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Romney To Meet With Trump; Trump: "Hamilton" Cast Rude To Pence; Final International Trip As President; Pelosi's Challenger: We Need A New Direction; $25M Settlement Reached In Trump University Case; Anti-Trump Protests Scheduled Across U.S. Today; Mexico Orders Embassy, Consulates To Protect Immigrants. Aired Noon-1p ET

Aired November 19, 2016 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:01:42] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Martin Savidge filling in for Fredricka Whitfield. Good to be with you. We are following several big stories happening right now in the world of politics.

Let's take a look at President Obama, he is in Lima, Peru on the last leg of his final foreign tour. He is meeting right now with the president of Peru in what has become a trip largely focused on reassuring world leaders that the U.S. will maintain its close ties with other nations after President-elect Trump takes office.

And President-elect Trump is holding meetings of his own today. He will talk with former Republican presidential candidate and one time antagonist, Mitt Romney, at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course in about an hour. One topic of discussion will likely be the secretary of state position in Trump's cabinet.

Meanwhile GOP spokesman, Sean Spicer, is hinting, and we could hear of a new cabinet appointment today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIST AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RNC (via telephone): Yesterday obviously the focus between the announcements and the landing teams arriving at the various agencies with national security, it is very possible that you will see an additional announcement today of an appointment in that same area -- president- elect's schedule, we may have an additional announcement in that area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The Mitt Romney meeting is just one of the nonstop sessions that Trump will hold today as he contemplates who is going to fill those remaining slots in his cabinet.

Also on the calendar talks with Michelle Rhee, a school choice advocate, who is believed to in running for education secretary, and then there's Retired Marine General James Mattis, who is a possible defense secretary pick.

CNN's Jessica Schneider is following all of this for us. She joins us now from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Jessica, hello to you.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin. You know that highly anticipated face-to-face between Mitt Romney and the president- elect happening in just one hour. Of course, it's been a contentious war of words between these two men throughout this election season.

So the question is will they be mending fences or could they potentially be talking about another topic, the secretary of state position? Sources tells CNN that Mitt Romney has long said that if he were to return to government, the secretary of state position is something that he might be interested in.

However, a close friend also tells CNN that the close friend expresses healthy skepticism that Mitt Romney would even accept the post in a Trump White House even if he was offered it. But of course it's Mitt Romney meeting just one of many meetings that Donald Trump will be having this weekend.

A long list of people including Michelle Rhee, who is the chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C. Also Todd Ricketts, the chairman of the World Series-winning Chicago Cubs. Interestingly as well, Governor Chris Christie will be meeting with the president-elect tomorrow.

Of course, Governor Christie did head the transition team until he was removed from that position just a few days ago. Communications Director Jason Miller says that the wide array of people Donald Trump is meeting with just shows the extent to which they want to welcome all ideas and perspectives.

And of course, we are awaiting, in addition to that meeting with Mitt Romney, some sort of announcement that could be coming forth this afternoon or later today as it pertains to the national security team.

So all eyes are on the Trump National Golf Club just a few miles away from here in Bedminster where we are expecting Mitt Romney to arrive in just about an hour -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: And we will be waiting and watching right along with you. Thank you very much, Jessica Schneider.

As Trump works to fill his cabinet from New Jersey there, his running mate took the night off in New York to catch the hit Broadway musical, "Hamilton." But when Vice President-elect Mike Pence entered the theater, he got a mixed response.

(VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Later during the curtain call, one of the "Hamilton" stars made a plea to Pence. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON VICTOR DIXON, PLAYS AARON BURR IN "HAMILTON": Vice President- elect Pence, we welcome you and truly thank you for joining us here at "Hamilton" we really do. We, sir, we are the diverse America, who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir.

But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us, all of us. In the spirit of the show, this wonderful American story told by a diverse group of men, women, of different colors, creeds and orientation -- it represents all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:05:01]SAVIDGE: President-elect Trump reacted tweeting this. He said, "Our wonderful future VP, Mike Pence, was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of "Hamilton." Cameras blazing. This should not happen. The theater must always be a safe and special place. The cast of "Hamilton" was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize."

