national security advisor to army lieutenant general michael flynn. this is "cnn tonight," i'm don lemon. general flynn a top military advisor to trump during the campaign. also tonight trump holding his first meeting with a world leader and announcing he'll meet with one of his bitterist rival this is weekend, mitt romney, 2012 republican nominee, famous for calling trump a conman, tony, and a fraud. a source telling cnn, romney is letting it be known he's interested in becoming trump's secretary of state, and tonight, a top trump aide, saying this. >> i know mr. trump is very excited to meet with governor romney. he did a great job in massachusetts on many different things and he obviously was the last republican nominee for president so i'm sure they'll be able to compare notes. >> let's dissect this now. i want to bring in sara murray, also chief national security correspondent, jim shoedchude, d gergen, and lieutenant general mark hurtling. i want to start with this breaking news donald trump is make something more job offers. what you can tell us? >> we have learned donald tr

. this is "cnn tonight." i'm don lemon. trump choosing retired army lieutenant general michael flynn to be his national security adviser. he will sit down with mitt romney, the 2012 gop nominee who had harsh words for trump during his campaign for the white house. he is telling cnn he is interested in becoming secretary of state. to discuss this hour, bring in cnn political reporter sarah murray to start us off. donald trump just filled another key post in his administration. what are you learning? >> not sure if it is entirely sealed yet, but we know donald trump has made the offer to general michael flynn asking him if he wants to be his national security adviser. source isn't telling us whether flynn has accepted. it would be a natural fit. he sat with donald trump through his national security briefings and has been right there with him throughout the transition process. he was seen as the lead candidate for the job, so it would be difficult to see him turning it down, don. >> we also know that donald trump and mitt romney, sarah, will be meeting this weekend. are we seeing signs tr

lieutenant general michael flynn. this is cnn tonight. i'm done lemon. general flynn a top military adviser to trump during the campaign. also tonight trump holding his first meeting with a world leader. and also announcing he will meet with one of his bitterest rivals this weekend. mitt romney famous for calling trump a con man arc phony and a fraud. sources telling cnn romney has let it be known that he is interested in becoming trump's secretary of state. tonight a top trump aide saying this. >> i know that mr. trump is excited to meet with governor romney. he was a successful job creator in the private sector. did he a great job in massachusetts on many different things. he obviously was the last republican nominee for president. i am sure they will be able to compare notes. >> let's dissect all of this now. i want to bring in sarah murray. also jim sciutto who joins us by phone. david gergen, who was an adviser to four presidents both democrat and republican. and cnn military analyst, lieutenant general mark hertling. good evening to awful you. thank you for joining us. sarah,

flynn, trump's pick for national security advisor, is a retired army intelligence officer who was forced out of the pentagon, but michael flynn's ties to russia and his views on muslims have some critics deeply concerned. >>> and mixed company. during the campaign, trump promised his adult children would manage his business if he became president. tonight there are growing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and what roles they'll play in their father's administration. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're following breaking news. officials just announced a $25 million settlement of the lawsuit over trump university. the suits accused trump university of deceptive business practices and making false claims, including that trump hand picked the instructors. so far there's no comment from the president-elect. earlier today trump filled three top spots in his administration. democrats and other groups are already raising some red flags about michael flynn, trump's choice for national security advisor, as well as attorney general nominee jeff sessions and

causing some controversy. president-elect donald trump offering lieutenant general michael flynn the role of national security adviser, according to a transition official. >> we must regain our ability to truly crush our enemies. >> reporter: trump's choice is already making waves. flynn the former director of the defense intelligence agency has a long history of controversial remarks, accused of stoking islam phobia. >> we cannot win this war unless we're free to call our enemies by name. radical islamists and failed tyrants. >> reporter: he was fired in 2014 by the white house. flynn said it was payback for criticizing the administration. u.s. officials say it was his contentious management style. >> you have to look for somebody that will tame the impulsive nature of the president-elect, somebody who is more steady and more objective and more thorough in their analysis. i'm not sure that's what you get with general flynn. >> reporter: flynn accused of mishandling classified information which the u.s. military that's scrutinized twice. in both cases he was never charged with wrongdoing

