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The Lead with Jake Tapper

South Korean President Lifts Martial Law Order; Trump Calls Into GOP Meeting As Top Cabinet Picks Rally Votes; U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Case Challenging Tennessee Ban On Trans Youth Health Care; Rep. Moskowitz Becomes First Dem To Join Government Efficiency Caucus; Police: Kobayashi Seen Crossing Alone Into Mexico. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired December 03, 2024 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: But she didn't crack the top ten in page views.

[16:00:03]

She came in just short, just short at number 11.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Searches for Donald Trump totaled more than 25 million, earning him the number five spot. The Menendez brothers came in at number four with more than 26 million page views.

Coming in at number one, with more than 44 million page views, deaths in 2024 topping the list. That's not what I would have expected.

"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.

SANCHEZ: A solid note to end the show.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: A close American ally declares martial law.

THE LEAD starts right now.

Moments of chaos in a country where democracy is rather young. Protests at South Korea's parliament after the unpopular president declared martial law and vows to lift it. Why now? And what does this mean for a region already on edge? Well, we're going to go there.

Plus, the president-elect's cabinet picks on Capitol Hill, including the latest embattled nominee Pete Hegseth. What we're learning, Hegseth told senators behind closed doors about his confirmation process, trying to be the next secretary of defense.

And the major case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court about transgender kids hear from the team behind the lawsuit and the first known transgender lawyer to ever argue before the highest court in the land.

(MUSIC)

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We start with breaking news in our world lead and stunning developments in South Korea, a vibrant democracy and critical U.S. ally thrown into chaos today after that nation's embattled president, Yoon Suk Yeol, declared martial law in a late night address.

Cheers erupted in Seoul just over an hour ago after he caved to pressure from within his own party and lifted the martial law decree. Martial law in South Korea means all political activities and protests are immediately outlawed. It also means the banning of, quote, fake news, and, quote, manipulating public opinion.

In the surprise speech, conservative President Yoon accused the liberal opposition party of trying to, quote, overthrow the free democracy, and he suggested his rivals are aligned with North Korean communists.

Right after Yoon's address crowds swelled outside the parliament in Seoul, security forces broke windows to enter the parliament as lawmakers rushed to get inside and strike down that decree, one that has not been instituted in 40 years.

Now, the White House, President Biden on edge, caught by surprise by what's going on in this key ally, the United States biggest international military base with more than 40,000 Americans, is located in South Korea, of course, and that serves as a critical deterrence to the rogue regime of North Korea.

Let's go right to CNN's Mike Valerio in Seoul.

Mike, now that the order has been lifted, what happens?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're waiting to hear from President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative politician known in South Korea for years as strong prosecutor who takes a hard line against North Korea. We're waiting to see what he says to the country, Jake, why he took us down this road and what he can say to justify why he instituted martial law for the first time since 1980.

Now, to set the scene, the tableau, we're just a couple of yards away from the national assembly, the heart of government here in Seoul, where most of this saga went down after the president's announcement. Over my right hand shoulder, we have a banner that says, now impeach Yoon Suk Yeol in Korean.

And then as after we zoom in and show you that banner, let's come over to my left and you can see well before sunrise, Jake, we still have people, grandmas, kids, students, canceling work, canceling school, staying here in freezing temperatures, not going anywhere until President Yoon steps down, bringing you back to America, Jake, as you mentioned crucial for stability here in this country where we have 28,500 service members, it grows well over that number, if you include the military families and civilian personnel at Camp Humphreys, about 60 miles away, a one hour drive from North Korea, the United States' biggest military base overseas.

This all happened, President Yoon saying that he was trying to fight North Korean and anti-state forces inside South Korea, but be it a grandma or member of the political class or reporters here, when we all watched that speech, we kind of said in a collective moment, Jake, what does he mean? Very few shreds of evidence given to why he declared martial law.

It seems as though most of the military presence that lined the street has vanished. When we first got here, there were two green Humvees that were parked right in front of the national assembly building. They've moved out, a whole cadre of police officers have also moved out.

