposals that clearly signal what he wants as a priority of his administration. it's also something he played a role in the obama administration. remember the recovery act included a number of infrastructure projects. biden, interestingly, had been critical at times of the fact that the obama administration didn't do enough to sort of sell their

president—elect biden is someone who has compared pete buttigieg to his late son joe compared pete buttigiegonjoe biden who passed away —— beau biden. he is taking ona away —— beau biden. he is taking on a position that he himself had under president 0bama in 2009 when he saw the distribution of the federal stimulus act money across the country and that is going to be potentially one of buttigieg's primary tasks hair if there is a stimulus bill passed around infrastructure, so this is a position where he will go across the country doing ribbon cuttings as highways and bridges are opened and restored. mr biden has made it clear that one of his key priorities will be the transportation infrastructure bill. very different from being mayor of south bend? south bend has an entire city budget of about $300 million, and the transportation department's budget is roughly $87 billion, so budget is roughly $87 billion, so he is really moving into a position where he is going to be over about 55,000 employees and a really sprawling federal department, so he is really stepping up in terms of responsibili

joining us next -- and president-elect joe biden announcing an announcement, but what makes mayor pete buttigieg qualified to be transportation secretary? we're going to dig in why mayor pete is the man for the job. b.[] ♪ [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] ♪ uh, you know there's a 30-minute limit, right? tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, there's progressive. before we talk about tax-s-audrey's expecting... new? -twins! ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. >>> we are getting potentially very good news right now that we could see a deal on covid economic relief sometime today nap is after leader mitch mcconnell said "we're getting closer" as he emerged from a meeting with senator schumer, leader pelosi and congressman mccarthy that lasted three hours last night. good sign. relief for americans and government funding. with that deadline just three days away. mcconnell says the senate will not leave for break until something is passed. here's the question -- what will that "something" actually look like

one of the youngest cabinet members ever. >> harris: joe biden introducing former mayor pete buttigiegnsportation secretary nominee. and the media were quick to celebrate. "the hill" and "sky news" calling buttigieg the first openly gay cabinet pick. but it seems the outlets have a slip of the memory. they forget about ric grenell who is also openly gay and served as president trump's acting director of the national intelligence. cabinet level. not confirmed but we are comparing nominees here. while grenell was not confirmed the brookings institution back in march predicted the media might downplay his role. writing this. the historically lgbt trump appointment that got overshadowed. joe concha is a media columnist for "the hill" and a fox news contributor. joe, your response? >> i saw plenty of broadcast networks as well saying that pete buttigieg was the first openly gay person to be chosen to a cabinet position. ric grenell was named acting director of intelligence by president trump. it makes him the first. period. no ambiguity or gray area. but that is not the point. we too often

so anyway, what -- how did he come up with pete buttigieg for transportation? >> maeve? hank you, john. that is important. >> so i think that buttigieg obviously was someone who ran as someone who could appeal to both republicans and to progressives. someone who was trying to be sort of a bridge between those two worlds, as biden was, as well. and you know, certainly, this is an historic pick for the lbgt community. and i think that, you know, buttigieg is also someone who has a long runway here. he is someone who joe biden became fond of during the presidential race. always said that buttigieg reminded him of his son, his late son, beau biden. and so you -- you certainly thought that buttigieg was going to get a role here, but there was a long time before he was picked for something in the cabinet and a lot of people were wondering if he would be picked. and transportation will give him a lot of opportunities to expand his climate portfolio. i think we'll see him run for president again at some point. so. i think this is a pick that would be appealing and pleasing to mos

pete buttigieg the first openly gay member of mr. biden's cabinet. many historic firsts as well but interesting from the that can't those two were rivals a year or so ago and certainly became friends in the process. brianna? >> yeah. certainly. we saw that kind of generational divide play out when they were on the stage together. gloria, do you foresee confirmation issues here? >> well, no. not if at the outset. i think that pete buttigieg, if he'd had his druthers, would probably rather have been u.n. ambassador. perhaps done something in foreign policy, but i think as a former mayor and somebody who understands how to talk to people on both sides of the aisle, with infrastructure looming as perhaps one of joe biden's sort of big first pushes in addition to covid-19 relief, i think that he's a very interesting and palatable choice, i would think, to both sides of the aisle. he was a presidential candidate who, you know, no doubt has enemies on the republican side, but he's impressed a lot of people with his ability to talk to republicans from the mi

