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Hegseth Holds More Meetings As Momentum Builds For Confirmation; CNN Goes Inside Assad's Opulent Palace After Rebels Move In; Joe Burrow's Home Broken Into During Game In Texas. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 11, 2024 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:10]

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, 5:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at Chicago. In the Central time zone it's 5 -- oh, it is 5:30 a.m. too there, I think. Anyway, good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.

The word of the week on Capitol Hill for Donald Trump's cabinet picks, momentum.

Pete Hegseth's nomination for defense secretary appeared to be in jeopardy just a week ago amid mounting allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement of veteran's groups, but Republican senators are signaling that there is growing support for his bid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The accusations about mismanaging money and about nonconsensual behavior -- if they come forward, I will listen to those accusations, but they have to be credible and they have to be presented in a fashion that Pete can rebut. So he's much better off this week than he was last week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Today Hegseth will lobby for more support as he meets with three senators, including Republican -- moderate Republican Susan Collins of Maine.

That meeting will come just a day after Hegseth's chat with Lisa Murkowski, another moderate who had been viewed as a potential speed bump to his nomination. After their meeting Murkowski wasn't a yes publicly but she didn't oppose his nomination either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): I had a good exchange with Mr. Hegseth.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you ready to support him? MURKOWSKI: I had a good exchange, and we'll see what the process bears.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: We'll see.

Joining us now to talk about all of this and more, John Bresnahan, the co-founder of Punchbowl News. Brez, no one I'd rather talk to about what's been going down on the Hill here. Hegseth does seem to have basically saved his own skin here.

How do you understand what's played out here?

JOHN BRESNAHAN, CO-FOUNDER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS (via Webex by Cisco): For the moment, I mean, he's not -- he's not out of trouble. I mean, and he's not necessarily going to be confirmed. I think he will be but he's going to have a public hearing and more could come out.

Now, remember, Hegseth -- the allegation of sexual assault -- Hegseth paid a settlement in this case in 2023 to resolve this case. There -- that could -- there could still be more information on this issue.

So I would say Hegseth has definitely stopped the deterioration. I mean, last week it looked like he was done. I mean, we were chasing rumors that Trump was going to pull him. There were reports that Trump was maybe possibly going to offer Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis the nomination. There were other names being floated.

This week, definitely, after some intense pressure from Trump allies on the these senators it looks like things have stabilized for Hegseth. He is not going to be pulled -- he's not going to be pulled now. But that doesn't mean his confirmation is a lock yet.

HUNT: Yeah.

Brez, Mark Caputo wrote this about Joni Ernst because she obviously was kind of the focus of a lot of this. He was meeting with her. She was doing interviews on Fox almost seeming to look for other allies who might oppose him.

And they wrote this.

"Shortly Ernst -- after Ernst offered a chilly reception to Pete Hegseth's nomination to head the Department of Defense, she recognized she was in trouble politically, with grassroots Republicans calling for her head. 'How do I make this go away?' a flabbergasted Ernst said to an intermediary, according to a top Donald Trump adviser who received the message. Ernst's buckling underscored the choice facing 53 Republican senators in the weeks ahead: board the Trump train or get tied to the tracks."

How do you read all that?

BRESNAHAN: Yeah, Ernst was an interesting situation because she did have an early meeting with Hegseth. She made some comments that were negative about it and then there was a huge pushback. I'm not sure I would go as far as, like, there were threats to her or anything.

[05:35:10]

I mean, Ernst has been very loyal to Trump. She's been very -- she spent the final week of the campaign on the bus tour for Trump. She's been at Mar-a-Lago. She was floated as a possible defense secretary.

So -- but her comments caught a lot of people by surprise in her -- after her initial meeting. So she had a second meeting with Hegseth, and she put out a statement that did not endorse him but walked all the way up to the line.

And that was a big moment because there is an issue of women senators -- Republican women senators and how do they treat Hegseth in the sexual assault allegations. And it's especially key for Ernst because 1) she's a military veteran who served in war zones -- served in Iraq and Kuwait, and she's a survivor of sexual assault herself.

So Ernst is a critical figure in this and having these two meetings, having her comments, having the pressure that's put on her -- this is -- everybody's watching this. Everybody inside the Senate Republican Conference is watching this and seeing how far Trump was going to go.

