white house. we expect that service to end just before 10:00 this morning. then it's off to the white house for coffee and tea with president and mrs. obama and the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies. guys, back home it truly is a hallmark of our democracy and it will be on full display this morning. >> very much so. just kind of the peaceful transition that we all expect even though it's been such an unexpected election year. doesn't look like there's anything different, carl, from what i've seen from all the other inaugurations which is a new president comes in, old president's there and it just transitions. do you feel that -- are people saying, no, this one's going to be different this time? >> i think the general take down here this morning is that as different and nontraditional as the campaign was, trump is demonstrating real respect for the traditions of the inauguration. going through the traditions of, for instance, this service today at st. john's. that goes back to fdr. we're going to wait and see how that translates to the inaugural address about midday today. the market, you know, jim, has been looking for cues throughout the transition about policy expectations, timing of those expectations. who knows. who knows whether or not that makes its way into something as pure and with as much sanctity as the inaugural address. >> this is one of those where i keep thinking about what we think is most different about him. this is a tweet-free day, then i think it would show some sort of reverence to the process. i put it that way, i'm not saying, listen, if he tweets it's terrible. he could tweet it's a great new day. but i think we're beginning to think, okay, yesterday, mnuchin, those hearings went the kind of way hearings go. maybe trump as president will be less likely to tweet about "the apprentice," less likely to tweet about "saturday night live." i'm hoping boe in-- i'm thinkin parties are hoping it goes that way. >> with all the pomp and circumstance, it's going to be amazing and awesome to watch, but no one is writing off the possibility that we begin to get some executive actions rolled back, the workman like quality of this transition could start to make itself known as early as this afternoon or this weekend. >> yeah, carl, i mean that certainly will be begin to be the focus. i know the people we speak to so often have been wondering about and questioning will begin to be put in motion. and you mention the easiest things to do are start to reverse some of the actions that were taken under the obama administration through executive orders. they can be reversed. and the president-elect a few more hours until he's the president, has said he would do that. that's expected, i think, this afternoon. nothing that may make the front page in the newspaper, jim, but it will certainly set the tone for the deregulatory approach. >> right. >> that the trump administration is going to have. >> in that sense i thought the mnuchin hearings were a bit of a throwback saying there's going to be some deregulation but we're not going to upend the entire edifice that was created in the, you know, indymac narrative. we put in through regulations and a lot of those regulations are important, not going to have banks that are provided by the fdic during a violating volcker rule. so i think people got kind of a level of, all right, it's going to be passive deregulation, not dismantled. and i think that that's going to be the issue, carl. i think dismantled versus dereg is going to be the issue of what happens the next 100 days. >> right. >> the dismantle would be radical. the dereg is what people are hoping for. >> so one big question is whether or not this tepid performance in the financials of late is tied to people coming around to that idea that you just expressed, that it's not going to be haphazard deregulation. >> right. well, it's not going to be we're going to regulate the financials the same way we regulate the industrials. i think that's one of the things people are coming to grip with which is that, no, there's still going to be -- you're not going to get the government off the backs of the banks. what you're going to get is more transparency and more leniency. but i think you're right, one of the reasons why the banks have stalled is because the whole rhetoric about the idea of, you know, the banks should have unfettered lending. it's not part of the narrative. and i think that there were people three months ago who felt it was. >> right. but you know, guys, it's interesting when you look at things from the prism of an earnings report, for example, ge, which we got this morning. >> right. >> which looked okay. not great. and the stock of which is going to be down a bit at the open it would appear given some concern about industrial profits. >> power. >> estimates. >> power, yes, absolutely. >> but look at so many ways ge will be impacted by whether it's a rollback of regulation or tax reform, you have to wonder certain things. for example, renewable energy was up 20% in their portfolio. >> right. >> is that going to slow as a result of the rollback of certain climate initiatives that have been undertaken by the obama administration? will the focus on renewables no longer lead to growth in that area for the likes of a ge? and by the way, they may benefit certainly from the export no tax on exports, if we get tax reform the way it may be in the blueprint from house ways and means. but adjusted was 12%. >> right. they've always been masterful at that. what i kind continue to find, people raising numbers 201. and i don't want to get too in the weeds about earnings versus what's going on where carl is. but let's just say that we are looking at trump stock versus no trump stock even more aggressively given the fact that if you can try to find companies that are high taxpayers that have been stuck in regulation, they are in the cross hairs of higher numbers for 2018. that's what you're looking for. >> yeah. there's one in particular -- >> as you guys are talking -- >> go ahead, carl. i'm sorry. >> that's all right. some shots of the crowd on the right side of your screen, people already making their way to the mall. braving some of the rain, which is expected to be its worst around midday, but actually the forecast has been getting a little bit better as we've gone on. eamon javers has one of the best seats you could possibly ask for. he's live on the capitol steps this morning. good morning, eamon. >> good morning, carl. boy, do you feel that we are at an inflection point in american history here on the west front of the capitol. behind me is the podium where the