AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

On the "News Hour" tonight: President-elect Trump begins to shape his administration, naming immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller and others to top posts.

AMNA NAWAZ: As the vote count continues, Republicans edge closer to winning control of both congressional chambers and giving Trump broad powers to implement his agenda.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the United Nations urges immediate action in Gaza to avoid famine.

We hear from a former U.N. official who just returned from the region.

JAN EGELAND, Secretary-General, Norwegian Refugee Council: This is a catastrophe that has been announced for a very long time, and it will come to haunt Israel and its allies.

GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

President-elect Donald Trump is quickly picking the people he wants to advise him when he enters the White House again in January.

That includes who he has chosen to lead his mass deportation effort, a campaign promise he said he'd begin carrying out on day one.

AMNA NAWAZ: On Sunday, Mr. Trump announced on TRUTH Social that Tom Homan will be what he called his border czar.

Trump said the former acting ICE director would be -- quote -- "in charge of our nation's borders and in charge of all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin."

GEOFF BENNETT: And the president-elect is also expected to formally name Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy in the coming days.

Vice president-elect J.D.

Vance confirmed the selection the social media site X. Miller worked as an adviser during Mr. Trump's first term and is known as an immigration hard-liner.

AMNA NAWAZ: Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, has been covering all of this and joins us now.

So, Laura, we know immigration has been a core part of Mr. Trump's message.

What is he pledging to do as soon as he enters the White House?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Donald Trump made a host of promises during the campaign, Amna.

And so based on statements that he made while campaigning, as well as what I have heard from sources close to the Trump incoming administration, what we expect him to prioritize are a number of things, including mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, restarting border wall construction, invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, and directing more money and agents to the border.

A note on that Alien Enemies Act, Amna, it's only been invoked during times of war, notably when the U.S. carried out Japanese internment.

And it would be used to rapidly deport alleged gang members without due process.

It's going to likely be met with immediate lawsuits.

Another thing I'm told Donald Trump will prioritize is a reconciliation package with Congress to allocate more money for this deportation effort and to add thousands of agents to the border.

AMNA NAWAZ: And who would be carrying out that kind of effort when you talk about mass deportations?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Tom Homan, who you just mentioned, Amna, the former acting ICE director, will lead this effort.

And Homan was recently asked what that mass deportation effort would look like by CBS' "60 Minutes."

QUESTION: Is there a way to carry out mass deportation without separating families?

THOMAS HOMAN, Former Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director: Of course there is.

Families can be deported together.

Their parent, obviously, entered the country illegally, had a child knowing he was in the country illegally, so he created that crisis.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Homan is a -- was a supporter of the first-term effort to separate families, that zero tolerance policy at the border, Amna, which ended up separating some 5,500 families.

He was also a contributor to Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.

And Homan is expected to work alongside Stephen Miller, who, as we just said, is expected to be named the deputy chief of staff for policy.

And Miller is going to also be overseeing immigration policy.

He was known as one of the architects of that family separation agenda during Trump's first term.

And he is someone who supports very harsh immigration policy, recently saying at the Madison Square Garden rally that America is for America and Americans only.

And sources close to Trump world told me that Homan and Stephen Miller approach things a little bit differently.

Homan is seen more as a cop, someone who very much wants to enforce the law and is less ideological than Stephen Miller, whose positions, whose anti-immigrant positions are based on culture and identity.

Now, when it comes to who may be the secretary for the Homeland Security Department, Amna, sources close to the transition told me that Chad Wolf is a top contender.

He served as acting director of homeland security during the first Trump administration, but other names in the mix include Ken Cuccinelli, as well as potentially Vivek Ramaswamy.

AMNA NAWAZ: And then, Laura, when it comes to mass deportations, is that something president-elect Trump can do on day one, as he has pledged to do, and is a mass deportation effort even possible?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: As one source close to the transition told me, Amna, the planning is starting now, so that way implementation can happen on day one.

Now, according to current estimates, there are roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country, and Donald Trump and J.D.

Vance both had previously talked about deporting anywhere from one million to 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Most recently, Tom Homan and other Trump allies have said that their first priority for those deportations would be those who pose public safety threats and national security threats.

But John Sandweg, who is a former director of ICE, acting director of ICE, said that if Trump goes through with those deportations of one million or more immigrants, it will reach far beyond just those who pose public safety threats.

JOHN SANDWEG, Former Acting ICE Director: I'm grateful that the administration says we want to focus first on public safety cases, but the bottom line is, you can't deport a million people in a year, and you can certainly cannot deport 11 million people without getting into these really tough cases, these cases where someone has been here a long time, has never been convicted of any criminal offense, has a U.S. citizen, oftentimes a minor child, who is a U.S. citizen.

And now you're saying, hey, we're going to take you into custody and remove you from the country, and putting these families in these incredibly difficult positions.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, again, Amna, the big question is, beyond deporting people who pose public safety threats, beyond deporting undocumented migrants who have committed violent or property crimes, who exactly is Trump going to target?

Is it going to also include people whose visas have expired?

