this big day on capitol hill, live picture from the house floor, nancy pelosi expected to be -- will be elected speaker of the house and we'll be keeping an eye on that. that is it for me. our special coverage continues right now. brianna, thank you some, my friend. good to be back in the big chair. i'm brooke baldwin. history being made up on capitol hill where the most diverse u.s. congress ever is being sworn in. yes, finally more men and women like you representing you. leading the charge in house, nancy pelosi, who will once given wield the gavel as speaker. she becomes the first person in six decades to return to the speaker's chair after losing it. fun fact. the last was democrat sam r rayburn of texas back in 1965. when asked about her milestone and what it meansital today, na

pelosi said this. >> i think of it as a responsibility as we go forward. and this isn't breaking a glass ceiling, this is breaking a marble ceiling in the capitol of the united states. >> cnn's sunlen serfaty is on capitol hill. between nancy pelosi and her news and all these new freshmen members on both the house and senate, you've been talking to so many of this many, what's the feeling up on capitol hill right now? >> i think it's an emotional day for many people, especially those incoming members. i can tell you in talking to a lot of them, the ones that make up the most diverse class into history ever, i think the moment is just not lost on them. they know their place in history. as they're sworn in today, that are feeling the gravity of that moment, their place in history. this freshman class certainly ushering in a new face to

congress as we said, the most diverse and the record breaking number of women, certainly a big notable storyli line coming aft midterms. i want to highlight one touching moment, an incoming member of congress from minnesota, she's the first somali woman, she posted this photo of her and her father arriving at the d.c. airport saying the last time they arrived is when they were refugees 23 years ago. i spoke to her about that moment and her father there was by her side. you could sense the emotion of the moment. here's what they had to say. >> as we exited our planes, we realized that him and i had not returned on that same airport. >> nancy pelosi of the state of california has received 220.

[ cheers and applause ]

[ cheers and applause ] >> the honorable kevin mccarthy of the state of california has received 192. the honorable jim jordan of the state of ohio has received 5. the honorable sherry bustos of the state of illinois has

received 4. the honorable tammy duckworth of the state of illinois has received 2. the honorable stacey abrams of the state of georgia has received 1. the honorable joseph biden of the state of delaware has received 1. the honorable marcia fudge of the state of hiohio has receive 1, the honorable joseph kennedy of the state of massachusetts has received 1, the honorable thomas massey of the state of kentucky has received 1, the honorable stephanie murphy of the state of florida has received 1. with three recorded as present. therefore, the honorable nancy pelosi of the state of california, having received a majority of the vote cast is duly elected speaker of the house of the house of representatives for the 116th congress. [ cheers and applause ]

the clerk appoints the following committee to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, the gentleman from new mexico, mr. lieu han, the gentleman woman from wyoming, miss cheney, the gentleman. from new york, mr. jefferies, the gentleman from north

carolina, mr. walker, the gentlemenwoman from massachusetts, miss clark, the gentleman from alabama, mr. palmer, the gentleman from missouri, mr. smith and the members of the california delegation, ms. waters, mr. call vert, ms. eshue, miss lofgren, miss sherman, miss lee, miss in a politano, miss davis, mr. schiff, miss nunez, mr. sanchez, mr. costa, miss matsui, miss speier, mr. hunter, mr. mcclintok, mr. chu, mr. berra, mr. cardennias,

mr. lowenthal, mr. peter, mr. ruiz, mr. swalwell, mrmr. mrmr. ing a -- mr. agular, mr. gomez, mr. cox, ms. hill, mr. levin, ms. porter, mr. ruda. the committee will retire from the chamber to escort the speaker-elect to the chair. in -- this is the moment,

the this is the first person in this decade to return to the speakership in the house of representatives, nancy pelosi in her bright raspberry dress today. happy new year to both of you ladies. dana, i can still see scenes of you and now speaker plelosi eating ice cream in her old haunt in little italy in baltimore when you did that incredibly compelling interview with her. what does this moment feel like for her? >> reporter: well, it's vindication. it's a reminder that being confident and being strong as a woman is not necessarily a bad thing and not a negative. it is, you know, the fact that you can persevere over an

