and lo and behold, mitt romney did that. and i was so thankful pass an american and also admiring his skills to pull all this together because i know it is a difficult task working with the olympic committee. watching his campaigns, which i thought were electrifying. i could see in his heart, public service was what it was all about. my first encounter with mitt was as former governor. i was coming in. he was going out in 2006. i did -- he did this unbelievable thing about giving health care to everybody in his state. i called. governor have a certain bond. doesn't matter if you've met in person. there is a bond. mitt, tell me about this health care plan you have. joe, i was able to do this, this, this, because he mention some of the good people that were smart and were able to put it together. i know one thing -- anybody who sits in a position when you have good people around, someone has to assemble all of that material and put it in force. and mitt was able to do that. and i told him this. i said, mitt, i don't have the e

who shares dna with mitt romney? congratulations to you and the dozens of families members who are hugely proud of mitt romney, i am. thank you. >> mr. president. >> senator from montana. >> we've got a vote coming up quick so i'm going to be very, very brief. first of all, mitt, you've been incredible united states senator. we're losing some good ones this time around, but you're at the top of the list. my father was born and raised in utah, the state that you represent. my father and mother were both really good democrats, but i'm going to tell you that they would have loved mitt romney. and the reason they would have loved mitt romney is because mitt romney is a realist not an idealist, somebody who looked at issues and tries to solve them, tries to get to yes, not to get to no. without giving up his principles. and your time here in the united states senate, the gift that the good lord gave to me to work with you, and eight other folks besides us, on an infrastructure bill is something that i will never forget th

mitt romney there in march 2016. mincing words about then candidate, not yet the nominee, donald trump in 2016, particularly trump's refusal to disavow the support of ku klux klan leader david duke in an interview earlier that year, we talked about where romney thinks the party goes from here in our conversation. here's more of that you said in an interview a few months ago that, quote, there's a good chance that the republican party is going to be is going to need to be rebuilt or reoriented, and that you want to have a voice in the post-trump republican party. do you think that there's still do you still think there's going to be a post-trump republican party, or is maga now the republican party? >> oh, maga is the republican party, and donald trump is the republican party today. and if you were to ask me who the nominee will be in 2028, i think it will be jd vance. all right. he's smart and well-spoken. part of the maga movement. >> you said something pretty harsh about him a few months ago, though. you could not

mitt romney 100% correct on that. folks like romney just really don't exist in the gop electorate or in congress anymore. >> so he makes this statement that i think a lot of people thought, yeah, yeah, sort of stating the obvious. obvious. what about 2028? is there any sign that that's going to change? yeah. >> look, if you're a gop opponent of donald trump, maybe you hope the future is somehow brighter for you. not right now. look, it's still very, very early, but look, the top chances to be the 2020, 2028 gop nominee, based upon the polls and the betting markets jd vance trump jr. ramaswamy. look, it's still very early, but this looks like trump's party for now. and it looks like it will be for the foreseeable future. >> and romney said he believed it would be jd vance, which would be the obvious, would be the obvious. >> and he is number one right on here. >> he's number one. all right. those betting markets, you see them every day walking down the street in new york. they just have them up on billboards and they p

romney and mike braun. m.i.t. his farewell remarks yesterday and they were characteristic of the man i've come to know. humble, faith filled, patriotic. m.i.t. is what i would -- mitt is what i would call a character guy. he's guided by a moral compass and is not afraid to live by it. in a world where religious isn't always highly regarded, he's unapologetic about his faith. mitt is also a family guy. we have shared the good and tough times for well now over 50 years of marriage. hard to believe to look at him. but they say children keep you young and mitt has five sons and incredibly 25 grandchildren. a beautiful legacy all on its own. mr. president, mitt's professional legacy needs no recounting. he's well known as a successful businessman. a successful republican governor of a deep blue state. and most recently, as a successful senator. he may be leaving us after just one term, but that term was filled with an outsized amount of work. and he has more than earned his retirement. mr. president, in addition to mit

