Transitions, sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on cspans q a. Former House Speaker john boehner joined a discussion on the Incoming Biden Administration and the 117th congress. The mir i hadian International Conversation also included former transportation secretary Rodney Slater who served in the linton administration. Ms. Verstandig thank you, thank you. Its an honor and privilege to be here. Meridian has been very much a part of my personal and professional life and i very much appreciate the opportunity to be in dialogue with this distinguished group of panelists today who are both friends and colleagues and i think that group is very much representative of the things that you just laid out. And theyre the themes of disgraced democratic experience this great democratic experience that we here in america undertake and have undertaken for the last 240 years. But it is a Bipartisan Group and if i can just add a p. S. On my personal bio, as everyone who knows me well, not only do i do National Security and Foreign Policy, but having served and worked on the hill, and i have a very much, in my d. N. A. , the essence of bipartisanship. For me, looking at this biden transition and where were going with that transition, its very much anchored in the clarity of what i call roles and responsibilities. And those roles and responsibilities are on behalf of all of us. As americans. And were all standing together, because as you said so well, were faced with challenges here in america. But theyre global challenges. So americas leadership will be executed with the degree of humility and transparency and we look forward to engaging with our colleagues on capitol hill, with the American People, and with our friends in the global landscape. So with that, may i turn over and ask our colleagues, id like to get into the nuts and bolts of this transition. So we live and breathe it here in the nations capital. But lets tried to a little bit better job educating this transition educating. This transition is a little tricky. Its different than what it has been in the past. T it is being rolled out quietly. If i may add, Speaker Boehner, if you would just, from your vantage point, give us a landscape, the congress is critically important to the rollout of this transition because its anchored in the new incoming cabinet members. So id like each of you after Speaker Boehner to offer his framework, to also pick up on that. So both rodney and former congressman crowley, if you could also address that issue as well. Speaker boehner, over to you. Mr. Boehner well, toni, thank you. The good to be with all of you. I hope that everyone finds this very interesting. You know, divided government has served america pretty well over the last 200 years and looks like we may be headed toward a divided government once again. Of course there are two senate races in georgia that have yet to be decided. But for this conversation, my assumption is were going to end up having a divided government. And as you look at the new administration, theyre going to find, i think, some opportunities to work with the congress. Its not going to be easy. It never is. It was never intended to be easy. But when it comes to the makeup of the new cabinet, i think youll see republicans on the hill by and large be supportive of the president elects picks. There will be some, there will be a couple, i would guess, that arent going to quite pass the test. But theres going to be i think quite a bit of respect for the people that president elect biden chooses for his cabinet. Mr. Crowley i would really agree with john on this, Speaker Boehner. I think the American People expect that the senate will cooperate and give to president elect joe biden what hes entitled to and thats a workable cabinet. I wouldnt necessarily call that bipartisanship as much as its the expectation the American People have placed on the senate in their role, to confirm. And so i think that we may very well see i expect we will see some republicans in that mix. Some will have an easier time than others. I know that, from the outset, my good friend, mira danden has been singled out so far. I think shes wonderful. In this world of hyperpartisanship, to criticize her for having been partisan in supporting joe biden when some of the verbiage that weve had to deal with over the last four years she really pales in comparison to that in terms of he use of that. I hope thats not a person people target and say heres our problem, so to speak. But who knows. Ell see what happens. Ms. Verstandig rodney . Mr. Crowley youre muted. Mr. Slater thank you. Is that good . Ms. Verstandig thats good. Mr. Slater thank, toni. Thanks to meridian for affording us this opportunity, its a great organization, we look forward to discussion. Id like to echo the sentiments of Speaker Boehner and congressman crowley. I think that clearly this issue of divided government is before us and knot with standing whatever happens in the Georgia Elections, its still going to be a slit, almost down the middle, congress and youll have a change in the white house but this is a country that is pretty much split down the middle. And its going to take a unique, i think, president in the white house to attempt to bring that together and the good thing that the president elect has said is that hes going to be a president not only for those who voted for him but for those who voted against him as well. He believes that thats the responsibility of a president , fankly, the only office in our country that is voted on by all of the people of the u. S. He has a wonderful running mate and now Vice President elect in senator harris. They make a wonderful team. One other thing id like to say about the cabinet is that the president elect has said hes going to have a cabinet that looks like america, feels like america. You see that coming into focus. I think hes made some tremendous selections thus far. Tony blinken as secretary