for secretary of transportation, i nominate mayor pete buttigieg. i got to know pete on the campaign trail. he is one of the smartest people you will ever meet and one of the most humble. a mayor from the heartland, a management expert, a policy wonk with a big heart, a veteran, intelligence officer deployed to afghanistan while he was mayor. a new voice with new ideas, determined for move past old politics. the son of professors. husband -- his husband is an he had indicate tore. always, always a mark of good character is the way i look at it. and by the way, jill and i have always enjoyed seeing pete and his husband on the trail. they have become our close friends p friend. and pete is always clear about what he is and what he believes, how he wants to bring people in, not exclooud thude them. he can walk in any room and describe an america that is best for all of us, an america that is hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive, an american that can do literally anything. the department of transportation serves a critical mission with a critical responsib

so please welcome, please welcome the next secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg. pete, it is all yours. mr. buttigieg: well, mr. president-elect, madam vice president-elect, thank you so much for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve the american people. i am humbled by your confidence, eager to do everything in my power to ensure that this administration succeeds. my hometown, south bend, indiana, was built by the power of american transportation. from trade along the river whose bend gives our city its name, to the rail lines that connected us to the rest of the country back when we were considered the west, to the livelihoods created by the good-paying union jobs in places like the aeronautical supplier and the giant auto assembly of studebaker. and now climate and infrastructure innovation are helping bring my community into the 21st century. i also have a personal love of transportation ever since childhood. more than once as a college student, i would convince a friend to travel nearly a thousand miles back to indiana with me on amtrak. though i know i

joe biden has nominated his former rival, pete buttigieg, to be transportation secretary, a move thatan american cabinet. mr buttigieg is the former mayor of south bend, indiana and campaigned for the democratic nomination for november's election, but later dropped out of the race and supported joe biden. i've been speaking to adam wren, contributing editor at politico who's spent a lot of time covering pete buttigieg. i asked him what he made of the appointment. when you look at it on paper it really begins to make sense. president—elect biden is someone who has compared pete buttigieg to his late son beau biden, who passed away. buttigieg is really taking on a position that biden himself had under president 0bama in 2009 when he oversaw the distribution of the federal stimulus act money in transportation projects across the country and that is going to be potentially one of buttigieg's primary tasks here if there is a stimulus bill passed around infrastructure, so this is a position where he will really be across the country doing ribbon cuttings as highways and bridges are opened a

let's talk about pete buttigieg. jackie was reporting on him. oe pollock at breitbart, congratulations to p buttigieg, the first day cabinet member except for that other guy richard grinnell appointed by donald trump and had other positions and was good at everything he did to be singled out for sexuality alone. >> you to see the trump administration tout these things as diverse city politics because donald trump focused on picking people that would be good for the job and more than qualified but what we see from joe biden is highlighting this and entirely picked kamala harris because he wanted a vice president, one of color and african-american women of color and that is why he ended up choosing her. joe biden should focus more on picking people who are good for the job less than the diversity of politics but it is not surprising for the media to gloss over rick grinnell for constantly treating conservatives as second-class citizens, you noted maggie haberman recently got roasted by kayleigh mcenany for praising joe biden's deputy campaign manag

for secretary of transportation, i nominate mayor pete buttigieg. i got to know pete on the campaign trail. he's one of the smartest people you'll ever meet and one of the most humble. a mayor from the heartland. a managing expert. a policy wamp with a big heart. a veteran, a lieutenant in the united states navy reserve. an intelligence officer. deployed to afghanistan while he was mayor. a new voice with new ideas, determined to move past old politics. the son of professors. a husband-- his husband is an educator. always, always a mark of good character, is the way i look at it. and by the way, jill and i have always enjoyed seeing pete and chasten together on the trail. chasten has become a close friend of jill's and mine. what i admire about pete is how hes always clear about who he is, how he believes, and how he wants to bring people in, not exclude them. he's able to walk in any room, leave people inspired with his ability to describe an america that's best for us-- all of us. an america that's hopeful, bold, creative, inclusive. an america th