Again, Donald Trump taking to Twitter. So let's talk about this with CNN political commentators, Lanhee Chen, a former policy director for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, and John Phillips, a Trump supporter and columnist.

Lanhee, let me start with you. I just want to get your reactions to what happened last night with Mike Pence going to the show. I'll get both your reactions, but Lanhee, let me start with you. What did you think?

LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, it was a little surprising to see it in that context. You know, obviously, I think from everything I hear, I don't know the vice president-elect personally, but he seems like a man of high character and good spirits.

So I'm sure that he took it all in stride. You know, you would like to think that we can separate out those things, sort of entertainment and theater from politics, but these days, everything is so co- mingled.

I can't say I'm too surprise that happens. So I don't think anyone is any worse for the ware frankly and you know, probably we will all move on and talk about something else tomorrow.

SAVIDGE: John, is this just to be expected, I mean, kind of sort of the reverberations after a highly contentious campaign?

JOHN PHILLIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, Republican getting booed in Manhattan, that's like the Red Sox getting booed in Yankee's stadium. I watched that video on CNN all morning. That's nothing, Martin. I went and saw "The Adams Family" with Ann Coulter. You would have seen reaction go do that.

BLACKWELL: You put a very good point on it and that's for certain. John, let me turn to the meeting that is expected to take place between President-elect Trump and Mitt Romney. They have not always had a rosy relationship. Here, take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, 2012 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Here is what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: But he is a disloyal guy. He's an elitist.

ROMNEY: His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University.

TRUMP: The guy is a stone-cold loser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: So John, what am I to make of this meeting? Is it fence mending? Is it a PR maneuver or is there some serious consideration of Mitt Romney for a cabinet position?

PHILLIPS: I think he could end up in the cabinet. You know what? I would love to see that. If anyone that has the wisdom to hire Lanhee Chen has the wisdom to be in the cabinet and one of the criticisms that we've seen of Trump so far through this campaign is that he can't let anything go.

He has these feuds and he continues to feud when he should have moved on a long time ago. When you look at the names and the people that are on the list that are being considered for the cabinet, you've seen Mitt Romney, Nikki Haley, who is a very vocal critic of Trump's through the campaign, a huge supporter, Marco Rubio.

You see Democrats like Michelle Rhee, maybe even Jim Webb. I've seen his name popped up on a bunch of lists. I think that's a good and healthy thing because the overarching theme that he's looking based on what I see is he wants disrupters.

He wants people to go in there who won't become part of the culture of these agencies that they will be running. He wants them to be reformers. He wants them to come in with his agenda and implement them.

Look, Mitt Romney has a long history of going into underperforming properties and turning them around. Personally if we are just playing fantasy baseball with the cabinet here, I prefer to see Mitt Romney at the VA.

Because if he can go into the VA and do what he did with the Olympics and do what he did with a lot of those corporations when he was in Bane, I think he would do a great service to all of our veterans.

SAVIDGE: Lanhee, let's bring you into this because you, of course, would have some fascinating insight. A lot of people may not remember that Mitt Romney met with Trump back in 2012, this was before the remarkable election we just had. He was seeking his endorsement. So what are your thoughts on this whole meeting and where it could lead? CHEN: Well, you know, look, the election has happened. The president-elect, Donald Trump has been elected, dually elected as Governor Romney noted in a tweet right after the election. In fact, you know, what's been reported as well that Governor Romney and Donald Trump had a conversation that both sides described as very gracious.

I think at this point, really the focus, Martin, is on how to make Donald Trump an effective president, how to make him an effective leader of the country and really unifying all of us as we go forward. I think we all share that goal.

So, regardless of what happened at this meeting, I don't have special insight into the meeting particularly, but what I'll say is that I think everyone is on the same page at least in terms of trying to help the president elect be successful, including President Obama and Hillary Clinton, I might add.

SAVIDGE: Do you think that -- Lanhee, do you think that Mitt Romney would want to be secretary of state?

