let me just tell viewers the south dakota senatorjohnston south dakota senator johnston has just southn has just been elected as the new majority leader in the senate. ——john new majority leader in the senate. —— john thune. new majority leader in the senate. ——john thune. give new majority leader in the senate. —— john thune. give us your assessment of what that means because i think i'm right in saying he perhaps was not the chosen trumped candidate? that is really interesting result, because in the last few weeks, senator rick scott in fort has emerged as perhaps the favoured candidate of the trump camp. a lot of his backers have been picking up rick scott, not least elon musk, and he is promising things donald trump is keen on, such as these recess appointments, this is the idea of getting people confirmed without a vote during a senate recess, a congressional recess. rick scott had promised that the donald trump had asked for that. this, ithink, he did not wade into this formally, let's be clear about that, but people around him, if people on the flanks did very much so, so this i

it down to john cornyn of texas and john thune of south dakota. we saw donald trump arrived at andrews air force base, joint base andrews as it is called these days, made his way to the hyatt regency hotel where he met white house republicans, appear to to get some unity, behind speaker johnson one hundred%. he brought elon musk with him who got a standing ovation. the president-elect, met with president biden, appears to be relatively cordial. the meeting continues and that is where we stand, we are waiting for him to answer questions. time is up for us. neil, it's yours. neil: we are looking at the same thing you are, the white house, the possibility donald trump will come to the microphone. unlikely but we are monitoring it the same, prior times when winning candidates come to the white house they never talk to the press afterwards but hope springs eternal. i want to take you to the senate where behind that door you are looking at republicans gathering, all 53 of them, 27 votes to determine their next leader. senator rick scott of florida finis

kristi noem, the south dakota governor expected to be nominated for homeland security secretary. former arkansas governor mike huckabee selected as u.s. ambassador to israel and who mr. trump has tapped for the director of the cia. tonight american airlines are now the third u.s.-based carrier to confirm a plane was struck by gunfire over haiti and the move by the faa fanning u.s. flights there. massive explosion in louisville and shelter in place order for one mile. deadly wildfires raging in the northeast. 35 million under fire alerts. fires erupting in new york city with train service suspended. the federal judge blocking the louisiana law to display ten commandments in public school classrooms and the case of a father disappearing kayaking. did he fake his own death? and the social media star and artist diving into dumpsters to turn treasures into trash. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >> just one week ago voters chose to send donald trump back to the white house leaving supporters and critics sifting through clues if the second time will be different. remaini

then south dakota. applause] i will say, noem does have experience striking fear in the hearts of terrorists. wait, i read that wrong, terriers -- fear in the hearts of terriers. sorry, sorry. you know what, i said i wouldn't interrupt. who else is on board? a promise, promise, promise not to nitpick. >> the former president also turning to a former house member lee zelden of new york to lead the environmental protection agency. >> jordan: okay, just to nitpick for a second. republican congressman lee zeldin? last i remember, he wasn't a big advocate for the environment, but you know what, maybe he has some good ideas. >> what do you plan to do at epa? >> we have the ability to pursue energy dominance, to be able to make the united states the artificial intelligence capital of the world, to bring back american jobs to the auto industry. we have the opportunity to roll back regulations that are forcing businesses to be able to struggle. >> jordan: so the head of the epa's top priority is protecting the a

and i was working for the government of south dakota. john cornyn's race for attorney general and when he ran for the senate, particularly cornyn, who i think was a serious person, he is someone who had a very good reputation as a supreme court justice in texas. it really just has been painful to watch him try to accommodate donald trump and ted cruz. these are two people i don't think john cornyn wants anything to do with. and the same with john thune. he put out a statement after access hollywood, put out a tweet saying trump should step down and mike pence should become the nominee, and that is really much more who these people are, and now they are contorting themselves to be in the trump party, and it is sad, it is not good for the country, but all of those, i think, with thune and cornyn, thune is probably the best, would be much better than rick scott. >> stuart stevens, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> thank you. >>> coming up today, the senate defied donald trump, the democrats in the senate did, once again. they d

kristi noem of the beautiful state of south dakota. that will do it here for us.