joining me for his first interview since his nomination, the former mayor of south bend, indiana, pete buttigiegyou mayor pete, secretary pete, secretary mayor pete? >> i'll answer to mayor pete. >> he and allies discussed this idea pushed by michael flynn to declare martial law to hold new elections. how concerned is the biden transition team about what president trump might do in the next month before january 20th? >> well, obviously, it is irresponsible and dangerous, but at the end of the day, this is a country of laws. the american people have spoken. the election took place. vice president biden became president-elect biden and will become president biden on inauguration day. i hope that across the party and across the country there is an understanding about how important it is that we remain committed to democracy. it is the cornerstone of what it is to be american. and we have got to get back to that. >> you're a veteran, were you alarmed when the secretary of the army felt the need to come out and say that there is no role for the army for the military in the elections? they did that on

if confirmed, pete buttigieg will be the first openly gay cabinet secretary.t biden elected as a campaign sur gait. biden went on attack in an ad that has since been deleted. >> when president obama called on joe biden to help pass the affordable care act which gave health care to 20 many people and pete buttigieg gave south bend colorfully illuminated rivers. >> and pete buttigieg has been congratulated by bringing local government experience to the job. sources tell me buttigieg, a former naval intelligence officer was hoping for a defense role and what is considered for u.n. ambassador but will be biden's transportation secretary. his first call as a nominee included civil rights groups and talked about issues like transportation equity, i learned. neil? >> neil: all right. thank you, jacqui. do not minimize the transportation department or what a pivotal role will play in a biden administration. gary calpon is here. among some of the things he's argued for in the past is building the nation's structure. that's his department. addressing climate change. tha

pete buttigieg installed decorative lights under bridges. >> buttigieg told a civil rights group todayll prioritize transportation equity and it follows a letter to biden from 76 civil rights groups asking for an attorney general with a civil rights background. shannon? >> on a chilly night there tonight in delaware, thank you. >> future biden administration continuing to take shape. here's a look at 17 who hope to serve. at least the ones we've heard about so far. let's talk about some of those nominees. marshall, the author of how trump is making black america great again, horace cooper. welcome back, all of you. >> hi, shannon. >> so let's talk about beat putt-putt because jackie was just doing some reporting on him there. joe, who is over at breitbart says congratulations to pete buttigieg, the first gay cabinet member, except for the other guy who was actual moneyed by the real donald trump and was too gig to be singled out for sexuality alone. lisa? >> i think you didn't see the trump administration pout these things, because president trump focused on picking people that would b

jeff bennett, pete buttigieg is the messenger who is a warm knife through the warm butter through thecified political debate. i know that's too many metaphors there. anyone who watches fox news has seen those skills on display, and i wonder if you can just take me inside the thinking about this nomination, this man and how they see him. >> and, look, i was in the room today for that announcement, and this really is the culmination of pete buttigieg's meteoric rise in national politics over the last two years. it is nothing short of remarkable that a president-elect would elevate someone to run an agency, a $90 billion agency with some 50,000 employees and the person he's elevating has never worked in washington politics and has never run any part of a federal bureaucracy, but joe biden believes that pete buttigieg is a special case. i mean, it is an objective fact that buttigieg is wicked smart. he's also an effective communicator. he spoke lyrically about the department of transportation today which you've got to say is among the least awe inspiring federal agencies there is but he s

the secretary of transportation i nominate mayor pete buttigieg. >> the confirmation of his new cabinet nop knees like pete nominees. whether or not biden gets more economic hearing aid or his cabinet nominees, comes down to no small part mitch mcconnell who attacked president-elect biden. joining me now is jake sherman. joe biden is fleshing out his cabinet. he announced pete buttigieg as his transportation secretary hoping to double down on economic aid across the country and on the effects of climate change. >> i think you can tell from the picks that we have seen so far where they believe there will be a republican controlled senate and putting forth nominations he is being confirmed by the senate. i think he started off defensive. they are talking about the historic nature of a cabinet like pete buttigieg. they say that this is a guy who really values the people who he already has relationships. people already in their same position again. president-elect there is a veteran cabinet, a cabinet of people we trust, and also more importantly a cabinet that can stand up quickly so he do

pete buttigieg is called a new voice to move past old politics.or his first interview since his nomination was announced the former mayor of south bend, indiana. do we call you mayor beat or what do you want us to see here? >> i'll always answer to mayor pete. what is err reaction to michael flynn's and what is biden about what president trump might do in the next month before january 20th? >> well, obviously, it's irresponsible and it's dangerous. at the end of the day this is a country of laws and the american people have spoken. the election took place. vice president biden became president-elect biden and he will become president biden on inauguration day. i just hope across the party and across the country there is an understanding about how important it is that we remain committed to democracy. it is the cornerstone of what it is to be american and we have got to get back to that. >> you're a veteran. were you alarmed when the secretary of the army and the chief of staff of the army felt the need to come out and say there is no role for the