controversial, senator jeff sessions, lieutenant general mike flynn, those were two of donald trump's closest advisers throughout the campaign and remain two of the most powerful advisers inside trump's inner circle. the third, mike pompeo, the congressman, the pick to be the new director of the cia. john, this is an important pick for a couple of reasons. most notably, republicans are very happy with this pick, but also, democrats on capitol hill, while they might not have been thrilled about congressman pompeo's targeting of hillary clinton during the benghazi investigation, they have been very complimentary of his work on the intelligence committee, of his work as a member of congress. a bit of an olive branch, if you will, but no question about this, mike pompeo's credentials are very conservative and track very closely with what donald trump has been touting is his national security policy throughout the course of his campaign. >> all right, phil, donald trump not where you are at trump tower, he's at his golf resort in bedminster, new jersey, where he's got some brig meetings th

mike flynn for national security advisor. that pick has already created controversy "the 11th hour" begins now. >>> good evening from our headquarters in new york. we begin tonight with reports from inside trump tower that mitt romney is under consideration for secretary of state. he is due to meet with the president-elect at trump tow they are weekend. the associated press is reporting tonight that trump has offered the national security advisor job to general mike flynn, retired lieutenant general, u.s. army. the visitors continue to come in and out of trump tower all day today, though not all of them through the public lobby. some, like florida governor rick scott and south carolina's governor nikki haley came and went by private elevator directly to the penthouse residence. one big name has pulled himself out of contention -- former house speaker newt gingrich tells nbc news he will not be a part of a trump cabinet. but about mitt romney. while he is just the latest name being floated out as a potential for the job of secretary of state, just the mention of it today was a stunn

trump intends to select lieutenant general michael flynn as his national security adviser. again, this is according to a source familiar with the transition process. just to remind everyone who flynn is, he ran the defense intelligence agency from 2012 to 2014. he served as a top national intelligence adviser to general stanley mcchrystal in iraq. he was one of trump's top national security advisers throughout the campaign, as you will recall, a number of foreign policy experts distanced themselves from donald trump. not michael flynn. this is someone who is considered a loyalist and as we have watched this transition process unfold roiled by reports of turmoil, donald trump seems to be really focusing right now in this initial phase on loyalists. so it would fit into that broader pattern. now i would of course caveat all of that that until we hear this from the president-elect himself, it's not etched in stone. but at this hour, according to the source who is familiar with the transition process, president-elect donald trump intends to select lieutenant general michael flynn as his na

flynn to serve as his national security adviser. flynn faced strong criticism from his former colleagues, both in the military and intelligence communities. we've got teams at trump tower and in d.c. of course as team trump starts coming to the. let's start with sunlen serfaty live in new york outside of trump tower. good morning. >> good morning, carol. donald trump has been hold up at trump tower all week conducting interview after interview. and now we can say that the contours of a trump administration are beginning to take place. donald trump has made three posts on three big jobs. we know this according to sources but a formal announ announcement is going to be made later today and even though he has chosen jeff sessions, michael flynn and mike pompeo to be among his staff there are still many, many, many positions left to be filled. and that is in part why donald trump has called for a two-hour meeting here at trump tower with his full transition staff where we will very likely be reviewing some other top choices for these still vacant posts. this weekend, donald trump

trump has picked general michael flynn for the job of national security advisor. this according to a trump official. flynn was a supporter during the campaign. he would come to the white house with baggage. he was fired as director of the intelligence agency because of his combative management style. as for the transition activity, it is moving forward at trump tower here in manhattan. the president-elect has two hours to meet with top choices for key administration jobs. after that, donald trump will spend the weekend in new jersey. he is set to sit down with 2012 republican nominee mitt romney to talk about a possible role for him. possibly that of secretary of state. let's bring in cnn's sara murray with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, george and christine. donald trump extending an offer to general michael flynn for national security adviser in the white house. sources are not telling us if flynn accepted that position. flynn has been at donald trump's side throughout the campaign and transition process as trump works to build a government. flynn may seem like a logical pi