he named south dakota governor kristi noem to lead the department of homeland security.rida congressman mike waltz has been tapped to serve as trump's national security advisor. and late today, trump picked former director of national intelligence john ratcliffe to be his choice to head the cia. it is a busy time here in washington as america's new government is taking shape, and we have a team of correspondents on hand to break it all down for you, beginning with cbs's weijia jiang, who is covering the trump transition in west palm beach, florida. good evening, weijia. what a busy day. >> reporter: good evening to you, norah. every staffing announcement provides further confirmation that trump rewards those who are devoted to him and passionate about implementing his agenda, which includes untangling the u.s. from foreign conflicts and his signature item, securing the border. >> make no mistake, an invasion of our country is happening and our border is a war zone. >> reporter: south dakota governor kristi noem is considered a hard-liner on immigration, and if confirmed

expected to name south dakota governor kristi noem to head the department of homeland security.hich oversees immigration. and sources tonight telling abc news that senator marco rubio will likely become trump's secretary of state. and just in tonight, trump's pick to head the cia. here's rachel scott. >> reporter: tonight, president-elect donald trump expected to name one of his staunchest campaign supporters -- >> are you ready? >> reporter: south dakota governor kristi noem to lead the massive department of homeland security. a true trump loyalist, noem a fixture on the campaign trail. >> yes, they love you. you're the one who protects them. >> reporter: trump once considered noem as a potential running mate, but her star dimmed after writing in her memoir that she had shot and killed the family dog. as dhs secretary, the former congresswoman will oversee fema, the secret service, and the coast guard. but her key focus will be on immigration, i.c.e., and the border patrol. noem will be tasked with implementing the president-elect's signature campaign promise of mass deportatio

and just minutes ago, senate republicans elected south dakota's john thune to replace mitch mcconnell as the new senate gop leader, rejecting the preferred pick of trump's maga allies, senator rick scott. that was also a secret ballot. m.j. lee is live from the white house. this was a moment to witness. trump and biden, side by side in the oval office. >> reporter: it was quite thethe moment. after about two hours of the two leaders sitting in the oval office together behind closed doors, we've just gotten word from a source that the meeting has ended. and actually, i've just also heard that president trump has officially left the white house. so skipping the very big group of press gathered outside of the west wing for maybe a glimpse of the former president if he had chosen to come out. that didn't happen. the former president has left after this very lengthy meeting with president biden. as you showed there, president biden welcoming the former president. his predecessor and now the person that will be his successor to the white house with the words, welcome back. of course, markin

first up, the governor of south dakota kristi noem has been named as the secretary of homeland securityexpected to oversee one of mr trump's key election promises, the planned mass deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. donald trump illegal immigrants. says he plans to nominate former director of national intelligencejohn ratcliffe to serve as the director of the cia. he's previously criticised the biden administration's middle east policy and called for a tougher stance on china. also on the list — fox news channel host and army national guard officer pete hegseth is expected to be appointed as secretary of defence. taking a look at the middle east — the president—elect has nominated new york real estate developer — steve witkoff to be his special envoy to the region. and he also wants to put forward mike huckabee to be his ambassador to israel. mr huckabee is a former arkansas governor and was a candidate for the republican party presidential nomination in both 2008 and 2016. our north america correspondent, david willis, says the next administration is swiftly taking shape. d

she was previously a south dakota representative will now be tasked with overseeing a sprawling agency that oversees everything from u.s. customs and border protection and immigration and customs enforcement to the federal emergency management agency and the u.s. secret service. she had once been on the president-elect's shortlist for vice president, though her relationship with mr. trump shifted after the negative rollout surrounding the publication of her book "no going back." the truth of what's wrong in politics and how we move forward, in it she revealed she once killed her 14-month-old wirehair pointer cricket when she was not displaying the signs of an ideal hunting dog. when it comes to taking a look at immigration issues, thomas homan is the name that was first coming to the forefront in the last couple of days. "wall street journal" writes about it, saying as the acting ice director, he scrapped an obama administration policy, later readopted by the biden administration that directed officers to focus on arresting immigrants in the country legally with serious criminal histor