CHEN: Look, again, I don't want to speculate about anything that's happening or whether he may or not, but look, here is the thing. If you look back to the 2012 campaign and you look at Governor Romney talking about foreign policy, there are a few people in the Republican Party who have been more articulate or more thoughtful about America's role in the world.

[12:10:11]And I would say there are lots of other people, as John mentioned, that are being considered for the Trump cabinet that would be wonderful people to serve as well. So we'll have to see what happens today.

But what's clear, as I said earlier, I think everybody in the Republican Party now for the most part shares the goal of trying to help the president govern as effectively as he can.

SAVIDGE: All right, and John, I promise next time, I will talk to you more, too. Lanhee had great insights on this meeting, which I find so fascinating today. Lanhee Chen and John Phillips, thank you both. Stay with us. We need to talk more about Trump's cabinet picks and we most definitely will.

Ahead, Donald Trump settles a lawsuit over Trump University for $25 million.

Plus, President Obama is facing some tough questions regarding Trump and trade. We'll get a live report from the trade summit in Lima, Peru. That will be next.

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SAVIDGE: Donald Trump and Mike Pence just arrived in Bedminster, New Jersey at the Trump National Golf Club. This will be the site of a number of meetings today as the team hosts potential cabinet candidates, which includes Mitt Romney. President Obama, meanwhile, is in Lima, Peru at this hour. It is the last stop of his final overseas tour as president. He made stops in Greece and Germany earlier in the week and last night, he arrived in Peru where he will spend the weekend at the APEC Trade Summit before heading home on Monday.

Obama is expected that -- he is meeting actually right now with the president of Peru, but he's also going to meet with the Pacific Rim leaders. Obama is likely to face questions about the TPP trade agreement and his successor, President-elect Trump.

CNN's Athena Jones is covering the president's trip for us. She joins us now from Lima. Athena, I understand you have a whole plethora of information.

[12:15:00]ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin. That's right. We've got an update from the pool. We know the president has wrapped up his meeting with Peru's President Kuczynski, and he's on his way into this meeting with TPP countries, the Transpacific Partnership Trade deal.

That is, of course, this 12-nation trade deal that the U.S. has spent a good deal of time pushing and negotiating. That deal is now dead. We know that President-elect Donald Trump has called that deal and other deals a disaster.

Trump has expressed a good deal of skepticism about a number of international agreements including trade agreements like this when we know from members of Congress that TPP is dead. It's not going to be getting a vote in the lame duck session in Congress.

And so it's unclear, at this point, what is going to happen with this and many other deals. That is one of the challenges that President Obama faces as he meets with these leaders trying to assure them that the U.S. wants to remain and will remain engaged in the Asia-Pacific region.

Remember, Martin, this is a region that the Obama administration has invested a good deal of time and he visited countries in the Asia- Pacific region more than a dozen times during the eight years of his presidency.

And this rebalance of U.S. foreign policy to the Asia-Pacific region was a big part of the president's foreign policy and this failure of TPP is a blow to that effort.

And so the president is left trying to reassure allies and trying to show them the U.S. will remain engaged. But there are big question marks about exactly what U.S. foreign policy is going to look like in the next administration -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Real quick, Athena, one of the questions had been about China there. Do they plan to capitalize in this? I know you don't have a lot of time, but will they?

JONES: Absolutely, that is the plan. China has already indicated that it's going to be doing more to try to negotiate with countries about its own regional trade deal. This is a 16-nation deal to lower or eliminate tariffs.

But the White House says that deal doesn't include the same protections that TPP would have included, the protections for intellectual property, the environment and labor standards, that sort of thing.

And that is a concern the White House has been reiterating and talking about for months. If the U.S. is not engaged, China will step in and fill that void. They will write the rules of the road and that will not be an advantage.

It will disadvantage U.S. companies. That's a big concern and something we expect to see here. I know that President Obama is going to be meeting with Xi Jinping, China's president later today.

And we know that China's goal is to move forward on a trade agreement of their own. So a lot going on here as the world prepares for a new president.

SAVIDGE: Which is why we are glad you are there for us. Athena Jones reporting from Lima, Peru. Thanks.