onslaught of negative attacks, which is certainly something that she has had to deal with, mostly from republicans over the -- >> and will continue to. >> exactly. but being used as a club against her rank and file democrats in ad after ad after ad, some of which rubbed off. so that's why it wasn't as easy as it was 12 years ago to get the votes that she needed. she needed to make compromises. but that is a hallmark of her leadership and why and how she got to be where she is, because she understands the need for consensus and for compromise, not just across the aisle but with the people who she leads within the democratic caucus. so it was not a given that she was going to be able to do this again and she had to agree that she would be term limited. she is 78 years old, she is one

of several democratic leaders who are about that age, and so there was a very big push for a new generation and it was not an accident that hakeem jeffries who a couple of hours ago i guess it was now gave the speech nominating her. he is the democratic caucus chair, that he is the one to do so. it seemed to me that that was an indication that she was making clear she was passing the baton to a new generation. >> gloria, what do you think? >> i agree with dana. and let me say dana's interview with her was absolutely amazing because she was so honest about what it has taken for her to get where she is. i was sitting up in the chamber in 2007 when she was first elected speaker and was surrounded by her children and her grandchildren, and it was such a moment because of course it was the first woman speaker and here she is again having lost the house, been defeated, people in her own party saying

she's too old, we need new blood, and she made it very clear as she did to dana in dana's interview that she knows how to count and she knows how to get things done. if you talk to anybody in the obama administration, they will tell you, including our colleague david axelrod, they would tell you they would not have gotten obamacare were it not for nancy's ability to corral her democrats. >> obviously we were there watching when she first became the very first female speaker, she's obviously still the only female speaker in the history of america. it was obviously an historic moment for women but she wasn't as -- she didn't wear her femininity on her sleeve and for lack of a better way to say it, her girl power on her sleeve the

way she is now. when i've talked to her and seen her in other interviews since, the fact that she is very openly, aggressively, consciously trying to send messages to women of all parties in a nonpartisan way and of all professions, all walks of life that it is okay to be a powerful woman without, you know, getting all of the baggage that generally comes along with it. >> sure. and i just want to remind everyone the quote, right, her daughter made news in the last 24 hours, you ladies know where i'm going to go because she's tough, man, woman in that position, not on do you have to know how to count, you have to be tough. this is what her daughter said, quote, she'll cut your head off and you won't even know you're bleeding. so that from her own daughter. and again, by republicans, dana made the point a second ago about how she's known to being

public enemy number one, we're going into the 2020 election, she will continue to be, obviously who knows how this will evolve between her and the republicans in the senate and of course the guy over at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. i mean, how, gloria to you, how does she handle that? >> well, look at the way she handled the meeting with donald trump and chuck schumer before the holidays in the oval office where she came right out and i thought that was such a moment where the president was kind of implying i know you got a race you've got to deal with and it's a little difficult for you right now and she just shut him down. and she said don't characterize the strength that i bring to this meeting as the leader of house democrats. so she wasn't going to let him get away with that. don't characterize the strength that i bring to anything. i think that was sort of an iconic moment for her, which is you're not going to get away with that, mr. president. as you know, in these interviews

that she's been doing, she has not held back about what it's like to deal with the president. she told nbc this morning, you know, you're not dealing with science, you're not dealing with facts, it's very difficult. so i don't think she's going to hold back because she's being attacked by republicans. being attacked by republicans for nancy pelosi is kind of old news. i mean, she's been the poster child for, i don't know, a decade maybe. >> exactly. >> exactly. so that's kind of old news for her. now she needs to get something done and corral her democrats and not let them overreach. i think that's her real concern right now. >> yeah. and the one thing i also want to add to that is that she obviously is not afraid to stand up to the president, but there is a mutual admiration there. i mean, talk to anybody who knows the president and they will tell you that he gets it. he gets that she is powerful.

