and here you get, you know, scott "toxing air" pruitt picked as head of the epa. someone who thinks climate change is essentially a hoax. there's no way president obama is going to be able to fall into a comfort zone with that pick. and i think you'll see the president telling chuck schumer and others that is the position we have to stop and fight. there is going to be a battle over the epa. >> look, he hasn't said that climate change is a hoax. we just talked to chris collins who says, yeah, basically what they're saying is yeah, sure, sh science is out there. but we think that fossil fuel industry is more important. that's basically what they're saying. they're prioritizing the fossil fuel industry. >> the problem is he is really a lackey -- "the new york times" reported on how his office took a letter from an oil company and put it on letterhead of the state. >> alisyn and i were having fun with it earlier what is a denier versus someone who is an outright opponent to it. at the end of the day, it is not about the science it is about protecting the industry or

scott pruitt. she is accused by "the new york times" of august ready a secretive alliance with the nation's top energy producers to fight obama's climate efforts. fromll get response 350.org and food and water arch. we will speak with the texas republican member of the electoral college who publicly announced he will not vote for donald trump. could this be the start of a rebellion within the republican party? if the judge orders in and to michigan recount, , we will spek with john bonifaz. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president elect donald trump has scottced he will pruitt the head of the epa. pruitt claimed the climate science change is far from settled. he is seen as a close ally of the fossil fuel industry. in 2014, "the new york times" revealed pruitt another republican attorneys general had formed an unprecedented secretive a aligns with the top energy producers to fight oh by ms. climate -- obama's clim

can trump also coming under fire for his selection of scott pruitt to head the epa. pruitt as oklahoma's attorney general sued the epa for its regulations on the state's oil and gas industry. also trump lashes out at a union leader who criticized that deal to save jobs at the carrier plant in indiana. trump attacking the man on twitter, but not denying his claims. so, there's a lot to cover this morning. let's bring in sunlen serfaty. she's live in washington. >> good morning, carol. a slew of announcements in the last 24 hours. the president-elect here clearly making some big picks for key roles in his administration. but trump is also spending some time taking to twitter. giving in to a war of words with a local union leader critical of trump's claims over jobs actually saved at carrier. president-elect donald trump naming two more hard liners to his cabinet. elevating climate change denier and fierce epa critic scott pruitt to run the agency. >> there were a number of candidates. >> a signal the trump administration is intent on reversing president obama's move to

scott pruitt. scott pruitt to be head of the epa. he is attorney general of oklahoma. he actually sued the epa. he says the science of climate change is in question. he says it is debatabldebatable. overwhelmingly, scientists say humans contribute to climate change. this is a controversial pick. >> if he is nominated, his job is to protect thing earth and development. some are having a hard time understanding how someone who is so unsupporting can do that. especially when we have seen the trump campaign move in a direction that seems a little more receptive to the idea. we saw trump say there is connectivi connectivity. trump met with al gore this week. and ivanka trump is looking into it with millennials. >> and donald trump on the "today" show yesterday. he said i am listening to president obama's advice on who to pick for my cabinet. >> my favorite line of that interview is i love his ideas. i never heard you say that. the reality is they gave us an idea shortly after he was elected they would try to work together to make this transition as smoothly as possible. i t

to talk more about scott pruitt, we are joined by two guests. here in new york, may boeve is executive director of 350 action, the political arm of the climate organization 350.org. and joining us from washington , d c, is wenonah hauter, the executive director of food & water watch. wenonah hauter, let's begin with you. oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt cap to head the epa. your response? >> i first ran into scott pruitt when i was writing my recent book on the history of the oil and gas industry. i saw that he was one of the leading attorney generals lobbying on what he called sue and settle legislation, which we has the rightenry to sue the federal government when the government is not doing what is in their best interest. he was lobbying in favor of dev on and continental resources in trying to stop the ability of citizens to actually move forward with lawsuits. i think putting pruitt in charge of the epa is a lot like putting one of the three stooges in charge of the agency. credible on any of the issues around the environment. incan l