So, now, its the question, how long is this guy going to stay in office? Will this President be impeached? A key U.S. ally? And where does this key democracy in Asia go from here -- Jake?

[16:05:03]

TAPPER: All right. Mike Valerio in Seoul, South Korea, thanks so much.

The declaration in South Korea came as a complete surprise to much of the world, including the United States.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is traveling with President Biden.

And Arlette from the brief statements, it does not sound as though anyone in Biden's orbit knew anything like this would unfold in South Korea today.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, Jake, this really came as a complete surprise to President Biden and officials across the federal government. A National Security Council spokesperson said that the U.S. did not receive any advance notification of President Yoon's declaration of martial law, and officials across the government spent the days really scrambling, trying to figure out what exactly had happened here.

Now, the U.S. government has been in touch with the South Korean government and a State Department spokesperson this afternoon had said that the U.S. hope was that this would be resolved peacefully. But for President Biden's part, we have heard very little, almost nothing from him relating to this situation. After he delivered a speech at the National Museum of Slavery here in Angola this afternoon, the president briefly answered a reporters question saying that he was about to be briefed on the situation. The White House later confirmed that the president was briefed as he took his motorcade from that speech site to his hotel. But beyond that, we have yet to hear from President Biden.

It does come, as Mike was noting, the U.S. considers South Korea to be such a crucial ally. President Biden himself has spent a lot of time fostering that relationship, including directly with President Yoon. So it kind of highlights the tricky situation that the White House has been here throughout the course of the day. But it is a curious decision from the White House to not have President Biden comment in any way especially when he has staked so much of his presidency on the need to preserve and protect democracy and democratic institutions at home and abroad.

TAPPER: All right. Arlette, thank you so much.

Let's bring in a few more voices. Ken Choi is with us. He's the deputy managing editor for "The Chosun Daily Newspaper" in South Korea.

Ken, it's just after 6:00 a.m. where you are. Many Koreans are just waking up to all this. Do you think the dramatic scenes might spawn even more protests throughout the day?

KEN CHOI, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, THE CHOSUN DAILY NEWSPAPER: I think -- yeah, they will probably some protests, but, the city is waking up. Everything is just going as normal. I just looked out the window and the traffic is, you know, the same as yesterday.

So I think, you know, the daily lives will go on, you know? But, after, you know, President Yoon made such a shocking, you know, declaration, I think he will have to face some a -- very, very heavy political burden and some explanation because I don't think this is going to just go away.

TAPPER: And, Ken, the president there is obviously extremely unpopular. He claimed that he declared martial law to somehow rein in power. But how? What did he gain from this move today?

CHOI: Well, basically nothing. You know, a lot of people are scratching their heads, and you know, questioning why did he really do it? I don't think there's any, you know, gain for him, for doing this. I don't know whether he thought he was -- he could succeed in -- I mean, having this martial law declared and contained the parliament.

But, you know, this is a Korea is like, 12th largest economy in the world. It's very advanced. You know, everybody's carrying mobile phones. You know, it's almost impossible to quell anyone's, you know, freedom of speech or anyone's, you know, free political opinion.

You can say this. You can say that. You know, it's relatively very free country and I don't think people would condone it if anyone is trying to suppress their political opinion. So it's a big -- big question.

You know, I think the president has to explain today or tomorrow why he did it. And you know, all the political repercussions will be coming at him. So, you have to see.

TAPPER: M.J. Lee is CNN's senior White House correspondent. She joins me in studio here.

And President Biden has put a lot of effort into building this relationship with this, with this South Korean president, when President Biden made his first visit to Asia, a couple of years ago, South Korea was one of his first stops. He hosted this president at the White House just last year.

How might this impact U.S.-Korean relations Trump obviously taking office in 48 days.

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you're right. That strengthening U.S.-ROK relations has been a huge part of President Biden's foreign policy goals, all, of course, in the context of trying to contain China's influence in the region. It's actually one of the reasons why the Biden administration has been so set on helping to improve relations between Korea and Japan, obviously, two countries with a long antagonistic history, Japan ruled Korea for a number of decades.