remarkable moment from, you know, mitt romney stepping down.nd, you know, i actually was one of the early assignments i had in my career covering politics. and you could really see the arc of where the republican party has gone during mitt romney's bid from when he and others in the republican primary were scrambling for trump's endorsement in that primary. you know, eventually it goes to romney. and i remember standing in trump tower. it really sort of presaged what was to come. what do you make of of how romney has has what he has gone through? in some ways, you have been a member of mitt romney's republican party and have found yourself not so at home in donald trump's. but that said, i think this may be the first time i've talked to you, aside from right after the election, about, you know, kind of the sweeping mandate that trump came in with. i mean, you could hear romney talk. talk a little bit about about that. i mean, he was clearly accepting it in a way that surprised me a little bit. >> yeah. >> watching that interview with jake yeste

so governor romney, go out and get him in the years since his failed presidential bid, romney, a pragmaticonservative known for reaching across the aisle, has found himself increasingly isolated in a party that has embraced donald trump what happened here today was an insurrection incited by the president of the united states. >> he was the only republican senator to vote twice to impeach trump. and now, at 77, romney is retiring from the senate and departs washington next month with this prediction about his party's future maga is the republican party and donald trump is the republican party today. >> and if you were to ask me who the nominee will be in 2028, i think it'll be j.d. vance. all right. he's smart and well-spoken. part of the maga movement all right. >> joining me now, former adviser to george w bush and john mccain, mark mckinnon. he is also the creator of paramount's the circus. mark, thank you so much for being here. >> good morning. good morning. i'm going to miss mitt. >> i mean, it's look, this is, of course, a campaign i covered beginning to end. i was the ap writer on

we'll play it for you, some of mitt romney's message to his colleagues. >>> good morning, welcome to "way too early" on this thursday, december 5th. i'm jonathan lemire. thanks for starting your day with us. we begin in new york city where police are still looking for the gunman who killed the ceo of united healthcare. brian thompson was shot yesterday morning in midtown manhattan just before he was set to speak at a conference at a busy hilton hotel. nbc news correspondent steven romo has the latest. steve? >> reporter: hi there, jonathan. this all-out search continues. detectives with the nypd really emphasizing they believe this was a premed taitted, preplan -- premeditated, preplanned attack. the gunman getting away on foot, then on an e-bike according to nypd. originally they had told us it was a city bike he got away on, a bike you can rent in areas around the city. but now a source familiar with this telling us it was not a city bike, it was a different type of e-bike. brian thompson, though, gunned down, shot in the back, and then the leg as he approached the hilton hotel in

romney: so my life's work has been a group affair. at its center is my wife ann, she is my most trusted advisor, my indefatigable ally, the love of my life for 54 years. my five sons are just as loyal and are the source of profound pride, joy, and 25 grandchildren. during my first months in the senate, i was mostly on my own and, thus, mostly unproductive. and then lisa murkowski invited five democrats to join with five republicans in her home for takeout dinner. with covid then active, we were spaced far apart with windows open despite the winter cold. our conjecture on how to bridge the impasse between the president and congress on covid relief led us over the next several weeks to dig in, negotiate, draft, and eventually see our work become the basis of law. i was fortunate to also be a part of what this team worked on that followed -- the bipartisan infrastructure law, electoral count act reform, gun safety legislation, marriage legislation that included religious protections. our group was rob portman, s kirsten sinema, jon teste

and the reason they would have loved mitt romney is because mitt romney is a realist, not an idealist, somebody who looks at issues and tries to solve them, tries to get to yes, not to get to no. without giving up his principles. and your time here in the united states senate, the gift that the good lord gave to me to work with you and eight other folks besides us on that infrastructure bill is something that i will never forget in this body. and you stood up time and time again and talked realism to all of us. vote-a-rama. and as you go out, just know that there's not a soul in here that doesn't know you are a man of faith. and i appreciate that because you exhibit that faith. you don't preach, you walk the walk, and i just want to say, as others have said before, because it's true, the united states senate will be diminished because of your absence. and appreciate the opportunity to get to know with you and work with you and get some stuff done. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. ms. smith: i ask unanimous consent -- ms. baldwin: i ask unani

