With massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren about progressive priorities for president elect biden administration. We are joined for our final session of the day with senator Elizabeth Warren, and we couldnt be more thrilled to have her try to unpack what has gone on over these past couple of weeks and frankly, where this country is headed over the next several years. Senator, thank you so very much for joining us. Hello thank you for having me were going to have fun. Lets have fun i have so many questions selfishly to understand how you think about it. But the thing that i think were all trying to make sense of right now is the message that you think the outcome of this election really means and what i mean by that is the democrats have won the white house. But have lost ten seats in the house well see what happens in the senate and im trying to understand whether we think that this is an endorsement or a reputuation of the more progressive values that i know you have argued for or if its something about centrism what will is your tack on what this means . So look, joe biden and Kamala Harris won by more than 5 million votes. It was record turnout, and they won by running on the most Progressive Agenda that a general election candidate has ever run on in the United States of america. And it wasnt just what happened with joe and kamala. Florida said were tired of waiting for the federal government and they went for 15 an hour minimum wage. Arizona said were going tax rich people more so that we can invest in public education, colorado said weve had it were going to go ahead and do paid family and medical leave for everybody in the state. That is remarkable. Think about what that means. So i see it as a time when americans are saying we need to make changes in this country and we need to make the kinds of changes that that increase opportunities it touches peoples lives so for me it means it is mandate to joe biden and Kamala Harris to do the things we can do. To cancel Student Loan Debt for tens of millions of americans. Single biggest stimulus we could add to the economy. Put investment in child care because we can do it. Raise the minimum wage for everybody who works for a federal contractor to 15 an hour. Get the pandemic and the economy under control. So i think theyve got a pretty clear agenda in front of them it is huge. But a lot of tools in their tool box and a lot that they can do. So get out there and do as much good as you can. Thats my view on it. I want to dig on all of these things and ask you about one comment because it does get at this issue of how much a mandate there really is in this regard this is the comment made reportedly by congressman abigail stand burger of virginia you may have read this before she said we lost races we shouldnt have lost Defund Police almost cost me my raise because of an attack ad dont say socialism ever again we need to get back to basics. What do you make of that . Im not going to attack Peoples Campaign tactics. But we need to make clear what we stand for as democrattings and we need to be willing to get out there and argue for it. And for me, lets talk about one of the clearest parts of it that is our economic agenda widely popular across this country. Nobody lost any election over what is cancel Student Loan Debt and expand Social Security and expand universal child care and universal prek. Lets make sure that everybody has access to Affordable Health care those are the things that Americans Care about right there in their lives ill tell you Something Else they care about. They dont want an economy they dont want a government that is run by a bunch of lobbyist, a bunching of insiders and just a bunch of corporate folks. Where do you land on raising taxes at this moment . Look, joe biden has said or president elect biden said that he will not raise taxes on those begin less than 400,000 a year and i think that makes sense. I want us to make investment, investments are stimulus spending. Look, universal child care. Here is one we need to make a Huge Investment in liquid what do for the economy . It would let mom and dad finish their education and go back to work and people who are otherwise lost at home. What else would it do . Keep businesses up and going and here is the third part. If we make part of that and improving wager for every Child Care Worker then we will list the salaries of tens of millions of people mostly women, mostly women of color. That is the kind of thing we need to be doing. The republicans want to cry austerity but lets be clear they gave buckets of money to billionaires. What we need to do is we need to be saying no, we will have more progressive taxation and we will invest in making this economy work for everyone. We need to do that in a pandemic we need to do it all the time. I want to get to some of those issues but personal question, do you want to be part of this administration . Look, i will not comment either on myself or the specifics about anybody else and what i am going to say and im always led to say it, personnel is policy and i think it is important that we have people in this administration who understand the magnitude of the Health Crisis that we face and who understand the magnitude of the economic crisis behind that Health Crisis and who has a real ambition for making the federal government work for people. Making it meet the note moment and that is what i want to see. Let me ask it a different way, people talk about whether you could be being the treasury secretary but if you were the treasury secretary what is the first thing you would do . Right now weve got a pandemic that needs to be under control. The economy cannot reopen in any meaningful way until we actually have a plan to deal with a pandemic. Letting people bite which is what donald trump is doing, is not a plan and hoping that there are folks out there who will find access to personal protective equipment and have adequate testing is not a plan. I am so glad to see president elect biden focused immediately on the pandemic and look at the people he put in charge. Doctors, Healthcare Professionals and people who are Public Health experts, people who will come in and say look, this is what it will take to get this thing under control and that is what weve got to do but we got to get it under control and try to support as many people while we are doing that and thats where we need a stimulus package right now. Then weve talked about what it will take to rebuild this economy. Im really worried that this k shaped recovery weve got a real risk right now that the next four years because of the pandemic could take inequality that was already on a disastrous path for our nation and make it far worse. We will have to take steps in the opposite direction to make sure that we have an economy that works for everyone and that has to be at the heart of everything that happens in this. How concerned are you about this transition process right now and maybe i could ask you this directly but are you worried about a coup . Very worried about the transition process and at different points donald trump threatens in different ways. Here is what really we have to be worried about. Where are the rest of the republicans . We evolved baked into our assumptions that donald trump has put no ones interest but his own but the republicans who are calling him out that is dangerous and this is not the game. People around the world and people who would do us harm are watching what is happening in watching the delay in the transition in the pandemic is raging out of control with nearly 1 million new cases in a week and trump is all about trump and is being enabled by the republicans in the house and senate and that is outrageous and dangerous. When you talk to your peers through public and peers and i imagine you have this conversation with them may be over the Television Telephone or maybe not but look what do they tell you and what do they say to you i really . Nobody wants to talk about it. This is one of the things that is amazing. Its a hear no evil, see no evil and i did not Pay Attention and they just dont want to talk about it but they dont want to talk about it. It is a way, in my view, to evade taking response billy for it. This is the moment when every republican in the United States needs to stand up and say we are done but this election was called, joe biden one he won by more than 5 million votes. There has been an effort after effort after effort to deal with delegitimize this election we will not be a party to that. It is wrong. Theyve gone to court over and over and been thrown out because they got no evidence here and nothing about widespread fraud and yet they keep trying to do it and for the republicans people who are supposed to be leaders in this nation, not to stand up and put democracy and put our nation ahead of donald trump is dangerous to all of us and truly they should be ashamed. Let me ask you because maybe this goes back to her first question about where the country is there are clearly a lot of Trump Supporters in this country who are willing to support many of those republicans who are not speaking out and in large part because they feel they have the political will of at least some group of people that may act as their base and the question to you is, what that means for democracy but also with means for democrats and the ability to get across the finish line, if you will, some, if not many of the policy proposals that you want to enact. Listen to what you just said. I think you very well describe it listen to it. What you are saying is they found that its politically convenient not to speak up. That is now a Public Service is about and not what leadership is about. There comes a time when there is a sufficient threat to urination and when when the matter is urgent enough that whatever the politics is time to speak up and that is the case in a transition. A peaceful transition is at the heart of democracy and it is how the pieces work and how we go year by year and how we say in a democracy the election matters so on this one i dont relieve them of any responsibility by saying it works out politically but what it does tell me is that to get things done Going Forward it will, in my view, take two things. One is joe biden and Kamala Harris need to use all the tools and i mean all of the tools of their administration. The tools of executive order but also the tools of the agency. That is part one because the market people want them to get things done. The second is it means that now the elections are over and people can just go home. We dont live in a world where we can now say i voted, im done. Im quitting. People will have to stay engaged and to hold government accountable and that means Holding Joe Biden accountable and it means holding these were publicans accountable. I believe if people stay engaged and we are, here in washington, more inclined to do the peoples business. I know we only have two minutes i will do rapidfire if i could. During your campaign you said that you would investigate President Trump after he left office potentially prosecute him. Would you still potentially in this instance . Look, my view is we are the