flynn will be trump's national security adviser. having advised trump throughout his campaign and campaigning forcefully for donald trump himself. congressman mike pompeo of kansas, trump's choice for cia director. you'll hear much more about these men ahead, but first here's the transition over president and vice president-elect showing up at trump tower. >> a great number of men and women, great qualifications come forward to serve this new administration and i'm just humbled to be a part of it. our agency teams have gown arrive gun begun to arrive this morning and what will move this country forward. >> bring in sunlen serfaty. sunlen, a lot of interesting picks today. a lot of movement at trump tower? >> reporter: right. a lot of comings and goings and donald trump will hold a two-hour meeting with his transition team here to really talk about some of his picks. not only the ones made today but reflections on the many, many interviews he's held throughout the week. trump tower really has been a hotbed of activity all week and he is heading into important meetings coming up as

michael flynn. there's republican senator jeff sessions and republican congressman mike pompeo. now more on the team as it starts to take shape. >> reporter: lock her up. lock her up. >> reporter: lookingists, hard-liners, now the core of president-elect trump's national security team. the choices revealing the next administration's security posture. one defined not by a pragmatic move to the middle but instead, by a move deeply into conservative orthodoxy. >> i told donald trump this isn't a campaign, this is a movement. >> reporter: jeff sessions, a crucial voice inside trump's team and his first senate endorsement, now in line to be the next attorney general. >> we need to bring back big-time leadership, and that donald trump. >> reporter: michael flynn, trump's closer military adviser and former head of the national intelligence agency is security adviser. mike pompeo, a former army officer, member of the house intelligence committee, and harsh critic of hillary clinton, now in line to be cia director. the picks provoking a chorus of cheers from top capitol hill republicans. >>

. general mike flynn, senator jeff sessions, congressman mike pompeo. loyalists all as donald trump turns his campaign rhetoric into a governing reality. i will talk to his incoming chief of staff reince priebus. do democrats in congress work with >> on issues where our values are at stake, where he goes in a divisive direction, we will go against him. >> my interview with chuck schumer and senator bernie sanders. plus the middle class voters who went for obama and then trump. >> i believe hillary clinton was a criminal. >> i talk to voters who turned blue states red about what they expect now from the president joining me for insight and analysis are tom friedman, kathleen parker, neera tanden and robert costa. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >> from nbc news in washington, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning. president-elect trump spent the weekend at his bedminister, new possible members of his administration including one-time rival and critic mitt romney who is reportedly being considered for secretary of state as well as michelle reed, a

. this is "cnn tonight," i'm don lemon. trump choosing retired army general michael flynn to be his national security advisor. trump will also sit down with mitt romney, the 2012 gop nominee, who had harsh words for donald trump during his campaign for the white house. a source telling cnn that romney's letting it be known he's interested in becoming secretary of state. let's discuss. i want to bring in sara murray to start us you'off. donald trump filled another key port in his administration. what are you learning? >> we do know that donald trump has made the offer to general michael flynn asking him if he wants to be as national security advisor. our sources telling us whether or not he accepted. he sat with donald trump through his national security briefings and he's been with him throughout this transition process. he was seen as the lead candidate for this job so it would be very difficult to see him turning it down, don. >> so we also know that donald trump and mitt romney, sara, are going to be meeting this weekend. are we seeing signs trump is looking to form a team of riv