A former DHS official told me that Trump and Tom Homan may target employers who have large undocumented migrant workers, so that could result in conducting raids.

Of course, logistics are a big question here, Amna.

It's going to require more agents, more transportation, more detention beds, and a lot of more money.

AMNA NAWAZ: Laura, put this in context for us.

Have we ever seen anything like this before?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: No, nothing that would be at this scale,if Donald Trump, if the president-elect is able to carry out something that would be deportations of one million or more undocumented migrants.

And the big picture overall, Amna, is that people view Donald Trump's goals as one that would make it harder, harder not just for people to migrate here illegally, but also legal migration will be restricted severely under this administration.

And there were a few other areas that I want to point out, Amna.

One is that multiple former DHS officials and sources close to Trump world said that the administration may target states by blocking FEMA funding or funding for local law enforcement if those states are ones that provide driver's licenses to undocumented migrants.

Other things that are on the table are ending birthright citizenship.

AMNA NAWAZ: Before we let you go, Mr. Trump has named a few more people to serve in his administration.

Who do we know?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Today, the president-elect announced that he is going to be appointing former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the EPA and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

AMNA NAWAZ: We expect more names in the coming days.

Laura Barron-Lopez, thank you so much.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: So how much congressional support will Mr. Trump have to implement his agenda?

That remains to be seen with more than a dozen congressional races yet to be called.

Republicans hoping to maintain their majority in the House, and if they do, it would lead to Republicans holding a political trifecta over Washington.

Our Lisa Desjardins has been following the latest and joins us now from our PBS News super screen.

All right, Lisa, so where do things stand in the race to control the House of Representatives?

LISA DESJARDINS: We have had more races called over the weekend.

Right now, as it stands, according to the Associated Press, Republicans have 214 seats they have won in the House.

As many of our viewers know, that means they need four more in order to clinch control, keep control.

How many races are left?

There are 17 races left to be called around the country at this hour.

They're all over the place.

There's a couple that are going to overtime, Maine and Alaska.

Those are ranked-choice elections, where we're going to go into the next phase of that.

There's a couple that are getting official review, potentially recounts possible in Ohio and Iowa.

But the largest number still, looking at you, California, 10 races left in the Golden State.

And that will decide who wins and also the margin.

So let's take a look at some of those.

Here's a Republican race critical for Republican control.

David Valadao, incumbent here, in House district 22.

That's up here, sort of in the center of California.

Right now, he's out ahead of Rudy Salas, looking good.

Republicans like that.

Not as good news for Republicans, better news for Democrats in District 27.

That is Northern Los Angeles County, right around there.

George Whitesides, former chief of staff at NASA, is now leading.

He pulled ahead over the weekend.

This could go back and forth, but Democrats think they're going to hold on to this lead.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Lisa, you have been looking at the data surrounding the House results.

What do you see when you look more deeply?

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, there is something historic that happened in this election.

Took my spreadsheet, looked at all of the competitive races that had incumbents in them.

These are the ones that have been called by the Associated Press.

You look at all of these dots representing Democrat incumbents, Republican incumbents.

Of all of these, only five of these incumbents lost their races.

The rest of them were winning incumbents.

It's a 98.5 percent win rate for incumbents, according to Open Secrets.

That is a modern record.

This is one reason Democrats have had trouble.

Incumbents have just had incredible staying power.

So right now, Republicans essentially are up one.

Democrats really have a lot of catching up to do if they're going to get -- they need to swing five more seats in order to get control.

Republicans feeling good.

GEOFF BENNETT: All right, let's shift our focus to the Upper Chamber.

We know Republicans will control the Senate.

The question now is by how much.

LISA DESJARDINS: Right.

Let's look at it.

OK, here we are.

The Senate, according to the Associated Press, to their calls, 53 Republican seats right now in their hands.

The remaining decision is in Arizona, and we are waiting to see what happens there.

So, this week, Republicans will vote on their majority leader replacing Mitch McConnell.

That happens Wednesday.

To win that, you need a majority of the sitting Republicans, more than half.

Who's in that race?

John Cornyn of Texas, John Thune of South Dakota, both have served as the number two Republican in the past.

But a lot of conversation about Rick Scott of Florida, who has entered the race, saying he represents the MAGA wing of the party.

And some from that MAGA wing have been endorsing Rick Scott in the last couple of days, Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, podcaster Charlie Kirk, RFK Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Now, talking to my sources, however, this is a secret ballot vote, Geoff.

And everyone can say what they want about Rick Scott in public.

Behind the scenes, I hear more senators inclined not to vote for him at this moment, but he's really making a run of it.

GEOFF BENNETT: It's an interesting point because the Senate has typically been insulated from outside pressure.

That has to do partly with the way the founders designed it.

I mean, does that still hold true in this Trump era?

LISA DESJARDINS: We have seen Donald Trump clearly wants to push control of the Senate right now.

He sent out this post on X just over this weekend, saying that he is expecting any Republican senator who wants to have the leadership position must agree to recess appointments.

What does that mean?

Recess appointments is a way that you get around Senate confirmation.

And you have to have both chambers in order to do it.