Coming up, Democrats fire off a warning shot as they try to redefine the party. How House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi could be in trouble as her party delays a leadership vote. We'll talk with Representative Emanuel Cleaver on why he pushed for that delay.

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[12:21:32]

SAVIDGE: I don't know if you knew this or not, but there's another election coming up. It has Democrats choosing sides right now. Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan says that he is going to run against California's Nancy Pelosi for House minority leader. The congressman is confident that he will lead the Democratic Party in a very different direction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE TIM RYAN (D), OHIO: We just elected Donald Trump president of the United States. We are doing something terribly wrong. I think we need to move in another direction. I'm offering myself up to our caucus to say, hey, let's try to do something different.

I don't want to hang this around Nancy Pelosi's neck. I love her. She's great. She's a mentor. She was amazing speaker when she was in, but we need to ask ourselves, who can get us back in the majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: But House Minority Leader Pelosi says that she should continue in her position because of her experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: When President Obama was president, the Republicans took the House. So we have an opportunity. It doesn't mean a guarantee, but it means we will do very hard work. So I hope to have -- I'm very proud to have the opportunity. I know how to do it to get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: So let's talk to Representative Emanuel Cleaver. He represents Missouri's fifth congressional district. Representative Cleaver, thank you very much for joining us.

REPRESENTATIVE EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: Good to be with you.

SAVIDGE: The leadership election was supposed to have happened on Thursday. You offered an amendment to push it back, I believed, to November 30th, why?

CLEAVER: I thought, at the time, and still do, that we needed to have more conversation, more discussion about what had just happened and it was one of those environments where I'm walking about listening to all my colleagues or many of them complaining and raising questions and under those circumstances in that atmosphere, I think it would have been fool hearted to have an election because that grumbling would only escalate.

SAVIDGE: It makes it sound like you saw Nancy Pelosi was going to be hitting the bricks and this was your way to prevent that from happening. Do you have a particular way that you see this party and where it should be going?

CLEAVER: Well, yes, first, let me say, when I made the motion, I had no idea that there was anyone, including Tim Ryan, who was planning to challenge speaker or Leader Pelosi. But, I do think that, you know, there is a need for some changes and expansion of the leadership under Nancy Pelosi.

I think, we can't blame Nancy Pelosi, Leader Pelosi for the direction of the wind blowing. You know? And we saw on November 8th, a hurricane level wind blowing against us. And I thought we need to take some time to think abo how we can create something that can fly into the wind.

You know, airplanes fly only because they are able to take off into resistance and so I thought, let's talk about it. Let's figure out what we are going to do. Let's set up some kind of laboratory to study what should be done.

I think the majority of the people in the Democratic caucus felt that way. So there were people who clearly are going to be supporters of Leader Pelosi who also thought we needed to have a conversation.

[12:25:02]SAVIDGE: Why shouldn't we blame Nancy Pelosi? I have great respect for the work she has done, but she is a prominent figure in the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party was shellacked. Why not say, I guess that didn't work too well, we need new leadership?

CLEAVER: Well, I do think that we are moving into that time when new leadership is going to have to necessarily take over. There's no question about it. It may not be right now, but that has to take place.

SAVIDGE: Is Tim Ryann that kind of leadership? Would you support him?

CLEAVER: I had a long conversation with Tim Ryan yesterday. I don't think he's on a fool's errand. He actually is saying, look, I listen to people griping and nobody wants to talk about it openly. He said I want to put myself out there to run. He is running to win. I think it's going to be a difficult challenge for him or anybody right now.

SAVIDGE: Why?

CLEAVER: To move Nancy Pelosi out of leadership. I think for a couple reasons. One, people are concerned that, you know, we might be falling into a pattern that's been on the national level which is women are being removed.

We just had the defeat of the first woman who received the nomination of a party, she lost. We saw that, you know, the first few people being thrown out as potential cabinet members of the President-elect Donald Trump, all men, no women.

We didn't want to send a bad signal saying OK, the Democrats, in disarray decided to remove women from leadership. There are a lot of things.