a reminder, south dakota senator jon thune has won the election to lead the republican senate majorityit could set up potential conflicts with donald trump over tariffs and ukraine aid. he has been voicing that they are behind trump's agenda, the republican team is united, according to thune. we are going to bring you more where that came from coming next. this is bloomberg. ♪ when you automate sales tax with avalara, you don't have to worry about things like changing tax rates or filing returns. avalarahhh ahhh so, what are you thinking? i'm thinking... (speaking to self) about our honeymoon. what about africa? safari? hot air balloon ride? swim with elephants? wait, can we afford a safari? great question. like everything, it takes a little planning. or, put the money towards a down-payment... ...on a ranch ...in montana ...with horses let's take a look at those scenarios. j.p. morgan wealth management has advisors in chase branches and tools, like wealth plan to keep you on track. when you're planning for it all... the answer is j.p. morgan wealth management. sonali: this is bloomber

. >> reporter: the south dakota governor has closely aligned with some of trump's most malign policieshetoric in the past. >> democratic counties in this country are being overrun by violent mobs. >> mister president, when you're in the white house and i was governor of south dakota, every single day i got to get up and be on offense. >> with nome recalibrating her public image mimicking trump's style. >> he is the toughest man i have ever met, nobody has endured more. >> reporter: becoming more flashy and brash. >> the team here was remarkable and finally gave me a smile i can be confident in. >> reporter: getting scrutiny for this infomercial style testimonial. even flaunting in her book a incident where she shot her hunting puppy that she described as untreatable. >> the book is the with challenging times and hard decisions. >> she has been covering christine nome's over a decade ago, she says it is to get the attention of trump. >> starting controversies on social media and saying incendiary things to get attention. keep stoking the outrage sheen and keep building on that and raise

during a secret ballot vote yesterday, the gop picked senator john thune of south dakota.carrying out president-elect's agenda, even though the two men have not always seen eye-to-eye. thune rejected trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. trump did congratulate thune on his election after yesterday's vote. thune ran against two other senators, john cornyn of texas and rick scott of florida. mcconnell is stepping down after 18 years. the south dakota republican spoke to reporters after the vote yesterday. >> it's a new day in the united states senate and it's a new day in america. the american people have loudly rejected the failed policies of the biden, harris, schumer agenda. this republican team is united. we are on one team. we are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the house to enact president trump's agenda. >>> over in the house, speaker mike johnson was selected by republicans to become the gop nominee in january and they chose him by a unanimous te. he needs 218 votes on the house floor in january to officiall

also south dakota governor, has been chosen as homeland security secretary. immigration, fema, and the secret service, managing a $60 billion budget. trump also announced he's picked former arkansas governor, mike huckabee, to serve as u.s. ambassador to israel. he'll work tirelessly to bring about peace in the middle east. huckabee's daughter, current arkansas governor was trump's press secretary in his first term. >>> to meet with biden officials today. lobbying for more protections of state policies before the trump administration takes over. the trump administration could fight california over their zero emissions vehicles plan, heavy duty truck regulations, and other climate initiatives. >>> well, in san francisco tonight, it is a bit of a bittersweet homecoming for klay thompson. warriors' legend will make his return to the court at chase center in a couple of hours. our vern glenn is also there, and he joins us live with the warriors' plan to honor thompson tonight. i don't know, vern. it's awkward, like he ditched us. >> reporter: well, his prerogativ

three republicans ran to become the next majority leader, jonathan from south dakota, john cornyn fromexas, and florida's rick scott. senator thune who has provely served in republican leadership won on the second secret ballot of a vote of 29-24. senator thune released a statement that reads, i'm extremely honored to earned the support of my colleagues to lead the senate in the 119th congress and beyond proud of the work we've done to secure our majority and the white house. this republican team is united

kristi noem, the south dakota governor expected to be nominated for homeland security secretary. former arkansas governor mike huckabee selected for u.s. ambassador to israel, and just in who mr. trump tapped for the director of the cia. also tonight american airlines, now the third u.s.-basedaryier to confirm one of the planes was struck by gunfire over haiti, and the move by the faa banning u.s. flights there. the massive explosion in louisville, multiple injuries and shelter in place order for one mile. the deadly wildfires raging in the northeast. 35 million under fire alerts. the fires erupting in new york city and some train service suspended. the federal judge blocking louisiana's law requiring the ten commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. the stunning case of a father disappearing while kayaking, did he face his own death, and the artist turning trash into treasure. >> this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. >>> good evening and welcome. it was just a week ago voters chose to send donald trump back to the white house. the former/next president rem