pete buttigieg j joining us. >>> the u.s.crambles to a sweeping cyber attack linked to russia. >> this is a major hack of our national infrastructure sector. >> reporter: why is president trump blaming someone other than putin? i'll speak with chris krebs. >>> hello. i'm jake tapper in pennsylvania. t i'm jake tapper in washington. what an outgoing president can do in the final month of an office we are getting something of a an idea. flynn's proposal to declare martial law. trump is talking about giving the powers of a special counsel to attorney sidney powell whose crackpot conspiracies have been laughed courtroom after courtroom. and trump's attorney rudy giuliani has been asking officials of the department of homeland security about seizing voting machines. this as the united states suffered what experts are describing as a modern day cyber equivalent of pearl harbor that president trump is dismissing as media hype and defending russia. the president is falsely using the cyber attack to his false conspiracy theories about

that's not the deal with pete buttigieg. he is the new generation. t after him very hard in the primary. what's your take on what pete's role is goi ing to be here? >> for the uninitiated, the tweet was about how biden attacked mayor pete during the primary precisely because he didn't handle weighty topics but did in fact tackle things like pet chips and smaller retpairre. and made me think where is that video now. this is, i think, a nomination that was made precisely because of some of the criticisms that were being leveled at president-elect biden's team. it's not that mayor pete isn't bright. obviously, he is. but, i think, you know, what they were trying to deal with as a criticism that biden had in the primary pledged to be a transition figure for the democratic party, if that he would bring up a new generation of younger democratic lawmakers so that the bench could be replenished. through his first 75% of picks or so, really, the case had not been made he was a bridge to the future of the democratic party. mayor pete is the next generation. he'

to be exemptions for medical or religious reasons. >>> we want to leave you this morning with pete buttigiegntroduced as his nominee for transportation secretary. if confirmed, the former mayor and presidential candidate would become the first out lgbtq cabinet secretary ever. at yesterday's event, buttigieg talked a bit about his journey. >> i can remember watching the news, 17 years old in indiana, seeing a story about an appointee of president clinton named to be an ambassador, attacked and dnds denied a vote in the senate because he was gay, able to serve because of a recess appointment. at the time i had no aspirations of being appointed by the president to anything. at that age i was hoping to be an airline pilot. i was a long way from coming out, even to myself. still, i watched that story, and i learned something about some of the limits that exist in this country when it comes to who is allowed to belong. but just as important, i saw how those limits could be challenged. so two decades later, i can't help but think of a 17-year-old somewhere who might be watching us right now, someb

we're learning reports that pete buttigieg is transportation secretary that could hurt biden here becauseled to gain support from african-american leaders from south bend where he used to be mayor released a statement blasting the choice, while pete buttigieg was mayor only awarded black businesses 1% of government contracts during his tenure. connell? connell: hillary vaughn live from atlanta, georgia today. james freeman joins us from "the wall street journal." a fox news contributor. want to talk about georgia, james, if we can. look at it this way, they talk about the first 100 days of the presidency. what would the first 100 days biden presidency look like with a democratic senate versus a republican senate, especially economic policy. what would the difference be? >> people talk about the threat of process, structural changes to the courts end of the filibuster in the senate but the economic implications are really enormous because if you look at the biden campaign promises which could be realized if there is a democratic senate you're talking about perhaps $10 trillion in new spend

sales event. >>> president-elect joe biden today announced former south bend, indiana, mayor pete buttigiegnee for transportation secretary. if he is confirmed, buttigieg welcome back the first openly guy cabinet secretary. meantime in washington, d.c. today there was a senate hearing that was focused on election day and those unproven claims of voting irregularities. former cybersecurity director christopher krebs testified that it was a secure election. >> while elections are sometimes messy this was a secure election. of that, i have no doubt. >> this is not the america i recognize, and it's got to stop. >> inauguration day for president-elect biden is now five weeks away. it's still unclear if president trump will attend. >>> and joining us this afternoon to discuss president- elect joe biden's transition and some of those cabinet picks is dr. lauren wright, lecturer in politics at princeton university. lauren, i want to first start with the selection of pete buttigieg. he has no experience for transportation secretary. what do you believe was biden's motivation to make this selection?