my father was born and raised in utah, and they would have loved mitt romney, mitt romney is a realist, not an idealist. somebody who looks at issues and tries to solve them, tries to get to yes, not know, without giving up his principles. your time in the united states senate, the gift the good lord gave me to work with you and 8 other folks on that infrastructure bill is something i will never forget in this body, you stood up time and time again and talk to realism to all of us. as you go out, just know that there is not a soul here that doesn't know you are a man of faith. i appreciate that because you exhibit that faith, you don't preach, you walk the walk. it is true that the united states senate will be diminished because of your absence. i appreciate you, and get stuff done. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, no. the clerk: mr. cramer, no. the cler christopher gruber who is chair of american university.k: you just started your term as chair of the american university. tell us about that organization, the mission and who the members are. >> a great honor to chair the association. this is

also with us, matt gorman -- aide to jeb bush and mitt romney. the process right mean? what's been the reaction there? >> reporter: well, if they are concerned, they're not showing it, chris. i just spoke to roger wicker, who said it's a good thing the trump team has given the green light to do background checks. he indicated he believes they can be done quickly from here. one reason that republican senators are not concerned is that trump is announcing at least some of these picks on the early side. recall just four years ago at this time, president-elect biden had not even announced who his choice for defense secretary would be. so from that perspective, they believe there should be enough time. i talked yesterday to senator chuck grassley who said the background checks were quote very necessary to smooth the transition from one administration to another and we asked some republican senators that spoke out more strongly than i have on that point and say it was absolutely necessary, unquote. one reason senators feel strongly about this is there'

the reason they would have loved mitt romney is because mitt romney is a realist. somebody who looks at issues and tries to solve them and tries to get to a yes and not to a no. without giving up his principals. your time here in the united states senate and the gift that the good gave to me to work with you and other folks besides us on that infrastructure bill is something that i will never forget in this body. you stood up time and time again and talk to realism to all of us. as you go out just no there's not a soul in here that doesn't know you are a man of faith and i appreciate that because you exhibit that faith. you don't preach and you walk the walk and i just want to say as others have said before because it's true the united states senate will be diminished because of your absence. i appreciate the opportunity to know you want to work with you and to get some stuff done. the clerk: mr. budd, no. we are talking about higher education in america with the president and chair of the association of american university program. >> it's a pleasure to be here. t

yeah. >> jonathan: romney republican, mccain republican. where do you fit? >> the best description for me is normal. i like that. it's kind of a shortcut to stereotype somebody. we like to have this very quick, oh, you fit into this, and therefore i don't have to know anything more about you because you are moderate, right? and the reality of it is, it's not that simple. a moderate in salt lake city is different than a moderate in st. george or a moderate in massachusetts. so to try to say somebody is a moderate or something just doesn't fit and i really like to align myself with core utah values and the best way to describe those are pioneer values. >> jonathan: now you ran for the senate and trump endorsed one of of your opponents. >> that's correct. >> jonathan: actually did a campaign ad. really got into it for one of your components and you still won. >> so i'll just brag for a minute. i won in a four-way primary with almost 50%. >> jonathan: yeah. >> and as the non-trump endorsed candidate. >> jonathan: was it a double-digit lead? >> it was a substanti

from mitt romney because it wass undeniable but also indicationr so many different mistakes made andwill be forever tied to post-202012 autopsy that essentially told everyone to goe in the opposite direction than the direction that donald trumpo ultimatelyus took the party 201. obviously that tubbs he wak s about a party that was dead and i think mitt romney is actually a good thing for the g.o.p. moving forward. but we t will see if that attite remains as donald trump advances hi hs agenda in the ways we expt it to. g >> laura: mollie you said it well, the g.o.p. dinosaur lumbering about the scenery here. so you got mcconnell's sagging, i do preemptive strike i guess against trump's ukraine policies so he's clearly not with the trump train when it comes to foreign o policy polica clearly. >> he said in the highlight of the election at a time notto helpful to say this, mitch mcconnell said after thelo election, he planned to fight republicans more than democrats. i don't think he and a lot ofh people in the republican partyth expected the election to go alsquite the way it did not ju

. >> i'm trying to decide whether i'm heart broken because senator romney didn't approach me and ask me to run for president. [laughter] >> or i'm heartbroken because i know almost as much about failed presidential campaigns as senator romney does or something about it. but i appreciate so much the sentiment today that i wanted to get up. i've heard the word virtue used twice in the last week on this floor, once in the rudyard kipling poem that senator book booker read and one in senator romney's incredible farewell speech and coming out of both places, it made me feel like on some level how foreign that sort of trait it in our politics these days, but how well it fits the people that we're talking about, whether it's senator romney or senator tester. and i want to say a couple of words about senator tester before he kicks us out of here which i know he's going to do. first of all, i came here a little bit to demand an apology, jon knows about this, but not everybody does. when i first came back here and i've been appointed to the job, i was coming over from the hart building to the