It's less that there's, I think, necessarily been such great personal chemistry between the two men, but that the president has just had a lot of occasions to be with Yoon Suk Yeol, the trip that you mentioned back in 2022, the president himself then hosted Yoon for a state visit last year.

[16:10:12]

There was also that Camp David trilat summit between U.S., Korea and Japanese leaders. That was unprecedented. I think given all of that, we just have to see exactly how President Biden addresses this.

As Arlette said, we've barely heard anything from the White House. Is there going to be some kind of personal condemnation of Yoon? I know for a certain -- certainty that he will say in some form or fashion that the U.S.-South Korea relationship remains ironclad. He will likely say to some effect that despite what happened over the last 24 hours, that is an alliance and a relationship that is going to endure.

But the reason here in the U.S. that whatever Biden says is going to be so important and closely monitored is because of what we have coming in the next couple of weeks. The transition of power from Biden to Donald Trump, somebody that he has repeatedly said is a threat to democracy.

So I think in those ways, this international event hangs over sort of the local dynamics here that is coming to Washington.

TAPPER: Interesting.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon for us.

Oren, the U.S. obviously has a huge military presence in South Korea. All of this is playing out in an already tense region. Is there fear that North Korea might try to exploit this situation?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears that North Korea may have been just as surprised as the U.S. by the move from President Yoon here. So the U.S. is watching this situation very closely, and certainly from a military perspective, the Pentagon said just a couple of hours ago that there has been U.S. military to South Korean military communications since this since this started.

So, just several hours ago, and it looks like it may already be on its way over, but this is a situation that generally would be ripe for North Korea to take advantage of it especially because the South Korean president essentially blamed or said it was, you know, factions or pro-North Korean factions that were trying to -- to take advantage of this or had started this, and this was part of the reason that he declared martial law.

So that, it seems, would be a situation that is ripe for some sort of North Korean missile launch, something like the ICBM launch we saw on October 31st, just days before the election here. But so far, the Pentagon saying they're not seeing any force posture changes or any indication of that from North Korea, but that is certainly something the U.S. military is watching very closely. And that is certainly something we are watching closely as well -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Oren Liebermann, Ken Choi, MJ Lee, thanks to all of you. Appreciate it.

Back here in the U.S., a busy afternoon on Capitol Hill, senators meeting with President-elect Trump's cabinet picks what lawmakers are saying as they emerge from those meetings, next.

Plus, the first Democrat to join the caucus for DOGE. That's Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, DOGE, headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. What -- might more Democrats follow his lead?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:56]

TAPPER: Our politics lead takes us to Capitol Hill today, where President-elect Donald Trump called in to a Senate Republican policy retreat. This, as three of Trump's top cabinet picks were making the rounds with Republican senators in an effort to secure votes ahead of what could be contentious confirmation hearings.

Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, is meeting with three Republican senators this hour. He's sitting down with foreign relations committee member Jim Risch.

This comes after stunning new allegations from the New Yorker magazine that Hegseth was pushed out of roles at two different veterans organizations, the article alleges that Hegseth was repeatedly intoxicated at work events, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct, which Hegseth denies.

CNN's Manu Raju is live on Capitol Hill for us.

And so far, Manu, Republican senators at least publicly, seem to be supporting Hegseth.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a lot of them are, Jake. But remember, there's little margin for error, assuming that all Democrats vote against this nominee in the new Congress, it will be 53-47, meaning that just four Republican senators breaking ranks on a party line vote could scuttle this nomination. And there are concerns among a lot of them.

In fact, just moments ago, Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, said that the accusations are, quote, disturbing and said that the confirmation prospects for Hegseth will be, quote, difficult going forward.

And Senator Joni Ernst, someone who has actually been a survivor of sexual assault, said that she has going to have some frank conversation later this week with Hegseth. She is notably undecided about this nomination.

I caught up with a number of Republican senators today about this, and some are demanding more information including a full background check.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): As I have repeatedly said to you, I believe that we need an FBI background check to evaluate the allegations. We need to have the normal committee process of questionnaires and questionnaires about his background, and we also need to have a public hearing.

SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): I have not met with him yet. I'm looking forward to meeting with him. We'll be asking questions. But look, the president always gets the benefit of the doubt on his nominees.

RAJU: What's your level of concern about Pete Hegseth right now? These allegations are continuing to come out about his personal conduct. Are you concerned?

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Of course, it's concerning. But I look forward to visiting with Pete about it and seeing -- I'm interested in who Pete Hegseth is today and who he is going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And that Cramer later told me there, Jake, that he is leaning yes, in supporting Pete Hegseth nomination said. And I asked him if the standards have now changed in the United States Senate. Remember the last time the Senate voted down a defense secretary nominee or any cabinet nominee was in 1989, that was John Tower over allegations of womanizing and also excessive drinking, including drunkenness.

And Cramer told me, yes, the standards have evolved. And he says grace abounds, and he wants to see if Hegseth is, in fact, a different person going forward -- Jake.

TAPPER: And grace abounds. But Neera Tanden couldn't get confirmed as OMB director because of a couple nasty tweets.

[16:20:02]

So I'm not sure if the grace is evenly applied, but okay.

Manu Raju, thanks so much.

Now to CNN's Kristen Holmes in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Kristen, what are you hearing from your sources? How is President- elect Trump feeling about the Hegseth nomination?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, they're watching this very closely. They're watching the meetings on the Hill and Donald Trump himself is talking to senators. He's having his team talk to senators to see how they are reading Hegseth.

Just a reminder of what actually happened with Matt Gaetz when Donald Trump ended up calling him and telling him he didn't have the votes. That came from conversations that Trump himself was having with senators. The big question is whether or not Hegseth can get confirmed.

Overall, Donald Trump does not want to waste his political capital on people who have issues. Now, today, this is a little bit different than what we saw yesterday. We saw a lot of people coming out yesterday saying they hadn't asked about the allegations. We heard one senator saying they believe that Hegseth did some things in his past, but he wasn't going to be accountable for all the things that Hegseth had done in the prior years of his life.

Now, you're having some questions being raised for the first time, and that's going to get through to the president elect. They are keeping close tabs on what exactly senators are saying as they enter this process. Donald Trump himself and his team told us that they didn't want any more surprises after that 2017 allegation came forward, then there was the police report. Then there was the news that they engaged in a payoff for this alleged victim of that sexual assault.

They do not want any sort of surprises here. Of course, the question is whether or not this counts as a surprise. But the real question for the transition team is whether or not he actually has the votes. As Manu has said, this is a very slim margin when you have people like Senator Lindsey graham saying that it's going to be a difficult process. Donald Trump and his team are taking note of that.

TAPPER: All right, Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. Really interesting.

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to hear a major case involving transgender kids, hear specific allegations behind the case. Plus, the transgender attorney going before the justices will join us next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:24]

TAPPER: In our law and justice lead, a major case before the U.S. Supreme Court could determine whether various state bans on transgender health care for children are constitutional. These health care bans and health care treatments, rather, can involve puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the closely watched case U.S. versus Skrmetti. The case challenges Tennessee's ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors which also imposes civil penalties against physicians who violate the Tennessee law.

CNN's Paula Reid has more on this high profile case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last year, Tennessee Republicans voted to make it illegal for transgender youth to be prescribed certain medications or treatments for gender dysphoria.

L. WILLIAMS, PLAINTIFF: I couldn't imagine that I would be headed to the Supreme Court.

REID: L. Williams, a teen identified only as "L" in court documents and speaking to us in shadow, was one of those directly impacted by the law. She and her parents sued Tennessee after the ban disrupted her treatment.

At the start of adolescence, something to you felt like it wasn't quite right. What was that?

L. WILLIAMS: Well, it was because essentially I was born in a male body and I am a woman, and that's incredibly uncomfortable for me.

REID: Her parents, Brian and Samantha, had no idea.

SAMANTHA WILLIAMS, PLAINTIFF: I was surprised, but I was never -- I was still like, from the very beginning, supportive like, okay, this is what's going on with you. We're there for it.