the left has erupted over scott pruitt. get it? from nancy pelosi, the pruitt nomination must be blocked for the sake of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the planet we believe our children. it is coming up. the stock market, the focus of attention, it is going to go up some more at "the opening bell," 40, 50 points from the get-go on top of the dow which is gained over 1200 points since election day, 300 up yesterday alone, green arrows for the s&p 500 and the nasdaq all green arrows all over the place. this is the trump rally and i say it is because investors are looking to the future, they see growth and prosperity. >> they say the change taken off the regulation, more money in the pockets of consumers and corporations can finally look to expand rather than worry about whether they can afford healthcare and overcome the other regulations. maria: look at the stocks that gained, goldman sachs, jpmorgan, united health and caterpillar, broad-based, where the markets can start firing and renaissance macros is anytime you see

just to let our viewers know, you have met scott pruitt. you personally like scott pruitt. but you're certainly worried about hip hem heading up the ep why? >> i'm very worried about scott pruitt heading up epa for a variety of reasons, starting with the climate issue. scott pruitt does not seep to accept what almost all of the world scientists and all the world governments do. which is that climate change is happening. it's caused by human beings. and it has very, very bad effects. so that's the start of the problem. >> okay, so when you look at the biggest risk here, what is the single biggest climate change measure that you think could go away under a trump administration with pruett at the helm? >> well, the current administration has promle gated some protections on climate. the clean power plan, which is designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the nation's power plants and without a doubt, the clean power plan will now be -- it's dead. the epa will repeal the clean power plan. and there will be no federal program to reduce carbon dioxide or other greenhouse g

they're vowing to mount a fierce fight against oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt. joe johns live with more. what's the state of play? >> well, chris, the selection of scott pruitt at epa is in line with donald trump's policy pronouncements on the campaign trail, but quickly created a storm of outrage on the left. one former top aide to the obama administration calling pruitt an extutential threat to the planet. >> reporter: scott pruitt, donald trump's for environmental protection agency administrator is a staunch climate change denier. giving democrats an environmental groups whip lash. after trump's highly publicized meetings with prominent climate change activists. >> attorney general pruitt has a strong conservative record as a state prosecutor and has demonstrated a familiarity with laws and regulations impacting a large energy resource state. >> reporter: the oklahoma attorney general is a fierce critic of the agency he may soon lead filing lawsuits against the epa over its regulations of power plants, including obama's effort to significantly reduce their em

we're talking about scott pruitt, oklahoma's attorney general. he is a climate change denier, a good friend of the fossil fuel industry and he has sued the epa several times over. democrats are promising a fight over this particular nomination so let's talk that over with rene marsh, our government regulation correspondent. you have been digging deeper into his background. tell me what you've learned? >> we've learned scott pruitt during his time as attorney general, brooke, there have been at least 12 lawsuits that oklahoma has filed, challenging environmental protections while he was attorney general. that's according to the environmental defense fund. now, when you look at his track record, he has been at the forefront of attempting to dismantle the laws of the very agency that he will now run. he's launched legal battles against the obama administration's clear power plan which essentially seeks to curb carbon emissions from power plants. he's sued the epa for trying to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. those are a couple.

let's be clear about scott pruitt. what he wants to do is refocus the epa to go back to its original mission of keeping the air clean, of keeping our water safe, and the best way you do that, is you work with the states. it is good to have that state perspective. in fact scott pruitt will bring that. that is a big plus. david: now you represent a coal state, of course, west virginia. used to be democrat. went with trump this time as a lot of coal states including pennsylvania. are we seeing a change the way we use coal in this country as a result of the trump administration and how so? >> well, i think that we were hopeful wean see some come back. that is one of the reasons why i filed a lawsuit against the president's clean power plan because not only was it grossly illegal, but he was trying to enact, we think a radical change for diminimus impact in the actual climate. we're hopeful that if we could see even 20% comeback, 25% comeback, that means a lot in earlies of it jobs. david: comeback in terms of coal mines or