. >> laura: even romney had to say yesterday on one of the sunday shows yeah, he basically remade thearty and he is taking on the old establishment and he said a bunch of things, ben, that mollie, you and i have been saying for, i don't know, seven, eight years, romney finally kind of admitted. >> it was gra gratifying. >> laura: finally kind of admitting he won, finally. >> very gratifying to hear that from mitt romney. indication of so many different mistakes made. mitt romney forever tied to that post 2012 autopsy that essentially told everyone to go in the opposite direction than the direction that donald trump ultimately took the party in 2016 and obviously that autopsy was about a party that was dead and i think that mitt romney acknowledging that is actually a good thing and healthy thing for the g.o.p. moving forward. we will see f. that attitude donald trump advance the agenda in the way we expect him to do. >> laura: mollie, you said it well. you have the old g.o.p. dinosaurs still lumbering about the, you know, the scenery here. you have got mcconnell saying well, i'm going

and of course, romney would often refuse to to talk to the press. of course, we saw who won out here. i mean, this was donald trump's party. romney voted twice to convict him of things. he was impeached for. he was the only republican to do so. but it's it's he who is stepping off the stage. it is. there's been a real shift and change, not only in the totality of the republican party, but certainly in the leadership of it. we've seen that. you go back through the boehner era in the house and now the end of mcconnell. and now you're seeing kind of this different old guard of the republican party move out and on. but those senate floor speeches, those farewell speeches, those really are trying to ultimately write the final chapter of your book in the senate. and they're usually very moving and very statesman forward. and as a senate institutionalist myself, i really enjoy them. yes, they are often moments that people plan for quite a bit, and you could really you could hear some of the things that um, you know, romney's faith very important to him. yo

so i noticed you were on the senate floor when mitt romney gave his farewell address. i'm not going to ask you, are you the next mitt romney in the senate, but what's your sense of his legacy? >> listen. mitt romney, no matter what you say about him, everybody says he's true to who he is, and that's such a great attribute. i wish we could say that about all of us, and if they say that about me when i'm done, i'll be very happy. >> jonathan: he had this independence, and obviously he was willing to stand up against his own party's leadership. >> yeah. >> jonathan: is that something you see yourself doing? >> you know, it's very important to me that president trump is successful. i want to see him wildly successful, and i'll be supportive of him when he's talking about inflation and the economy and everything like that, but that doesn't mean there won't be moments when i disagree with him, and i think it's very important to me and my constituents that -- that at those moments, that i feel comfortable speaking up. >> jonathan: so you -- i know you don't like labels, but y

that was outgoing senator mitt romney. he's not a fan of trump. won overworking class and middle class voters. why? because democrats socialists and the democrat party has become too extreme, too radical, too out of touch. joining us now, town hall.com political editor guy benson. guy? it's great to see you again. what do you make of this? he called them woke scolds. >> he's so right. i mean what a perfect way to describe the elite of the democratic party and their media establishment that backs them. they are woke. they might try to runaway from that soon, but they've been woke for a number of years and more than anything, they scold about how everyone else is terrible and romney hit the nail on the head with his assessment of what's happening. for years you had this uneasy coalition where the democrats, liz, were the party of these rich elites. they like to pretend that was the republican party but they very much had their own version of that that imposed their values on the country at least attempted to, often really out of step with normal peo

i think with what romney said, i commit everybody to read what he said. he was right. this country unified behind both parties to get together and solve the problems we have, and i think, i hope, i really do hope, that is what message they take away from this election is is that they want to get things done on behalf of the american people. it is what people do in their communities, it is what mayors do, it is with city councilmembers do, and that's what they want washington to do, and that romney is right. >> it is what we do in our personal and professional lives. what we don't like is washington that gets our tax dollars can't seem to do it. gentlemen, thank you so much for starting us off tonight. we do want to catch up on another huge story, a tragic one that took place here in new york city earlier today. >>> the ceo of united healthcare, the largest private health insurer in the country was gunned down just two blocks from here in the mid town of manhattan. here we are with tourists galore, because of course it is the christmas season. tonight the man hunt is st

