After landing an environment deal with china. Wide ranging deal that china has ever agreed to cut Greenhouse Gases and transition to nonfossil fuels, result of secret negotiations that have been under way for nine months. Anne thompson joins me now from new york. I know this is going to take place over a long time. There are a lot of obstacles ahead but this still marks a very big change from the stalemate between the u. S. And china when the president first went to copenhagen when he first took office blocking any huge transition into the low carbon economy, andrea. You consider that the u. S. And china are responsible for onethird of all the Carbon Emissions in the world, the fact that you have the two largest economies and the two largest emiters saying were going to do something about this sends a powerful signal to the Business World and the rest of the world. First of all, the United States would reduce its Carbon Emissions from 2025 from anywhere to 26 to 28 . China, on the other hand, has said it will cap or reach a peak of Carbon Dioxide emissions around 2030 and that it will increase its nonfossil fuel based energy, Renewable Energy and nuclear. It will grow to 20 by the year 2030. Those are two very, very big developments in the battle against climate change. And one of the things that was so clear, no pun intended, is that in beijing, you had clear skies. You could see the sky for this big summit. They had actually told people to stay home. They had shut down their gas plants and they did that also during the big beijing olympics. Beijing is a place thats choking, literally choking on its pollution, normally. Absolutely. One reason, andrea, is because of how much coal china uses. China burns 4 billion tons of coal a year. Here in the u. S. , we burn less than a billion tons. That just gives you an idea. The only way they could clear the skies was to cut Industrial Production to ban people from driving. And they really took drastic steps. But on an average day, the smog in beijing is just not healthy for anyone. And so this agreement will go will take steps to reducing that pollution. Because when you go to cleaner fuels you dont have the kind of pollution that you do when you burn coal to create energy. Anne thompson, setting the stage and joining me right now is wyoming senator john barasso and member of the Environment Committee and a medical doctor, to boot. Well, senator, first of all, weve already heard from Mitch Mcconnell. Grave concerns that this is president ial overreach. Its a negotiation that took place for nine months. He could not have predicted that republicans would take over. What is going to be the policy of the republican majority about this climate negotiation . Andrea, were very concerned about the economy and jobs in the United States. To me, this is an agreement thats terrible for the United States and terrific for the chinese government. And for the politicians there, because it allows china to continue to raise their emissions over the next 16 years. Remember, emissions in the United States have actually been going down over the last decade. This is going to end up raising costs of energy for American Families, people that are hurt the most are people of low income, living on a fixed income. So i think its irresponsible to impose expensive new regulations on energy in the United States, which makes us as a country less competitive economically. And theres also been criticism from the incoming chairman, jim inhoff. I want to share with our audience Something Else that he said back in 2012, the incoming chairman of the Environment Committee. He said my point is gods still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we human beings would be able to change what excuse me would be able to change what he is doing in the climate, to me, is outrageous. So, apologies for that. Were going to leave it up there so people can read what chairman inhofe said. Youre a man of science, a medical doctor. This is what the incoming chairman of the environmental committee. Why should, frankly, people trust republicans to be running policy on science when this is what the incoming chairman had to say about climate change. Number one, all of us want to make energy as clean as we can, as fast as we can. We want to do it in ways, andrea, that dont raise the energy costs for American Families and impact the ability for their jobs, for their income and to provide for their families. Those are the issues that we need to be focusing on. And i think that when we hurt ourselves competitively, globally, that hurts our economy. It hurts our families at home. I would invite the president to actually come back to the United States and visit with the families who are impacted by his policies. I just met with a number of students from wyoming. Theyre concerned about these policies and the impact on the jobs of their parents, who work in the Energy Industry in wyoming, still one of the most beautiful places in the world, in which to live and work. Hasnt the progress that the u. S. Has made on Domestic Production and on natural gas changed the equation here in the United States and made clean cleaner energy even some from fossil fuels, some from natural gas more of