administration, former governor of utah, who had a lot of international experience as well, what about pete buttigieg in that role? >> i'm more qualified, infinitely more qualified than mayor pete. he has had no interactions that i am aware of at a high level with chinese officials were shown or demonstrated a great depth of knowledge. i think the president was right to put people in those roles that had a large understanding of relationships and understood what they were going into. again, donald trump was the first person in decades to stand up and fight back and hold a hard line against china. we have to make sure that that continues. donald trump has been right in that. we are at a great crossroads in how we deal with china and it needs to be very, very aggressive in making sure that america continues to be the leader in this coming century. >> martha: we know that pete buttigieg is very intelligent. he has worked in afghanistan. he speaks several languages. but from what we could find, one of them is not mandarin. so that is not one of the reasons that he would be considered. which is politicall

pete buttigieg, his pick for transportation secretary, he wants you to pay more for everything powered by oil and gas. >> we need to be very aggressive in dealing with this through policy mechanisms like carbon pricing. the carbon tax. i know the t word is not one used in running for office but we can create a lot of jobs here. >> laura: biden knows that pete will never wake up and worry about things like oh, wait wait, will this policy make life easier or harder for the average american? >> you know, we selected pete important transportation secretary. he's got some of the most ambition plans to build back better to deal with the threat of climate change, real jobs. not just $15 an hour jobs i'm calling for universally but prevailing wages, union jobs. paying $40 and $50 in benefits. >> laura: the poor man has no idea what words he's struggling to read. $50 an hour for his new green jobs? that's not just ludicrous, it's a total lie. you think that joe is going to stop china from dominating that industry? and then just driving our jobs offshore? biden's china czar will probably help th

on wednesday he announced pete buttigieg would be his nominee for transportation secretary. or authority on interstate highway construction or international airline regulation or other things that the department of transportation deals with. he does have experience, it's true, in dealing with the daily realities of transport for some people. when he was mayor of south bend, indiana, he was responsible for the city's entire fleet of 60 buses. now, even mr. biden's own campaign mocked the mayor's little experience at a campaign ad contrasting biden's experience with that of the am establishes young man. >> both vice president biden and mayor pete have helped shape our economy. joe biden helped save the auto industry. pete buttigieg revitalized the sidewalks of downtown south bend by laying out a decorative brick. gerry: so what changed? well, it's obvious from the announcement this week that the main criterion in the selection of mr. buttigieg was that will be the first nominated openly-gay cabinet member. that fact, rather than the nation's transportation needs, dominated the

so please welcome, please welcome the next secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg. pete, all yours. [inaudible]. he got it. okay. >> well, mr. president-elect, mad dam vice president-elect, thank you so much entrusting me with this opportunity to serve the american people. i'm humbled by your confidence, eager to do everything in my power to insure that this administration succeeds. my hometown, south bend, indiana, was built by the power of american transportation, from trade along the river whose bend gives our city its name, to the trail lines that connected us to the rest of the country back when we were considered the west, to the livelihoods created by good paying union jobs at places like the aeronautical supplier bendix and giant auto as assembly studebaker. client, infrastructure innovation are helping bring my community into the 21st century. i also have a personal love of transportation ever since childhood. more than once as a college student i would convince a friend to travel nearly 1000 miles back to indiana with me on amtrak. though i know in this adm

president-elect joe biden making an historic choice nominating his former rival and south bend mayor pete buttigieg as transportation secretary. if confirmed, buttigieg would be the first openly gay cabinet secretary in u.s. history. we've also learned biden will nominate former michigan governor jennifer granholm for energy secretary. >>> actor kirk cameron is facing criticism for hosting a christmas caroling event involving hundreds of people in california. most did not attend a mask. the former "growing pains" star did it at a time when, quote, your governor has prohibited you from doing that. tracey gold tweeted, checking in with my dear brother. i want you to know i disapprove. i'm worried about you and your family. wear a mask, stay home, sing later. >>> tom cruise reportedly let his covid concerns be heard loud and clear while filming the new "mission: impossible" movie in an england. in an audio obtained from "the sun tabloid" which has not been proved by abc news, cruise was reported by furious with staffers for ignoring safety protocols. >> i don't ever want to say it again ever, and if y

you know, if you think back to the early part of last year and this year, pete buttigieg, he tramps j