REID: And debated whether this was all just a phase.

BRIAN WILLIAMS, PLAINTIFF: I asked lots of questions, had a lot of pushback, you know, asked probably a lot of the questions that people are -- who are in opposition to this case are probably asking, you know, is this a phase? What does this mean?

REID: They got her a therapist and eventually started treatments.

L. WILLIAMS: It's been very helpful, life-changing even. I -- for some people, it's even been lifesaving.

REID: The Tennessee ban forced doctors to stop treating transgender patients like "L" with treatments that included puberty blockers and hormone therapies.

S. WILLIAMS: It was just purely political. It was let's use these poor kids and these families as a pawn. And like, we just want to be able to take her to the doctor.

CROWD: Protect trans kids!

REID: Roughly two dozen similar laws have been enacted in recent years in Republican led states. Now, L's case, which was joined by two other families, is before the

U.S. Supreme Court.

CHASE STRANGIO, ACLU ATTORNEY: When I go before the high court, I am not going to be thinking about myself as the first transgender lawyer.

REID: Chase Strangio will make history as the first known transgender person to argue before the high court on behalf of teens like "L".

The other side of this case, the state of Tennessee, has gotten support from groups like Do No Harm and Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, who believes this treatment should not be available to minors.

DR. STANLEY GOLDFARB, FOUNDER, DO NO HARM: We feel that children just are really unable to do this in a way that involves informed consent primarily, and that many of them are just children that are very troubled.

REID: We pressed him on why patients like "L" claim their lives have benefited from this treatment.

GOLDFARB: There's a huge placebo effect. Anytime a patient is told, you know were going to help you with this medication, you're going to feel better. It's going to be the answer to your problems. There's often an acute response that's positive to it.

[16:30:02]

REID: But "L" says that explanation belies her experience.

Supporters of this bill say it's too easy. You're saying there's nothing easy about it.

L. WILLIAMS: There isn't anything easy about it.

REID: L's parents, who have had to travel as far as Ohio to continue her treatment, have not ruled out moving to another state. If this case does not go their way.

B. WILLIAMS: You have, you know, strong career ties and neighborhood that we love and a house that we love.

S. WILLIAMS: Kids have friends.

B. WILLIAMS: Kids have friends. I don't want to pull them out of school and go to another state. It's just -- I don't know, we shouldn't have to do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): After tomorrow's oral arguments, it's unclear how long it will take the justices to reveal their decision.

But, of course, in about seven weeks, we have a new Republican administration coming in. Both "L" and her parents say that even if the Trump administration does not support this kind of treatment, their lawyers from the ACLU will continue to advocate for it -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Paula Reid, thank you so much.

I want to bring in the lawyer who's going to argue this high profile case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Chase Strangio.

Chase, thanks so much for being here. Really appreciate it.

So the case comes at a time when 26 states have passed laws restricting health care treatments for transgender youth, according to a CNN analysis of data from the nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project.

So how do you plan to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could have wide ranging implications beyond the state of Tennessee?

STRANGIO: Well, thank you for having me, Jake. And obviously, this is a critical inflection point for transgender people across the country. We're coming off of an election season where transgender people played an outsized role in peoples consciousness in terms of the way in which we were situated as -- as a threat to others.

And when we look at the map of states that ban this type of evidence based health care, we went from zero states that had these bans in 2020 to now, more than more than half the country. So before the court tomorrow, the question is really a simple one, as I see it. It's really -- this is a law that bans medical treatment only when it is prescribed, inconsistent with an individual's sex.

Our argument is that that treats people differently because of their sex. And therefore the court has to treat it like all other forms of sex discrimination. And that's why it's unconstitutional.

TAPPER: So attorneys representing the state of Tennessee told the U.S. Supreme Court, quote, if the government's theory holds, men who identify as women could claim constitutionally based access to women's bathrooms, women's locker rooms and women's sports, accepting that theory would perversely erode women's rights and jeopardize landmark statutes protecting women's equal access to schools, winners, podiums and beyond.

What's your response to that?