what is the president known to respect? people who made a lot of money and people who can wield their power. and people who play golf. i don't know how her golf game is but he respects the fact that she can wield her power in a pretty remarkable way, much more, as he saw, than the republicans who have led the house caucuses over the last several congresses. and so how that manifests itself with negotiations like the one we have in front of us now, you know, who knows. but if you're looking at real bipartisan legislation, which could happen, it could happen, infrastructure, prescription drug prices, things that do matter to both parties and to in the case of prescription drugs to every consumer and voter out there, maybe it could make a difference. >> but staying on for a second

on trump and nancy pelosi and i'm sure you ladies as well being away on break for a minute, i got a lot of okay, new congress, what's this going to mean for president trump, what happens and what happens is, you know, this is really the first time that this president will be facing accountability in the sense that you now have democrats in control on the house side. and i know we can't predict the future, although a lot of people wish we could, gloria, what are the first couple of steps we will be witnessing for democrats pushing for answers do you think? >> well, look, the democrats are going to be -- start off talking about the president's tax returns. they're going to want accountability on border policy. the chairman of the house judiciary committee is saying he might subpoena the acting attorney general to appear before the committee because he hasn't been answering his request to appear. you're going to hear about

ethicss aethi ethi ethics, laws, campaign finance, and laws on guns. they're going to push back on donald trump and exercise their oversight ability but they can't descend into chaos. they have to prove they have an agenda to present to the american people, whether it's about drugs, prescription drugs. >> let's hit pause and watch.

[ cheers and applause ]

♪ california here we come [ laughter ] [ applause ]

senators take their seats.

house will be in order. colleagues, friends and fellow americans, it is an honor to serve with you and to welcome you to the first day of the 116th of the united states house of representatives. [ applause ] we are here in this chamber because the faith of your neighbors and support of your families. we are here today to represent the voice and the vote of 325 million americans.

now i would like everyone to pause. i want you to reflect on this fact. in the last 230 years dating back to the founding of our republic, fewer than 11,000 americans have had the privilege to stand here as a member of the house just as you do. chosen by their fellow citizens to represent them in washington. what an amazing, invigorating and, yes, frustrating experiment that is, representative democracy. the ink was barely dry on the constitution when ben franklin wondered out loud whether this new nation was capable of keeping its government and its freedom that has been granted to us generation to generation. centuries later people still harbor similar concerns. they wonder if congress truly

represents them, if it's still capable of solving big problems. well, there's no guarantees. it is up to us, all of us in this room, to make congress work, to create and debate just like our founding fathers did many years ago, with courage, with commitment and resolve. we are a very small group with a very large responsibility. the burden on us 435 members is to represent 325 million americans faithfully, to work together so that tomorrow is better than today. as ronald reagan advised us, america's too great for small dreams. when we work together, we succeed together as one nation. we're now entering a period of

divided government, but that is no excuse for gridlock or inaction. we are at our best when we focus not on retribution but on building a more perfect union. [ applause ] but while we seek cooperation, there is one core principle upon which we will not compromise, republicans will always choose personal freedom over government control. [ applause ] now, this very floor we serve on has hosted some of the toughest debates in nation's history, but it's also some of its most noblest achievements have

happened here. this house has weathered types of triumph and crisis. it still stands because it is built not on sand but on the solid rock of constitutional principles. today marks a new chapter in this house pursuit of a more perfect union. the country knows nancy pelosi as an experienced leader with three decades of service in congress, a fighter for her causes and a true trail blazer. even when we disagree with one another completely, it is important to remember that we are bounded together in a common cause, our love for america. [ applause ] as fellow citizens and friends, let us lead together to show the people that we are truly their voice and their vote.

in that spirit ns, in the spirif a more perfect union and in the unshakeable belief that america was, is and always will be the greatest nation on the face of the earth. [ applause ] and in that spirit, i extend my hand of friendship to every member of this body. and to the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, i extend to you this gavel. thank you. [ cheers and applause ]