of state, we all know him very, very well. He will clearly be a secretary of state more in the traditional sense and we can get into that a little later in the discussion but clearly reaching out to our allies and trying to reestablish relations with those very, very important. Ill just close echoing joes tanden, bout neera shes a great person. I think the president elects cabinet is going to get a good everview. Theyre all people of substance and capability. Hes clearly making that a priority. And hes looking them as a team, as much as individual members, because with the challenges we face theyre going to have to work as a team, clearly led by his vision and his encouragement in their service to the American People. But its a very exciting time. Ms. Verstandig thank you, i think you all vlade this out quite well. I think i want to pick up on lets get into some granularity. You mentioned the Georgia Elections. Lets get into, what is the pivot point on the Georgia Election that references an impact on the cabinet selection and the degree to which the republicans appear to be divide bud even if the Georgia Election turns to two more democratic seats in the sthath its still going to be close. President elect biden has a deep and rich background coming from the senate. And respect from his colleagues. Lets talk about two components. One, what happens after the Georgia Election . Is there a paradigm shift we can look at more of a consensus . Two, what can the republicans in the senate do that can help foster this more collegiality, beginning to break down some of so we can begin this process and everything doesnt need to be on the front page of our respective newspapers or dia, just to be more quietly have Building Measures on this critically important rollout of confirmation process. Bobby rodney, lets start with you since you were the last. Mr. Slater sure, toni. Im clearly looking forward to hearing from the comments of my colleagues as well. S i think about it, its quite significant for this race nvolving two really senate positions in georgia. And its in georgia. I mean, as a native of the south, im excited about that. I remember during the Clinton Campaign back as far as 1992, when georgia was a target for thengovernor bill clinton, meeting with thengovernor zell miller and laying out a strategy to speak to the south and try to bring the south into the fold. Again, georgia came into the democratic column during that time and we havent won it again until this time. Nd president elect biden did tremendously well in georgia. The numbers actually continue to rise over time. And now weve got these two senate seats. I think its good, again, that we have two rather than one because it just puts everything on the table. There is the presumption that democrats may not come out in a runoff election. I dont think that thats going to be the case. I think its going to be very close. Everyone knows that President Trump is going to go to georgia this weekend. Which will be very interesting. President elect biden and Vice President elect harris have said that they will probably be going at some point. This is a very, very important election. Im excited about it. Warnock and rafael john horsaw i think are tremendous democrats for the are tremendous candidates for the democrats. I think they say a lot about what the new south represents. I think its going to be a competitive race. Im happy its in the south, it forces the nation on a state that was very important in the president ial election and it will mean a lot when it comes to the ability of the of the president to get some things done. But again you touched on his relationships with senators across the political divide. I think that thats going to come into play here as well. So helling more, whatever the outcome, but clearly if he has a majority or a split 5050 with the Vice President breaking the tie thats a big difference when it comes to your strategy and your movements as far as leadership. Ms. Verstandig thank you for that granularity, i think its a great snapshot. Speaker boehner, lets put you in the middle here. Theres a great deal of curiosity why your former colleagues in the republicancontrolled senate, theyre only now beginning to quietly speak up about supporting this transition process. Whats your take . How do you evaluate the landscape right now in the enate . And whats your evaluation on georgia . Mr. Boehner i think republicans in the senate are looking forward to the transition. They all know its coming. It is in fact happening. But all the action is about georgia. You have members who are going to be chairman of the committee or they could be the Ranking Member. Its a really big deal. All eyes are on georgia, all hands are on deck in georgia. And so until georgia gets decided, things will get bet the only things that will get done are the things that have to get done. Funding the government by the end of next week. Probably some small covid relief bill that could be attached to such a bill. Doing something about the National Defense authorization act. Maybe a few other cats and dog there. But other than what has to get done its all about georgia. Ms. Verstandig former congressman draw lee . Mr. Crowley i would just add to what john has just said as well, i agree with the importance of georgia. John boehner just said the difference as to who is the chair or the Ranking Member in the senate. Why that is so critical is that if democrats are able to capture the senate, even with a 5050 split, the use of reconciliation as a tool to pass a much broader agenda for democrats, that opportunity exists. Without it, it doesnt. And i think thats an important thing. I think youll see more of what the president campaigned on, had an opportunity to see the light of day in the senate. Lets keep in mind one thing. That the results of this election are becoming more and more clear. And that is, although the American People rejected soundly donald