president will take the oath of office later this afternoon the seal of the president of the united states is up behind us and it symbolizes one man this morning, it will symbolize an entirely different man later this afternoon. the military bands are here taking their position. the choirs have gotten into position just above where the president-elect and the president of the united states will appear in just a couple of hours time. one of the big questions though you guys have been talking about regulations this morning. one of the big questions is what steps will president trump take once he gets back to the oval office later this afternoon? we haven't been told a whole lot of detail. we're told to expect four, maybe five executive actions early on in the day today. soon after the president takes that oath of office. but we can start by some of the things he's talked about on the campaign trail including taking steps to roll back nafta. under the nafta treaty, there is a process to start that. we might expect to see that later today. we have a couple others including withdraws from tpp, the trade negotiation has been such a key point of the trump campaign. and we expect to see that happening. that's been viewed as a dead letter here in washington for awhile. also clearing a path for the keystone pipeline. they've said they want to do that and other energy matters we can expect maybe something on that as early as today, perhaps monday. and then they've said they're going to start moving immediately on replacement for justice antonin scalia, late justice of the supreme court. not clear who donald trump would pick for that slot but he's put out a list in the campaign of conservative justices. he says one of those will be his pick. so all of that starting to move into action this afternoon, guys, but it all starts here on the west front of the capitol in just a few hours. back over to you. >> where we will see you very soon, eamon. eamon javers. jim, david, as trump tweeted today, it all begins today see you at 11:00 a.m. for the swearing in. the movement continues. the work begins. jim, i wonder whether you think the flow of news so which the market is sensitive is going to accelerate or decelerate from the last six or ten weeks? >> big time acceleration. i think eamon gave you a good list there. nafta, anything that touches nafta could be considered to be good for people who are in the workforce if you're not looking at the later consequences of having to pay more for certain product. viewed very negative among most ceos that have taken advantage of nafta because they thought that's what they were supposed to do. tpp, i mean, i think there are a lot of people said that was a dead letter exactly the way eamon said. but keystone is really a metaphor. a metaphor for why you have to own the u.s. one of the things clearly happening in this country is that the oil companies will tell you, and i speak with probably the ceos of probably maybe a dozen oil companies in the last six weeks, this is where the hope is. immediately they're going to get relief. immediately it's going to cost less to be able to get oil out of the ground. not unlike what schlumberger said this morning. positive commentary about north america and the united states. of the three i think you'll see something you'll get that, i also think the drug stocks acted so badly yesterday. i expected an immediate assault on the cost of health care. >> you do? >> yes, immediate. >> in what fashion would that be undertaken? >> i think that the details will be shy. i think it will once again be somewhat like what we saw against the autos, picking on companies -- >> you think it could be a tweet storm or something along those lines? >> i'm hoping it's certainly more rigorous than that. because you can't really do much in a few characters. but i think the drugs and the drug business and health care is in for the biggest punishment because that's where the biggest money could be saved. >> to jim's point, carl, i think the expectations for action certainly have to be focused on what a president can do upon coming into office whether it is trade, which is typically something that's run out of the white house, and the rollbacks of some of these regulations and orders that we've discussed. of course china comes into that trade discussion. and given people we've announced in terms of china policy and asia policy, there is an expectation that rhetoric could turn into action and not necessarily lead to a particularly good place given at least the seeming way that the administration views a zero sum game between us and china, their loss being our gain and vice versa. but the legislative actions as we've said are going to take months and months and months, right, carl? whether it's the repeal and replacement of obamacare or of course tax reform or infrastructure spending, all of these are going to be in the congress. and that certainly will not be something that today or next week we necessarily have a great deal more information on. >> yeah. that is indeed the longer term story. of course we're going to help viewers understand today's impact on markets, earnings, taxes, regulation, jobs, trade as david and jim just said. cnbc special coverage of the inauguration of donald trump continues in just a moment. when we come back, we'll hear from warren buffett who addressed the incoming administration last night. back in a moment. re erthayafrshst g hthtth ts.s terming spthk-k age tiodoayti twointhm.glalna ssentiismobiing desk cra atrer u wi ssyn dee rkiodoayti twointhm.glalna pl ad warren buffett talking about the incoming administration last night. cnbc caught up with him at the new york city premiere of a new documentary called "becoming warren buffett." >> certainly he has the most important job in the world, but america works. and it will work -- and i've said this before. it will work wonderfully under hillary clinton. i think it will work fine under donald trump. i mean, we've got the secret sauce. and it doesn't work all the time perfectly. but you just look at where we go milestone after milestone and never bet against america. i have no idea what the stock market's going to do in the next year. i know it will be a lot higher ten years from now and 20 years from now. i try to do things i know how to do. >> interesting. of course they got a deal this morning with aig, berkshire, big holder of ibm which also reported great numbers. >> they have a great portfolio for trump. >> do they? >> big pipeline, big locomotive. >> right. >> those are fabulous businesses. a lot of kind of per se infrastructure that they do. it wasn't set up for trump. it