A reminder, the president appoints more than 1,200 total positions.

And high-level nominees usually face hearings in scrutiny, but a recess appointment would get around that.

So this is also a decision that Republican senators will have to make.

Trump wants them to give him sort of carte blanche on his appointments.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lisa Desjardins, thanks to you, as always.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.

GEOFF BENNETT: We start the day's other headlines with Veterans Day, and, in particular, the first joint appearance by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris since last week's election.

They appeared together to honor those who serve the nation in uniform.

At Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington this morning, Mr. Biden laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

And with Vice President Harris looking on, Mr. Biden reflected on the service of our nation's veterans as his own time in public service comes to an end.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: This is the last time I will stand here at Arlington as commander in chief.

It's been the greatest honor of my life to lead you, to serve you, to care for you, to defend you, just as you defended us.

GEOFF BENNETT: Meantime, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to mark the 106th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I.

It's said to be the first such joint appearance on Armistice Day since General Charles de Gaulle hosted Winston Churchill in 1944.

America's top climate envoy told a U.N. conference today that the nation will continue its environmental efforts, despite what he called a bitterly disappointing election result.

John Podesta was speaking at the COP 29 conference as it got under way in Azerbaijan.

He warned that president-elect Trump will try to reverse President Biden's climate policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which funneled $375 billion into climate spending.

During the campaign, Mr. Trump vowed to take the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement once again and increase oil drilling.

Mr. Podesta said Trump should be taken at his word, but that the broader fight for a cleaner environment will continue.

JOHN PODESTA, White House Senior Adviser For Clean Energy: While the United States federal government under Donald Trump may put climate action the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States with commitment and passion and belief.

GEOFF BENNETT: Podesta was speaking as world leaders from around 200 nations gather over the next two weeks to discuss climate concerns, but the leaders of two of the world's biggest polluters -- that's the U.S. and China -- are not planning to attend.

Back here at home, fire crews are battling blazes on both coasts.

In the Northeast, an 18-year-old state parks employee died while fighting a large fire that's burned almost eight square miles near the New York-New Jersey border.

Numerous brushfires have broken out around New Jersey since last week fueled by bone-dry conditions.

Officials say that a quarter-inch of rain fell last night, giving firefighters a bit of a break, but they say it's not nearly enough.

BRYAN GALLAGHER, Forest Ranger: So, right now, you get a little bit of rain, puts that surface fire out, but if it's in the duff, it's going to stay there.

It's going to smoke like a cigar until it gets dry enough, and then that fire can pop up again.

GEOFF BENNETT: And in the West, much larger wildfires rage on in California, though firefighters are making more progress there.

The 32-square-mile Mountain Fire has destroyed more than 170 structures, most of them homes, and at last check is only about a third contained.

A county coroner in Alabama has identified the man killed during a shooting at Tuskegee University as an 18-year-old who was not affiliated with the school.

Yesterday's shooting erupted as the historically Black university was wrapping up its 100th homecoming week celebrations; 16 people were injured, many of them students.

A 25-year-old has been taken into custody.

He was found with a handgun and faces a federal gun possession charge, but has not been accused of the shooting itself.

The FBI has joined the investigation and is seeking tips from the public.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that his forces are holding back enemy troops in Russia's Kursk border region.

He said that Moscow had sent 50,000 fighters to retake areas that Ukraine captured in a surprise incursion earlier this year.

The Ukrainian military released drone footage today that claims to show Russian troops under fire in the area.

Meantime, a barrage of Russian missiles, drones and glide bombs pounded several cities in Ukraine's south and east earlier today.

Officials say at least six people were killed and 30 others injured.

The Kremlin is denying that Russian President Vladimir Putin and president-elect Donald Trump spoke on the phone last week.

The Washington Post first reported the call yesterday, saying that Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists today that the report is - - quote -- "completely untrue and pure fiction."

A spokesperson for Trump said -- quote -- "We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders."

Haiti's international airport shut down temporarily today after gangs opened fire at a Spirit Airlines flight trying to land in Port-au-Prince.

A flight attendant was wounded and the plane was diverted to the Dominican Republic.

Meantime, on the streets of the capital, firefights broke out today between police and gangs as civilians fled in terror.

Some homes were set on fire in upper-class neighborhoods.

It all comes as the country's new prime minister was sworn in following weeks of political chaos and uncertainty.

On Wall Street today, stocks closed at new milestones to start the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average added more than 300 points to end above 44000 for the first time ever.

The Nasdaq inched new numbers and nearly 12 points higher, so just a small gain there.

The S&P 500 managed a small gain for its first ever close above 6000.

Still to come on the "News Hour": we examine the influence billionaire Elon Musk could have in the incoming Trump administration; Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest political headlines; and Idaho's strict abortion law goes to trial, with potential implications nationwide.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and called for Israel to respect the sovereignty of -- quote -- "sisterly Iran."

It marked the strongest criticism of Israel by the man known as MBS since the Hamas October 7 attack and signaled a turn away from Saudi normalization with Jerusalem, all this as a U.N.-affiliated organization is warning of -- quote -- "imminent famine in Gaza."