scott pruitt, some of the latest ones, scott pruitt for epa, john kelly for homeland security, linda mcmahon for the small business administration. what do we know, what does this all say about the cabinet that trump is building right now? >> well, first of all, let's just also remark how quickly actually he's doing this. if you look historically, he's filling out this cabinet with some deliberate speed and it's a little more idealogical in nature on the conservative side than many would have expected from donald trump who is really all things in his life has proven to be a pragmatist. this in many respects looks like a playbook from the conservative think tank the heritage foundation, mike pence's world, if you will, and really starting to fill out with some real idealogical conservatives in this cabinet which you would expect in a republican administration, but as we all know, donald trump has broken with conservatives time and again and i think even with his own cabinet choices here, you will find that in some policy areas, he doesn't quite align with every single thing they have

scott pruitt. she is accused bhe

scott pruitt for epa, and linda mcmahon for the sba. >> scott pruitt raising a lot of eyebrows. a lot of backlash as well. scott brpruitt is someone who i actually suing the epa. he has been staunchly opposed to president obama's executive actions on climate change. he's also someone who has publicly questioned whether climate change is a reality. so expect a strong backlash from democrats abo that nominee. and theninda mcmahon, former head of the wwe, is someone who really grew the wwe. president-elect trump praising her business prowess. she also rain two failed beds for senate. she was initially critical of president-elect trump when he was a candidate, particularly for his comments about women, calling them deplorable in an interview with katie couric, but then ultimately she got on board with donald trump in the election camign and touted the fact he is loyal. so these two picks, very important. i would expect a big backlash for that pick for pruitt for the epa. >> thanks, kristen. i want to bring in msnbc political analyst and former rnc chairman michael steele. also with

donald trump has chosen scott pruitt to head the environmental protection agency, the epa. pruitt is currently part of a lawsuit to sue that agency. the agency he would lead. he's also lobbied for energy companies and publicly doubted climate change. we have reaction from both sides of the aisle. >>> in georgia, a manhunt expanding as officials search for a man in a fatal police shooting. said to be armed, dangerous, and on the loose for over 24 hours. >> we want him to turn himself in peacefully. we want a peaceful resolution to this situation. if he turns himself in, he has nothing to fear from us. >>> jury foreman in the walter slager trial is speaking out why there was a mistrial in the case against the former police officer who shot an unarmed black man. we're learning more about the jury and what it took to get to that point. >> the majority of the time, it wasn't any racial attention or anything like that. of course, it came up. we discussed it, but it wasn't, in my opinion, one of the major deciding factors. >>> dylan roof motioned for a mistrial because of the emot

i think it's fair to say the democrats' hair is on fire about the pick of scott pruitt. how worried should they be? >> they should be worried, because they have overreach now for eight years. and that's about to be stopped in its tracks. all the coverage has been on the fact that he believes x, y or z about climate change, as if we have a religious test for office in the country, because as we just heard, climate change is a kind of religion. the fact is, we don't care if the guy believes that the moon is made of green cheese. his job is to administer. that means to carry out the law as passed by congress. the complaint of the right of conservatives about this administration, it's absolutely trampling the idea of administrators as interpreting the law. they make it up. that's why the epa has been stymied time and again in the courts led by pruitt and other attorney generals. when they try to overstep. they interpret the law in a way that gives them absolute dominion over almost everything. if it rains on your farm and creates a pond, the feds -- the epa claims the right

the reason, scott pruitt is currently suing the epa, the very organization he's about to lead. and he's also someone who has publicly said that he doesn't believe that climate change is necessarily real. so, this has set off alarm bells for environmentalists. it's essentially the strongest sign we have seen yet that president-elect trump is serious about rolling back all those executive actions that president obama put in place to deal with climate change. now, the trump transition team touting this as someone who is going to help build jobs, rebuild the coal industry. let me read you some reaction from democrats. chuck schumer saying he's out of touch with the american people and with reality. this from ed markey, he says denying the sides of climate change and carrying water for big oil makes him unsuitable to lead the epa. so, senate democrats seem to be girding for a fight here, peter. they're not going to pick a fight on every nominee, that's for sure, but this might be one of them where we see a really fierce fight evolve over the nominating process. >> i know they had a