rule of law nation and that means we need to hold people accountable when they break the law. Irrespective. Education. If we fix student debt, current student debt what to do about the longterm cost of education because higher ed as you know, through the roof and getting rid of the debt will help people is not necessary going to help the problems we have in ten, 20 years again if it continues this way. You are exactly right. We need to do both parts together and that cancel out the Student Loan Debt overhang which president elect biden can do all by himself and we need collectively to make an investment in our public colleges, universities and Technical Schools so that people are historically black colleges and universities so that people can get an education without going into debt. I want to remind everybody i went to what was in a commuter college that cost 50 a semester and that was down in texas and got my four year diploma and became a special education teacher. Why did that happen because america use to invest in the education of our kids, not just rich kids or not just kids born into welltodo families and not just kids who are willing to take on a zillion dollars in debt. It was invested in our kids and that is what we ought to do for our babies and for our kids post high school. Three other quick ones. You long talked about how you think people in industries especially the lobbyist community should not be part of the administration. My question to you is in terms of expertise though do you believe that anybody from wall street or big business should be allowed to be in the administration . Look, remember i hired people whose background was from wall street when i set out the Consumer Financial protection bureau. The question is what does your overall Team Look Like and its important to have a team that brings a lot of different perspectives. I think that is really critical. Okay. We have great news about the vaccine, as you know from the dharma and pfizer so have been critical in fact i called for his resignation talking about this issue of lobbyists and industry folks and montel is a former pharma executive who runs warp speed and now that they are getting us more kudos to you have a different view . Look, think how you introduced him just now, not just a former executive but he is a current major investor and has money. Anyone who has money on the line in the outcome of something that has a Government Investment and is determining where that Government Investment will go, thats a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest and that means he should not be simultaneously representing the taxpayers of the United States of america and his own personal wealth. Final question and its a personal one, he ran for president so i want to know personally what was the biggest lesson for yourself and the experience and what to thank you learned from this is there something you took away about yourself or the experience . You know, probably that millions of people across this country are willing to sacrifice or willing to work hard and to try to build in america that doesnt just work for themselves but that works for everyone and you know, i did town halls and zillions of them and after words there were always self eat. The number of people who ask questions and would show up and would talk in a town hall and in a selfie line about the things they wanted to see to see our country work better. People in their 60s who just wanted to see us make investment in childcare so that moms and dads could go to work and people who are in their 20s who wanted to see us making an investment to expand Social Security and disability payments. I think americans are fundamentally good and generous people and we want to make this country work for everyone. It really was a wonderful experience. Senator warren, we very much appreciate you being with us today. Thank you. I hope its nice to see you virtually and hope next time we get to do it in person. You too. Thank you for having me. You bet. The Trump Administration announced this week that its cutting troops in iraq and afghanistan till 2500 by mid january. Tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern here on cspan2 todays House Armed ServicesCommittee Hearing on the effect of withdrawing u. S. Troops from afghanistan. Book tv on cspan2 has top nonfiction books and authors every wkend. Coming up this weekend, saturday at 1 00 p. M. Astern from the recent virtual brooklynook festival authors veronica chambers, Sandra Garcia on the suffrage movement. Then authors Brian Cornell and Clarence Taylor on the history of civil rights in new york and at 7 25 p. M. Eastern adam higginbotham, author of midnight in chernobyl the untold story of the greatest Nuclear Disaster on sunday at 1 00 p. M. Eastern and mor from the brooklyn book festival, authors charlton mackle wayne, Joanne Mcneil and Frank Caswell discussed the past and future of technology and then mark and sonya on the potential effects of the coronavirus will have on soety. In 9 00 p. M. Eastern on after words political scientists and thor deborah stone talks about her book, counting, how we use numbers to decide what matters. Shes interviewed by data scientists and author kathy oneill. Watch the tv on cspan2 this weekend. Up next, former ambassadors at Foreign Policy expert discuss the Incoming Biden Administration and its impact on middle east policy. We hear about u. S. Relations with turkey and lebanon with recent peace deals in israel. Here is a look. Good morning and welcome. I am terry fireside, Senior Vice President at the middle eastern instit