long-time - hard line of a long—time hardliner as far as immigration policy is concerned, she is the south dakota are looking to currently and with the other peo dismantle 3 looking to currently and with the other peo dismantle bureaucracy, cut will dismantle bureaucracy, cut wasteful expenditure and create an entrepreneurial approach to government now, government spending in this country is thought to amount to around $6.5 trillion a year and it's thought that this effort by mr musk and mr ramaswamy could lead to the loss of quite a few jobs in the federal government, steve. ., _ steve. complicated by the vafious steve. complicated by the various business - steve. complicated by the| various business ventures, steve. complicated by the i various business ventures, it will be a topic of conversation. that's move on to kristi noem, for homeland security?— kristi noem, for homeland securi ? , , security? that's right, she is hard line _ security? that's right, she is hard line of _ security? that's right, she is hard line of a _ security? that's right, she is hard line of a long-time - hard line of

. >> reporter: the south dakota governor has closely aligned with trump on some of his most hardlineigration policies and rhetoric in the past. >> democrat- run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. >> reporter: her expected elevation is now completing a transformation that has been years in the making. >> mr. president, when you were in the white house, and i was governor of south dakota, every single day i got to get up and be in office. >> reporter: recalibrating her public image, mimicking trump's style -- >> he's the toughest man i have ever met. nobody has endured more than what he has gone through. >> reporter: becoming more flashily and brash. >> the team here was remarkable and finally gave me a smile that i can be proud of and confident in. >> reporter: getting smash scrutiny for this infomercial style video in march, lavishing praise of her dental work, and seemingly unafraid to shock people, even flaunting in her book an incident where he shot her hunting puppy which she described as untrainable. ises that book is filled with hard decisions. >> rep

oklahoma, idaho, south dakota or texas?ly if you live in the dakotas, it's south dakota. a lot of damage out there. open plains. maria: i said texas. >> that's a good guess too. a lot of people were thinking oklahoma too. >> i thought it was a trick to try to send us to idaho. [laughter] maria: tricky there, craig. thank you. >> have a good one. maria: craig herrera. it is getting cold out. it feels it. quick break and then the senate showdown unfolds today, missouri senator eric schmitt is here and can why he's backing rick scott for majority leader. first, brian brenberg is in the house, he drew up with pete hegseth, he'll tell us about that relationship when we come back. you're watching "mornings with maria" live on fox business. stay with us. ♪ your business needs a network it can count on... even during the unexpected. power's out! power's out! -power's out! power's out! -power's out comcast business has you covered, with wifi backup to help keep you up and running. wifi's up. let's power on! let's power on! let's pow

ironically, thune becomes the second senate leader from south dakota.defeated former senate majority and minority leader tom daschle to win his senate seat in 2004. thune starts his new job on january 3rd. john? >> john: all right, thank you, chad. now this. >> they are going to mobilize all of these resources, all right, deregulation, get rid of some of these agencies and commissions, get rid of funds that shouldn't be spent. elon musk is a hell of a businessman. he likes results. that grandma swami, another businessman, he wants results. so i would take this very seriously. >> john: that was fox business and curve larry kudlow with us last hour, one of president-elect trump's flashiest decisions is elon musk in vivek ramaswamy to lead a new d.o.g.e. gentlemen, i want to warn you, may have to jump to the briefing in a moment's notice. let me start with you, robert, because d.o.g.e. has a target of cutting $2 trillion. donald trump calling it the manhattan project of our time. but we should point out that a lot of administrations have tried to root out