Here's Nick Schifrin with more.

NICK SCHIFRIN: This weekend, an independent famine review committee affiliated with the United Nations declared that across Northern Gaza, starvation, malnutrition and excess mortality are -- quote - - "rapidly increasing" and famine thresholds may have already been crossed or else will be in the near future.

Little to no aid has reached Northern Gaza over the last month, since Israel launched a new operation and called on all residents to leave, saying Hamas had regrouped.

Jan Egeland, a longtime diplomat and humanitarian who is the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, recently traveled to Gaza and joins me now from Amman.

Jan Egeland, thank you very much.

Welcome back to the "News Hour."

Let me first show you the areas of Northern Gaza that we're going to be talking about.

The Israeli operation last month has focused on Jabalia, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun.

You were only able to travel as far north as Gaza City.

What did you see?

JAN EGELAND, Secretary-General, Norwegian Refugee Council: Well, Gaza City looks like Stalingrad after the Second World War.

It was much worse than I feared.

I'm really shattered by seeing how humanity has been trampled upon through Gaza.

More than two million people are trapped in one of the most confined areas on the planet and they're under the most intense and indiscriminate bombardment by enormous Israeli air force.

And they're using indiscriminate bombs provided by the United States.

This will come to haunt Israel and the United States because this is so much against every principle of civilization and of law.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The Israeli operation in the farther most part of Gaza, the IDF says that Hamas has regrouped there.

Herzi Halevi, Israel's top general, said they have killed 1,000 Hamas over the last month, detained 1,000 more.

In a visit this weekend to that area, he added this: LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, Chief of Staff, Israeli Defense Forces (through translator): We are providing the Israeli residents near the northern Gaza border with greater security and creating conditions for the security to endure, to not be fleeting.

We are not stopping or slowing down.

This is to bring back the hostages, to ensure security for the surrounding communities.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Is that what you saw when you were there?

JAN EGELAND: I understand that the Israeli wants to have safety for the citizens and also to have the long-suffering hostages out.

But they cannot starve deliberately women and children to try to make Israel safer, at the cost of thousands of innocent Palestinian children's lives, will only smear Israel forever and not make the Israelis more safe.

By destroying the neighborhood in Gaza and in Lebanon will not make Israel more safe.

NICK SCHIFRIN: As I said, you couldn't go farther north than Gaza City.

When you requested to go north, what did they say?

What are the conditions, as far as you can tell, just north of Gaza City?

JAN EGELAND: There is a siege there.

It's a little bit like what the Assad regime in Syria did against the besieged areas in Syria, which outraged the United States, European Union, Britain, Germany, et cetera.

Israel is doing exactly the same.

It's starvation tactics against an area which I'm sure have some very bad guys inside, but many more babies.

This is not the way to exercise self-defense nor precise counterterrorism operations like the United States have asked for.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Israeli officials, of course, deny that they are conducting any kind of starvation campaign.

And on the warning from the famine review committee, specifically, Israel's coordinator in Gaza said this weekend -- quote -- "The researchers Continue to rely on partial, biased data and superficial sources with vested interests."

Israel points out there is aid from Jordan arriving into Northern Gaza, some 700 trucks over the last month.

They have also facilitated the movement of the entire population from Northern Gaza.

Again, does any of that match what you are seeing?

JAN EGELAND: No, it doesn't at all.

I mean, I'm amazed how journalists sort of takes one party in a very dirty war as a good source.

Don't believe the Israeli propaganda.

Don't believe Hamas propaganda.

Don't believe Hezbollah propaganda.

There is a reason Israel is denying PBS and all other independent journalism in the world access to Gaza.

They don't want independent witnesses.

We who are there who are independent, neutral, impartial, all U.N. agencies, all Red Cross agencies, all nongovernmental agencies, American, European, et cetera, we are unanimous in that Israel is deliberately starving the population and having an indiscriminate, excessive warfare that are killing thousands of women and children.

There is no doubt that this has been documented.

Israel is not telling the truth.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And, finally, Jan Egeland, winter is coming to Gaza.

JAN EGELAND: Yes.

NICK SCHIFRIN: I wonder how much that will exacerbate all the things that we have been talking about.

JAN EGELAND: After having seen all of these families, all of these mothers who were crying to get a tent, a blanket, a mattress after their home has been destroyed by the carpet-bombing, many will die this winter in the area where Israel is asking people to go, and no water, no sanitation.

Epidemic disease is spreading.

This is a catastrophe that has been announced for a very long time, and it will come to haunt Israel and its allies.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, thank you very much.

JAN EGELAND: Thank you.

329 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,891 AMNA NAWAZ: Among Donald Trump's most visible and powerful surrogates on the campaign trail was Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who owns the platform X, formerly Twitter.

Now with president-elect Trump, Musk remains within the inner circle, joining calls with world leaders and weighing in on staffing decisions.

For more on the influence Musk could exert on the next administration and what he stands to gain, I'm joined by Vittoria Elliott, a reporter from Wired who has long covered Elon Musk.