was set up for america and growth. but it just so happens to dovetail far more, i think, with trump than with hillary although the insurance business is a good business no matter what. i always feel that a lot of his comments are steeped in the long tradition of businesses that do well kind of no matter what. >> no matter what. >> he created a secular grower based on the idea of progress, the country would continue to be on a path of progress. and that's why i think he can be so sanguine at all times because it's based on progress, not based on technology that can be outmoded. the only bet being ibm. >> yep. yep. and, carl, of course berkshire had a good year last year. and we've haeshd heard the refrain before from mr. buffett, i don't know about next year but i know the next ten years are going to be better than the last. >> yes. he is nothing if not consistent, guys. and considering how hard he worked for the clinton campaign, it's interesting he sort of -- he could be used as a proxy for bringing two sides together especially on a day like today when we're reflecting on all the division during the campaign. there's certainly a lot of enthusiasm here among business leaders, the aid aiddd lson's a bob crafts, but how much of these businesses he has in mind intended fo benefit all americans. >> i think it's going to come back to hiring. the most consistent theme since he's been elected is i am about trying to create jobs in hiring. so anybody who is on board, it's very interesting. there was a piece yesterday by morgan stanley, again not to get too granular, about how maybe the ultimate trump stock is tesla. tesla is 25,000 workers here, they build all their cars here, elon musk has a very good relationship with trump, according to the piece. so you start thinking, well, what trump is standing for is we are going to keep and create jobs, the keep is controversial, the create is not. the create involves deregulation, create involves more lening, create involves bringing more money back. so it actually is in many ways -- it's simple. which is different from simplistic. it's simple. and i think it's resonating with a lot of people even if you think it might not be able to be doable overnight. >> interesting. you know, it's funny, guys. the obama administration, looking at a story here, i don't know if you saw it, the most -- he said the most scary moment he ever had in his presidency was when he thought there was the possibility of the government shutdown and defaulting on the debt. >> really? >> it's just interesting that of all the things in the obama administration over the last year it was an economic issue that was the scariest one to him. >> and there i am thinking the one thing i'm not worried about is that the president has complete control of it. fooled me. >> they were going to mint a coin worth $1 trillion, carl, to pay off a portion of the debt if in fact we defaulted. of course we didn't. looking back at some of the events we've had over the last few years certainly -- >> we were too proud. >> and the division of course taken place in the houses of congress we were just looking at. >> right. >> i think one thing that's going to be made more and more clear today but especially leading into the weekend and monday is sort of the corporate efficiency veneer of the campaign, of the transition and now the administration, guys, as mike pence said yesterday, even saving a million dollars in transition funds and returning that to the treasury, i think to the administration is a symbol of how they're not going to let pennies fall into the couch. does that make sense? >> well, i would say that the work that he's doing to try to bring down our joint fighter is actually not pennies. i mean, it's kind of impressive. and said drugs are next. the government has historically not negotiated great contracts, i believe, with our trading partners. but more importantly not negotiated great contracts with american business. and that seems to be over. i think the idea that you can roll the government as he views it, is not going to happen anymore. now, lockheed martin i felt made a very good -- made a good living off the jet fighter. and i think that what he's saying is wall street's not understanding is the gross margins are too high from some of these companies we deal with. too high from drug companies. he's not using that language because he's using much more basic, look, they're making too much money. but he's going to squeeze gross margins out of business and we have to focus on that. lockheed martin is actually unchanged pretty much during this period. but again, that's what's going to happen. carl, while you were talking we flashed winning stocks under obama and losing stocks. ulta is the ultimate selfie company. and netflix, the ultimate stay at home company, you're not going out. and also original content. the worst is first solar. how ironic is that? first solar is the worst, and we had a solar president? so there's a lot of irony involved. >> there is. but underlying of course so much of this is the relentless pace of technology and the changes when you think about what's taken place just over the last eight years. it really is mind numbing. >> yes. >> netflix alone you just mentioned only started streaming in 2011. >> i thought that was incredible. >> think of that business right now. so despite whatever the efforts may be of this white house in terms of returning jobs to the united states as you guys well know, the advent of artificial intelligence and its use in so many different areas, robotics, automation, and of course the appearance of the autonomous car which well could be in the next let's call it three to five years, what is that going to mean to any efforts, carl, that are made by a white house certainly very much focused on jobs? >> yes, certainly major challenges for this incoming administration and those that will follow in the decades ahead. a lot more still to come before the final opening bell before donald trump becomes president of the united states. this is special coverage of the inauguration of donald trump on cnbc. wereti e, ters,veve segover r r ♪ all right. the inauguration of course by far the largest story today, but the markets are open. and digesting some news. a lot of it in the form of earnings reports. we got ibm and american express after the bell, jim, yesterday. and we got general electric, ge, this morning. and, well, i'm curious as to your thoughts. >> well, i think there's kind of -- sometimes i just like to look at the drama of a particular earnings day. the best earnings report that we got is from -- this morning is from proctor & gamble. now, we