that's oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt. why? well for that part of the story let's get to cnn's washington correspondent joe johns. what do we know, joe? >> scott pruitt calls himself a leading advocate against what he says is the epa's activist agenda. and now donald trump wants to put him in control of the agency. the selection quickly created a storm of outrage on the left. one top former aid to the administration calling pruitt, quote, an existential threat to the planet. >> reporter: scott pruitt, donald trump's pick for environmental protection agency administrator is a staunch climate change denier. giving democrats an environmental groups whip lash. after trump's highly publicized meetings with prominent climate change activists. >> attorney general pruitt has a strong conservative record as a state prosecutor and has demonstrated a familiarity with laws and regulations impacting a large energy resource state. >> reporter: an ally of the fossil fuel industry, the oklahoma attorney general is a fierce critic of the agency

i think it's fair to say the democrats' hair is on fire about the pick of scott pruitt. how worried should they be? >> they should be worried, because they have overreach now for eight years. and that's about to be stopped in its tracks. all the coverage has been on the fact that he believes x, y or z about climate change, as if we have a religious test for office in the country, because as we religion., climate change is a the fact is, we don't care if the guy believes that the moon is made of green cheese. his job is to administer. that means to carry out the law as passed by congress. the complaint of the right of conservatives about this administration, it's absolutely trampling the idea of administrators as interpreting the law. they make it up. that's why the epa has been stymied time and again in the courts led by pruitt and other attorney generals. when they try to overstep. they interpret the law in a way that gives them absolute dominion over almost everything. if it rains on your farm and creates a pond, the feds -- the epa claims the right to regulate you. th

i think it's fair to say the democrats' hair is on fire about the pick of scott pruitt. how worried should they be? >> they should be worried, because they have overreach now for eight years. and that's about to be stopped in its tracks. all the coverage has been on the fact that he believes x, y or z about climate change, as if we have a religious test for office in the country, because as we just heard, climate change is a kind of religion. the fact is, we don't care if the guy believes that the moon is made of green cheese. his job is to administer. that means to carry out the law as passed by congress. the complaint of the right of conservatives about this administration, it's absolutely trampling the idea of administrators as interpreting the law. they make it up. that's why the epa has been stymied time and again in the courts led by pruitt and other attorney generals. when they try to overstep. they interpret the law in a way that gives them absolute dominion over almost everything. if it rains on your farm and creates a pond, the feds -- the epa claims the right

one example is scott pruitt. he worked to undermine the agency he would lead. and opposed that and limit sot and murkee pollution and every case the court will rule against him had. now he would be leading the epa. his appointed needs to it be be rejected. >> patrick, the comnalgdzination of is up a fight. >> the administration is serious with the appointment with pruitt. he is a accomplished lawyer on this matter. all the president is doing is what president obama did in about the environment in the are reverse. everything president obama promises he would do he would. and what mr. trump did he would do. >> not really. the sierra club has been around years. we have had republican and democratic presidentsme do. it is okay to have different approaches and different governing policies but putting scott pruitt in charge of the environmental protection agency that did a great job of cleaning up our air and water and protecting the health of the americans. and putting scott pruitt in charge of that agency, is like putting an arsonist in. >> you have a scientist bac

donald trump plans to nominate oklahomattorney general scott pruitt as epa administrator. that's lead to a backlash by many profession. as attorney general of oklahoma, pruitt led state lawsuits to block virtually every major federal regulation on climate or air pollution put forward by president obama's epa. "the new york times" said it showed mr. trump's desire to dismantle president obama's efforts to counter climate change. pruitt will head the organization he's currently suing. i'm joined by eric lipton from "the new york times." and eric swallow. where is the status of that suit? is he currently in litigation against the epa? >> he's got quite a number of lawsuits still pending against the epa and the government in general. he believes in states' rights and that states should have their own determination to make environmental regulations. >> he believes states should do what they want with fossil fuel? >> he thinks they know how to manage oil and gas exploration and the epa should let them set their own standards. >> there couldn't be any pushback in an industry wher

it's scott pruitt. here's a taste of scott pruitt on climate change. global warming has inspired one of the major policy debates of our time. that debate is far from settled. scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. he wrote this in 2016. in 2011 an oil and gas company called devon, says epa letter draft. that's a three-page draft letter. and it's addressed to then epa administrator lisa jackson. and it complains that the epa vastly overstated how much air pollution is coming out of drilling for natural gas in the state of oklahoma. devon energy and this draft letter, they suggested letting the epa know how wrong they are about this issue. so devon energy drafted this letter. but they did not send the letter to the epa. they sent that letter to the oklahoma attorney gp general's office. when scott pruitt got this, he selected select a, c copy, new document, control v, paste and then send. he forwarded the entire draft letter from devon energy directly to the epa. he only