. >> balance to the first bit of news. general flynn, someone obviously that makes a lot of people in the international community uneasy and nervous, mitt romney would be very good balance to that. a rudy giuliani would be a full blown international crisis. >> it shows an openness of mind that some didn't expect of trump because mitt romney hasn't been particularly generous with kind words for donald trump during the campaign. here he is back in march. >> donald trump tells us that he is very, very smart. i'm afraid that when it comes to foreign policy, he is very, very not smart. donald trump says he admires vladimir putin at the same time he's called george w. bush a liar. that is a twisted example of evil trumping good. he claimed that he had spoken clearly and boldly against going into iraq. wrong. he spoke in favor of invading iraq. he said he saw thousands of muslims in new jersey celebrating 9/11. wrong. he saw no such thing. he imagined it. his imagination must not be married to real power. his foreign policies would make america and the world less safe. he has neither the tem

with his choices. michael flynn, jeff sessions for attorney general, and mike pompeo, well, for his director of cia. flynn's made no secret of his disdain for muslims. sessions has reportedly used racist remarks toward african-americans and pompeo has revealed himself to be a partisan iledology. donald trump suffered a suit against trump university for $25 million. i'm joined by ari melber. let's talk, i had this -- i sense that big shots, big men will push as far as they can. they'll treat the united states government in this case as an acquisition. and therefore, begin to think they can shape it to their will. now, donald trump knows there's a law, an anti-nepotism law that says you can't hire family members. it says you can't hire a son-in-law or daernl or a mother of father. you can't bring the family into the government business because the first loyalty of every public official should be to the people of the country, nautto some relative who put them on the pay role. trump, what's he up to in regard to jared cukushner, his highly trusted krlsh adviser? >> as you say, the congr

friday. alabama senator jeff sessions was picked to be attorney general. lt. general michael flynn is to be trump's national security adviser. and kansas congressman mike pompeo is to be cia director. we'll have more on trump's cabinet after headlines with the intercept's jeremy scahill. donald trump and his vice president-elect mike pence faced criticism from celebrities and artists over the weekend starting with the cast of the , award-winning broadway musical "hamilton." on friday, pence attended the broadway hit in new york city. at the end of the show, actor brandon victor dixon, who plays aaron burr in the rap musical about america's founding fathers, had a message for pence. >> vice president elect pence, we welcome you and we truly thank you for joining us here at "hamilton." we, sir, we are the diverse america who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us. our families, our children, our peearents. we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our american values and work on the half of all americans. juan: donald trump later took to twitter t

flynn who looks like he's likely to be national security adviser. also much more similar to trump. soft line on russia. wants to work with russia on syria. i think the problem for romney, i would be very happy as a trump critic, i would be somewhat relieved to see mitt romney. the problem is, that when you have a national security adviser who is much more on trump's wave length on this, i don't think romney would have a lot of influence. i think he would be like colin powell under george w. bush because he's out of step where they want to go on foreign policy. >> the benefit with something like that, even the benefit of having this meeting for donald trump is, it does -- to peter's point, it makes those who don't like donald trump at least feel, well, there are more establishment figures or people with experience in the room who are being considered, whether or not they're going to get the job. >> i think it sends a very important message. there you few people who fought the romney candidacy as hard as mitt romney did. there was tremendous moral leadership from the mormon community in g

kansas congressman mike pompeo for cia director. and michael flynn, national security adviser. vice president-elect mike pence says the transition process is on track. >> making great progress. great working with the president-elect. he's a man of action. we've got a great number of men and women, great qualifications coming forward to serve this new administration and i'm just humbled to be a part of it. our agency team has gown arribe arrive in washington agencies this morning. we're beginning what will be a very confident and smooth transition that will serve to move this country forward. make america great again. >> all three of donald trump's national security picks are conservatives. mike flynn, though, is registered as a democrat. sessions and flynn were early trump supporters. pompeo initially backed marco rubio but got onboard with trump much later in the race. a former adviser in the white house, axelrod -- donald trump is sticking with those who brought him to the dance, but to many americans it will seem a monstrous ball." from david axelrod. all three picks accepted his

foreign policy and immigration. president-elect trump picked retired it army lieutenant michael flynn as his national security advisor and jeff sessions as attorney general. we have team coverage tonight. catherine herridge and we start off with mike emanuel with a big reward for one of trump's most loyal supporters. good evening. >> reporter: good evening. jeff sessions has served in the senate for 20 years. if confirmed by his colleagues to be the next attorney general, there is no doubt sessions will enforce the nation's immigration laws. >> americans can't continue to bring in labor to do work and subsidize people not working by the millions. >> reporter: sessions was one of the toughest conservative critics of bipartisan immigration immigration reform, concerned it would lead to amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants in this country. that made him a natural as the first senator to back donald trump in the 2016 campaign after trump spoke about building a wall to protect our southern border. >> we will build a wall. mexico will pay for the wall. >> reporter: sessions defended trum