. >> bret: the nominees for hhs and transportation made by president-elect biden, pete buttigieg, and questions. we will take a look at the name so far. they are adding every day. some of them nominees. but there are questions about qualifications about 70 like pete buttigieg and south bend mayor, transportation secretary. what about this? legitimate criticism customer >> well, it's a regular criticism. every time there is a new president, they bring in a new administration, there is a lot of examination. taking over the energy department with the vast majority flows to the nuclear arsenal, what experience does she have with that? none. but that's a regular thing. so, do i think it will stop them from confirmation? no. i think those who don't make it through confirmation are the ones who have been really at odds with republicans and what is likely to be the g.o.p. senate. that is going to be may be a couple people. but you are right. the pete buttigieg issue, he has been a relatively medium-sized small town mayor with little experience running major transportation issues. same thing w

pete buttigieg as transportation secretary.hat he could land an over seas ambassadorship, maybe in china. what's the significance of transportation secretary? what do you make of how this cabinet is shaping up? >> look, first of all, i think biden has brought a team of people who he respects, understands him and have a cleej gall working environment. why? one of his biggest tasks is to make government work again. transportation is not a token position in a biden cabinet. one of the big things he can get done, let's talk about finding common ground with senate republicans. it needs to get done and to have buttigieg in this position as a former midwestern mayor makes sense. he has to be an advocate, lobby for it. it's closer certainly to his experience than say ambassador to china. >> a little bit of a pivot here. i think it encapsulates where we are in this age of misinformation. it's a story out of texas where a former police captain accused of holding a gun to a man's head trying to run him off the road. why? because of some v

some people are arguing pete buttigieg will be the first senate confirmed because when rick grenell wasd trump he wasn't confirmed by the senate but he was in 2018 when he was nominated ambassador to germany. people have done this with women as well, women serving in joe biden's cabinet or under joe biden in his administration, seems like they forget a lot of things. >> it is completely intentional. rick grenell, by members of the press, they see him as an internet troll to a certain extent, that is what they say publicly. not just the new york times, i saw 7 or 8 headline saying p buttigieg is the first openly gay cabinet member, simply not true to your point but it is funny. p buttigieg, listen to this headline, quote, pete buttigieg, president-elect biden's pick for transportation secretary says he has, quote, a personal love for transportation recounting train trips on amtrak while in college and that he proposed to his now husband in an airport terminal. this is what the qualifications are for transportation secretary, he was a friend indiana's mayor, how to see qualify for this? t

and biden has introduced pete buttigieg for his nominee as transportation secretary. he could be the first openly gay cabinet secretary to be confirmed by the senate. >> i can remember watching the news. 17 years old, in indiana. seeing a story about an appointee of president clinton named to be an ambassador, attacked and denied a vote in the senate because he was gay. at that age, i was hoping to be an airline pilot. and i can't help but think of a 17-year-old who may be watching us right now. who wonders whether and where they belong in the world, and even in their own family, and the message that today's announcement sends them. >> joining me now, mike menelee and shannon pettipiece. mike, how is the nomination of pete buttigieg a signal that he will do things differently than president obama when it comes to the cabinet? >> as we move down the list of cabinet selections, it seems like more pressure has been building on him, more on sort of a diversity of perspectives and experience. so many served in the obama administration, and there were questions about whethe

in the past couple of hours, we've learned that pete buttigieg — the breakout star of the democraticof the democratic campaign — will be mr biden's transportation secretary. it might not sound like an important position in the cabinet, but remember potentially trillions of government dollars are about to be poured into the us economy as part of a stimulus. and some of that money will go on infrastructure spending around the country — things, like, you got it, transportation projects. so, yes, the former mayor of south bend, indiana hasjust got a critical position in the biden white house. and last night, we got a sense from the president—elect that he is ready to get on with things and done being reticent about mr trump's refusal to accept the election result. it's a position so extreme, we've never seen it before, a position that refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law and refused to honour our constitution. the integrity of our elections remains intact, and now it's time to turn the page, as we've done throughout our history, to unite, to heal.