donald trump plans to nominate oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt as epa administrator. that's lead to a backlash by many profession. as attorney general of oklahoma, pruitt led state lawsuits to block virtually every major federal regulation on climate or air pollution put forward by president obama's epa. "the new york times" said it showed mr. trump's desire to dismantle president obama's efforts to counter climate change. pruitt will head the organization he's currently suing. i'm joined by eric lipton from "the new york times." and eric swallow. where is the status of that suit? is he currently in litigation against the epa? >> he's got quite a number of lawsuits still pending against the epa and the government in general. he believes in states' rights and that states should have their own determination to make environmental regulations. >> he believes states should do what they want with fossil fuel? >> he thinks they know how to manage oil and gas exploration and the epa should let them set their own standards. >> there couldn't be any pushback in an industry wher

scott pruitt is now the attorney general for the state of oklahoma. he has a lengthy history as a staunch defender of states rights. he also repeatedly challenged federal restrictions dealing with environmental issues. the trump transition team cited pruitt's role attacking epa what they describe the epa's war on coal. but critics like vermont senator bernie sanders say pruitt is climate change denier and too closely denied to fossil fuel industry. kellyanne conway, the trump transition team spokeswoman, says pruitt is the right person for the job. >> naysayers and critics and so we know some people are still running a permanent campaign. attorney general pruitt has great qualifications and a good record as the ag of oklahoma and there were a number of qualified candidate for the position that the president-elect interviewed. he selected attorney general pruitt and we'll look forward to the confirmation hearings. reporter: trump named to join his cabinet, retired general john kelly. he is chosen to head homeland security n 2010 his son michael was kil

i couldn't be more excited my colleague and friend scott pruitt will be heading up the epa. that is who the president-elect decided to nominate. he will rein in this agency that has been out of control for quite some time. he has been a leader on these issues, balancing protecting environment while at the same time insuring farmers, landowners and businesses are not overburdened by the cost associated with compliance. david: a lot of them have been put out of business by some of these regulations, many which have been called flippant and useless. let's quote scott pruitt himself who said earlier today, the american people are tired of seeing billions of dollars drained from our economy due to unnecessary epa regulation, i intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for american businessmen. businesses. can't you have both, well-operating businesses and a cleaner environment? >> absolutely and all landowners and business owners and certainly our farmers and ranchers across america care most about the environment.

and he says, at the risk of being dramatic, scott pruitt at eps is an ex -- what is a scott pruitt appointment mean for the future? >> well, it is common sense again. it basically means as sara lee said, d.c. loses power, it goes back to state. he fought that in oklahoma, fought, fought, it with our governor, the attorney general paxton and i'm excited. again, i hate to quote phil graham over and over, the fact that those guys are attacking mr. pruitt, phil would say, my friend scott, if people ain't saying bad things about you, you doing something wrong. so guess what my friends, he is doing something right. i'm excited to have him come before our committee and say things that i want him to say, like let's develop american energy. let's have a clean water, clean air. let's not stag nate, grow, make the world a better place. we can do a lot of things with a new trump administration, with scott up there as the new epa administrator and majorities in the house and senate. >> yes? >> we've heard some talk today by senator lee and others by the reins act that require the congress approved regulati

scott pruitt to run the environmental protection agency. the ambassador to china: and rahm emmanuel and pat mccroriy visited trump tower for meetings with the president-elect. also a short time ago, he was announcing that he will nominate linda mcmahon to head the small business administration. the person of the year. trumping the "today" show oods a great honor to be selected, but he did not dwight america in the election. the fight over the michigan recount was requested by green party candidate jill stein one day after the court of appeals ends the recount in the state. keith ellison will resign his seat if he is elected to be the next chair of the democratic national committee. he came to the commission after hearing from voting members. they are searching for the warehouse fire and those killed up to 36 in that tragedy. the fire started on the first floor with smoke and flame trapping people on the second floor. earlier they had finished searching the building. authorities in tennessee announcing that two juveniles have been arrest and