administration begins to take shape. general mike flynn, senator jeff sessions,gr pompeo. loyalists all as donald trump turns his campaign rhetoric into a governing reality. i'll talk to his incoming chief of staff reince priebus. also, do democrats in congress work with trump or fight him? >> on issues where our values are at stake, where the president goes in a divisive direction, we'll go against him with everything we've got. >> my interview with the new democratic senate leader chuck voters who went for obama and then trump. >> well, maybe it's the fact that i believe that hillary clinton was a criminal. >> i talk to voters who turned blue states red about what they expect now from the president. joining me are tom friedman, columnist for the "new york times." kathleen parker, columnist for the "washington post." neera tanden, president of the center for american progress. robert costa of the "washington it's "meet the press." >>> good sunday morning. president-elect trump spent the weekend at his bedminster, new jersey, club, meeting with possible members of his administration includ

you. >>> the president-elect today announced that retired general michael flynn would be his new security adviser. and that is not a position that requires any other form of announcement. that is it. no senate confirmation for national security adviser. for general flynn, that might be a blessing. last year, he attended the anniversary party for russian state-sponsored television. there he is there. and just to the right of him. see that handsome guy? that is russian president vladimir putin sitting with general flynn, who explained his actions, saying he was paid for that appearance. that is his defense, going to the dinner with vladimir putin and honoring state russian tv. his defense was i was paid to be there. now he will be national security adviser to the president of the united states. general flynn was fired from the defense intelligence agency from 2014 as what was described from one side as leadership clashes. he explained it as, the military fired me for calling our enemies radical jihadists. i think it is fair to say, i think his supporters would concede that he is a

michael flynn, head of the nsa. joined by someone who once served alongside flynn to discuss his record. one of millions of orders on this company's servers. accessible by thousands of suppliers and employees globally. but with cyber threats on the rise, mary's data could be under attack. with the help of at&t, and security that senses and mitigates cyber threats, their critical data is safer than ever. giving them the agility to be open & secure. because no one knows & like at&t. so we know how to cover almost almoanything.hing, even a rodent ride-along. [dad] alright, buddy, don't forget anything! [kid] i won't, dad... [captain rod] happy tuesday morning! captain rod here. it's pretty hairy out on the interstate.traffic is literally crawling, but there is some movement on the eastside overpass. getting word of another collision. [burke] it happened. december 14th, 2015. and we covered it. talk to farmers. we know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ >>> much like donald trump's campaign, stirring up controversy. r

flynn who says militant islam poses an existential threat to the united states. attorney general jeff sessions of alabama, tireless opponent of illegal immigration and someone accused of making racially incensensitive remarks that derailed a previous hearing for a federal judgeship in the '80s and for cia representative mike pompeo of kansas, tough critic on hillary clinton for benghazi. he's gotten praise from both. the team represents security over civil liberties, loyalists over moderates. republican senators were largely supportive of the choices and democrats for the most part, particularly for jeff sessions, sharply opposed. joining me from donald trump's club in bedminster, president-elect trump's incoming the new job. >> well, good morning, chuck. appreciate you having me on. >> let me start with the meeting with mitt romney. is it fair to conclude -- i've talked to a few people close to your campaign but we're talking to you and that is simply it's rudy giuliani or mitt romney for secretary of state. is that fair to conclude? >> look, i think if you see the entire pictur