let's take a moment on senator romney, who is leaving the senate in a matter of weeks.d stand up to trump on a number of occasions. >> it's sad to me that his voice is leaving the hill. i think that he really tried to have an impact when it came to being willing to create space for other people to speak out against trump and you see where that space just wasn't even very wanted. too many republican senators depended on trump for their political livelihood. mitt romney was from utah, where me didn't have to just tower down to donald trump and he had his own public persona, having been the nominee of the republican party before. so, you know, he really leaves a legacy of trying to get things done and caring about public policy and just so few members of congress nowadays that you really see as men and women who are trying to achieve policy change. >> right, lisa murkowski might be have the constituency to allow her to do this, and maybe mitch mcconnell, he signaled he is willing to do so as well, including perhaps recent days, where he condemned any effort to rid the nati

>> romney's right. >> i mean, you can assess this on face value.he american people had every opportunity during this election to choose if they wanted to vote for the former president, now president elect, or the vice president. they made the decision to vote for the president elect because they believe he's better on a litany of other issues. they heard that he wanted to be a disrupter, that he was going to choose unorthodox individuals to be a part of his cabinet. they assessed all of those things and said, okay, i'm comfortable with it. as long as you figure out a way to address some of my economic plight, some of that economic dislocation that i would argue comes from mass illegal immigration. and if you can do that, then we'll roll with you and rock with you for everything else. and as long as trump, i think enters the first 60, 90 days focusing on those things, jake, i think his approval rating will continue to rise. >> well, we're going to at the next panel, we're going to talk about some of the other issues he's talking about. but i do want

trump brought mitt romney up to new york. they went out to dinner at jean-george. there it is. that romantic dinner at jean-georges. trump brought him out there. there's reince priebus. i don't know what the appetizer was. a little amuse bouche. um but ultimately, trump did not pick rick romney and chuck. a lot of people saw it actually, as trump world trolling mitt romney, you know, dangling the possibility and then, you know, pulling the football away like lucy so what's the possibility that that's happening this time with ron desantis there's no doubt that donald trump don't like desantis. >> people can say all they want. what you've been seeing on the internet are regular republicans who like him. there's a he got a lot of votes in the primary. he's a very popular governor of florida. but let's be clear, donald trump don't normally come back to folks like that and give them jobs. i think the senator from tennessee probably has a better shot. if hegseth don't make it. and just to be clear, for everybody watching i don't th

romney: mr. president, i know something about failed presidential campaigns, and i made an assessment that president biden was not going to go the distance, and so i approached three democrats and suggested that they ought to run for president. now you just heard from them. one was corie booker -- cory booker, one was jon tester and one was john warner, not because i agreed with them, i disagreed with them on almost every issue. i happen to find these three men and jon tester is the one i'm look at right now to be one of character, of integrity, of honesty, of purpose, who hold fast to the values that made america the hope of the earth. i know that over the years policy comes and goes and sometime i read history, i find we were on one side of the policy and then it changes. heaven knows there's been times when your party's been in charge and we suffered through it. i know you would say the same is true of mine, but that is the case. but what we have not suffered is the lack of character, we've ha

i wanted to ask you about one of your other colleagues, senator mitt romney said on cnn, asked if he concerned about trump's threats of retribution. here's part of his exchange. >> are you worried at all about being a target for retribution you or members of your family? >> no. i've been pretty clean throughout my life. i'm not worry about criminal investigations. and i don't know how much by the way of what the president says is hyperbole, this person ought to be jailed and that person, said during the last two campaigns, but i think president trump is likely to try to focus on the future. >> senator romney has also spoken out when he's had concerns -- more than many republican senators have -- but i want to know what you thought about this notion what trump is saying is hyperbole? there's a question a lot of people have is this real, should we prepare for it to be real? is it bluster? how are you thinking about it? >> well, i do think there's an element of hyperbole and bluster. trump is known for both of those things. that doesn't mean he won't act on his hyperbole and bluster. mi