got a couple sells of proctor & gamble. they were more traditional cyclical rotation, you don't want to be in proctor, you want to be in the metals and industrials. turns out proctor's got something going too. this was a terrific quarter where they raised their organic growth rate. really some extraordinary numbers out of health care. their division. extraordinary numbers out of hair care and skin care, so proctor was the star of the morning. ibm down initially because the conference call was kind of rocky. put ibm together with some of the ideas of what they're thinking going forward and it's more of a push. american express they spend a little more than we thought, but i still believe that the problem with costco dogged this quarter. now costco going forward goes away. so i don't think america's best is bad at all. >> they lost that contract. >> right. they lost that contract and i believe what will happen if you look at the earnings power american express gave you on the conference call, the last time it was at 560, actually 558, the stock was at 95. i think you go against the trend of american express going down, you go with proctor and schlumberger, let me say if you parse this quarter versus last quarter, i like to do it line by line, they were far more bullish about what they see. so selling schlumberger here is a sucker's game because you'll end up buying it at 90 two weeks from now. >> okay. the one name you didn't mention as we take a look there at arrivals, that was john cornin, senator yeah, carl, of course they continue to arrive, so to speak. there's a look at the president right there. one of his last walks as you see obama waving, president obama waving. and smiling. yeah. maybe the last time that we see that walk, carl. >> carl? >> yes. you're watching president obama get ready to leave the white house for the final time. a lot of pictures being posted on social media the last 12 hours or so of all the pictures come i coming off of the wall. it's logistic nightmare you can imagine trying to move obama family out and trump family in in such a short period of time. but the inaugural committee has done this before. that coffee and tea of course one of several events today. the procession of the capitol begins around 10:30. of course the swearing in at 11:30. there's the vice president, mrs. biden. lunch with the congressional committee onnin naug ral ceremonies later on today followed by the parade and balls tonight. so what you're looking at of course just the beginning of many ceremonial traditions that we're going to be covering all throughout the day. >> yeah, we saw joe biden of course and his wife jill also walking. carl's continued questions here certainly from a lot of new yorkers as to where the real center of power's going to be, washington, d.c. or trump tower, and whether or not donald trump really is going to reside in that white house on a regular basis. >> funny you mention that. we know mrs. trump and their son barron's going to stay in new york. a lot of news organizations have to make decisions about staffing today. we have robert frank at trump tower in new york because that is widely considered to be one of the auxiliary white houses. we do not know a lot about what his preferences are going to be regarding new york and washington, whether he comes down here simply for ceremonial business. >> of course we'll see. trump tower, marlg, or new jersey all favorite spots. >> washington is not a business city, you're trying to change the character of who you talk to. washington is known as lobbyist town. ceos come to new york. so it would be a change of pace to deal with the top guys and not their emissaries -- >> well, we get opening bell even on inauguration day here at the big board. a down day yesterday and what seemed to be some early weakness. bond yields also -- there it is. a lot louder. [ bell ringing ] there's a look at the capitol as you see as we await the inauguration and the oath of office not too long from now, jim. >> markets especially in kind of an era of good feeling. market in keeping, carl, with the notion of peaceful transition. and one of the things i've been waiting for is a little bit upside of the market like we got -- carl, you do such great work about how many days have been negative and this and that. we have not had an up dow jones up average right out of the gun for a long time. i think a lot of us have been waiting for that kind of what i regard as being positive moment from the stock market, the big cap names that we haven't had since the year began. >> yeah. yeah, of course we've had all those big cap downgrades over the last week or two, right, jim? >> yes. >> the disneys, exxons of the world. bob pisani's talked about the market being spring loaded. we have this the fourth biggest post election rally in history in donald trump's rally. we even call it the trump rally on our air. >> right. >> and yet now we're stuck into one of the narrowest one-month ranges we've ever seen on the dow. >> well, i think it could break out here. it's funny, get a stock like skywork, 40% of business is apple but broadened the internet of things connectivity. just on fire. up four last night, now up even more. ibm i regard as being a fine quarter stock was down three, now it's up. these are the kinds of switches mentally where people say, you know what, let's not be negative today. it's an concept to think the market could dance to the tune of what is regarded as being a peaceful transition. but the market is taking information that might have thought was negative and treating it positively. >> at least so far as you take a look there at the president-elect and his wife melania getting into an automobile on their way to their next stop. carl, are they headed now to the white house? is that where they're headed? >> i believe this is arrival at the white house, yes. >> yeah. >> the coffee and tea scheduled to begin right about now. that will last about almost an hour's time. interestingly just in terms of we're paying a lot of attention to the traditions today. began the tradition of going to the white house before heading to the capitol for the inaugural. and of course, i mean, so much of today, guys, is about the peaceful transition of power. but nothing conveys that like watching the incoming and outgoing presidents literally sit down together, talk about whatever private matters they may discuss. of course it's tradition for the outgoing president to leave a letter for the incoming president, sometimes details of those letters are made public later, sometimes they're not. but this is ceremonial what we're watching right here. >> it