Vittoria, welcome.

Thanks for joining us.

VITTORIA ELLIOTT, Wired: Thanks so much for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So let's just start with the influence Musk has already had on getting Trump back into the White House.

We mentioned he owns and controls the platform X.

He donated over $118 million to the reelection bid.

How instrumental would you say he was in getting Trump reelected?

VITTORIA ELLIOTT: You know, obviously, he plowed a lot of money into the campaign and he really brought the full weight of his own personal celebrity, because before Musk even owned Twitter, he was one of the top 10 most followed people on the platform.

So just his audience, even without the sort of super juicing that now we have seen as he owned it, as he's changed the algorithm, would have been incredibly powerful.

There was a really great report from the Center for Countering Digital hate that found that the posts on X from Musk alone between July 13, when he endorsed Donald Trump, and October 25 reached so many people that if a campaign were to like pay for that kind of visibility, it would have been the equivalent of about $24 million in advertisements.

So even the use of his platform alone to boost the Trump campaign's talking points, to boost its visibility was incredibly valuable.

But then, if you zoom out from that, he also gave permission for a lot of these other more right-leaning people within Silicon Valley, people like David Sacks and Shaun Maguire Sequoia Capital, to be really public about their support for Trump and to put their money behind his campaign too.

So, I think he sort of really was at the vanguard of being willing to take the public heat and attention for this, such that other people in his circle felt comfortable backing Trump.

And that's also true for bringing the people that have followed him for years, including his fan base.

AMNA NAWAZ: Musk is also the richest man in the world.

He's the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

He also relies on the federal government for a big chunk of his wealth, Right?

He's gotten billions of dollars in federal government contracts over the years.

From what we know about how former President Trump, president-elect Trump, plans to govern, how could Musk and his businesses benefit from a Trump administration?

VITTORIA ELLIOTT: Well, definitely, what we know from how the first Trump administration went is that Trump values loyalty and he is more than willing to use his position as president to reward the people who have been very loyal to him.

So I think a really great place that we may see this is in space exploration.

SpaceX competes with other companies like Blue Origin, which is run by Jeff Bezos, for contracts.

I think we could definitely see him getting more contracts for that.

Tariffs, which have been a huge talking point, would be incredibly helpful for Musk, particularly tariffs on China and Chinese electric vehicles, because that really helps Tesla's market share, even though Donald Trump has sort of taken a more pro-fossil fuel vision for how he envisions his administration and is not as hot on electric cars as Elon Musk is.

Still, some of these policies will be really good for his businesses.

So I think this rollback in regulation, regardless of who you are, if you are a billionaire, if you have a big business, it is an ultimate win.

And particularly, if you read Project 2025, the rollback on labor rights and labor protections, Musk is part of several labor lawsuits and is trying to currently dismantle the National Labor Relations Board.

And that, in itself, being free from some of these suits, being free from the ability of his workers to make claims, are all boons for him.

So I think there are many ways in which a Trump administration could really benefit him.

AMNA NAWAZ: We have also seen over the years a lot of people who got very close to Mr. Trump who ended up getting burned by him in the long run.

You're talking about two very big personalities, two men who are used to being in control and getting their way.

What do you think happens in the future?

Do you see this alliance continuing between these two men?

VITTORIA ELLIOTT: Both of them are very sensitive.

We have seen them really value loyalty and be willing to fire or cut ties with people over even disagreements or perceived slights.

I think it could really go either way.

Though Musk has said he would be in charge of some form of government efficiency commission, I think we may see him much more as a floating adviser to the Trump administration, rather than someone who's actually installed within it.

And I think that's, frankly, because these are two people who are used to being in charge, who kind of conceive of themselves as alpha men.

And I don't see either one of them being comfortable willing to work in a position that feels like it's beneath the other.

Trump has no problem letting go of people who have previously supported him if he feels that their loyalty or their support is in question.

And I don't think Musk would be any different, particularly once Trump is in office and has the full power of the regulatory state that he can then he could sort of rely upon.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Vittoria Elliott, a reporter from Wired, joining us tonight.

Thank you so much.

Good to speak with you.

VITTORIA ELLIOTT: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: For more analysis now of Democrats' losses in last week's election and the new Trump team that's taking shape, we're joined now by our Political Stakes duo -- I almost said Politics Monday -- that's Amy Walter from The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith from NPR.

It's good to see you.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Good to be here.

GEOFF BENNETT: So Democrats are working to regroup and figure out what went wrong in last week's election.

Here's some of what Democrats said yesterday on the Sunday shows.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Bottom line, if you're an average working person out there, do you really think that the Democratic Party is going to the mats, taking on powerful special interest and fighting for you?

I think the overwhelming answer is no.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): The reason we didn't win ultimately is we didn't listen enough to people on the ground, people like Chris Deluzio, Pat Ryan, who were saying, talk about the economy, talk about people's economic struggles, convince people you have the better policies and better vision.

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN): We have used condemnation of Donald Trump versus invitation to Donald Trump supporters.