john thune, the senior senator from south dakota. >> it's a new day in the united states senate.in america. >> reporter: after two rounds of secret ballots, thune defeating senator rick scott of florida, a trump loyalist, and senator john cornyn of texas. the 63-year-old succeeds mitch mcconnell, the longest-serving leader in the senate. 18 years leading his party. senator thune first elected in 2004 has been critical of trump in the past. once accusing trump of undermining the integrity of our elections, calling it “inexcusable.” now, thune is vowing to work closely with trump to deliver on his agenda. even signaling he would consider one of trump's key demands, allowing trump to appoint cabinet members without a confirmation process when the senate is on recess. what's called a recess appointment. you've said recess appointments are on the table. that's a key demand from president-elect donald trump. will you move forward with that? >> well, what we're going to do is to make sure that we are processing his nominees in a way that gets them into the positions so they can implemen

she is the south dakota governor currently and with the other people looking to take on the challengegn of immigration, people like stephen miller whose appointment has not been formally announced yet but widely thought to be deputy white house chief of staff and somebody who of chorus has been seen as the architect of the controversial policy during the first trump administration which separated thousands of migrants from their parents and the man that has been named as the man that has been named as the so—called borders are tom homan, it will represent an extremely conservative hard—won group of people devoted to that key trump strategy of limiting the amount of illegal immigration into this country. thanks. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news in the uk. a radical shake up of the post office is expected to be announced as early as wednesday. the bbc understands a plan is being finalised, which includes hundreds ofjob losses at head office, as part of a wider transformation of the whole business. under the move, 115 loss

. >>> do you remember how earlier this year south dakota governor kristi noem thought it was be good to put in writing that she shot and killed her dog cricket because cricket was quote untrainable. the reason she thought it was a good anecdote to recall is because she wanted to illustrate her willingness in politics as well as south dakota life to do anything difficult, messy, and ugly if it simply needs to be done. now, even after that story didn't exactly land the way the governor thought it might, she doubled down, tweeting that shooting her 14 month old dog wasn't easy, but often the easy way isn't the the right way. this is the person that donald trump is planning to nominate to run the department of homeland security in his upcoming administration. and just to be clear, south dakota is closer to the canadian border than it is to the southern border, but for whatever reason, donald trump has picked noem to be his homeland security secretary, dog killing and all. and the wildest part about that choice is that so far, out of everyone trump has tapped to run his immigration policy

. >> remarks now from senator john thune of south dakota. he is the current minority whip and this week he was elected to be the next majority leader republicans take control of the chamber in january. he talked about how he intends to lead the senate and congratulated president-elect trump and vice president-elect advance on winning the white house. >> mr. president last tuesday of the american people spoken they spoke decisively. they made it clear they've had enough of the failed abiding harris schumer agenda told president donald trump vice president like vance to lead our country along the republican in the house and senate i congratulate president trump vice president elected vance other tremendous victory. it is difficult to overstate, mr. president what president trump did in this election. republicans have improved our margins three out of every four counties in the united states drew support with nearly every demographic group. president trump won more hispanic support that any republican president ever before in younger voters pla

she's a governor in south dakota which does not -- is not close to the border, but loyalty above a lot donald trump was looking for when he talked to aides who are close to him during his first term. behind closed doors what he thinks was the biggest mistake, if you were to say he had one was choosing people who weren't extremely loyal to him and his ideas, people that pushed back and people that said that they hid documents from him which we know happened, as well and that is what he's looking to not have this time around, right? and people that were on the short list to be his v.p. pick are people who are likely going to be at the top of the list for a lot of these posts, and governor noem is one of those folks. this is someone in the maga movement and that is what donald trump is signaling here. we call it a maga mind meld, right? in playbook this morning and you will see a lot of people out on the trail for president trump and who talked about the same thing he cares about over the years. that is normal and what is different is the extreme loyalty, mike davis who is a close trump a

three republicans ran to become the next, john thune from south dakota, john cornyn from texas and florida's rick scott. senator thune won on the second secret ballot of 29-24. he released a statement -- senator thune will be joined by wyoming john barrasso who served in a leadership role and is the next republican whip. >> got the team assembled. good afternoon. thank you all for being here. it's a new day in the united states senate. it's a new day in america. the american people have loudly rejected the failed policies of the biden-harris-schumer agenda. this republican team is united. we are on one team. we're excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the house to enact president trump's agenda. we have a mandate from the american people. a mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the biden-harris-schumer agenda but also to deliver on president trump's priorities. we will make sure the president and his team have the tools and support they need to enforce border security laws and to remove the 1r50eu7b89 criminals wreaking havoc in every one of our st