is interesting to remember that rutherford b. hayes lost the popular vote. >> well, you were around for that so you do remember -- >> that was the disputed '76 election. a lot of us were really stumbling over the notion there could be in history that the country had a corrupt bargain, but it did indeed in the election of '76. >> similar here the president-elect lost the popular vote. >> right. >> but won the electoral college. as you watch he's in that suv on their way to the white house for that aforementioned coffee. let's get back quickly to some stocks here. haven't mentioned aig this morning, jim. they do a big deal with berkshire, we did mention, we saw warren buffett, reinsurance deal paid $9.8 billion to essentially take a lot of risk off their old policies. >> which is what i was most worried about. that stock should be up more than that. this is actually quite a good thing. >> it improves their ability, obviously to write new policies and give them new capacity in terms of reserves because it's a business that they're no longer sort of emphasizing. the older business that they were riding. now they sort of know it's contained. >> yes, that means book value can be more of a reason why you want to buy it. it's not an expensive stock if you knew that these some legacy is insured. i'm surprised -- look, always the question was with this company just so you know is it going to cost them too much money to get that reinsurance? obviously peter hancock must think they finally got to a level they can live with that amount of money. >> largest deal ever done of course when work u dealing with aig you might expect that. but $9.8 billion reinsurance deal is a large -- they did a similar deal with asbestos liabilities with berkshire in 2011. >> i know you have long term care issues, i hate long term care insurance because people live longer. to make sure the legacy business has no real downside no matter what the big is makes aig worth $70 to me. by the way, just in terms of what groups are weaker, be careful of the drug stocks. let's not forget that bristol-myers is a house of disappointment now. in its lung cancer franchise a lot of people felt opdivo wasn't too good, when they combined with another one of their drugs they would be able to accelerate what they wanted to do. and that was not true. and bristol really breaking down and leading the group down. >> carl, we're looking right now of course at a picture of the president-elect and his wife in that suv yet to leave, i believe, for their coffee at the white house. >> indeed. we're looking for pictures as they make their way over to the white house. jim, you talk about some of the cabinet nominees. sean spicer yesterday made a point complaining that the democrats were making the approval process slower than it could be. and i wonder if that goes on beyond this weekend, which it looks like it will. if the market needs to start paying attention to that. >> well, i think that every day matters. this is a first 100 days that has to verify the 100 days previous when it comes to the stock market. i know that people at home -- the timeframe seems very shotgun, but there are a lot of stocks that ran with the expectation that 2017 is going to be the year that we get a lot of relief. if it's 2018, the numbers are too high. because we have the strong dollar although proctor & gamble makes us feel better. we don't want the dollar being strong. again, it's like, oh, my gotd, we go to dow 20,000 the level of symbolism there would be extraordinary. but we're seeing people overlook a lot of negatives today for companies that we were already just selling furiously last night. ibm down so much then look at ibm up a dollar. again, a metaphor for hour people are viewing things today because of where you are, carl, not because of where we are. >> we mentioned ge earlier, guys, but it is worth mentioning again because your point, jim, it's one of the few stocks that is down a little less than 2%. apparently the industrial segment revenue below some estimates and that's a bit concerning. although they had nice organic growth in the fourth quarter. >> yeah. >> 3.8% organic growth. >> that's a good number. >> i like for the future. some people feel you can never give -- this company could lever up and buy back a lot of stock. i know nelson peltz feels there's a lot of borrowing power that could help it. my travel trust owns ge, not giving up on it. carl? >> you see there former vice president dan quail in the red hat. we'll be looking for other dignitaries who are making their way out of the service. of course, dan quayle once a client of kellyanne, now a counselor of course to incoming president trump whose birthday by the way guys, is today. >> oh, happy birthday. interesting. i tell you, carl, from my point of view i started the day thinking why should we even talk about stocks. of course obviously we're a stock network. but it does seem to be -- i keep getting as soon as my interview's over i like to speak to ceos, they keep feeling what you may be seeing there which is, you know what, this is kind of less ranker. you mentioned democrats holding up some of these or delaying some of the approval process, but frankly i thought it was pretty fast tracked so far. i do. i mean, mnuchin was grilled for a long time, but at the end i think he felt, well, he's going to be in. >> i think you're right. i think there was a sense he's going to more likely than not be the treasury secretary. and i think as eamon had reported a number of times if there was one nominee certainly there was a focus on perhaps in stopping might have been him. but it went fairly well. >> yeah. i thought it went great. >> some other confirmation hearings we didn't focus on as much, education secretary for example may not have gone as well. >> you have the treasury secretary basically giving a testimony i think everybody at the end said, geez, maybe his -- the narrative that he was a rapacious capitalist -- during the recession didn't really hold up and movie narrative didn't come to play at all. instead, the issue, strong dollar, yeah, deregulation, well, i like volcker. it was much more middle of the road than i think some people expected some bomb throwing. there was no bomb throwing. as a matter of fact, there was a level of boredom that i found to be positive. >> i think overwhelmingly positive reviews from mnuchin especially given some of the expectations that were set up in advance. look at the bidens there. you mentioned mnuchin on volcker. even on cfpv, right? or at least the funding, moving that from the fed over to congress. >> look, you can argue that that could have been a