host: that was the epa nominee scott pruitt. what kind of reception has a gun on capitol hill -- adopted on capitol hill? elana: they are eager to make this a referendum on climate change. scott pruitt believes human activity is the leading cause of climate change. so the democrats see this as a golden opportunity, they want to humor home that the president elect does not believe in a science and this is wrong and against public opinion and the majority of americans who want action, right? the filibuster for these nominees makes it easy to tonfirm scott pruitt, so i is likely it will go through. join theyou want to conversation, republicans at (202) 748-8001, democrats at (202) 748-8000, and independents at (202) 748-8002. we are answering the question of what donald trump's department of the interior and energy will look like in his first 100 days. and like him a talk about what you believe on science. you wrote about this recently. emily: the main thing we have a record from him is an op-ed that he wrote saying, this is basica

the latest choices, scott pruitt to the epa. john kelly prepping to head homeland security. democrats already digging in on pruitt, ally of the oil and fossil fuel industry and skeptical of climate change and currently suing the agency in a bid to overturn some of president obama's most ambitious environmental regulations. >> it's a sickening and a saddening choice. >> certainly a four alarm fire. this is really the worst case scenario. >> all in talking about the four alarm fire. brian will join me live in a few moments to tell us how far democrats are willing to go to fight the epa nominee but correspondents who continue to cover this transition. every movement of it. kristen welker outside of trump tower and kasie hunt on capitol hill. let me start with you, kristen. yes, there was opposition to sessions and price but if the transition team wanted a fight, you think they've got to get one with scott pruitt, no? >> reporter: they sure do. he is a lightning rod and perhaps clearest sign yet that president-elect donald trump does in fact plan to scale back and roll back all

arefact that those guys attacking scott pruitt, i would say, my friend, scott, if people ain't saying bad things about you coming you are doing something wrong. so, my friends, he is doing something right. i am excited to have him come before the committee and say things i would like him to say, like let's build up american energy. let's have clean water and clean air. let's not stagnate. let's grow, make the world it better place. help allies. we can do a lot of things with the new java ministration -- with the new truck administration and it's got up there is -- with the new trump the ministration and it's got up there is the epa administrator. we have heard things about the congress approved regulations and the marines act. but that could be appealed by the next liberal congress. you thought that all about supporting the regulation freedom, and the constitutional t?rsion of the marines ac >> i thought about that, but we have thought about the act. mr. trump told us in late july, when that comes to my desk, i will sign it. that means the senate has to act. we passed that three times

scott pruitt, linda mcmahon among many others. joining us now former speaker of the house and author of "treason," his name is newt gingrich, and he's with us this morning. newt, conservatives, they've got to be happy with this cabinet, surely. >> well, i think most of them are unless they're, you know, so ideologically pure that nothing trump does is ever going to please them. sort of the george will variety who are never going to be happy with trump. but the fact is this is a very business-like in the best sense of the world, people who are used to getting things done, serious people, people who have run big systems, and i think they're going to put their shoulder to the wheel as a team. and i know from my conversations with a number of them that they're going to have big plans starting january, and they're going to go to work to turn this rally into a reality. because it's going to take a trump reality to sustain the trump rally. and i think they are deeply committed to the dramatic economic growth. stuart: what's mr. trump doi

you're also incorrect about scott pruitt because all scott pruitt did as l was say that th essentially rewriting the clean air act was unconstitutional. he wants the epa to say within the confines of the law and that's what the epa did which is why the supreme court blocked it. just to point out those two inaccuracies. >> i want to get mercedes in here. clean this up for us. it seems like jobs are staying here, the markets are responding positively, america seems to be enjoying what's going on and optimistic going forward but somehow the liberal mainstream media on the left saying we're not sure we like this going forward. >> i always feel like i'm the mother hen of the group. >> show us mercedes, show us the way. >> i think romney -- one of the romney's top advisors said it's not unusual for the presidents to be contacting companies and having these discussions. obviously trump does it more publicly, but i think that actually is helpful. i think it's important for the workers to understand that trump has got their backs and so i think that while the carrier is just one example of movi