STRANGIO: Well, I obviously disagree with that premise that that allowing transgender women into women's sports or women's bathroom is a -- is a threat to women, but it is also not the question before the court in this case. And in fact, it is a totally independent question about whether a law that bans medical care for transgender adolescents discriminates against people based on sex versus these separate cases that preceded any of these health care bans will continue to be litigated in the courts regardless of the outcome here.

So that clearly is conflating a bunch of different questions. The question before the court tomorrow is about whether banning medical care, overriding the consent of parents, that the recommendations of doctors is a violation of equal protection.

TAPPER: What do you say to physicians who are sensitive and supportive of trans kids? Obviously, don't want suicidal ideation, et cetera, but wonder if there is enough data as of now to prove that it is beneficial to allow these sort of treatments before the age of 18.

STRANGIO: So I would say three things. And the first is we have decades of both clinical experience and research data showing that this is medical treatment that provides critical benefits to adolescents who need it. And so this is not new. This is not new medication. And so, we have that information.

We have long term studies that track people for five, six years. The Supreme Court this week heard arguments in an FDA case. And with which the FDA referred to long term as being six months of follow up. Here, we have years of follow up. And so that's the first thing.

And then the second thing I would say is nobody has to provide this, this medication to adolescents. These are not doctors being forced to provide this medication. These are doctors who are wanting to treat their patients in the best way that they know how, based on the best available evidence to us.

And these are young people who may have known since they were two years old exactly who they are, who suffered for 6 or 7 years before they had any relief. And what's happening here? It's not the kids who are consenting to this treatment, it's the parents who are consenting to the treatment.

And as a parent, I would say, we -- when our children are suffering, we are suffering. And these are parents who love their children, who are listening to the advice of their doctors of the mainstream medical community and doing what's right for them, for their kids in the state of Tennessee has displaced their judgment.

TAPPER: Earlier this year, England's National Health Service stopped prescribing puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria, claiming that there's, quote, not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness.

[16:35:03]

It does seem as though whereas Europe used to be more progressive on these issues, they're dialing it back now.

STRANGIO: I don't totally agree with that premise. There's a subset of European countries that are imposing some guardrails on the prescription of the care and the puberty blockers. Pause is temporary and of course, there's no comparable restriction on restrictions for hormone therapy for transgender adolescents in the U.K.

But all of these countries that have taken a look at care in Europe and have put in some caution, have not done two things that Tennessee has done stripped adolescents of the care that they are receiving. And that is something that Tennessee has done through SB1. And the second is provide no clinical pathway for people to receive the care because in -- under the NHS system, they are implementing a research study that is allowing people to continue to receive blockers under -- under that protocol.

You heard some of the more deranged things that Donald Trump said on the campaign trail about kids going off to school and the school changes the gender of the kid, you know, at school that day, parent's don't -- I mean, just wild claims. He -- he has also more directly, well, let's just play some of what he said to get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will revoke Joe Biden's cruel policies on so-called gender affirming care.

I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Is this case that you are going to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court involving Tennessee relevant to what President Trump -- President-elect Trump says he wants to do there?

STRANGIO: Yeah, he obviously says a lot of things and is causing people a lot of panic for -- for good reason. And it is relevant, and here's why because Tennessee's arguments about why the law that they passed doesn't in classify or discriminate based on, on sex is not limited to a state law, and its not limited to a law that is banning this care for minors.

So if Tennessee is successful, if the Supreme Court in essence, sides with the government of Tennessee, I think that will open the door to the types of federal bans on this care not only for minors, but for adults, too.

TAPPER: For adults, do you think?

STRANGIO: I do -- I do, and I think that's one of the things we should be really concerned about. We're hearing a lot about young people can't consent to this care, but it is their parents consenting to this care. And at the end of the day, we have adults who live as transgender people -- people like myself who have families, who are part of communities, who are part of this society.

And if the -- if the incoming administration bans our health care, that is essentially excising us from this country.

TAPPER: Chase Strangio, thank you so much and I appreciate you being here.

STRANGIO: Thanks for having me.

TAPPER: Coming up next, I'm going to talk to the first Democrat to join DOGE. That's Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency.