this fox news alert as we top a new hour, south dakota republicans enter john thune will be the new senateority leader. mitch mcconnell's top deputy bidding on challenges by john cornyn of texas and rick scott of florida. >> john: thune will speak shortly on-site senate public and leadership colleagues. we will bring you there when it begins. but first, the latest from a big day at the white house. ♪ ♪ >> the former president, donald, congratulations. >> thank you. >> looking forward to having, likely said, smooth transition. >> politics is tough. and its many cases not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. >> sandra: all right. well, that was seen around the world, that handshake in the oval office as president biden and president-elect trump met their earlier today. both sides promising a peaceful transfer of power ahead of a closed-door meeting that has now concluded as the transition kicks into high gear peered hello and welcome, everyone. i'm sandra smith in new york. what a big day this is, john. >> john: that was the roaring-est of roaring fires. i'm john roberts in washi

i look fwoord to paying -- forward to paying announcer: remarks now from senator john june of south dakota. he is the current minority whip, and this week he was elected to be the next majority leader when republicans take control of the chamber in january. he talked about how he intends to lead the senate and congratulated president-elect trump and vice president-elect vance on winning the white house. biden-harris-schumer agenda and chose president trump and vice president-elect vance to lead our countries, along with republican majorities in the house and senate. i congratulate president trump and vice president-elect vance on their tremendous victory. it is difficult to overstate what president trump did from in election. republicans have improved our margins, in three out of every four counties in the united states and grew support with nearly every demographic group. president trump won more hispanic support than any republican president ever before, and younger voters played a crucial role in his victory. the republican coalition is broad and strong and growing. mr. president, the a

. >> do you remember how earlier this year, south dakota governor thought it would be a good idea to put in writing she shot and killed her 14-month-old dog cricket because cricket was quote untrainable. the reason governor noem thought it was good to recall that to illustrate to do anything difficult, messy and ugly if it needs to be done. even after that story did not exactly the way she liked. she doubled down, shooting the dog wasn't the easy way but that's often not the right way. this is the person donald trump is planning to nominate to run the department of homeland security in his upcoming administration. just to be clear, south dakota is closer to the canadian border than the southern border, but for reason, he's picked her, dog killing and all. the wildest part of that choice, so far out of everyone trump has tapped to run his immigration policy in the next term, dog killing kristi noem is probably the most normal of the bunch. >> you grab illegal immigrants, move them to the staging grounds are the planes are waiting for federal law enforcement to move them home. you depu

the candidates include texas' john cornyn and john thune of south dakota. musk has urged for florida's rick scott, who posted that he'd agree to trump's call for the senate to surrender some of its power to confirm trump's cabinet and judges allowing so-called recess appointments. if recess appointments are allowed, trump nominees could take the helm and take their post without hearings and without votes here. as for the vote for senate republican leader, that happens by secret ballot which makes it difficult to exert any outside pressure. scott macfarlane, cbs news, the capitol. >>> it was a terrifying afternoon in louisville, kentucky on tuesday where a neighborhood was rocked by an explosion at a factory. more than two dozen people were injured, and at least 11 were sent to the hospital. we get details now from cbs' dave malkoff. >> we got report from plant personnel, unknown persons are still on the scene. unknown what the substance is that is blowing out. >> reporter: a loud explosion rocked this louisville neighborhood, leaving a gaping hole at the gi