as folks on the left lose their minds over the decision to tap oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt to head the epa. but as mr. trump made clear moments ago, he's not backing down on any of his picks. >> and you saw today scott pruitt who is a tremendous guy, who has been met with tremendous applause from the business community. we're going to protect the family farm and we are going to end the epa intrusion into your liv lives. >> former house speaker newt gingrich joins us in moments. but first to peter doocy live in des moines where the crowd was energetic to say the least tonight, peter. >> reporter: they were, sandra. and on his way here, the president-elect donald trump stopped at ohio state university to meet with some of the victims and first responders involved with that mass stabbing a few weeks ago. and just now a few minutes ago he said that attack in columbus, ohio has profved that immigratin security is national security. he also did take credit for the stop market surge. he said the dow jones would not be up if he was not on his way to the white house and he addressed

oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt. this is a controversial nomination. he is a fierce critic of the agency he would now run. for the latest on the transition, let's bring in cnn's sara murray. >> reporter: good morning. the donald trump transition barrels on. while as a candidate on the campaign trail, trump may have said dismissive things about the generals. he is relying on them. he chosen john kelly to be the next head of homeland security. it is one of a number of staffing issues taking shape this week. another one the team made official is linda mcmahon. the former wwe leader. and a source tells me that donald trump is impressed with her business experience. that is the reason he felt she is the right pick for the job. he won't spend all day thursday in trump tower. he will head to ohio to meet victims and first responders in columbus around the ohio state attack and then on to des moi s moines, iowa. that is a state that helped him win the white house. part of the victory tour. also an opportunity to reveal at one of his staff picks. that is donald

is everyone aware that scott pruitt is now going to be the epa director. she mentioned in the introduce i have been flying an airplane for a long time. i flew scott pruitt all over oklahoma to get him in there, never dreaming he will be the director of the epa. you will love this guy. the demise was already setting in at that time as far as the clean power plan. we knew it wasn't going to work because we had 29 states filing lawsuits including scott pruitt, i might add, as our attorney general in oklahoma, against this. the supreme court came in and put a stay. we all know that. the courts have been our friends. they also had a stay on the lotus bill. anyway, that's part of the joy that we're basking in right now. over half the states disagreeing with it. i wanted to say this about the paris agreement. john kerry is still looking for something he can do that is right. by the way, during his confirmation, there are only two of us that voted against his confirmation. i was one of the two. the other 98, not all of them but some of them said, what did you know

you're also incorrect about scott pruitt because all scott pruitt did as the attorney general was say that the epa essentially rewriting the clean air act was unconstitutional. he wants the epa to say within the confines of the law and that's what the epa did which is why the supreme court blocked it. just to point out those two inaccuracies. >> i want to get mercedes in here. clean this up for us. it seems like jobs are staying here, the markets are responding positively, america seems to be enjoying what's going on and optimistic going forward but somehow the liberal mainstream media on the left saying we're not sure we like this going forward. >> i always feel like i'm the mother hen of the group. >> show us mercedes, show us the way. >> i think romney -- one of the romney's top advisors said it's not unusual for the presidents to be contacting companies and having these discussions. obviously trump does it more publicly, but i think that actually is helpful. i think it's important for the workers to understand that trump has got their backs and so i think that while the carrier is

this is rex tillerson, he runs exxonmobil, scott pruitt will lead the epa, rick perry who promised to eliminate the energy department the boss there and his choice for interior secretary, ryan zinke has a 3% environmental record from the league of conservation voters. when you look at all these choices, mr. kennedy, what are your thoughts? >> environmentalists are not happy with those choices. you know, it feels like we kind of cut out the middleman and are