I have never known any industry, political or professional, in which a strategy of condemnation works better than invitation.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, Tam, how are Democrats coming to terms with this?

Because there are still Harris campaign aides who say they outlined policy after policy that was targeted to working-class voters, and they did make this outreach to Republicans, and yet Donald Trump won all of the battleground states.

TAMARA KEITH: Right.

I think that what you're seeing is there are a lot of Democrats pointing at a lot of different things, and a lot of the things that they're pointing at confirm their priors.

So, if they're progressive, then they believe that trying to win over Liz Cheney voters was a fool's errand and that simply the Harris campaign was too moderate.

And if they're moderate, then they think that they went way too far to the left, and that wokeness is taking down the Democratic Party.

The reality is that this is going to be an argument that is going to continue to be argued for years.

If you remember, after 2012 when Mitt Romney lost in the -- and former President Obama was reelected, they did that autopsy report, the RNC did.

And they said they need to do a better job of winning over Latino voters, and they need to be more sensitive on immigration policy.

Well, then Donald Trump came down the golden escalator, and he became the party's nominee.

He set the party's policy.

In essence, the way this will be decided is by the next Democratic nominee who Democratic voters choose, and if that person wins.

Of course, if that person loses, then there will be a whole new round of this sort of finger-pointing and reckoning, really.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Amy, when you look at the data, what do you see?

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: You know, the Harris campaign and her allies spent a lot of money, hundreds of millions of dollars with many of those messages that the critics that you played in that clip are accusing her of not doing.

And I do think -- I agree with Tam that this idea of she moved too far to the left or she needed to move from the center to talk to working-class voters is going to be a central part of the debate going forward.

But I think, at its very core, the thing that was hurting Harris, the campaign, the most was the one thing she had absolutely no control over, which was inflation itself and the frustration that voters had with the very issue that was impacting them day in and day out.

You can put all the plans you want forward.

You can talk about a positive message.

But at the end of the day, what voters knew was that she was in the White House when inflation went up and Donald Trump wasn't.

And when he was in the White House, lower inflation was the norm.

GEOFF BENNETT: Amy, Democrat -- or, rather, Republicans -- Donald Trump won across the map, improving his margins nearly everywhere.

He delivered on his promise to win over more nonwhite voters.

How daunting a picture is this for Democrats with their national coalition really fractured now?

AMY WALTER: Yes, when I look at where Donald Trump was most successful, you're right.

He basically broke up what was known as -- at the time of the Obama era the coalition of the ascendant, younger voters, voters of color, this growing group of folks in the population.

And where Trump did best was younger voters and Latino voters.

But I think what's also important to appreciate is that, in the states where, say, Harris struggled the most or Trump gained the most, Democrats also either held on or picked up some seats.

So in a state like Nevada, Arizona, where you have Senate candidates, Democratic Senate candidates who were able to outrun the Harris campaign, or, in some cases, we're seeing Republicans who were unable to match Trump numbers.

So I think we're going to talk about that for a while.

The other piece that really did hurt Democrats, especially Latino voters, was being on offense.

In place like California, where they were hoping to pick up multiple seats in districts that are overwhelmingly Latino, it looks like they're going to come up short in all but maybe one of them.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tam, meantime, Mr. Trump is starting to assemble his team, as Laura Barron-Lopez was reporting on this broadcast earlier.

For any presidential administration, personnel is policy.

That's especially true when it comes to Donald Trump.

TAMARA KEITH: Right.

GEOFF BENNETT: What will you be watching for?

TAMARA KEITH: I'm certainly watching who those personnel are.

Already, the picks that we have heard, all of them fall into the same category of people who've been incredibly loyal to Donald Trump.

And I think that that is the key lesson that he learned from his last transition, when he was wowed by generals, where he was persuaded by people who said, Oh, yes, you have got to give this guy a try.

And he ultimately ended up with an administration full of people who did not agree with him on policy.

This time, loyalty to Trump, agreement with him on policy is going to be the most key qualifier.

And that's what you're seeing already with the people that he's named.

The one thing that I will note is that, and it's very technical, but there are these memoranda of understanding that an incoming administration is supposed to sign with the current administration, essentially to give them the keys, so that they can look under the hood, they can have landing teams in place at various agencies, so that they can really hit the ground running.

So far, Trump's team has not signed these.

They also govern things like conflict of interest, allow background checks.

A lot of different items come with these memoranda.

They haven't been signed yet.

This is a total break from precedent.

Even in 2016, which is widely seen as a truly terrible transition because Trump's team threw out the plan two days after the election, back then, they did sign those.

And so it's not clear at this point whether or not they will sign them.

Trump will be sworn in on January 20 regardless.

But people who watch this who say that transition is really the most perilous time in the U.S. government, they are worried about it, and they are raising -- they're sounding the alarm.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the minute we have left, help us understand why he's focused on recess appointments, especially given the fact that he's going to have at least 53 -- a 53-seat majority in the Senate.

He shouldn't have too much trouble getting his nominees through.

TAMARA KEITH: He could have trouble with some of them, depending on how big that majority is in the Senate.