and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue. >> once romney leaves, what is your thought? how many republicans are left in washington who will publicly go against trump? >> we found out there was more than a lot of people thought. that is why before we prejudge what's going to happen in this, and say that donald trump completely controls the republican party in this, i think we are finding out that is not 100% true. we found out there were not enough republicans to get matt gaetz through, we are probably finding out that there's not enough republicans to get pete hegseth through. there may not be enough republicans to get tulsa gabbard through. and i think mitt romney and what he said today, i commit everybody to go read all of what he said, he is exactly right. this country was founded on the ability to unify behind some common principles and values. it was founded on the ability of both parties to get together and solve the problems that we have. and i think, i really do hope that that is the message they take away from this election, that they want to get things done on

the danger is less for the mitt romney's of the world, and more for people who don't have those kind of resources to push back when the attack comes. >> it is is such an important point. we are talking about tens of thousands, if not more dollars in legal fees that people would need. thank you for making that point. senator sheldon whitehouse, i can't wait to see you in these hearings. you're going to have kash patel before you, pam bondi, i hope you will come back and talk to us about it. i really appreciate you joining us. coming up, we actually know how kash patel could have used his power at the fbi because we have seen it happen before. tim weiner is a pulitzer prize- winning journalist and a leading expert and he joins me after a very quick break point t oh! right in the temporal lobe! beat it, punks! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ what causes a curve down there? who can treat this? stop typing, and start talking. it could be a medical condition called peyronie's disease, or pd. you're not alone, there is hope. find a specialized urologist wh

tim miller was a republican operative who worked the romney campaign and on election day. he put in charge of going out to the media and describing this sophisticated get out the vote effort the romney campaign was using orca and it was named orca because. the romney campaign was trying to show its digital chops against the formidable obama which had a system called narwhal. and so they were trying to the point that orcas eat narwhals. unfortunately the orca belly flopped and like just never worked from the morning of election day. so tim was sort of pushed forward to hate him. you go before the tv cameras and explain how well it's working. so tim had to lie. and so for a while he did. and this is a really funny scene because if you see tim, he has a great sense of humor. he so goes in any like he's pulling up as and he's like looking at twitter and he's like yeah in colorado we're looking good, you know? and he's just making stuff up. and then does this a few times. and finally he's like, i cannot this anymore. i just cannot lie anymore like this. and so he was one of the

romney said. there were those who want to, quote, tear at unity in our country and replace love with hate. one bit of trivia about romney, which really kind of isn't trivial at all. as governor of massachusetts, he was the first to institute an idea born in a republican conservative think tank, universal health care. they called it romneycare. america eventually adopted the same idea with the affordable care act. kris obamacare. back in the day when people worked together and good ideas were just good ideas. thank you very much, scott. all new this morning. the nfl is making a change to its drug policy involving marijuana. that is according to a memo that was sent to agents and players. the league is raising the thc level for a positive test. thc is the substance that is primarily responsible for the effects of marijuana on a person's mental state. it's also reducing the fines imposed on players who test positive for thc at those levels, or who miss their thc tests. their new policy goes into effe

i think mitt romney figured that out. he couldn't get the nomination today. and he knows that. a question of bipartisanship that is the problem. it is a question of decency and adherence to the truth and i don't mine republicans, democrats, disputes on conservative policies, liberal policies or whatever happens to be. but i think what is missing is a consensus that decency matters and the facts matter. if we dropped all the other labels that is how we solve the problem. but we have a legacy party holding the levers of power. who doesn't seem to have any interest in decency and no interest in the facts. >> all right, thank you political analyst michelle goldberg and matthew dowd. coming up, online retailer amazon stands accused of delaying deliveries in two of washington dc's blackest neighborhoods. we'll break down the details of the case with the head of the naacp legal defense fund. that's next. naacp legal defense fund. that's next. ♪(voya)♪ there are some things that work better together. like your workplace benefits and retirement savings. voya provides tools that help you

romney: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. romney: mr. president, i'm not going to take long because i know we're delayed from a vote, but i had the privilege of working with this young man from west virginia for some time. as a matter of fact, as the chairman of the environment and natural resources committee, he took responsibility for overseeing the national parks. he'd never been to the state that has five of them, the state of utah. so i invited he and his wife gayle to come visit us in utah and visit some of our national parks. and we walked together and hiked together and he made sure gayle was able to make it through all of the rocks and crevices and see the beauty of our great land, one more state. but i've come to know this man not just by virtue of his physical prowess but pass a man of character. and a number of people have spoken about the legislation he's worked on, and we worked together on several pieces of legislation an accomplished a great -- and accomplished a great deal. but that what has stood out with my experience