. >> on the other hand, you appointed oklahoma attorney general scott pruitt to be head of the epa. he's been suing epa. at one point in the campaign, you said it's a hoax. >> i think it's a big scam for a lot of people to make a lot of money. in the meantime, china is eating our lunch because they don't partake in all of the rules and regulations that we do. >> on the other hand, you told "the new york times" you're open minded. >> i am open minded. >> so where are you on the environment? >> i'm still open minded. nobody really knows. look, i'm somebody that gets it. and nobody really knows. it's not something that's so hard and fast. i do know this. other countries are eating our lunch. if you look at what china is doing, if you look at what -- i

in response to the news today, the sierra club said having scott pruitt in charge of u.s. environmental protection agency is like putting an arsonist in charge of fighting fires. senate democrats added to that, including chuck schumer of new york, the next senate minority leader, who said pruitt will have to answer tough questions throughout the nomination process. donald trump can add yet another time magazine cover to his list for 2016. the magazine named him person of the year today. discussing that this morning on "today," trump shed light on his new relationship with president obama. >> it's got your picture and the sub-headline is, "president of the divided states of america." you referenced that a little while ago. what would you have written as a sub-headline? >> well, i think putting "divided" is snarky. but again, it's divided -- i'm not president yet. so i didn't do anything to divide. and i will say this. i've now gotten to know president obama. i really like him. we have -- i think i can say at least for myself, i can't speak for him, but we have a really good

host: that was the epa nominee scott pruitt. what kind of reception has a gun on capitol hill -- adopted on capitol hill? elana: they are eager to make this a referendum on climate change. scott pruitt believes human activity is the leading cause of climate change. so the democrats see this as a golden opportunity, they want to humor home that the president elect does not believe in a science and this is wrong and against public opinion and the majority of americans who want action, right? the filibuster for these nominees makes it easy to tonfirm scott pruitt, so i is likely it will go through. join theyou want to conversation, republicans at (202) 748-8001, democrats at (202) 748-8000, and independents at (202) 748-8002. we are answering the question of what donald trump's department of the interior and energy will look like in his first 100 days. and like him a talk about what you believe on science. you wrote about this recently. emily: the main thing we have a record from him is an op-ed that he wrote saying, this is basica

what is a scott pruitt appointment mean for the future? >> well it's common sense again. it basically means as senator lee said d.c. loses power, it goes back to the state. he fought for that in oklahoma, fought, fought, fought, with our governor greg abbott as our attorney general, current attorney general ken paxton, and i'm excited. i mean, again i hate to quote phil graham over and over, while i do that, but the fact those guys are attacking mr. pruitt, phil would say hey, my friend scott, if people ain't saying bad things about you, you doing something wrong so guess what, my friends, he's doing something right. i'm excited to have him come before our committee and say things that i want him to say, like let's develop american energy. let's have a clean water, clean air. let's not stagnate. let's grow, make the world a better place, help allies hurt bad guys. we can do a lot of good things with trump and the majorities in the house and senate. >> great. sir? >> we've heard some talk today by senator lee and others about the ranes act requiring the congress to approve

with scott pruitt as epa administrator and majorities in the house and senate. we heard some talk today about [indiscernible] the problem with the reins act is that it can be repealed by the next pro-liberal congress and do whatever other things a have in mind. have you thought at all about regulationthe freedom, which is the constitutional version of the reins act that has been produced -- supported by the rnc? >> we talked about the reins act. he told us in late july in memphis, that comes to my desk, i will sign it. senate --eans now the we passed that three times in the house. once we do that, like you said, let's make this permanent because we won't have the white house forever. let's make sure that thing stays on forever. the constitutional amendment, whatever. that gives d.c. a voice. we can say yay or nay. it dies unless we approve it. that's awesome. hay, that is the constitution. mines very special. who signed my constitution? >> john hancock. myjohn hancock signed declaration. [laughter] >> that's great. we have a question written here. would does con

by the way, it everyone aware that scott pruitt is now going to be the epa director? [ applause ] >> she mentioned it in the introduction i've been flying an airplane for a long time. i ran scott pruitt all over oklahoma to get him in office and never would end up criming he would be the director of the epa. you will love this guy. anyway, the demise was already setting in at that time as far as the clean power plan, we knew it wasn't going to work because we had so many people -- we actually had 29 states filing lawsuits including scott pruitt i might add as our attorney general in oklahoma against this. so the supreme court came in and put a stay, we all know that. the courts have been our friends, they also had a stay on the wotus bill. anyway, that's part of the joy that we're basking in right now. over half the state is disagreeing with t i want to say this about the paris agreement because john kerry still looking for something that he can do that's right and -- hey, by the way, during his confirmation there are only two of us who voted against his confirmation,