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about that point. not so happy about mick flynn as a national security adviser. he's somebody who is controversial, certainly in circles, retired leiutenant of the army and former intelligence agency director and recipient of four bronze medals. my sources in the intelligence committee who worked with him at one point or another, said she a hot head, somebody who does not like to be disagreed with, who will often remove people that don't agree with him. replace him with ticket bands shz the larger his roles got the harder it became for him to broaden his scope and understand world events on a grander scale. so happy about pompeiio. not so happy about general mike flynn. then there is also jeff sessions, for a.g.. he had a hart time, was not able to be confirmed back in the ''80s for a judgeship. they believe that getting confirmed now will be a much easier scenario, especially since he's served in the senate and the republican versus controlled the senate. >> and, katy, peteral sander is here, jeff sessions is the up with i want to talk to you about and mitt romney. jeff sessions,

conservatives perhaps had feared or liberals had hoped. mike flynn says militant islam posed a threat to the united states. for jeff sessions of alabama, tireless opponent of illegal immigration and has been accused of making racially insensitive statements. and for cia chief, representative mike pompeo of kansas, critic of hillary clinton, he has gotten bipartisan praise for that pick. that's no team of rivals. so far, the choices represent security over civil liberties and loyalists over moderates. republican senators were supportive of the choices and democrats in the most part particularly in jeff sessions, sharply opposed. joining me now from donald trump's club in new jersey is the head of the republican national committee, is president-elect trump's new incoming chief of staff, reince priebus. congratulations on the new job. >> appreciate you having me on. >> is it fair to conclude -- i have talked to a few people close to your campaign. but we're talking to you. and that is simply that, it's rudy giuliani or mitt romney for secretary of state? >> i think if you see the entire picture

conservatives perhaps had feared or liberals had hoped. flynn says that militant islam poses a threat to the u.s. and sessions who has been accused of making racially insensitive to a federal judgeship in the '80's and mike pompeo, a tough critic of hillary clinton, on benghazi he's gotten bipartisan support for the pick. republican senators were largely supportive of the choices and democrats on the most part in particular jeff sessions sharply opposed. joining me from new jersey is the current head of the republican national committee but of course is president-elect's new incoming white house chief of staff, reince priebus. first of all, congratulations on the new job. >> well, good morning, chuck. appreciate you having me on. >> let me start with the meeting with mitt romney. is it fair to conclude -- i have talked to a few people close to your campaign. but we're talking to you. that's simply that it's rudy giuliani or mitt romney for secretary of state. is that fair to conclude? >> look, i think if you see the entire picture here, what i think americans should take from t

you about the appointment of general mike flynn to national security advisor, essentially there are two corner offices in the white house, you'll be in one, he's going to be in the other. in february, flynn posted a video listing bombings perpetrated by muslims with the comment "fear of muslims is rational." can you equivocally rule out a registry for muslims? >> um, look, i'm not going to rule out anything. but i wouldn't -- we're not going to have a registry based on a religion. but what i think what we're trying to do is say that there are some people, certainly not all people, chuck, there are some people that are radicalized and there are some people that have to be prevented from coming into this country and donald trump's position, president trump's position is consistent with bills in the house and senate that say the following. if you want to come from a place or an area around the world that harbors and trains terrorists we have to temporarily suspend that operation until a better vetting system is put in place. and when that happens, when a better vetting system is put in

times of crisis and war. retired general michael flynn, who once said islam isn't a religion. >>> also donald trump's pick for most powerful lawyer in the land, one rejected by the senate over his civil rights record. now he's embraced by many colleagues, even trump opponents. so is senator jeff sessions the right man for the job? >>> plus massive tie-up in manhattan, just in time for the holidays. how securing trump tower, what some are calling white house north now, could cause a four-year traffic mess in gotham. welcome to "the lead." i'm jim sciutto. it is friday and the trump team is announcing the president-elect's cabinet picks at a feverish pace. today president-elect trump is giving the american public a window into how he intends to keep the u.s. safe, to mete out justice and lead the country in times of crisis. president-elect up veiling his choices to lead the national security, the cia and department of justice. lieutenant general michael flynn will become national security advisor. the man with the future president's ear on everything from how to destroy isis to secret su