SAVIDGE: I appreciate that. You make a very valid point, although, I believe Nancy Pelosi would be the first to say you don't just keep someone because of their gender, it's because of their quality.

But I'm sorry, we are out of time so we'll have you back and talk again further. We'll find out how this all turns out for the leadership. Thank you, Representative.

CLEAVER: Good to talk to you.

SAVIDGE: Thank you.

Coming up, Trump University agrees to settle a lawsuit. Now, President-elect Trump has to pay $25 million. What's he saying about this case?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:20] SAVIDGE: Of course the danger is you can read too much into imagery, but there is a suggestion, there is Reince Priebus going in. He is the White House chief of staff and he is arriving in the place for Donald Trump. He's meeting with a number of prospective cabinet nominees. So, we're expecting or we are standing by. If we get some sort of the official announcement or a major revelation, we will be bringing that to you. Among those who are taking part of the meeting today, Mitt Romney. We're waiting on his arrival. He is attending this transition meetings as potential, some say, to fill the position of secretary of state.

A settlement by President-elect Donald Trump. He's agreeing to pay $25 million to settle three lawsuits against this now defunct for profit business school Trump University. About 6,000 former students are part of the settlement. Trump isn't acknowledging any liability in that settlement.

CNN's Rachel Crane has been following the story for us in New York. And Rachel, what were the original complaints and what does this mean for those students now?

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Martin, the original complaints were that a degree from Trump University was completely worthless. Some of the students said that they signed up for the program because the promotional videos told them that Trump was going to be hand picking the instructors, that he would be heavily involved in the curriculum. And as we know, from a deposition that Trump gave himself, he was not heavily involved in the selection of the instructors or in creating the curriculum.

Now, what does this mean for the students that their $25 million settlement has been reached? Well, they'll be getting a reimbursement for their tuition. And many of them paid more than $30,000 for that tuition. The way the settlement is going to be broken down is that $21 million will go to the two civil suits settling them in California and more than around 7,000 students were involved in those suits and $4 million going to settle the suit here in the state of New York. And we know that all of the students involved in these suits will receive about -- at least 50 percent of their tuition back. Some will receive 100 percent of their tuition back, Martin. But we also know that between 2005 and 2010, Trump University took in an estimated $40 million. Martin?

SAVIDGE: We know that Donald Trump has things to say about this lawsuit when he was campaigning and, in fact, let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT: I will win the Trump University case. I already am, as far as i am concerned. I will win the case in the end. I just didn't want to be forced to settle. This is a case I could have settled very easily but I don't settle cases very easily when I'm right.

I will win the Trump University case. I could settle the case now if I wanted to settle the case. I don't settle cases. We have a situation where we will win in court. And I'll win the Trump University case. I could settle the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Historically, we know that Donald Trump does not like to settle cases, but he did. What's he saying about it today?

CRANE: Well, Martin, he obviously is a very busy man now being the president-elect, setting his political agenda and establishing his cabinet. But, you know, going back to twitter, tweeting this morning saying, "I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the potential award, because as president, I have to focus on our country."

He sent a second tweet saying, "The only bad thing about winning the presidency is I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump University. Too bad."

So, Martin, you know, we know that these suits have been settled. But of course Donald Trump, as he likes to do taking to twitter and trying to spin this in his favor saying that this was his choice and that he could have won if he continued to fight. Martin?

SAVIDGE: Now, sitting president taking an oath but then being questioned in a courtroom would be a daunting thing. All right, Rachel Crane thank you very much for joining us.

And now, what I want to do is return to our panel, our political experts to talk more about this, Lanhee Chen and John Phillips. Trump's lawyer said that it could have been a significant distraction and gone on for a quite a long time, he's probably correct in that. Is this a settlement about the optics or simply having to avoid a president-elect going into deposition? John, what do you think?

JOHN PHILIPS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I'm glad he put it behind him. He has to fill his cabinet right now. And then as soon as he puts his hand on the bible and becomes president, the speed of the treadmill is going to be turned up. And the last thing you want a president doing when they have all of that on their plate is dealing with a lawsuit from a business dealing going back years ago.

