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Ceremony For Outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman. Mark Milley; Rep. Pelosi Pays Tribute To Senator Dianne Feinstein. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 29, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been here a long time. I've never seen anything like this. It's outrageous and must stop. Their promotions, their careers, their families, and their future held hostage by the political agenda of one senator, and the silence of the other 47 of them to drag on our force. It impacts everything from readiness to morale to retention. That's an insult, an insult to the officers. Years of dedicated service.

Our troops deserve so much better. And the House fails to fulfill its most basic function and fails to find government by tomorrow. We'll have failed all our troops. Our service members will keep upholding their oath, showing up for work, standing central around the world, keeping our countries secure, but they won't get paid. It's a disgrace. Thousands of Defense Department civilians and civilian servants will be sent home.

And the longer the shutdown lasts, the harder it will be to become -- the harder it will become for military families to pay their bills. We can't be playing politics while our troops stand in the breach. It's an absolute dereliction of duty.

As leaders, we must never lose sight of the direct impacts of the decisions we make and the impact they have on the lives and families around the world. General Milley, General Brown, Secretary Austin, and all the many great leaders across every branch of our military, you got to where you are by demonstrating extraordinary care and concern for the troops you command. It's a live leadership of being in the field alongside your troops sharing their hardships, holding each other together when times are hard, never forgetting the humanity beneath the uniform. It's an enormous credit to each of them personally, an enormous asset for our country.

Secretary Austin told a story about how he and General Milley got blown up together by an IED in Iraq. But the part of the story that stands out to me is the reason they were on Route Irish that night, to begin with. The reason they were there.

They're going to see one of Milley's soldiers who had been wounded. In fact, during that tour in Iraq, you'll often find then-Colonel Milley down at that hospital sitting with a wounded so they wouldn't be alone, rounding up his troops for an impromptu blood drive when docs let him know, they're running low on units. Putting an arm around his team, gathering them together, seeing to their injuries, both physical and mental when war extracts the greatest of tolls.

That's leadership. That's patriotism. That's strength. That's Mark Milley.

Mark, you know how strongly I feel about you. You've given remarkable service to our country. You've done honor to the uniform of our nation. You upheld your oath. Thank you. Thank you, my friend. Thank you for being my friend. May God bless you all and may God protect our troops.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We just -- we're listening to, of course, President Biden there basically saying goodbye to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, who will also be speaking shortly here as we understand it.

[11:35:10]

This is an important ceremony. It is a changing of the guard so to speak after a very long career and a controversial one. General Mark Milley obviously appointed by President Trump but then continuing to work with President Biden. He's been very strong on Ukraine, but he's also faced a lot of criticism for the stuff that he did when President Trump was in office, which he is now regretting and basically coming out and saying that he was trying to save democracy at some point when President Trump was in office.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Mark Milley has many admirers. Mark Milley also has his critics as we have discussed. What we're looking at right there is the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs C.Q. Brown speaking.

We'll be giving some short remarks and then we can expect that General Mark Milley will be stepping up to the lectern to speak very shortly. It will be important and interesting to hear. What Mark Milley, the very -- who can be boisterous sometimes but Mark Milley's parting message will be. This is C.Q. Brown, the incoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Let's listen to him.

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GEN. C.Q. BROWN, INCOMING CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINTS CHIEF OF STAFF: With each leadership opportunity I've had during my career, I've been honored, blessed, and focused on the task ahead. Today is no exception. President Biden, Vice President Harris, thank you for your trust and confidence that you've placed in me and for your leadership and commitment to our servicemembers and their families.

Secretary Austin, thank you for your guidance, your mentorship, and your faith in my abilities. Mr. President, and Vice President, Mr. Secretary, I'm honored to have the opportunity to continue serving our nation. To the Milleys, Mark, and Hollyanne, thank you for your years of dedication, for an exceptional job well done, and thank you for your leadership. It's an honor for me and Sharen to follow in your footsteps and the footsteps of all the chairmen and spouses before us.

God has smiled on me one more time and blessed me with another opportunity well beyond my own expectations. I'm blessed with a tremendous family. My commissioning officer and my most influential mentor, my father, Charles. He told me in high school that four years in the military wouldn't hurt me. My mother Kate, who didn't object to the idea has been my most vocal supporter all along the way.

I'm blessed by the unwavering support of my sister Stephanie, and carry with me the influence and memory of my younger brother Kevin. I owe my success to the sacrifice, love, and support of Sharen, and our sons, Shean and Ross.

Sharen has not only committed so much to our family, but she has become such a strong advocate for military families. As a result of her commitment and advocacy, Sean and Ross are both accomplished in their own right. Sharen, Sean, and Ross, thanks for proverbially signing my permission slip each morning pinning it to my backpack, and allowing me to report for duty. The three of you never raise your right hand and take an oath. But I know your sacrifice is well beyond what I might appreciate. Your encouragement, love, and support for me and each other has been the cornerstone of our family.