Some of these people that have been extremely loyal to him are also extremely controversial and have a lot of controversial history and statements and all of these things that may make them hard to confirm.

But also this is another one of these tests where Trump is trying to assert his power over the Congress, where he is trying to have ultimate power and trying to get the potential leaders of the Republicans in the Senate to agree to this in advance.

So that is as much as what it's about.

It's a power that hasn't been used in a long time, in part because senators on both sides of the aisle have tried to prevent presidents from using this power.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter, our thanks to you both.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

AMNA NAWAZ: An Idaho state court will hear arguments tomorrow in a case brought by four women who allege they were denied emergency care because of the state's abortion laws, which are some of the most restrictive in the nation.

The women argue that the medical exceptions in the state's laws are too narrow to protect the health of pregnant patients, including in cases of fatal fetal diagnoses.

For more on the case, I'm joined now by the lead plaintiff, Jennifer Adkins, and Marc Hearron, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the women in this lawsuit.

Welcome to you both.

And, Jennifer, I want to start with you and your experience, because you were 12 weeks pregnant with your second child when you received multiple diagnoses for the fetus, including Turner's syndrome, which I understand ends in miscarriage in the vast majority of cases.

I'm so sorry for that.

Can you just tell us what it was like to receive that news?

JENNIFER ADKINS, Plaintiff: I mean, it was it was devastating to find out that a baby that we were really excited to welcome into our family was not going to survive the pregnancy.

And it was just -- it was news that no parent wants to get.

And knowing that we couldn't get health care in our home state was just added heartbreak to us.

AMNA NAWAZ: Marc, the state attorney general here has argued that the law says -- quote -- it allows a doctor to perform an abortion if he or she has a "subjective good-faith belief that there is a risk of death to the mother if it's not done."

You're representing three other women in this case, but you're also representing two physicians and a local medical association.

What did they tell you about how they're interpreting this exception?

MARC HEARRON, Senior Counsel, Center for Reproductive Rights: So, actually, let me just say that the attorney general's quotation of the law is wrong.

The law only allows an abortion if it is -- quote -- "necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman."

And doctors all across Idaho or anywhere in the United States are not trained to draw the line about what medical care is necessary just to prevent their patient'S death.

They are trained to provide all necessary treatment options and health care that would prevent their patient'S health from deteriorating.

So these abortion bands are handcuffing doctors, preventing them from providing the full spectrum of care to their patients, and under threat of criminal penalties.

Doctors do not understand what this law means.

They don't understand how to apply it to their practice.

What they do know is that if they provide care in reliance on the exceptions, they are subjecting themselves to threat of criminal prosecution, massive civil fines, loss of their medical license.

And so it's no wonder that you have seen an exodus of obstetricians and gynecologists and maternal fetal medicine specialists from the state of Idaho.

You have seen closure of labor and delivery wards.

And there is a health care crisis going on in Idaho because of some of the most restrictive abortion bans in the United States.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jennifer, in your case, you were, as you mentioned, forced to leave the state.

You traveled to Oregon, some six hours away, to receive an abortion.

Just help us understand what that process was like to figure out where to go and to organize it all and to pay for it all as well.

JENNIFER ADKINS: Right.

I mean, you're forced to in that kind of situation immediately start scrambling and kind of ignore the grief that you're experiencing, knowing that you're not going to take home a baby, and instead juggle logistics and, like you said, coordinate the travel, find the funds to travel and call a bunch of different clinics that you have never called before,that you don't have a relationship with.

And, especially when you're not referred by your doctor, they don't know anything about your story.

They don't know anything about you as a patient.

And so you have to explain yourself over and over again and try to find appointment availability and those types of logistics.

And it's the last thing that grieving family and a bereaved family is wanting to do is walk through all of these mechanical logistics.

AMNA NAWAZ: Can I ask, Jennifer, at any point in all of this, did you ever consider carrying the pregnancy further, seeing if you could carry to term?

JENNIFER ADKINS: You know, it was it was explained to me that even if I attempted to continue the pregnancy that my baby would not survive to term, and that I was likely to miscarry.

And miscarriage itself has risks of certain things like hemorrhaging and sepsis and other risks.

I also understood that I could develop something called mirror syndrome and develop high blood pressure and edema, which is swelling under the skin.

And so, even if I attempted, it would be a risk to my health.

AMNA NAWAZ: Marc, the goal of this lawsuit, lay this out for us.

And what would it change in Idaho and what would be the broader impact, especially given this context we have of an incoming administration that signaled there could be further restrictions on abortion access?

MARC HEARRON: Look, what we're asking for in this lawsuit is pretty simple.

We're asking that doctors be able to practice medicine as they have been trained to.

And that includes abortion care where such care is within the standard of care to treat a patient and prevent them - - to prevent a serious health risk or a threat to their lives.

And the laws currently are inadequate for doctors to feel comfortable with providing care like they have been trained to do.

I do think this case -- the Center for Reproductive Rights has filed similar cases in Tennessee and in Texas.

And this is important at a national level because it highlights what could happen if there is a national abortion ban enacted by the new Congress at any gestation.