do you agree with what senator romney just said there?a is the republican party well, to a large extent, yes, but i would disagree with him about 2028 that it's a foregone conclusion as to who's going to be our nominee and the president of the party. >> so president trump defines the republican party because he's the leader of it. and so his positions, his policies, what he says defines our party. but what's going to be a test is 2028. there will be a new referendum on the future of the party at that time. and it's still very early, but one of the key tests is will donald trump and his agenda be able to fulfill the high level of expectations that he's given the american people mass deportations, solving the problem of inflation, pulling back on the united states leadership role. these are things that he has said he's going to do, including high tariffs. and will these work? will he be successful in that? and that will help determine the future in 2028? >> yeah, it will be really interesting to see how all of that plays out. if he can make

romney: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. romney:

stuart: that as an incentive, i want you to listen to what mitt romney had to say about trump.>> maga is the republican party in donald trump is republican party today republican party has become the party of the working middle-class voter and you have to give donald trump credit for doing take it away from the democrats. you have to give the senator credit he's telling how it is this is a brand-new republican party is an. >> absolutely it may have taken mitt romney several years to come to the conclusion that president trump is right knee has revolved the republican party into the working man and the working woman we saw that on november 5 with the overwhelming outpouring of support from all americans regardless of r race r religion this is a movement based on the promise to make america great again that's what president trump is going to do even his greatest attractors are joining his team and flying down to mar-a-lago to make amends with him, they know he's good to be back in the oval office in january he's going to make everlasting and monumental change for this country jus

senator mitt romney is a man of deep faith and considerable accomplishments. a successful businessman, a rescue of the 2002 olympics, republican governor and in a deep blue state, and his parties nominee for president 2012. after he been a few months i went up to monitor and assist the more i get to know you, mitt romney, the more i wonder what i said all those things about you in the present your campaign did he laughed and i did, too. he's a conservative but he's a man of conscience and character. we would all do well to ponder his question and emulate his courage. i'll miss senator brown, senator casey, tester indication of the departed colleagues and adjoins a grateful nation in thanking them for all that all , sacrificed and contributed to it. mr. president, a i yield the r at six suggest the absence of a quorum. >> with a senator withhold his request? >> mr. president? >> the senator from virginia. >> thank you, mr. president. actually, i rise to the floor to follow i think a lead of one of the democratic leaders my dear friend from illinois to make pret

taken that away from the democrats. >> harris: from romney to some in the liberal media trying out cozyic. >> guys, can we cut it out? donald trump is not an idiot. this dude is a phenomena. the most powerful human on earth and in our lifetime and we are still saying how was this -- >> it is donald trump's party and his gop opponents can cry if they want to. trump had a big control over the republican party before but now it is even stronger. there are very few folks who dislike donald trump on the republican side who are still in the united states congress. he should be able to ram through legislation at least on the ones he just need republican votes. >> harris: power panel now. kaley mcgee white and fred hicks, great to see you both. kaley, i chose the word cozy over caustic. so much of that from liberal media. this is beyond that. this is on the hill to some degree. >> i think the reason why you see even democrats in washington eager to now suddenly work with trump is because they have no other choice. the shift in power has been so thorough that democrats know that they can't reall

>> i was back eight years ago at the new york restaurant in central park where mitt romney and donaldng dinner -- >> of course you were. >> my question was not to donald trump but to mitt romney specifically, but what about everything you said about donald trump? >> right. >> and for ron desantis, if he were to be given this opportunity and it's not just being messed around with by donald trump, he would have to answer questions from the press on capitol hill like pete hegseth is doing but also by republican senators, if he were to take on the role, would he federalize the national guard or use the u.s. military here domestically and would he will being to go along with donald trump's demands? there's a list of condemnation from ron desantis and it's suggesting he never gave a hush money payment to a prostitute. those were desantis' words. there's a lot of questions that even if he were to get that job offer, it would make him uncomfortable answering the questions about what he would be willing to do as the pentagon chief in his capacity when donald trump is the one directing him on h