In terms of the settlement, look, I used to work for the Walt Disney Company. They used to own our radio station and they got sued every 20 minutes. Sometimes they fought and won, sometimes they fought and lost, and sometimes they settled. And we used to as employees, pull our hair out sometimes when they would settle cases when we were in the right.

[12:35:06] But there are attorneys and there are business acumen made them believe that for whatever reason, it was in their interest to settle. And they would just go ahead and do that so they can put it away and then move on with everything else.

SAVIDGE: And, Lanhee, he does have other lawsuits I believe outstanding. So, do you think this is just the beginning of a move on his part to get most of this out of the way, cleared before he takes over?

LANHEE CHEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, I mean it could be. I think, you know, to John's point, at this point, the focus for the president-elect should be on assembling a cabinet, assembling a senior team and advisors in governing. And I do think that being able to get rid of some of these matters, settling some of them, perhaps seeking dismissal of others if it's warranted.

That's probably a good move on his part given that the focus at this point does need to be on governing. We have big challenges in the country. We're getting challenges from abroad and at home. And so, you know, I think it's the right thing to do to move past these, if possible.

SAVIDGE: And real quick, I want to ask you both. John, what do you think will be the very first thing once in office that Trump will focus upon?

PHILIPS: Very first thing will have to be the wall. It will be immigration. Without the issue of immigration, yeah, he wouldn't have won the primary. So I think you're going to see a lot of very visible deportations of criminal aliens and you're going to see him move on the wall.

SAVIDGE: Lanhee, would you expect immigration, for some have suggested well, as other things health care.

CHEN: Yeah. And I know the difference really. I mean, I hope he focuses on ObamaCare. This was a big campaign issue with the big pocketbook issue for many Americans. And area by the way where you've got a lot of agreement between Republicans on the need to repeal the affordable care act as much as it is possible and replace it with market center reform. So, I hope that's where he goes first.

SAVIDGE: Well, the beauty is we get to see what happens and then we bring you back to ask you what do you think. Lanhee Chen and John Philips, thank you both for joining me.

PHILIPS: Thanks, Martin.

SAVIDGE: And a reminder, Trump's White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus will speak with Jake Tapper. That's going to be tomorrow. It will be right here on CNN. Don't miss that. It'll be an interview, 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time and Pacific. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:40:41] SAVIDGE: Donald Trump and Mike Pence have just arrived at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. This will be the site of multiple meetings today as the team host potential cabinet candidates, including Mitt Romney.

We're waiting for Trump to make additional cabinet announcements. The president-elect has already made some pretty big decisions about who he wants in his administration including Congressman Mike Pompeo to head the CIA. It is a very powerful position. And CNNs Manu Raju looks at the man picked to run that agency.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Hey, Martin, Mike Pompeo was not a Trump supporter during the GOP presidential primary, siding with Marco Rubio instead. And while he did endorse Trump after he secured the nomination. He really didn't campaign for Trump other than appearing as a surrogate for Mike Pende during the VP debate. And during the campaign, he spoke with Trump periodically about national security issues. But one thing is very clear, a lot of Pompeo's views closely align with Trump's.

Kansas Congressman, Mike Pompeo, a staunch conservative now in line to lead the CIA. A Harvard Law grad who was first in his class at west point. Pompeo quickly gained the trust of GOP leaders after his 2010 election holding influential post on the house intelligence committee and the panel investigating the 2012 Benghazi attacks. But Pompeo not satisfied with the findings of the GOP lead investigation, issuing the separate report. Claim the blame on Benghazi and defeat of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

MIKE POMPEO, KANSAS REPRESENTATIVE: This was a failure at the most senior levels of our government. And one that I hope to recommendations this committee presents will help making sure that something like this never happens again.

RAJU: Pompeo was called for more sweeping terror surveillance. He wants to keep open the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. He has criticized Obama for rolling back top interrogation tactics like water boarding and he was staunch critic of FBI Director James Comey and his investigation of Clinton.

POMPEO: Director Comey screwed this up from the get go by announcing on July 5th that he wasn't going to indict a woman who had materially mishandled classified information.