that comes from an axios reporting that pete buttigieg will with asked to move to beijing. lloyd austin stood on stage in wilmington and he tried to make a very important distinction. >> when i concluded my military service four years ago, i hung up my uniform for the last time and went from being general lloyd austin to lloyd austin. >> and that a very important difference. there's a rule. the pentagon is supposed to be run by a civilian. austin has not been a civilian for the required seven years, so he needs congress to give him a waiver like they did for jim mattis four years ago. there's some democrats now saying that is not going to fly. >> i will support general austin but i won't support the waiver. >> without the waiver, how would he be able to serve? >> well, he would not be able to. i suspect that the waiver will pass. >> biden's announcement he intends to nominate mr. austin to be the first black secretary. fits with his pledge to be the most diverse in u.s. history. he appealed to members of congress to give austin the waiver that he needs and he tried to put l

and pete buttigieg is a great example of that. transportation secretary.ttigieg as some sort of transportation expert? he proposed to his husband in an airport? great. i have been to airports, i can't be the transportation secretary. so we have this ongoing thing in a democratic party and on the left in general where how are matters so much more than what you have done. and, again, it's a real giant problem that the rest of us are going to have to confront as well. todd: 30 seconds are left in the segment, from the 30,000-foot view your answer makes total sense. drilling down a little bit more, are you worried that this is sending a signal these biden picks sending a signal of what is to come for the next four years? >> oh, absolutely. i was worried when joe biden said i'm going to pick a woman for my vp. like any woman? like a woman off the street? a woman is enough of a character that you want for your vp? and then, you know, i think it's a real problem, again. you are right that it does portend really poorly for his administration. is he randomly pickin

. >> reporter: he did fill one more cabinet position today with naming former rival pete buttigieg toe the transportation secretary. he is still deciding on his attorney general. all of this happened here as he said today for the first time that he will get the vaccine and, tonight, we are learning when. >> i don't want to get ahead of the line but i want to make sure that we demonstrate to the american people that it is safe to take. >> reporter: tonight, president-elect joe biden making clear he is ready for his covid vaccination and plans to get his shot for all to see. >> when i do it, i'll do it publicly so you all can witness my getting it done. >> reporter: biden's first shot is likely to take place early next week cnn has learned as the vaccination rollout continues across the country. to medical workers and other high ranking u.s. leaders. biden is adding more faces to his administration. and defending his picks so far. >> our cabinet doesn't just have one first, or just two of these first's. but eight precedent busting appointments. >> tonight the ninth. pete buttigieg to se

it's okay that pete buttigieg was against him.t's okay that kamala harris was against him in the primary. he said, what are the best people to do these jobs? and i think he is just building a cabinet, that makes me so hopeful about the future. you know, governor granholm, former-michigan governor, is probably most comp teetent and of the best people i've ever worked with in politics and the fact she is in this cabinet just fills me with hope about what we can actually get done in the next four years. >> go ahead, stewart, i know you want to weigh in. >> i think probably took a general iq test, the iq of the cabinet probably went up like 30 or 40 points. this is government that is -- and people actually want the jobs because they want to do something. you know, i've always been a believer that one of the great benefits of a civil society is not having to think about who is president, and not really having to think about the government. and donald trump has denied us all the pleasure to just go about our lives, as you were saying. s

today he is officially named another top rival, pete buttigieg.s is going to be a very different presidency and it's going to happen in just a few weeks. >> yeah, really true. barack obama -- >> give me a second, i'll get to you. >> yeah, one of the first books that barack obama asked us to read in the white house was team of rivals, about a bunch of people from different political persuasions who all were working together to get something done. i think biden has done exactly what he had to do, which is pick the best and the brightest. so it's okay that pete buttigieg was against him, okay that kamala harris was against him in the primary. he said what are the best people to do these jobs. and i think he is building a cabinet that makes me so hopeful about the future. governor granholm, the former michigan governor, is pro probably the most competent and one of the best people i ever worked with in world politics. the fact that she is in this cabinet fills me with hope about what we can actually get done in the next four years. >> go ahead, stuart

president-elect, excuse me, joe biden, planning to nominate form er governor grantholm and mayor pete buttigiegto be the transportation secretary. buttigi buttigieg would be the first lgbtq cabinet member. trump previously appointed -- is biden's cabinet living up to his diversity promise, kirstin? >> um, you know, i feel like he is doing okay. i feel like the roll-out of the cabinet was not handled well. i think he was initially rolling out the -- the people he rolled out was not as diverse as it on could have been about. i think in the two people you just mentioned are great obviously, great picks. we love jennifer and she is brilliant and pete buttigieg is interesting for transportation. it's not the sexiest of the cabinet positions, but it's important. to choose somebody who is a rising star in the democratic party, shows it will be an area that is taken seriously, which i think is important for the country. >> why are you yeahing that, john? >> it is incredibly important. one thing that he should get done is an infrastructure bill. that will have to be worked on a transportation secretary.

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