You know, I have heard politicians throw out, well, how about 15 weeks, a 15-week abortion ban or 16-week abortion ban as a compromise?

These medical complications that arise that are opposing serious health risks to patients often, they're arising at 17, 18, 19 weeks in pregnancy.

So what you're seeing in Idaho will go on tour all across the United States and will come to every state, regardless of the abortion laws within that state, if we have a national abortion ban.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Marc Hearron from the Center for Reproductive Rights and the lead plaintiff in their Idaho case, Jennifer Adkins.

Thank you to you both.

Really appreciate your time.

MARC HEARRON: Thank you.

JENNIFER ADKINS: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: On this Veterans Day, we celebrate the approximately 6 percent of the population who've served in our nation's military, a number that's been declining for the past four decades.

In cities and towns across the country, the nation's oldest veterans group, the VFW, or Veterans of Foreign Wars, provide spaces known as posts for these remaining war veterans to connect and socialize.

But as their numbers dwindle, the VFW seeks to expand its ranks by looking to a new generation.

Stephanie Sy has that story.

STEPHANIE SY: As the Ohio State Buckeyes sail to victory over Perdue, veterans and their families mingle over a potluck.

It's part of the weekly tailgate at the Whitehall VFW Post just outside of Columbus, Ohio.

It's a little more inclusive than the traditional VFW post, where old veterans trade war stories over a beer.

But that's the point.

SGT.

1ST CLASS CHRISTINE CURRY (RET.

), Whitehall Memorial Post 8794: We realized that to reach out to that younger generation, they're family-oriented.

Then we need to be family-oriented.

STEPHANIE SY: Christine Curry and her husband, Richard, served in Iraq and were the first post-9/11 veterans to lead this VFW location.

They have seen their membership rise in the last few years simply by opening their doors to veterans who didn't feel welcome before.

COL. RICHARD CURRY (RET.

): Whitehall Memorial Post 8794: We came here and made sure that we were a welcoming place not only for families, but obviously for people of all beliefs and all races.

And we have a good mix here.

Ray Rodenfels was a Korean War veteran, recently passed away.

We miss him.

He's a good member.

STEPHANIE SY: Richard Curry says when, he took over the post, there had been a slow decline in membership for decades.

Since the draft ended, there are simply fewer military service members.

And to qualify to join, one has to have served in a conflict.

COL. RICHARD CURRY (RET.

): We have lost a lot of veterans from World War II era.

We're losing the Korean War veterans.

So we have declined over the years because obviously people have died.

Off.

STEPHANIE SY: Now in its 125th year, the VFW was founded by veterans from the Spanish-American War and Philippine insurrection to support and advocate for those who fought for their country.

But since its peak in 1992, the VFW has lost nearly half its membership nationally, now at nearly 1.5 million.

And hundreds of posts across the country have closed.

BRITTANY DYMOND, VFW: Veterans are veterans, but just like any other group, needs change over time.

STEPHANIE SY: Brittany Dymond is a Navy veteran on the VFW's communications team.

BRITTANY DYMOND: A lot of posts are getting really, really creative with how they appeal to newer veterans.

There's one post that has a community garden.

There are other posts that are introducing really amazing programs like yoga and meditation.

Thank MAN: you to the VFW for hosting this.

STEPHANIE SY: Rather than sitting at bars, modern veterans often connect over video games, says Dymond.

So the VFW started a gaming community for its members.

Posts have also increased community service opportunities, like providing relief to communities hit by Hurricane Helene last month in North Carolina.

BRITTANY DYMOND: A big through line that unites veterans is a core of service.

As veterans, we can just fall back on -- essentially, it's kind of muscle memory.

STEPHANIE SY: According to the VFW, these efforts have worked.

Like the Whitehall VFW, posts nationally have recently seen their membership grow.

Vietnam veterans still account for the bulk of this membership; 85-year-old Sidney Logan has frequented the white hall VFW posts since he retired from the Air Force in the late 70s.

Logan spent six years in Vietnam flying equipment and deceased and wounded troops across the Pacific.

SIDNEY LOGAN, Vietnam Veteran: You have bad memories.

You have good memories.

And it's a place to talk to people, because some of the nightmares, you bring 30 or 40 human remains across the Pacific.

And it's a place to vent oftentimes.

CAPT.

ALFRED LIPPHARDT, VFW: Those smoky, beer-drinking bars, there's times that's a good thing.

STEPHANIE SY: Alfred Lipphardt is a Vietnam veteran and the national commander of the VFW.

He says, even with the efforts to reach out to a new generation, the old ways still have their place.

CAPT.

ALFRED LIPPHARDT: There are times when a combat veteran needs to talk to another combat veteran.

When one veteran meets another veteran, we pretty much understand.

We know each other.

STEPHANIE SY: And so while families cheer for the Buckeyes over homemade chili, there's still a spot at the bar to meet veteran to veteran and share a drink and a story.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

AMNA NAWAZ: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

0:54:55.705,1193:02:47.295 GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at the "PBS News Hour," thanks for spending part of your evening with us.