RAJU: And Pompeo was issued tough statements about Islam even accusing its religious leaders of turning a blind eye to extremists.

POMPEO: Silence has made these Islamic leaders across America potentially complicit in these acts.

RAJU: In 2015, Pompeo agreeing with a conservative talk radio host that Obama was sympathetic to terrorists.

POMPEO: Every policy of this administration has treated America as if we are the problem.

RAJU: But Pompeo has also showed a willingness to take on his party. In 2014, engaging in a bitter primary to save his seat and earlier this year, threatening to challenge Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran but Senate Republicans convinced him to stay out of the race after they hired a former FBI investigator to dig up dirt about Pompeo's past. In the presidential primary, Pompeo did not side with Trump, backing Florida, Senator Marco Rubio instead.

POMPEO: He's the one man who is ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one.

RAJU: And now that he's been selected as Trump's CIA Director, Pompeo is winning praise among some key figures in the foreign policy establishment. MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY: When I saw the choice I was heartened. I think this is a serious man who takes these questions seriously.

RAJU: Now, while some Democrats have raised alarms about Pompeo, they really are not going to have much opportunity to stop him. Only a simple majority of 51 senators are needed to confirm him to the post. That's because senate Democrats gutted the filibuster on executive branch nominees a few years ago. That means the 50 to 48 majority the GOP is expected to hold next Congress should be able to confirm Donald Trump's nominees. Martin?

SAVIDGE: Manu, thank you very much.

Still ahead, shortly after Donald Trump's big win, Mexico sends a message to immigrants living in the United States, "We are with you."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:48:30] SAVIDGE: As President-elect Donald Trump continues to build his administration and the Americans are still very upset about the whole thing. Dozens of protests are scheduled across the country today.

Well, largely, peaceful. The last week, the protest had resulted in some blocked highways and a number of arrests. And many of these protests are targeting Trump's rhetoric on immigration. Mexico's government is urging its citizens in the U.S. to keep calm under President-elect Donald Trump.

Mexico's foreign ministry has released a video that's titled, "We are with you." It introduces new measures including a hot line for people to report harassment and potential immigration raids.

And joining me to discuss all of this is Javier Diaz de Leon, he is the Counsel General of Mexico. Thank you very much for joining us.

JAVIER DIAZ DE LEON, CONSULATE GENERAL OF MEXICO, ATLANTA: Thanks for the invitation, the opportunity to be here with you.

SAVIDGE: What are your concerns right now and do you have them as we change administrations?

DE LEON: Well, of course like you were just saying, there is a concern whit this. A lot of people are very worried. There's a lot of misinformation out there and anxiety.

And of course the Mexican government, as you said recently issued this announcement. There's -- it's a set of 11 very specific measures that we at the Mexican Consulates in the United States are all putting into place, setting -- approaching our Mexican immigrants and giving them information.

The key issue is information because they are, you know, getting involved in a lot of rumors, a lot of speculation. And we think that they should be, you know, calm and rely on useful and solid sources instead of the -- doing otherwise.

[12:50:10] SAVIDGE: Other than some kind of natural disaster or emergency, has your government ever done anything like this before to warn its citizens in the United States or to alert them to potential problems of a political insurgence (ph)?

DIAZ DE LEON: Well, you know, from time-to-time, sometimes in the United States, some local sometime state or local immigration related legislation is passed that creates anxiety. That has happened in the past in different places in the United States. And we have a very strong protocol and process in terms of knowing.

We know where the concerns are usually. So we -- this is not totally uncharted territory where of course, we know in a sense this is a little different but, you know, we feel very strongly that people should know that they need to be calm that the friendship and the strength of our relationship with the United States is not going to go away because of change of government either in Mexico or the United States.

SAVIDGE: Have you been fielding a lot of calls? Have you been getting a lot of these concerns coming into you?

DIAZ DE LEON: Yeah. Well, we have this call free number that would people call. And the numbers of calls have rise significantly in the past few days.

SAVIDGE: What do they say? What do they -- what are -- do they specifically mention things?