treasury secretary from hillary clinton. i'm not kidding. when you parse everything that he said, you got a very consistent treasury secretary lineage all the way back to when reuben was treasury secretary. it was kind of like, okay, look, i want to do a lot of things here. i want to go with the president's view. but understand, i understand the office of treasury, how distinguished it is and i'm not going to violate some of the longstanding traditions and come in here and try to rip up things. it was not radical. it was incremental. and i think a lot of us expected that there could be more fireworks. instead, we found there was a level of joviality that i didn't see coming. jovial. >> yeah. >> kind of, you know, nice. >> see president-elect now on his way to the white house. of course earlier moment ago you saw incoming vice president pence and his wife embrace outgoing vice president biden and his wife jill. so they are already together. >> now, carl, we have to watch twitter. even now. right? i mean we did get a positive tweet, but we have to watch twitter to see how it's going. do you think that's a logical approach? carl? >> i'm thinking of a lot of conservative pundits this week, bill o' reilly i think one of them cheering on his use of twitter because in their view the fact that so much of the mainstream media is leaned up against the administration trying to deny them any progress. and to them that is obviously an easy way to jump over the heads of the media, talk to people person-to-person. there is president obama. >> i'm not advisor of the president, but this is time for facebook live. i mean, really is. if he wants to go to the next level, he should go facebook live. you can say a lot more. and it's 2 billion people watch facebook live. i don't find he's been taking our direction, but facebook live is what you should do as president. you can tweet when you're president-elect. it's time to go to the big leagues. my view. carl? >> watching the president and mrs. obama wait for donald trump and mrs. trump to arrive at the white house. of course this brings to mind, again, the last meeting they had at the white house which was immediately following trump's victo victory, that photo opportunity in the oval office. i'm not sure we'll be getting pictures of anything like that this morning. but this sets in motion that transfer of power we talked about earlier in the hour, guys, which will carry us from the white house over to the west front of the capitol before the obamas make their way to palm springs for the weekend and their administration ends. >> i think it's important just on that question that carl mentioned about the democrats and where we are. fbi background checks have to be done. it's much more of a process here than we realize. but the process is very simple. >> so nice to see you. how are you? >> i'm doing very well. >> thank you. >> you go right here. melania you go on the other side. no, no, hold on a second. we will take care of photo op. i'm always on the right. how was church? >> the president, the first lady, mrs. trump and president-elect trump making their way into coffee and tea at the white house. again, we expect this to last until about 10:30 eastern time at which time the procession to the capitol begins with the obamas. interestingly just for history, jefferson the only potus to actually walk to the inaugural. warren harding first to go in automobile. and in terms of the way this is all covered, guys, james poke inaugural covered by telegraph, buchanan the first with photos, coolidge first with radio, clinton with the internet. we'll have to add to that list and include social media as being one of the first ones covered in that way this year. >> yeah, of course, carl, a few hundred yards from where jim and i are and you are every day is where the first one ever took place at federal hall right downtown 1789 when george washington took the oath of office as the first president. >> there have been a lot of inaugurations that i think have come and gone. this one seems to have unique focus because of the celebrity style of the president. i remember when jimmy carter decided to walk and it was considered to be, wow, that's a big break with tradition. i think that trump is a break with tradition. and we're all kind of surprised to see tradition dovetailing with the man who clearly has said it's not going to be business as usual. right now, carl, the trappings are business as usual. >> i wonder, jim, if you think that the market is comforted by seeing all this happen the way it's happened before? >> totally. i thought that yesterday with mnuchin. i said, you know, this market can't selloff the way some of these people say it's a sugar high and it's got to come down, come down hard. the people who keep waiting for something to happen that is so out of order like you're fired to a supreme court justice. i mean, i don't think you're going to get that. trump is not playing on "the apprentice." i think there are people who keep expecting there will be something so bizarre happening today that it's the reason to sell. and if you don't get that, people who are waiting for the big selloff have to wait for some sort of policy gaffe overwhich so far there really haven't been. mnuchin was right on. rex tillerson right on. there's just not been that giant policy gap that a lot of the bears -- and there are a lot of bears, have been waiting for. >> yeah. well, he hasn't yet taken the oath of office. i'm just saying. it's early days. could be a number of things both positive and negative that could occur. >> i'm saying if you get a swearing in and you get words and they look like all the ones that were covered by polk and by buchanan and by coolidge then be like, you know, maybe i can buy some ibm here it's not so bad. >> okay. by the way, talking about the market, let's get a look at the broader markets. bob pisani's here on the floor with the s&p up a little less than half a percent, bob. >> david, extraordinary day. we haven't seen this in awhile, up market here. most of the markets on the upside. energy, industrials lagging a little bit because ge and amex are down. materials, health care, overall market up rather nicely right now. this is the question for the day, is the long wait over? will we finally get some details on tax cuts, fiscal spending? the market's been very patient since the market started going up in mid december. earnings out, we're getting 2017 guidance. it's useful to note amex sernlly affirmed their guidance. even applied they might do better. ge affirmed it. ibm numbers above estimates for 2017. proctor & gamble said higher organic sales. all that