, for attorney general, retired army lieutenant general michael flynn for national security adviser, and u.s. representative mike pompeo, republican of kansas, for director of the c.i.a. we'll take a closer look at all three men, after the news summary. separately, the president-elect has reached an agreement to resolve three lawsuits over his trump university. new york state's attorney general announced the $25 million settlement today. mr. trump's lawyers have squared off with students who say the for-profit school failed to deliver the real estate investing education it promised. the u.s. justice department has begun looking into charges of harassment and intimidation since the election, and whether they constitute federal hate crimes. there've been incidents targeting muslims and blacks, including in schools and churches. attorney general loretta lynch spoke about the situation, in a video statement today. >> we need you to continue to report these incidents to local law enforcement, as well as the justice department, so that our career investigators and prosecutors can take act

, retired lieutenant general michael flynn will become -- would like to become trump's national security advisor. flynn, a registered democrat, often introduced trump on the campaign trail. and then there's kansas congressman mike pompeo. he is up for cia director and according to a source, pompeo doesn't know president-elect trump very well, nor did he do much campaigning for trump. reaction to these choices ranges from complimentary to caustic. take this tweet from former michigan democratic congressman john dingle. he tweeted "forget the basket, the truly deplorable ones end up in the cabinet." ouch. he, of course, is referring to hillary clinton's now infamous campaign comment about some of trump's supporters. we will be learning much more on all of trump's choices in just a moment, but first to trump tower and our national correspondent sunlen serfaty. any moment now, sunlen, we know donald trump will be leaving for new jersey, tell me more about what you know. >> that's right, brooke. he has one more meeting here at trump tower today before departing at this hour. he is sitting dow

senior government. the transition team has confirmed three new positions. michael flynn, a retired intelligence officer as national security adviser. congressman mike pompeo from kansas, a graduate from west point and harvard law school as cia director. attorneysessions, the from alabama. she was considered a front-runner for defense secretary if hillary clinton had been elected president. she is the cofounder and ceo of the center for new american security. i am pleased to have her on this program. thank you for joining us on this friday afternoon. >> charlie, it is great to be with you. charlie: what do we make of these appointments in the national security field? >> well, it is an interesting collection that is coming together. flynn, youn mike have somebody who was a very creative and brilliant intelligence officer when he was serving in afghanistan, but more recently, he said a number of things that i think many people in the mainstream of foreign policy and defense have found concerning or disturbing. i think in mike pompeo, you clearly have a very bright guy, top of his clas

attorney general, retired general mike flynn for national security advisor and tom pay yoe for director of the cia. sessions in particular was already raising concerns when his name was floated earlier in the week, though the announcement was met with praise by some of his republicans colleagues in the senate. critics pointed to the history that came to light during the hearing for sessions nomination to the federal bench back in 1986. the opposition led by then senator joe biden and several civil rights groups came after session was accused in testimony of a series of racist comments and allegedly warned one african-american assistant u.s. attorney to, quote, be careful what he said to white folks, called him boy, both of which sessions denied, and according to the attorney joked that he thought the ku klux klan was okay until he found out they smoked pot. witnesses testified that sessions who will overview the civil rights division, attacked the naacp as unamerican or communist. sessions acknowledged having made those statements but said he, quote, meant no harm by it and den

flynn as national security advisor. amid breaking news, vice president-elect pence arrived at trump tower in the past hour. >> we've got a great number of men and women and great qualifications that have come forward to serve this new administration and i'm just humbled to be a part of it. our agency teams have begun to arrive at agencies in washington, dc this morning, beginning with what we're very confident will be a smooth transition to serve to move this country forward to make america great again. >> a source telling nbc news that the president-elect is considering mitt romney, one of trump's harshest critics during the campaign to be secretary of state. the two will be meeting this weekend after that long bitter war of words during the campaign. >> donald trump is a phony, a fraud. his promises are as worthless as from trump university. >> he was begging for my endorsement. i could have said, mitt, drop to your knees, he would have dropped to his knees. >> doesn't have the temperament or personal qualities to be a great president. >> the guy choked like a dog. >> peter alexan