. >> south dakota was the first state to turn down a state constitution. what do you make of that?e different lessons to be learned. we may see opponents try to replicate that. that is not going to work. they want to ban abortion. south dakota is still a very conservative state. >> donald trump going back to the white house, retaking the reins of control of the federal government. one of the potential consequences for reproductive rights? >> conservative set outline plans for trump to restrict access to abortion even if congress is not willing to go along. using the comstock act, which is an obscenity law. interpreting it to prohibit the mailing or receipt of any item or information or drug related to abortion. the department of justice did use the law to prosecute doctors. not just in red states but blue states with ballot initiatives. that would trigger a court challenge. it is likely trump will have a major impact on the courts. this will shift the window. >> trump said during the campaign that he opposed the nationwide ban. when enforcing the comstock act shall he do that? beca

that's one of the reasons south dakota shoot as accurately as washington. she tried to use her mach three for both. but what happens is not only accurate battleship gunfire. but a very technique is employed at suruga in the atlantic fleet torpedo flotilla before the united states enters world war one. they developed this technique, call it the night search and attack destroyer. have to go out, find an enemy formation, then attack it with torpedoes. ideally without being seen, or at least launching before they're seen. and it surigao you have captain jesse cower. he's a veteran of the fighting off guadalcanal. he has been in night battles before. he is not part of vice admiral jesse old endorsed task group but his destroyers are patrolling nearby and he volunteers. he says, hey, orndorff, i got an idea. i'm going to go down straight. i'm going to take my destroyers, we'll split up we're going to go down both sides of the straits. i'll launch some torpedoes, and i'll get out. and he conducts a night search and attack. now, he doesn't have search much because

john thune of south dakota, john cornyn from texas, and florida's rick scott. senator thune who previously served in republican leadership won on the second secret ballot by a vote of 29-24. senator thune released a statement that reads, i'm extremely honored to have earned the support of my colleagues to lead the senate in the 119th congress and i'm beyond proud of the work we've done to secure our majority and the white house. this republican team is united behind president trump's agenda and our work starts today. senator thune will be join in leadership by wyoming's john barrasso who won the race to be next republican whip by acclimation. >> got the team assembled. good afternoon. thank you all for being here. it's a new day in the united states senate. it's a new day in america. the american people have loudly rejected the failed policies of the biden-harris-schumer agenda. this republican team is united. we are on one team. we're excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the house to enact president trump's agenda. we have

army veteran fox host pete hegseth as defense secretary, and south dakota governor christie noem. plus the role elon musk will play, as trump is set to meet with president biden at the white house this morning. >> george: 5,000 acres scorched as firefighters battle the wild fire burning along the new york/new jersey border. we're tracking the fire risk and the new burn ban this morning. >> rebecca: massive explosion. the investigation after a blast at a kentucky manufacturing facility. >> george: plus the major airline heading toward bankruptcy. ♪ >> michael: and we're crazy in love with the 500th episode of "dancing with the stars." ginger takes us behind the scenes and the shocking end to a fan favorite's time in the ballroom. and we're crazy for "people's" new sexiest man alive revealed overnight. >> announcer: live in times square, this is "good morning america." >> george: i am not gonna let that go. i am not gonna let that go. you're crazy about the "people" magazine sexiest man of the year. >> michael: no, i'm upset because it's not you. >> rebecca: i'm just glad it's you t

john thune of south dakota. take it away. >> reporter: yeah, the new senate majority leader is john thune elected first in 2004 and has worked his way up the rungs of republican leadership has been a committee chairman who is now the current republican and now ascended from the number two spot to the number one. he will be the republican leader and person who is in charge of setting the agenda on the floor and one of the most consequential jobs in washington will have to work with the incoming republican white house and republican president to get the agenda through. this just wrapped behind closed doors. according to multiple sources, edged out on a vote of 29-24. a former republican, and two-time member of the gop campaign. this had taken shape behind the scenes for about nine months and the aftermath of mitch mcconnell not to run again . he has dominated the gop for 18 years, the longest alert serving senate party history but it was time for him to step aside and we are seeing a new generation of sorts. john

he's from south dakota. he was next in line. >> he had the majority walking into the day. close to majority support. and then pulled it out which most observers expected except in the last 24 hours or so, there was this real pressure to go with rick scott. >> now senators will have to decide assuming there is a confirmation hearing what they think about the matt gaetz confirmation hearing as well as tulsi gabbard. i think marco rubio, they'll probably just wave him in at this point. >> so lindsey graham said, i'll have to think about that. translation, heads are exploding in the senate among republicans. they do not want this. i may not, john thune will stop answering his phone. heads are exploding at the justice department because this goes against the kind of candidate, republican or democrat, that the doj sees as an appropriate candidate. i think it also speaks to two things. this is donald trump on steroids. it's not just that he has the house and the senate and a mandate. he feels -- >> and immunity from the u.s. supreme court. at least partial. >> he feels he can do