DIAZ DE LEON: You know, there's -- they are all peculating. There's a lot of speculation. What's going to happen in January? What's going to happen with my family? What's going to happen with my job? What's going to happen my property? What's going to happen with me?

Of course, it's a very complex issue because it depends on a case by case basis. And we understand very well this anxiety. We also understand very well that there is a need and an obligation of the U.S. Government to enforce its laws and we know that. We enforce our laws in Mexico, too. But we also understand very well that we have a duty, and a sense of duty, very strong to advise Mexican nationals about their rights within the law. And we are not going to -- we're not going to stop doing that. We are going to do that even more as well all do.

SAVIDGE: Of course not. You shouldn't back down in any way. I was at the remarkable world cup qualifying game last weekend.

DIAZ DE LEON: Yeah.

SAVIDGE: Mexico won. Not always had they won but they won, congratulations. But there was a wonderful moment there where the two teams, Mexico and the U.S. on the field took a photo together. And it seemed that's unusual because usually team photos are separate. Seem to be like a remarkable moment. DIAZ DE LEON: I totally agree, I mean, I saw that photo too and I felt very proud about it because I mean it's -- I think it sends the message that we are talking about. Mexico and the United States are partners, we're friends. We share history. We share culture and we share, of course, a very important economic relationship.

Six million jobs in the United States depend on Mexico. So we are very important to each other. But, more than, you know, money or trade, we share families and we share people. And Mexico feels very strongly about American prosperity. American prosperity is important for Mexico. And Mexico's prosperity is very important to United States. We are partners, we're not going anywhere and we're going to be together in the future.

SAVIDGE: Very good to hear. Consulate General Javier Diaz de Leon. Thank you very much for coming in today.

DIAZ DE LEON: No, thanks to you.

SAVIDGE: We'll take a break. Be back in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:57:05] SAVIDGE: Sunday on "Parts Unknown" Anthony Bourdain is in a South American city where meat is king. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, "PARTS UNKNOWN" HOST: Here in Buenos Aires, it's summer in the city. And in a decision that will please absolutely no one down here, we are filming in the dead heat of summer when nobody is in town and it's got a sad, mournful, empty, totally awesome quality. But of course, I really like.

This is when you should come in my view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Don't miss "Parts Unknown" Buenos Aires, that'll be tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN. The next hour of CNN "Newsroom" is going to start, right about now.

Hello, thanks for joining me. I'm Martin Savidge in for Fredricka Whitfield. We are following two really big stories at this hour. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have arrived at Trump's Bedminster New Jersey golf course. The two will be locked in a nonstop transition meeting or meetings that are taking place this weekend. Among them, a meeting between Donald Trump and former Republican presidential nominee and sparring partner Mitt Romney. Romney is expected to arrive at any moment.

In fact, there it is as we speak to you right now. Mitt Romney outside of the meeting place today. A lot of expectation as to whether this is just simply Pence spending on the part of Donald Trump. There you see the president-elect on the front steps. There is the vice president-elect. So pictures speak a lot and clearly, these pictures are to indicate that whatever passed between them in the past is the past. They move inside. The speculation, could Mitt Romney be a part of his cabinet? Could he be secretary of state? As we love to say, stay tuned right now.

Meanwhile, CNN's Phil Mattingly has been following all of this for us. And he joins me now, live from there in Bedminster in New Jersey. Phil, what do we know about this meeting? Clearly, it's under way.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, obviously Martin, all eyes have been on this meeting, wanting to see what was going to happen, trying to read the tea leaves here whether or not a cabinet position or any position inside the Trump administration would even be possible. And obviously we saw Mitt Romney come in. Donald Trump come out and greeted Mitt Romney. That's not a small thing. He hasn't been coming out and greeting all of the people that have walked in and met with him in Trump Tower over the last couple of weeks.

But here's I think kind of the way to look at this as been described to me right now. There is no question that Mitt Romney was deeply opposed to Donald Trump's candidacy, deeply opposed to the way Donald Trump ran his campaign. And unlike a lot of people who were in the Never Trump movement or not really for Trump movement, he never came around --