Finally, I've been blessed by Sharen's parents and brothers who didn't object as far as I know, when I asked Sharen to marry me. I'm blessed by my aunts, uncles, cousins, close friends, and mentors, many of whom are here today who have supported me and played a role in my development to make me a better person, a better officer, and a better leader.

As we step out together in today's uncertain security landscape, honing our warfighting skills has primacy in all we do. And we must focus on integrating our military power within our services, across the joint force, and with our allies and partners to deter aggression. The fight when called upon, and to decisively prevail in war. We must focus on modernizing and aggressively leading with new concepts and approaches.

Finally, trust is the foundation of our profession. As chairman, every day, I will focus on strengthening the bonds of trust across our force, ensuring the American people know their military and its service members, active, guard, reserve, and civilian only as the unwavering defenders of the Constitution, and servants of our nation.

[11:40:17]

In closing, when I became the chief of staff of the Air Force three years ago, expressed the need to accelerate change. My conviction has not wavered. The journey of change must continue to strengthen our national security.

Tremendous privilege to serve as the 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff focused on sharpening our warfighting prowess in defense of our national interest. Thank you for joining us for today's ceremony. God bless our service members and their families and God bless the United States of America. Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, General Milley.

GEN. MARK MILLEY, OUTGOING CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Well, thank you all for being here. And this is the last time you'll ever hear me in uniform so that alone has caused for applause. Mr. President, Madam Vice President, Secretary Austin, distinguished guests, and family and friends, good morning, and thank you all for being here today. Mr. President, thank you for your unwavering leadership, for guiding our great nation, and for the trust you placed in me.

When you were inaugurated, you didn't have to do that but you did. And I appreciate it. Your steadfast commitment to our troops and their families, strengthened our military, making us stronger and more capable than ever before. And I've seen you in the breach. I've seen you on the watch. And I know firsthand that you're a man of incredible integrity and character. So, thank you for your leadership.

And, Secretary Austin, thank you for leading our department with character and courage and also incredible integrity. You served our nation consistently for nearly five decades now, in and out of uniform. A Silver Star recipient, a man of enormous courage, both moral and physical. I am personally thankful for your guidance and your vision over the last 30 years that you and I have served together in peace and war.

To the members of Congress, I want to take a moment and just acknowledge the tremendous service of Senator Feinstein. And may she rest in peace and the eternal embrace of God's comfort. And to all of our colleagues on the Hill, the Senate, and the House, and all the elected officials that are here today and those that are not, you collectively demonstrate the American will.

And we are viewed as either unified or divisive. That is your choice. But everybody watches. We in uniform appreciate your current support. And we count on your future support.

To our allies and partners, your presence demonstrates our shared interest in common values. And a robust network of allies and partners is a key source of our collective strength. Since the American Revolution, the United States of America has never fought alone.

I'd also like to thank all the former Secretaries of Defense and the secretaries of the services and former secretaries of the services that are here today, along with the current Joint Chiefs, the former Joint Chiefs, the current command commanders, the former command commanders, and all the generals and dignitaries that are here.

[11:45:00]

A special thanks goes to my joint staff in my front office, who gave a robust clap out when I left yesterday. It had a double meaning. They were exceptional under intense pressure in a fast-paced environment where the costs were high.

Over the last 40-plus years, my thanks also go through all my former commanding officers and noncommissioned officers, many of whom are here today. My teammates, platoon and company battalion, brigade, division corps, and beyond, way too many to mention by name but each of you in your own way provided me with the advice, mentorship, and support, and I am eternally grateful.

There's also three groups of people here today who deserve special recognition and represent the very best of our nation. We have here today, several Medal of Honor recipients, who served with uncommon valor beyond the call of duty. They are the epitome of courage in the face of death.

Second is our wounded warriors who are here today. One of whom you saw earlier sang God bless America. They represent the thousands of those wounded in action, who sacrificed so much in the defense of liberty.

And third, our Gold Star families. Many of them are here today. They carry on the legacy of those in uniform who gave the last full measure of devotion so that our nation would remain free. To the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, guardians, and Coast Guardsmen, many of whom are standing watch at this very moment, I represented in the field before you, thank you. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your sacrifice. You are in fact, the most capable and lethal military force in the world today and in all of human history.

And let me thank my family. My family and friends that are here, conclude my classmates from Princeton, so maybe we can hear you shout. That was pretty weak, actually. So, I'm not sure what to make of that.

But I was made an honorary member of the class in 1980 from West Point. So, all the West Point classmates, maybe we could hear from you. Oh, that's even weaker. Let me go back to Princeton. That's all a result of last night, so -- and of course, my actual family deserves my greatest and deepest gratitude.

I was blessed with great parents, who taught me what it meant to serve and how lucky we were to be born in America, in a country where you will rise or fall based on your merit, and where you're going to be judged by the content of your character. My mother was a Navy wave in a military hospital in Seattle taking care of the wounded, returning from the Central Pacific during World War II while my father served with the Fourth Marine Division as a Navy corpsman in the Central Pacific, making the assault landings at Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima.