and we're told that trump's choice for homeland security secretary will be south dakota governor kristi noem, who has been lockstep with trump on immigration and will oversee its enforcement alongside border czar tom homan, and trump's expected pick for deputy chief of staff for policy, stephen miller, both of those figures key players in trump's controversial family separation policy of his first term. here with us now is cnn national security correspondent, kristen holmes, and senior senior house correspondent, kayla tausche. and i know you have some new reporting that trump is expected to name a slate of these deputies chiefs of staff in the coming days. some people might think, oh, secretary, that's a big one, but this idea of deputy chief of staff doesn't have to be confirmed. this could be very powerful. >> not only doesn't have to be confirmed, but they will have the president's ear in essentially everything that he does. and the names we're hearing are people who have been incredibly loyal to the former president. so one of them is james blair. he ran donald trump's entire polit

. >> let's look at a different position because the south dakota governor kristi noem will be nominatedto the secretary of the department of homeland security which is a huge sprawling department and everything from u.s. customs and border protection and immigration and federal emergency management agency and the u.s. secret service. are people excited about that? republicans excited? and am not trying to be rude but does she have any expertise to be a homeland security secretary in north dakota has the border with canada and what does south dakota have? >> i don't know governors with maybe the exception of some in texas but -- >> i am saying it is a big job. >> our border issue it's not something that governors do that she was picked because of her history and i have my bias and preference and i love having house members in prominent positions and she was a strong member of the house and on the ways and means committee prior to her run for governor in the first female governor of that state and i think she has shown she is incredibly competent and she will get called up to congress a l

in the running for homeland security, south dakota governor kristi nome. we begin with nbc's vaughn hillyard in west palm beach at mar-a-lago. so vaughn, tell us how well these picks are coming together. >> they are coming in quickly. over the course of several weeks, he not only at trump tower, but in his bedminister club rolled a lot of these individuals in and out. he has more long standing relationships with. and so far, you are seeing a mix of folks that i think are not perhaps surprising selections but when you are looking at the likes of the stephen miller coming in as deputy chief of staff expected. but then, marco rubio being the secretary of state pick was a big indicater donald trump is not looking for a fight on capitol hill. that marco rubio is by and large expected to pass easily through the confirmation process. the other individual talked about was rick ranel who is much more of the maga isolationist wing of trump's republican party. someone who in contrast to marco rubio has been on the front line several years aligning himself with kash p

south dakota governor kristi noem, he's the governor there, former congresswoman. he was a trump loyalist from the get- go, also. she was on the short list for vp, as well. and she would oversee customs and border patrol, i.c.e. , fema, secret service. these are big, big roles out there. and she's an interesting pick for it. she has also been very hawkish about the border and immigration. take a look at that. >> but today, many of those who are entering our country under the current policies of the biden administration are known terrorists. they're criminals. they're human traffickers, and they're drug cartel members. the united states of america is in a time of invasion. the invasion is coming over our southern border. the 50 states have a common enemy. and that enemy is the mexican drug cartels. >> so in that sense, sounding the most like donald trump out of all of them. >> so, zooming out, what are these three picks tell you about the second trump administration? what does it portend for the future? >> it's interesting, for those who are looking for any kind of,

the republican leader from south dakota getting rid of the death tax for good. i think that is likely to happen idea on those as well. democrats have endorsed and voted for so it's not what they wouldn't feel for them. top. >> it's a huge one because what we don't have the national level in the race tax too much, americans will have the. you can't hide his too high or they will go to florida. we are one of the ones -- >> the effort to not have everybody reporting every time they send money back and forth. she's really been the leader getting that back to where it was before obama you will dig like that fourth option is less than talk about a lot and something that is very good. universal savings accounts if you like your 4o1k, both all right 529, and he was. will create a simple account anyone can use in front and put a high amount in their and doing on behalf of your children are you working spouse for yourself. the money goes after-tax and you can invest it anyway you wanted to get out any time you want for any you want. it's kind of redundant especially when