And the second part of this was Trump pulled Matt Gaetz. Was he going to pull Pete Hegseth? And it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

HUNT: Yeah.

Brez, let's also talk about the House because obviously, this incredibly razor-thin majority the Republicans have -- it's going to get more narrow. There are big questions going forward. I was talking to one Republican member who said that they've never seen the House so tied to one man in Donald Trump. Basically, like trying to read into every single thing he's doing and saying on Truth Social to try to figure out what he wants them to do.

But there's a couple of potential flashpoints here, one of which is the NDAA -- the must-pass defense bill. It includes a massive raise for junior enlisted troops and a whole bunch of other things. But it also includes a pretty controversial piece about transgender children who are covered by military health insurance.

And this is what you guys write this morning in Punchbowl. "The two parties and the two chambers have clashed over topline defense spending and culture war provisions, complicating the final talks. A last-minute intervention by Speaker Mike Johnson barring gender- affirming care for the children of military families has upset Democrats as well as some Republicans. It's the 118th Congress," you note, "where everything is dumber and takes longer than expected." -- as a more general point.

What do you make of this? Is it going to go through?

BRESNAHAN: Yeah, that vote is this afternoon. It's going to go through. This is -- this is the annual defense authorization bill. This has been passed every year by Congress since the Cold War -- since 1961. So this is a big deal. Congress -- this is one of the few things that actually happens on a partisan basis.

Now this is not the money side, this is the policy side of defense spending, which is a huge deal. And it authorizes an enormous sum of money. We're talking about $895 billion. So just a fantastic amount of money, far more than any other country spends on defense.

This issue on the transgender -- the gender-affirming care for military dependents -- for children of military service families -- it was -- Johnson insisted that it be included in the NDAA.

And even the House Armed Services Committee chairman -- the Republican Mike Rogers -- wasn't consulted on it. He wasn't told about it. We quote him in this story. He says I wasn't told. I wasn't asked.

Rogers actually is -- supports Johnson's view. He doesn't like this policy at all. But he wanted Trump to take care of this when Trump was sworn in on January 20, arguing that the NDAA, like, we try to keep it bipartisan. We try to swat away the things on the left and the right and try to play it straight. That both sides can support it, and we get big bipartisan votes for the defense --

HUNT: It's too important, right, for the (INAUDIBLE), yeah.

BRESNAHAN: Yeah, it's too important to play around. And then this was an issue that -- you know, it's complicating it.

It will pass. It's going to be a little tough for Democrats to swallow. I don't know if a majority of House Democrats will vote for it. It'll pass and it'll go to the Senate next week and pass.

But this left a bad taste in everybody's mouth that Johnson would do this, and it's clearly about his own speaker vote in January. This is about him and his own policy and his playing to evangelical groups on this issue. It's a huge issue. But, you know, this is --

HUNT: Yeah.

BRESNAHAN: This is right now. Like you said, everything relies on one man, so --

HUNT: One man and one man alone.

John Bresnahan, always great to see you, my friend.

BRESNAHAN: It's going to -- it's going to get worse. It's going to get -- we're going to -- it's going to get worse next year, so we're -- buckle up.

HUNT: Right. We'll see you, I hope, a lot here helping us understand it. Thank you. I really appreciate it.

[05:40:00]

All right, still coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING rebels took over Bashar al-Assad's palace after he fled to Russia. Now CNN's Clarissa Ward giving us a rare look inside. Plus, the NFL quarterback who was evading pass rushers while crooks

were ransacking his home.

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HUNT: Days after the now-ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia rebel forces have moved into his palace. Now, CNN's Clarissa Ward takes us inside Assad's palace offering a glimpse into the former dictator's luxurious lifestyle.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Outside the palace of Bashar al-Assad Syrians gather to pose for photographs to celebrate the removal of its despised former owner. The public is not allowed inside the sprawling compound yet where the courtyards stretch longer than a city block.

[05:45:05]

WARD: This is the driveway into Bashar al-Assad's palace, and you can see how enormous it is. There are still casings all over the ground from rebel's celebratory gunfire as they swept in here and took control.

WARD (voiceover): At the entrance, an Iranian flag unceremoniously laid out for people to step on. Iran, one of the regime's staunchest allies.

Where once foreign dignitaries roamed the halls, now rebel fighters have the run of the place.