pretty good overall setting us up for pretty good. a lot of pretty good 2017. a lot of questions about this border adjustment tax, corporate tax rate, where it's going to be. a lot of retailers have been hit very hard on concerns over that. we did get our first big ipo of the year waiting for it to open here. and that's keane group here priced 23.2 million shares at $19. right now we're waiting for it to open 20 to 22. back to you. >> carl, i know you got a guest coming. >> thank you very much for that. let's bring in cnbc contributor larry kudlow who has joined us here at 101 constitution, inside ticket to the trump campaign and the trump transition process. sir lawrence, good to have you. >> good to be here. >> exciting day? >> it is. obviously i've given trump some help during this thing, but his story whatever you think of him, like him, don't like him, his story is an amazing political story. it just is. and nobody knows how it's going to play and how it's going to come out. but already, you know, he becomes a major historical figure. i think that's pretty cool. again, that's what makes this so exciting and interesting. >> you say we don't know how it's going to play out. when do we start to learn how? this weekend? you think things happen right away? >> i think the inaugural speech is very important. tone, optimism some content. this is not a budget exercise. some content. direction. and civility. bipartisanship. i'm dying to hear civility and bipartisanship. so, yes, it begins today. literally the whole world is going to watch this. the heavier lifting stuff, well, you'll get some regulation changes this afternoon. more on monday. then they'll be a budget and he has state of the union about two or three more weeks. that's when you get into the heavy details. but i will tell you from the stand poi standpoint of style and presentation and demeanor, very important speech. >> yes. as you're talking former president george w. bush with laura bush making his way into the ceremonial proceedings on a week where a lot of the attention being paid to his father. >> i hope he gets well. we all do, barbara also. i think this issue is hovering over us about democrats not attending the inaugural. >> we haven't talked about it yet, but you're right, it's a sub theme. >> it's a sub theme. i think it's a big mistake. couple things. number one, the democrats are playing their cards all wrong in these confirmation hearings. there being ankle biting and nitpicking, they don't have real messages, sometimes personalizing attacks. that's not the way this should work and everybody knows that. chuck schumer did not get them together. there's no unifying. you have a chance here as kim strassel said in the paper this morning ue, you could actually get every single one confirmed. usually you lose one some place, republicans 10, democrats zero on that. the other thing, carl, we're the greatest democracy in the world. this is a peaceful democratic transfer of power. this is not a political party exercise. with all due respect for mr. john lewis who is an icon in civil rights and i was part of that movement several years ago, this is america's democracy and transfer of power. it's symbolically important. and technically important. so the good news is you got a lot of presidents going to be sitting up there. i really like that a lot. bill clinton and hillary. hillary's still heartbroken, but she's a trooper. give her credit for that for coming out. you have jimmy carter. give him credit for coming out. i would love to see president trump -- president-elect trump say something nice to them right at the top. >> what would that sound like? how would you write it if you were writing it for him? >> i welcome you. i'm grateful that you've come here to join this transfer of power. and i want to reach out for your support. i intend to run an open inclusive administration. and i will come to you for advice. things of that sort. welcome them. say something nice about every single person. and of course papa bush and misses bush, he should do that. he should turn to them and do that, right at the top. it would set a phenomenal tone. again, whether you like his policies or not, i get that. >> yep. >> but this is about tone and style and kind of like the american culture, if you will, the political culture anyway. >> right. right side of your screen there moments ago that was donald trump's arrival to the white house and mrs. trump along with president obama and mrs. obama. i can see your point, larry, but he has the votes. as someone in this town might say. he doesn't need to be as dep ra katding as you suggest. >> he has the votes. >> he has the votes on the cabinet, he has congress on his side. he could continue to do this through sheer bluster, force of will. >> i don't want him to go that way. you're right. you've been covering politics, you're right. won't be so easy with what is it 52-48 in the senate? here's the deal. president obama made a very big mistake twice at the beginning of his presidency. he jammed down a stimulus bill without any republican votes. then jammed down an obamacare vote with no republicans. let me just say trump has a very transformational agenda. we're going everywhere here, right? he's going to roll back a lot of the stuff. you can't do these big changes, which i probably favor most of them, without some bipartisan support. you can't do it. our system breaks when you try to jam something through. you know, i notice, i was talking to michelle -- i went back. maybe we can dig into this. john f. kennedy's inaugural speech -- we'll tell you in a second, but john f. kennedy's inaugural speech specifically mentioned civility and respect. listen to this. both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness but sincerity is always subject to proof. let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. all right. now, that was 1961. obviously i have a book out on kennedy so i know a little bit about it. but the point is that's good advice. that's good advice. i mean, really, we need civility in our conversation. and we need some bipartisanship. you can't win every battle. my former boss ronald reagan, give me half a loaf now, i'll get the other half later. if you disagree with me, 30% and you agree 70% you're not my enemy. we can do business. we need that. in the political culture. i think we need it for the whole culture. >> as you're talking donald trump jr., tiffany trump, ivanka trump walking in with jared kushner as we get closer and closer. thoughts about what larry said. >> larry, you're absolutely right. if you start off with what i regard a statesmanlike approach, which isn't