maga is the republican party, as senator mitt romney sees it. and that's partly why he is not seeking reelection. and now, in his final days in public office, he spoke exclusively with cnn's jake tapper. romney has been a frequent critic of president elect donald trump. but in this conversation, he offers a more conciliatory tone. have a listen what lessons are you taking away from the election results? >> donald trump won. he won overwhelmingly. he said what he was going to do, and that's what he's doing. i mean, people are saying, oh, i don't like this appointment or this policy that he's talking about, but those are the things he said he was going to do when he ran. so you can't complain about someone who does what he said he was going to do. and i agree with him on a lot of policy fronts. i disagree with him on some things, but it's like, okay, give him a chance to do what he said he's going to do and see how it works out. this is not a traditional cabinet. the nominees, i'm sure you have some feelings. i know you're not going to be voting o

romney said.ere those who want to, quote, tear at unity in our country, who want to replace love with hate. a bit of trivia about romney, which actually isn't trivial at all. as governor of massachusetts, he was the first to institute an idea that was born in a republican conservative think tank, universal health care. they called it romneycare, and eventually america adopted the same idea with the affordable care act. marcus, a lot of people call it obamacare. remember, it well. all right. thanks, scott. the warriors, meanwhile, they are suddenly facing a little turbulence. not only are they in the midst of what is now a five game losing streak, but two star players will be out of the lineup tonight in the first of back to back games over at chase center. steph curry is out with what's being called knee pain. draymond green has calf tightness and has already missed the past two games. tonight the dubs host houston tomorrow they'll host minnesota and golden state warriors. they taken houston rocke

the fact that he got mitt romney to say all of that is a pretty big win, joe. >> joe: mitt romney isatic party artery of censorship, woke. why trump won in michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin and georgia. restaurant workers, democrats now speak down to voters instead of listening to them, todd. they have got to solve this problem. they are not going to win any elections any time soon. >> todd: do you know what is winning as well in stuns, background. beautiful scene every time joe concha is on. thanks. "fox & friends" begins right now. have a great monday, everybody. ♪

he is kind of more of the romney kind of angle.necessarily hate trump as much as romney does, but he is more of a moderate. so there is kind of concern from senators that i'm talking to and people within trump world that john curtis could also be one of these people that could possibly vote against the nominee, but they're just trying to win over everybody. and to the murkowski point, there is the fear that if you do vote against one of trump's nominees or even express some skepticism, they're going to be faced with a primary. and for some people, that is their whole race is just the primary. yeah. for sure. >> all right. reese gorman for us on this friday reese. thank you. thank you i appreciate it. all right. coming up here on cnn this morning, a new documentary called the bibi files. it contains leaked footage from the israeli prime minister's corruption investigation. the oscar winning filmmaker alex gibney joins us next. plus, plenty of rain and no touchdowns. the rams and the 40 niners swamped in san francisco. that's ahead i

romney decided to retire from the senate and is leaving elected office. here is his parting message i will leave this chamber with a sense of achievement but in truth, i will also leave with the recognition that i did not achieve everything i had hoped. >> there are some today who would tear at our unity, who would replace love with hate who deride our foundation of virtue or who debase the values upon which the blessings of heaven depend. politics alone cannot measure up to the challenges we face a country's character is a reflection not just of its elected officials, but also of its people. >> i leave washington to return to be one among them and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue thank you, senator, for your public service. >> thank you for joining inside politics. cnn news central starts after a break can't fool myself it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther. >> never too much new year

later, working with senators mitt romney, tammy baldwin, giving all americans peace of mind protecting marriages and religious freedoms and teaming up with todd young, we saved the chips and science law, spearheaded by maria cantwell and roger wicker, and now america and arizona can lead the way in semiconductor manufacturing and our country is safer and more secure. bringing senators john cornyn, chris murphy, and tom tillis together to tackle the int intractable issue of gun violence, we not only saved lives, we improved our country's mental health care. as everyone involved in each of those deals know, it wasn't easy. there were hard conversations, many tough decisions, many tradeoffs, back and forth that pushed us towards that solution and that progress. while those are the highlights, we also witnessed what happens here in this chamber when we give into the temptation of taking the easy way out and abandoning those guardrails. in 2013, judicial nominees were not being confirmed fast enough, so the majority was lowered to 50. all dperl judges are confirmed with just 51 votes. just