Plus, a dramatic update on a woman thought to be missing. The odd text she sent friends and how she ended up walking across the border into Mexico.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:39]

TAPPER: Incoming President Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, or DOGE, is getting more bipartisan support.

Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz is the first Democrat to join the House caucus the Republicans are organizing to support DOGE.

Congressman Moskowitz joins us now.

Thanks for joining us, Congressman.

So Trump has selected Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to run this new group, which will ultimately make recommendations for how to cut government spending. So why are you getting on board to support this?

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Sure. Well, look, that's the committee that Elon and Vivek are running. This is the caucus within Congress. Most caucuses in Congress are bipartisan, and most caucuses don't take caucus positions. They don't have official things to do, but members gather and have conversations.

And so, look, I think it's the time for staying in safe spaces is over. We should be able to go in spaces and have that conversation.

I joined with the specific focus because I've been working on for years, trying to get FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security. I think the Department of Homeland Security was a great idea. I think it's still necessary, but I think over the last 20 years, it's become too big.

And so I think FEMA needs to be a direct report to the White House like it was when it was originally created. I think there's evidence that Secret Service probably should come out of DHS, and also be a direct report to the White House. So that's where these conversations are going to have. And so I'm willing to go there and have it.

I'm sure there's going to be things that Elon and Vivek are going to come up with that I'm vehemently going to disagree on, and I will make sure that I'm a loud voice voting against that stuff. But we got to go to where the conversations are happening. The idea that we're not going to go to these places and just pretend the conversations aren't happening is not a way to conduct business here.

TAPPER: What makes you think that -- if you think that Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk might be -- might be good at this? I mean, obviously, Tesla and Musk's exploration of space are impressive, but when it came to trimming the fat out of Twitter, what he basically did is just open the door for Nazis and Hamas. So, you know, that's a -- that might be a leaner operation at Twitter, but it's also -- it also made Twitter kind of a cesspool.

MOSKOWITZ: Yeah. Look, I've been a leader on that sending letters to Elon about all the antisemitic comments, quite frankly, that I get towards me on Twitter.

At the end of the day, I think everyone in Congress is of the position that government isn't perfect, right? So I'm looking for ways to improve government. I think the American people expect us to find ways to improve government, and in some places that may be shrinking the size of government.

[16:45:02]

By the way, that used to be a Republican concept, but lately they want more government in bedrooms.

And so, I'm looking to have this overall conversation. That's why I joined the caucus, to go there and meet with my colleagues across the aisle. And Democrats shouldn't fear this conversation. I think there are ways to improve government, and I'm looking to do that.

TAPPER: You're not the only one on the left. Senator Bernie Sanders turned some heads Sunday when he posted on X or Twitter, quote, Elon Musk is right. The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its seventh audit in a row. Its lost track of billions last year, only 13 senators voted against the military industrial complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change.

Beyond a horseshoe theory -- I mean, they're right. There is a lot of waste in the Pentagon. But Republicans and Democrats are pretty much, as Bernie Sanders points out, reluctant to take on the sacred cow of the Pentagon.

MOSKOWITZ: Well, that's my point like, I'm not afraid to have these conversations. I think a broken clock is right twice a day. And so, where I think they're right, we should have that conversation and we should vote to improve government. Where they're wrong, Democrats should stand up. If they come to try to take my residents' Social Security away or Medicare, I'm going to stand up and fight against that.

But if they want to figure out how we can spend less by giving the same level of service, or they want to figure out where there's waste fraud and abuse, let's clean up the system. I don't think that's something Democrats should shy away from which is why I joined the caucus.

TAPPER: While I have you, I wanted to get your reaction to President Biden going back on his word and pardoning his son, Hunter. Many people saying that he outright -- outright lied. "The New York Times" reporting that that Biden had been contemplating this since Hunter's conviction in June.

What do you think?

MOSKOWITZ: Yeah. Look, I don't love the pardon, but I try to take a step back. I mean, I come from the city of Parkland Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. I watched parents bury their kids and I think about President Biden having done that twice. One when one of his kids died young in a car accident and then burying Beau Biden.