a possibility . Well, we have seen emissions in the United States going down. Thats been over the last decade. The president now has more stringent policies, which i think are going to make energy more expensive for families across the country. It will make us less competitive. And with this agreement, china is still saying their emissions are going to continue to go up for the next 16 years and then peak at those much higher levels. So i think that the president has gotten very little and has given away much in the agreement. Is there anything that the republican majority will do to try to prevent this from taking place . Well continue to work with the regulations that the epa has come out with, in trying to cut back what theyve done there. We want to do that legislatively. The president tried his drastic policies with the socalled cap and trade. I called it cap and tax. He couldnt get it passed, andrea, when he had 60 democrats in the United States senate. Could not get it passed. Those were a lot of democrats that voted against his policy. I can assure you in a republican majority, were not going to be putting additional policies in place to make energy more expensive. We want to make energy more affordable for the American Public and we want to keep these good jobs in our country. And is there a possibility that some democrats are looking at now of a Keystone Pipeline decision in the lame duck session, is that something you would support . Is there bipartisan support for that now that the red state democrats have lost, this could be a decision that would help Mary Landrieu. Number one, i think the Keystone Pipeline should have been approved years ago. It was a good idea when it was proposed. Its still a good idea. If it comes to the senate floor i will vote for it. I find it very interesting that harry reid continued to block a vote on the keystone xl pipeline until now, Mary Landrieu is in the process throwing a hail mary pass trying to save her. So the cost is trying to preserve one Democratic Senate seat after they have lost and we have now won the senate seat in alaska at 53 republican members in the senate come january. Senator barrasso, thank you for being with us today. Thanks, andrea. Thank you. Today was like the first day of school for all the new republican faces lining up with incoming Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell for that class photo. Even as nbc news now reports, as senator barrasso just said, alaskan senator dan sullivan is the apparent winner, bringing the number of republicans to a gain of eight. And apparently still under way is that race in louisiana. Luke russert is live from the senate. To you first. Sure. Chris cillizza, new cops in town, and i think the president is going to see every decision that he proposes is going to find opposition. I was struck a post election poll came up this morning and asked republicans would you like your leaders to compromise with president obama, to get things done or would you like him to them to stand up to president obama even if you dont get things done . 66 look it. Its on the screen. We were ready for you. The producers are really killing it. 66 of people said stand up to president obama. They didnt get the message . Almost six in ten say they want their leadership to be more conservative rather than more moderate. So theres literally no political incentive for the likes of Mitch Mcconnell. John boehner was the speaker. He has a bigger majority but theres almost no incentive for them to look for Common Ground with this president. The climate deal is the first thing weve seen come out since republicans are about to take over. You had mcconnell come out against it, inhofe come out against it and senator barrasso on your air said, i think, its a terrific deal for china, terrible deal for the United States zbl states. I thought, susan paige, the message was were sick of gridlob. A lot of them stayed home. How does this key up 2016, the lame duck session and the final two years of the presidency . There is a reason for republicans to want to get some things done. Yes. To demonstrate that if you elect a republican president in 2016 it wont just be more of this kind of grinding gridlock that americans are so sick of. On Something Like even just passing a budget, funding the government till the end of the year. Funding for the government expires in december. Mitch mcconnell said in his postelection news conference, there will not be a government shutdown. One thing you might see happen is a deal even in the lame duck that extends that funding till the end of the fiscal year next september. A deal on immigration, no way. Youve been up there, luke, talking to the house members and senators as they come back. They must be feeling their oats. Reporter im sorry. Come again, andrea. They must be feeling what . I said the republicans must be feeling their oats, picking up another apparent vote in alaska. Oh, yes. And they are in the lead, at least, in louisiana. Reporter absolutely. Its the first time that every incumbent senator won since 2004, the first time theyve beat two Democratic Senators and won election in decades. They are obviously riding high. As far as what were going to see, andrea, in