>> thank you very much, leader mccarthy. i look forward to working with you in a bipartisan way for the good of our country, respecting our constituents who every one of you, i respect you and the constituents who sent each and every one of us here. they expect and deserve for us to try to find our common ground, and we must try to do that. stand our ground where we can't but always extend the hand of friendship. hank y thank you, kevin mccarthy for your leadership. i look forward to working with you. congratulations on being the leader of the party. [ applause ] and congratulations to each and every one of you. new members of congress, newly reelected members of congress, thank you for your courage to

run for office and to serve in this distinguished body. every two years we gather in this chamber for a sacred ritual under the dome of this temple of democracy, the capitol of the united states, we renew the great american experiment. i'm particularly proud to be woman speaker of the house of this congress, which marks the 100th year of women having the right to vote. [ cheers and applause ] and that we all have the ability and the privilege to serve with over 100 women members of congress, the largest number in

history. [ applause ] as leader mccarthy said, each of us comes to this chamber strengthened by the trust of our constituents and the love of our families. let us congratulate and welcome all of the families who are here today. thank you to our families. [ applause ] let me take the privilege of thanking my dear husband, paul, and our five children. our five children, nancy,

corine, christine, jacqueline, paul and alexandra and our nine grand children, natalie and alexander, liam, sean and ryan, thomas and paul, bella and octavio. we're so proud of all of our grandchildren and we're proud of everyone's grandchildren and children who are here today. and i'm proud of my dalesandro family who are here. in that spirit, my brother tommy, who was also mayor of baltimore, taught us through their example that public service is a noble calling, that we should serve with our hearts full of love and that america's heart is full of love. singing that to us last night and my comrade who is an italian american with all that pride i

want to acknowledge tony bennett who is here with us today. thank you, tony. [ applause ] he helped -- he helped -- he helped free the concentration camps during the time of world war ii, he marched with martin luther king, he is a true american patriot. thank you, tony. and again, i want to thank my constituents from san francisco, who have entrusted me to represent them in congress in the spirit of st. francis, the patron saint of san francisco and his song of st. francis is our anthem, "make me a channel of thy peace." we heard that in church this morning, but it is our mission. and let me thank our men and women in uniform, our veterans

and our military families and care givers whose service reminds us of our mission to make our service worthy of their sacrifice, to our men and women in uniform. [ applause ] we enter this new congress with a sense of great hope and confidence for the future and deep humility and prayerfulness in the face of challenges ahead. our nation is at an historic moment. two months ago the american people spoke and demanded a new dawn. they called upon the beauty of our constitution that our system of checks and balances that protects our democracy, remembering that the legislative branch is article i, the first branch of government, co-equal

to the presidency and to the judiciary. [ applause ] they want a congress that delivers results for the people, opening up opportunity and lifting up their lives. we're hearing the voice of the future there. how beautiful. when our new members take the oath, our congress will be refreshed and our democracy will be strengthened by their optimism, idealism and patriotism of this transformative freshman class. congratulations to all of you in the freshman class. working together we will redeem the promise of the american dream for every family, advancing progress for every community. we must be pioneers of the future.

this congress must accelerate a future that advances america's p preeminence in the world and opens up opportunities for all, building an economy that gives all americans the tools they need to succeed in the 21st century, public education, workforce development, good paying jobs and secure pensions. we have heard from too many families who wonder in this time of innovation and globalization if they have a place in the economy of the future. we must remove all doubt that they do and say to them individually we will have an economy that works for you. [ applause ] let us declare that we will call upon bold thinking to address the disparity of income in america, which is at the root of the crisis of confidence felt by so many americans. as justice brandeis said, we may have democracy or we may have