WARD: You can see blankets on the sofas in here. It looks like this is where the rebels are sleeping. And, in fact, over here you can see they've got some kind of a makeshift dining area going. Some of their weapons here -- a couple of rifles on this sofa.

So this gentleman here who is with the rebels has just asked that I put on my scarf. It's the first time since we've been here that anyone has asked me to cover my hair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD: He says that he's from Idlib and that this is the first time he's seeing the palace.

WARD: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD (voiceover): "We feel that the injustice will break down one day and justice must win. This is the idea of justice in our religion," he says. "In Islam, it is a must and a promise of Allah that Islam is victorious."

After nearly 14 years of a vicious civil war to stand in this palace is a proud moment capping off a seismic victory.

WARD: So the rebels here want to stress, they tell us, that it was not their group that ransacked this office when they first swept in. You can see actually some of the graffiti here that those first rebels wrote on the window. It says, "Allah curse Hafez (INAUDIBLE), Hafez al-Assad," being the father of Bashar.

When you look at these ceilings and these chandeliers, the marble, the detail -- this is the kind of opulence -- this lavish lifestyle that engendered so much resentment from so many Syrians who have been struggling to survive for decades while the Assad family lived like this.

WARD (voiceover): In a warehouse, rows and rows of luxury cars -- Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and classic Cadillacs.

This was a dynasty that will be remembered not only for its brutality but its deep corruption.

Below the palace in the heart of Damascus crowds gathered in Umayyad Square. Under Assad's rule the Syrian people were forced to worship him. Now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise.

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HUNT: Fascinating reporting from our Clarissa Ward.

And joining us now to discuss further is CNN political and national security analyst and New York Times White House national security correspondent David Sanger. David, always wonderful to have you.

I'd actually just like to start with your reaction to Clarissa's piece just there. What you saw as we watched that and what it all means for Syrians as they, honestly, wrestle with -- it's very unclear how the government is ultimately going to form here.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah. These are the joyous first days that we've seen before when dictators are toppled.

As I was watching Clarissa's report, I was thinking about the first images we got of Marcos' palace in the Philippines or what happened when Sadam was ousted, and you saw people take up residence inside his palaces as well.

And these are the moments of greatest hope, right? And unfortunately, we have frequently seen these go awry later on as rebel groups that are terrific at toppling brutal governments then go try to struggle with the question of how do you govern.

And that's the big issue that we're facing now because the core rebel group here is a former al Qaeda affiliate. They broke a number of years ago with al Qaeda.

They say all the right things about building institutions, being inclusive, making sure that minority rights are respected. But we're about to discover whether or not they mean any of that and whether or not you can install such an organized governmental system -- not even a perfect democracy but just a working government -- in a place that has been stifled by repression for 50 years.

[05:50:13]

HUNT: David, one of the things that I noticed in that piece, of course, and Clarissa pointed it out, is the Iranian flag to be stepped on as people were to walk in there.

And you write this in your most recent piece that the "...two urgent and related questions circulating through Washington just six weeks before the inauguration is first, will the rebels evict the Iranians and the Russians from Syrian territory, as some of their leaders have threatened. Or, out of pragmatism, will they seek some kind of accommodation with the two powers that helped kill them in this civil war?

And will the Iranians -- weakened by the loss of Hamas and Hezbollah, and now Mr. al-Assad -- conclude their best path is to open a new negotiation with Mr. Trump, only months after sending hit men to kill him? Or, alternatively, will they race for a nuclear bomb, the weapon that some Iranians view as their last line of defense in a new era of vulnerability?"

How does all of this tie together?

SANGER: Well, we're about to go find out. So the -- let's break these down into the pieces.

The first is the Russians. They have two big military bases in Syria. One of them is their only real military port outside of Russia and gives them access to the Mediterranean. The other is an airbase that they use to go mount attacks in defense of Assad when he was alive.

So now the question, Kasie, is do the Russians get to stay? They've already made it clear they're going to try to build a relationship with these new rebels. They desperately need this.

And the United States has a very strong interest in seeing them evicted. So when President-elect Trump turned out his tweet the other day saying we have no dogs in this fight -- stay out -- well, we do have one that has to do with the Russians.