this lame duck session, look for reid and mcconnell to hammer out an agreement to fund the government in the middle of december and fund a defense bill. Probably not want to have a rock around the clock nomination battle around christmas and new years. We look for them to make a deal, less controversial nominees. Moving into the new year, what susan and chris said is accurate. The pchimpetus to get something done will be there. But aside from tax reform thats a very complicated thing to do. This whole idea weve heard about, republicans are going to have to govern. Theyre going to have to govern. They are going to be so emboldened now the largest majority in the house since the 1920s, 54 more likely republican senators. Theyre going to say our way is the good way. Keep this momentum going into 2016, showdown city here in washington, d. C. , andrea. And one last point ill make from conversations ive had, issue of the debt limit. That is the one thing that could stop this high gop tide that we see right now. Maybe thats the issue that obama and the democrats sort of play up by saying, okay, they cant get their hard right in a row. A lot of hard right guys ive spoken to said we dont want that again despite what Mitch Mcconnell is saying. I want to ask you about lynch also. Highly qualified nominee for attorney general. Is this going to be pushed in the lame duck or as Mitch Mcconnell said, this is for the next session . For folks ive spoken to, more likely than not, its going into the next session mainly because reid and mcconnell want to fund the government, get the nominees through and defense through. Theres not enough time. I spoke with a prominent republican aide this morning. They do not believe its the best optics of their party to be obstructing the first africanamerican female nominee for attorney general. Shes already passed through the senate twice as a u. S. Attorney. She should be okay. It all comes down to how her answers go regarding the immigration possible immigration, executive action the president might move forward. That might cause a fullscale freakout, quote, unquote, on the gop side. She should be okay, andrea, next year, even with the gop majority. Even with bright bart reporti reporting erroneously wrong loretta lynch. Wrong loretta lynch. But they didnt take it down forever. Mitch mcconnell and john boehner are institutionalists. Thats how you wind up getting to the position that theyre in. Theyre not the ted cruz type, right . They have spent their life climbing this ladder. They, i think, in their heart of hearts, you saw mcconnell when he cut ties with joe biden. They sort of want to get things done. John boehner, i think, would have liked to have strike a grand bargain with barack obama. He said this. With joe biden. Right, right. He said on immigration hes introducing, the problem is the tension that exists between the base of the party and heavily courted by the ted cruises of the worthe world. How do Mitch Mcconnell and john boehner navigate that . Rand paul and others who are running. In the senate and running for president. Maybe what you do first have a vote on repealing obama care, knowing it will fire up your troops and go nowhere. Then maybe you try to do a deal to fix things that are broken about obamacare that ordinarily we would have fixed in subsequent legislation if the whole thing wasnt so inflamed. Its impossible to define a course. One reason Mitch Mcconnell looks so pleased in that post election, this is what he wants to do. He has spent his whole life building for this. He was getting thats what Mitch Mcconnell looks like when hes giddy. Good point. You dont see that all this much. Chris cillizza, susan paige and luke russert with those giddy republicans up there on capitol hill. Thank you very much. Take it easy. Not giddy about the arctic weather. The chill thats gripped the rockies and the midwest heading east. As much as 25 inches of snow blanketing upper peninsula. More is expected before the storm ends today n. Colorado, enough snow has fallen that several ski resorts in colorado are opening early, incredibly. Dylan dreyer has more from denver. Of course, this is all that arctic air mass that is just affecting so many states. It caused two feet of snow in parts of michigan and it also caused crazy temperature drops. We broke records in wichita on monday and now temperatures are having a hard time getting above freezing. Here in denver, by friday, we should start to see things warm up a little bit. Announcer ] at northrop grumman, weve always been on the forefront of innovation. When the world called for speed. When the world called for stealth. Intelligence. Endurance. Affordability. Adaptability. And when the world asked for the future. 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Com easierbanking welcome back. President obama has threatened executive action on immigration. Decision is looming over this lame duck congress. Joining me now, jeff denim. Youre from a part of california that has a large hispanic population. You have supported immigration reform. What should the president and this new congress do on immigration in the lame duck . Its something we need to be working together on. We need to secure our