wealth concentrated in the hands of the few but we cannot have both. we must end that injustice and restore the public's faith in a better future for themselves and their children. we must be champions of the middle class and all those who aspire to it because the middle class is the back bone of our democracy. it has been since the birth -- [ applause ] -- it has been since the birth of our democracy. aristotle said it is manifest that the best political community is formed by citizens of the middle class, in which the middle class is large and stronger than any of the other classes. we must fight for the middle class that is fair and fiscally sound protecting medicare, medicaid and social security. [ applause ] we must also face the

existential threat of our time, the climate crisis, a crisis manifested in natural disasters of epic proportions. the american people understand the urgency. the people are ahead of the congress, the congress must join them. and that is why we have created a select committee on climate crisis. the entire congress must work to put an end to the inaction and denial of science that threaten the planet in the future. [ applause ] this is a decision, it's a public health decision about clean air, clean water for our children's health. it's a decision for america's global preeminence and the green technologies, it is a decision, a security decision to keep us

all safe and a moral decision to be good stewards of god's creation. we have no illusions that our work will be easy and that all of us in this chamber will always agree, but let each of us pledge that when we disagree, we respect each other and we respect the truth. [ applause ] we will debate in advance good ideas no matter where they come from, and in that spirit, democrats will be offering the senate republican appropriations legislation to reopen government later today. [ cheers and applause ] we will do so to meet the needs of the american people, to

protect our borders and to respect our workers. and i pledge that this congress will be transparent, bipartisan and unifying, that we will seek to reach across the aisle in this chamber and across divisions across our nation. in the past two years the american people have spoken. tens of thousands of public events were held. hundreds of thousands of people turned out. millions of calls were made, countless families, even sick little children are little lobbyist, our little lobbyist brave live ca bravely came forward to tell their stories and they made a big difference. now the floor of this house must be america's town hall where people will see our debates and where their voices will be heard and affect our decisions. transparency will be the order of the day. [ applause ]

and as mr. jefferies, our distinguished chairman said, we will follow our mandate for the people. and i thank you for your kind nomination and accept those kind remarks on behalf of the entire house democratic caucus who made all of these victories possible. some of them in a bipartisan way. empower our mandate to the people, to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices and protect people with preexisting medical conditions. [ applause ] to increase paychecks by rebuilding america with green and modern infrastructure from sea to shining sea. we look forward to working with the president on that.

to pass h.r.-1, to restore integrity to government so that people can have confidence in a government that works for the people, not the special interests, h.r.-1. [ applause ] this house will take overdue legislation that has bipartisan support, bipartisan support, in the congress and across the country. we will make our communities safer and keep our sacred promise to the victims and survivors and families of gun violence by passing common sense bipartisan background check legislation. [ applause ] we will make america fairer by passing the equality act to end

discrimination against the lgbg community and we will make america more american by passing -- by protecting our patriotic courageous dreamers. all three -- all three of those legislative initiatives have bipartisan support in this body. and when we're talking about the dreamers, let us remember what president reagan said in his last speech as president of the united states. i urge you all to read it. it's a beautiful speech. he said if we ever close the door to new americans, our leadership role in the world will soon be lost -- ronald

reagan. [ applause ] our common cause -- applause for ronald reagan. our common cause is to find and for forge a way forward for our country. let us stand for the people to promote liberty and justice for all as we pledge every day. and always, always keep our nation safe from threats old and new, from terrorism and cyber warfare overseas and here at home to protect and defend. that is the oath we all take to serve in this body. that is the oath we take. to protect and defend. i close by remembering a cherished former member of this body, who rose to become a beloved president of the united states and who last month returned to the capitol once more and he came this time to

lie in state. that week we honored president george herbert walker bush with eulogies, tributes and tears. today i single out one of his great achievements, working with both democrats and republicans to write the americans with disabilities act into the laws of our land. thank you, steny whohoyer, for being such a big, important part of that. [ applause ] in 2010 we marked the 20th anniversary of the act by making it possible for our colleagues with disabilities to preside over the house by changing the mechanics of this podium. in that spirit of equality and justice let me announce the