And then there's Iran which, of course, has been the biggest sponsor and used Syria as a funnel through here. Obviously, they are going to get evicted by this group, but the question is then how do they react? There's been some indication they may be interested in talking to the new administration but that may be just to try to slow them down.

There's also a lot of talk in Iran that everything else has failed for them -- Hezbollah, Hamas, and --

HUNT: Yeah.

SANGER: -- now Syria. It's time to get a weapon.

HUNT: All right, David Sanger for us this morning. Sir, always so grateful to have reporting on the show. Thank you so much for being here.

SANGER: Great to be with you, Kasie.

HUNT: All right, time now for sports. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's home the target of a break-in while he was playing the Cowboys on "MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL."

Andy Scholes has this morning's CNN sports update. Andy, good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, good morning, Kasie.

So Burrows, the latest high-profile athlete to be the victim of a break-in while he was in Texas.

Influencer and swimsuit model Olivia Ponton arrived at Burrow's house in Cincinnati to find a shattered bedroom window and his room ransacked. Ponton, who has 7.6 million followers on TikTok, originally called her mom who then called 911. Ponton then called 911 herself, saying "Someone broke into my house. It's, like, completely messed up." And in the police report Ponton was described as an employee of Burrow.

Back in October the homes of Chiefs' stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce -- Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce -- they were broken into. And NBA players Bobby Portis and Mike Conley Jr.'s homes were also burglarized.

The NFL and NBA have issued security alerts to players urging them to take additional precautions to secure their homes, especially when they're out on the road.

All right, two days after losing Juan Soto to the rival Mets, the Yankees have reportedly added another star to their roster. According to multiple reports, former Braves pitcher Max Fried agreeing to join the pinstripes on an eight-year deal worth $218 million. That's the largest contract given to a left-hander in baseball history. Fried joins Gerrit Cole giving the Yankees one of the best one-two punches in baseball.

All right, the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup tipping off last night in Milwaukee. The Magic playing without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner due to oblique injuries, but they put up a fight. They were up three with a minute left. But Damian Lillard knocks that one down to tie it. Then after a Magic free throw, Dame right down the middle for the lay- in. He had 28. Giannis, 37 points in this one. The Bucks win 114-109 to advance to the Cup semifinals in Vegas for a

second-straight year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, FORWARD, MILWAUKEE BUCKS: We've got unfinished business. We're going to Vegas and we're to have fun, and we're going to play good basketball.

REPORTER: And you get an extra $100,000 at least, so congratulations.

ANTETOKOUNMPO: You know what I told you last year?

REPORTER: Yeah.

NATETOKOUNMPO: The rich get richer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Classic Giannis.

[05:55:00]

All right. The Thunder, meanwhile, playing just stifling D against the Mavs in their quarterfinal matchup. They held Luka Doncic to just 16 points on five of 15 shooting. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, was just dominating. He scored a game-high 39 as the Thunder would roll 118-104 to punch their ticket to Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER, GUARD, OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: Yeah, it had a little bit of a playoff feel. A little bit more at stake than just a regular season game. I'm proud of the team. I'm proud of the guys. We rose to the moment and beat a good basketball team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, you've got two more NBA Cup quarterfinal games on the schedule. Tonight the Hawks and the Knicks are going to get things started at 7:00 Eastern at Madison Square Garden. That's followed by the Rockets hosting the Warriors. You can catch that one on our sister channel TNT at 9:30 Eastern.

The semifinals, Kasie, are going to be Saturday in Vegas. Here's hoping my Rockets finally end their 15-game losing streak to the Warriors. It's got to end at some point. You can't lose forever, right?

HUNT: Well, yeah, yeah. I mean, you know what? The Lions -- the Detroit Lions started winning football games.

SCHOLES: Right.

HUNT: So really anything can happen.

SCHOLES: They're the Super Bowl favorites, right? Yeah, anything can happen.

HUNT: Anything is possible.

All right, Andy. Thank you.

SCHOLES: All right.

HUNT: I really appreciate it.

All right, up ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING a suspect's outburst. We hear from the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO for the first time as he fights extradition to face murder charges.

Plus, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins us live on the role that the U.S. should play navigating a brand new landscape in Syria and across the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we do not lead the world what nation leads the world? Who pulls Europe together? Who tries to pull the Middle East together? We, the United States, lead the world.

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