Neither one of them ever went to college, but they knew what this country was about. They were working-class Americans who taught me and my siblings the values that truly make this country great. My father taught me that you have to plant the flag on Suribachi. That was a lesson he took from Iwo Jima.

He meant that no matter the challenge, no matter how difficult it is, no matter the cost, you must accomplish your mission. You have to drive on. You have to be resilient. You have to keep moving forward until you complete your mission. There is no quitting. Like most kids, we owe our parents everything. I also want to recognize my cousins who are here, the McCall's and the Murphy's and so many others that are with us today. And my older brother Sandy is here with his wife and sons, and our sister Mary Katherine, who recently passed but I know she, along with our parents are here in spirit. But most importantly, I want to say thanks to my wife for 38 years, Hollyanne.

[11:50:03]

You've been the anchor of our family. Essentially, a single mom to two wonderful kids during two decades of war. Like so many other spouses of those of us in uniform, you buried our dead, you comforted the families and the grief, and you cared for our wounded in ways not seen by most. You're always there for our military families with love and compassion in the darkest of moments.

I know you never expected the heavy burden to be married to someone like me. But the good Lord blessed me to have you walk this path of struggle for the last 40 years. I love you more than words can ever express. And to Mary and Peter, the sacrifice of those of us in the military is always felt by our families. But most of all, most heavily, the burden falls on our children.

You attended 11 different schools and 24 moves. Mary, you were just born when I went into Panama. And you were 12 and Peter was 10 when terrorists attacked this country on 9/11. And you watched your dad deploy year in and year out for the next decade and a half. You dealt with struggles that children should never have to be burdened with. The fear that your father would never come home.

Some of the fathers and mothers of your friends were in fact killed in action, and others were wounded. And you saw that trauma, you saw that pain, you saw that agony in the eyes of a child and you like the children of every soldier, sacrifice more than most in this crowd, we'll never know.

But through it all, you have persevered. You've grown into incredible adults have families of your own. You make me and mom so proud of everything you've done and everything you will do. I could not have made it through four and a half decades of military service without each of you. I'm deeply honored to have won the cloth of this nation for 43 and a half years. And I'm humbled to serve as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Joint Force, as I said, is the most lethal and capable military in the world. And our enemies know it. We are currently standing watch on the freedom frontier with a quarter of a million troops deployed in 150 countries.

In the last four years, we've executed countless operations exercises and training around the world. We've destroyed ISIS and served justice to Baghdadi. We supported Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Putin's war of aggression and strengthened the NATO alliance we maintain stability in Asia.

BOLDUAN (voiceover): We're going to leave that ceremony with General Mark Milley. We go to the House floor where Nancy Pelosi is speaking now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I'm speaking with great sadness and emotion about the loss of our great senator, our senior senator from California, Senator Dianne Feinstein. I do so as I say personally, as a friend, neighbor, and fellow San Franciscan. All of us do so with great pride as the great senator she has been to our state the longest-serving women senator from California. She came here with Barbara Boxer she stayed on and she left on her own terms.

The first woman Mayor of San Francisco coming into office under sad circumstances, but leading us with great dignity, with great effectiveness and great leadership. Much more will be said about it. We'll have so much time to talk and brag about Dianne Feinstein. Her legacy will be along one that we have all -- we will all be inspired by.

But today, at this time, just hours since her passing, rather than talk about her, let us just pray that she rest in peace. In that regard, Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all present in the chamber as well as members and staff throughout the Capitol, to please rise for a moment of silence and remembrance of the late honorable Senator Dianne Feinstein.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you

Pursuant to clause eight of rule 20, the unfinished business is about --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Here is a moment of silence, a bipartisan moment of silence on the House floor. And typically, when you're looking at the House floor, you will not see that many members of Congress on the House floor, do not spend a lot of time there most days.

SIDNER: Hang out there.

BOLDUAN: But because of the gravity of the day of the government shutdown coming of a vote that is going to be coming very soon on the House floor the last ditch effort by House Republicans or Kevin McCarthy specifically to try to avoid a government shutdown, they're all there. And it ended up being a really poignant moment and emotional. Nancy Pelosi speaking about Senator Feinstein.

SIDNER: We have seen these emotions pouring out of people really from both sides of the aisle.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

SIDNER: Which is quite -- let's call it -

BOLDUAN: Kevin McCarthy's remark for --

SIDNER: He talked about bipartisanship, which right now doesn't exist, really with the House. And right now, because the shutdown is, looks like it's never going to exist, we're going to go into a shutdown of the government. But there was a moment of pause and it was very stark. The difference between how people felt about Nancy Pelosi or sorry, Dianne Feinstein, and their relationship with her even though it was contentious, and what is happening now. It is remarkable to see the amount of love and care that is coming out from people, from -- of course, she is a trailblazer.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: An icon. Dianne Feinstein. The politics of the day will not change.

SIDNER: Right.

BOLDUAN: But for a moment everyone can remember their humanity and the bipartisan love and tribute to the legacy of Dianne Feinstein. Thank you all so much for joining us today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS is next.

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