trump, they did not reject republicanism writ large. When you look down the ticket, overall, republicans gained positions in the house of representatives, they were expected to lose them. They didnt lose the senate so far. And going deep, they maintained control of the state legislative bodies they had already. And theyll have an oversized difference on reapportionment. When you look in terms of where the republicans stand right now and democrats, this is pretty split decision here in many respects. But everything comes down to the georgia these two georgia seats. And you know, i think rodney is right. I think democrats have a better than normal chance in georgia for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is theyve had the highest turnout in a long time, almost five million votes. They dont expect that many right now. The president continues to attack the system overall. And that is leading some republicans to lose faith in the entire system. Well see what happens in terms of that runoff. Ms. Verstandig congressman crowley, thank you very much. For the audience id like to point out what you just experienced is an extraordinary lesson in our democratic process here in america. As much as i par it is pate in that process, i really respect each of you for your very thoughtful and granular comments. Its quite extraordinary. I hope you all will think about going on the road and educating in terms of young people because one of the things that were seeing here as we discussed, the cabinet selection, is that we ant the cabinet selection as president elect biden said, to look like america. We need to listen to america. Just like we need to listen to our international colleagues. We think all too often forget how messy the democratic experience is but how incredible it is. So i want to thank each of you for that. Lets broaden our lens a little bit if were going to continue transition in discussing some of the policies. Id like to hear your evaluation on cabinet choices thus far. Each of you have referenced a bit, touched on what i call growth and responsibility of the cabinet appointments. Theyre not all filled out yet. Theyre being thoughtfully rolled out. Lets start with the top one, rollout asl security tony blinken as proposed secretary of state. Avril haynes, Jake Sullivan in n. S. C. The Economic Team is rolled out. Id like to get your each of you to offer comments on the selections and also, if you could, differentiate the significance of those that require confirmation against those that dont, for example, jay sullivan as National Security advisor. I think it would be helpful for our audience to better understand why some require confirmation and what that means and why other positions dont. So congressman draw lee, lets start with you, tuck please. Mr. Crowley i think president elect biden, as secretary slater has alluded to, when he made his speech about healing america, talked about what he perceived as what we need to do to move america forward. And part of that was to bring what i think is going to be the most diverse cabinet as well as white house staff that weve ever seen. Probably even more diverse than president barack obamas, which was very diverse itself. In terms of, you know, i think both Speaker Boehner and secretary slater, who has gone through the confirmation process himself, he may even have more insight into that as well, knows that certain positions within the white house do not require the confirmation of the senate under the constitution, but some do. Including the cabinet positions. And i do think with tony blinken, for instance, president elect biden has chosen someone that will reestablish our ties to our traditional allies. I think we all recognize that china is still a problem regardless of party affiliation. I think reengagement in the pacific is going to be critical for us. I also going back to my first point in terms of europe in particular, reestablishing these ties that have been traditional allies in the postworld war ii era, reengaging the paris accord, i think trying in some way to work with our European Partners to wrangle iran back into the umbrella of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. I do think that was a critical point. I think tony is someone who is respected on both sides of the aisle. As is jay sullivan who worked for secretary clinton, people know of his intellect. Again, diversity in terms of haynes and others bringing diversity and intelligence is critically important as well. Ms. Verstandig thank you, congressman draw lee. Secretary slater, i know youre having technology problems, but if youre up and able to engage, i think congressman crowley did, you know, reference, and i think on this panel youre the one who served in the cabinet with confirmation, if you wouldnt mind giving us your perspective, we would really appreciate it. Mr. Slater sure, sure. First of all, i think its very important for an administration to look like america. The president elect has talked a lot about our power as a country, whether thats militarily or economically. But hes also talked about the power of our example. And when people around the globe can look to the u. S. And see the longest democracy in the history the world, the most diverse democracy, and see that represented, and seeing it operate capably, thats a very strong example. That is the power of that example. By the way, i would like to say that this, you know, the difficulty of govern governance and the structure that we have, its all intentional. James madison and the other founders, they designed this government as it is with the separation of powers so that we thed not sort of give in to strong man kind of philosophy of governance. That there would be a team effort. And that to really get big things done, you have to have cooperation and collaboration. So this is quite natural, to see, you know, it play out and the difficulty of it. The most significant thing about the most recent