first speaker pro tem will be the congressman from rhode island. [ cheers and applause ] as we take the oath of office today, we accept responsibility as daunting and demanding as any that previous generations of leadership have faced. guided by the vision and values of our founders, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform and the aspirations that we have for our children, let us meet that responsibility with wisdom, with courage and with grace. together we will let it be known that this house will truly be the people's house. [ applause ]

let us pray that god may bless our work and crown our good with brotherhood and sisterhood from sea to shining sea. god bless you all and god bless the united states of america. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] i think i skipped a couple pages, i'm not sure. the parliamentarian instructs me to say the following -- i am now ready to take the oath of office. i ask the dean of the house of representatives the honorable don young, to administer the oath of office to the speaker. before you do, mr. dean, and i

thank you for your great leadership in the congress over the decades, i'd like to call my grandchildren up to be here when i take the oath. >> yes. >> and any other children who want to join them. come on, kids.

everybody be quiet. if the gentlewoman from california would please raise your right hand, which you're doing. do you solemnly swear you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign and domestic, that you will bear truth faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you're about to enter so help up god? -- you god? >> i do. >> congratulations, madam speaker. [ applause ] >> let us thank dean young, dean of the house of representatives.

i now call the house to order on behalf of all of america's children. go kids! go kids! i will administer the oath of office for the members-elect en masse. if the children want to be back with their -- or if they want to be on tv, it's up to them. they can stay or join their parents and grandparents. katie hill, whose birthday it is today wants her children to join her. katie porter, whose birthday it is wants her children to join her.

the members elect will all rise. will you all please raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united

states against all enemies foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any ment al reservation or purpose of evasion and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you are about to enter so help you god? congratulations, you are now -- [ cheers and applause ] all right. we're going to stay on some of these pictures that you just

witnessed. she says "house will be in order." the newly elected speaker, the only female speaker of the u.s. house of representatives ever in america, nancy pelosi, taking the oath and swearing in her colleagues there on the house floor. you know, dana and gloria are still with me. you know, between the kids and tony bennett and congress singing -- >> a lot going on. >> and nancy pelosi quoting ronald reagan, gloria, i'm going to start with you this time. what did you make of all of that? >> well, i think nancy pelosi was gracious and went out of her way to commend her republican colleagues, to talk about bipartisan legislation that they could enact across the aisle, to quote ronald reagan in the house of representatives to republicans and to democrats and i think she started this off with the right tone. i mean, we can't forget we're in the middle of a government

shutdown where republicans and democrats can't agree on anything about how to reopen the government, but nancy pelosi decided to start this out with a graceful note before it all dissolves. but i think that was important for her to do. and don't forget, most of these republicans ran against her, used her in their campaign ads, made her public enemy number one and at this point though, now, she is their speaker. she is the speaker of the house and she decided to be gracious about it, which i think was completely appropriate. >> dana, what did you think quickly? >> i agree. and kevin mccarthy, the enough republican leader, was also gracious. >> yes. >> by the same token, he led campaign after campaign after campaign, many which lost, some of them were successful, again using nancy pelosi as the boogie

man. today that was nonexistent. he focused on the historical nature of her win again, of her being the speaker again and also reached out across the aisle. now, you know, i know the cynics out there are rolling their eyes and shrugging their shoulders, but it's important that we have this moment because this is what it's all about. we don't have tanks in street when there are elections, we have moments like this and we should i think it's a nonpartisan thing to say -- i know it's a nonpartisan thing to say that we should all commend it and take it all in like we just did. >> dana and gloria, thank you, thank you, thank you. the white house has officially invited lawmakers back to continue negotiations over a shutdown, but neither side is budging on that. so sorry, a buzz kill for all the celebration, but government shutdown. also the dow once again falling, this after apple's bombshell

warning about the trade war impact. i'm brooke baldwin. you're watching cnn special live coverage.

welcome back, you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. we're keeping a close eye on our nation's capitol where an historic day is in play and nancy pelosi has reclaimed her spos as o spot as one of the most powerful people on capitol hill. >> working together we will redeem the promise of