And then I think about my two boys and I think to myself as a father, not as a congressman or a president, but as a father, if my son -- or one of my sons made some really bad mistakes and got themselves into trouble, and I had the power to help them, would I -- would I not do that?

Would a parent not do that? Would a parent not do everything they can within their power to help their child? It just so happens he's the president. He has all the power.

And that's where I think ultimately most Americans look at this. I mean, it was one of my kids and I could help my kid I would -- I would help them, but obviously, you know, I don't love the pardon. I don't love the precedent, but I get it from -- from the parent level, especially in Joe Biden's case, you know, having buried two children before.

TAPPER: Congressman Jared Moskowitz, Democrat of Florida, thanks so much.

Coming up next, that bizarre disappearance of a woman from Hawaii, her father died by suicide in the midst of trying to find her. What police are saying about the ordeal, include her -- including her leaving the U.S. and getting into Mexico?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:55]

TAPPER: In our national lead, a major update into the disappearance of Hannah Kobayashi. Los Angeles Police now declaring Kobayashi a, quote, voluntary missing person. For nearly a month, Kobayashi's family has been searching for her after she missed her connection from Los Angeles to New York. CNN's Nick Watt has the latest from authorities on where she went and what her family is saying now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico. She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So the LAPD is no longer searching for Hannah Kobayashi. She's now what they call voluntary missing. She has a right to her privacy and we respect her choices, but Kobayashi's family and friends say they still haven't heard from her since this. I can't explain all of it, she texted a friend November 11th. Deep hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds.

MCDONNELL: The investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked, or is the victim of foul play.

WATT: Her father flew to L.A. to find her.

KOBAYASHI'S DAD: We're going to find Hannah. We'll get her. Yeah.

WATT: The day after he said those words, he took his own life.

MCDONNELL: I'm very sorry to the family for all that they've been through throughout this ordeal. We're very sorry for their loss.

WATT: Here's what we know. Before leaving Hawaii, the 30-year-old photographer supposedly en route to a gig in New York, expressed a desire to disconnect from what police call modern connectivity.

LT. DOUGLAS OLDFIELD, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We know she doesn't have her phone on her. For what reason? We can't -- we can't say for sure.

WATT: November 8th, Kobayashi landed in L.A. with an ex. He made the connection to New York. She did not. She was spotted with a man near the crypto.com arena.

ALAN HAMILTON, CHIEF OF DETECTIVES, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We have identified that individual. That individual was cooperative in the investigation.

WATT: But unclear if he shed any light.

November 11th, Kobayashi picked up her luggage from LAX, took a metro to Union Station.

OLDFIELD: She used her passport and cash to purchase a ticket to get to the border.

WATT: November 12th, 12:13 p.m., at San Ysidro, south of San Diego, we now know that Kobayashi crossed on foot into Mexico.

MCDONNELL: We've basically done everything we can do at this point. She's left the nation -- left the country and in another nation now. So we also understand that the concern her loved ones feel for her. A simple message could reassure those who care about her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (on camera): And Hannah Kobayashi's family is still looking for answers. They just put out a statement that reads in part, our family remains hopeful that Hannah is safe and urges everyone to continue the search. The search is far from over and we are committed to doing everything possible to bring her home safely.

You know they also caution against people reaching what they call speculative conclusions. There is still a lot of mystery surrounding this disappearance, Jake, and with that mystery come a lot of pretty wild conspiracy theories -- Jake. [16:55:08]

TAPPER: All right. Nick Watt, thank you so much.

This just in: a brand new agreement between the Trump transition team and the U.S. Justice Department. Why this is so important before Inauguration Day.

Plus, brand new reaction on Capitol Hill to Trump's cabinet picks and their chances of confirmation.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, the NFL makes its decision. But did the league go far enough or too far in punishing the Texans linebacker responsible for a late illegal hit on Sunday?

The Texans general manager has weighed in with some colorful language.

Plus, the White House blindsided as chaos unfolds in South Korea. The country's president declaring martial law.