hard to do, doesn't cost anything to give credit to people, i think people once again certainly the markets say, you know, i know this is an atraditional president, but the trappings we like so much in democracy are very much alive. i know that you did work with reagan. and when i listen to what some of the things you're saying about reagan, i recall that when there were problems with the democrats, you called up tip o'neil and you had a beer, i know donald trump doesn't drink, but it would be absolutely terrific if donald trump called up some democrats and said, you know what, let's think this through. i don't know, is that possible, larry? >> yes. it is, jimmy. it's possible because it's possible. you know what i mean? in other words, it's a question of will and strategy. but it can be done. trump supposedly is the art of the deal. i want to see that. trump was a democrat for many years. so was i. so was reagan. he knows how to work with democrats. he knows how to do all that. so let's see him do it. you know, this issue, jimmy, of civility and bipartisanship i think are so important. right now, right off the top, jim, first 100 days kind of stuff, remember this last point, reagan had big coils with tip o'neil on policy, reagan went to democrats, it was a democratic house on the tax bill, i was there, after whineining and din oval dinners and camp david and whatnot, jim, reagan got roughly 75 democratic votes in the house. 75. that's the kind of thing that mr. trump should strive for. even though the gop has both houses, little different now, nonetheless we should try to get 35 house democrats. >> you know something, larry, when you look at the ceo oz who visit trump including many who clearly not only voted against him but campaigned actively against him, there was a spirit of good will. even to the people who run alphabet, the people who run facebook, there was a level of camaraderie that i think a lot of the right wing did not expect. that has much more to do with creating jobs. and if you have a model creating jobs, that's a universe alty that both parties should embrace, don't you think? >> i do. trump has basically had a good transition in my opinion. and right at the beginning he reached out. the conversation with hillary on election night. you know, brutal for her, but trump was very kind. his meetings with obama, jimmy, i think the meeting he had with obama that lasted an hour and a half in the oval office was for mr. trump a transformational event. i'm just telling you, sitting in the oval office and realizing the magnitude of what has to be done i believe was transformational for donald trump. and on the whole in this transition with some exceptions he's talking to democrats and getting along with them. not 100%. but he's already started. i just hope he stays on that path. >> do you believe as some have argued he should have appointed or made democratic politicians part of his cabinet? like a huntsman, like a bob gates? >> yes. >> really? >> i would have done more. again, i'm going to draw from my book, jfk and reagan revolution. kennedy, who won by a cat's whisker, kennedy had three major republican cabinet posts, robert mcna mar ra in those days moderate republican ceo of ford, mcgeorge from harvard was a republican, and my hero, douglas dylan, was a republican treasury secretary. so defense, nse and treasury were given to republicans and ultimately dylan talked kennedy into tax cuts. we'll get to that later. but, yes, i wouldn't have minded seeing a couple more in the cabinet. i think it's essential now he opens up all the communications with staff as they get together and start negotiating to bring the democrats to the table whenever possible, whenever possib possible. just to sit around and make a deal, reagan made deals. i was there, i learned from it. you'll go back look at his memoirs, he said we won most of them but there are few big losses but that's the way it goes. we haven't had that attitude, we haven't gotten much done, those two things are related. and if mcc disagrees with me on something, you're not going to call me names. you're not going to insult me. you're not going to smear me. we're going to talk about it, right, which we do and have for 15, 18 years. same principle should hold. if we disagree, let's talk. let's not yell through the media. let's just talk. civility. >> for every example like that, larry, there's a george w. bush who says i have political capital and i'm going to spend it. >> well, okay, he won. obama said that eight years ago or whatever. he won. and it's his agenda, i get that. but sometimes the ways and means are just as important -- or almost as important as the actual policy. i'm just saying. and it was struck, it was struck kennedy used this whole phrase about civility in his inaugural speech. >> want to thank jim. we'll see you tonight "mad money" 6:00 p.m. eastern time. as we continue to see these arrivals. these are capitol arrivals now as president-elect trump and president obama are having coffee and tea at the white house with melania trump and the first lady. good morning, welcome back to our special coverage of the inauguration of donald trump. i'm carl quintanilla along with michelle caruso-cabrera here in washington, d.c., two hours away from the swearing in ceremony. david faber, mike santoli at post nine of the new york stock exchange as the market's been improving pretty much all morning for the first half hour. sara eisen on assignment today. michelle, welcome. great seats this morning. >> great seats. >> you could not ask for a better view. >> no, it's fantastic. we know eamon javers is somewhere in those lights. he'll be reporting from there. so interesting listening to larry and you have a discussion. this inauguration the markets act like it is one of the most consequential in decades. yes, there's been a slowdown in the averages over the last couple of weeks, but you can't mistake the attitude the market demonstrated, mario i thought it was interesting what he said to barron's last week. he said we're going to change fl a country that now welcomes capital instead of impaling it. that's incredibly significant for our audience. and we've seen it in the way all of the markets have been acting. there we see kellyanne conway again arriving. >> birthday girl today. >> birthday girl. excellent. she's wearing red, white and blue. people think it's patriotic, probably, but it's also gucci, part of the new line. >> thanks for the important details. >> well, they're part of a publicly traded company, carl. >> but you're right about the voice of business that is gotten stronger and will get stronger beginning today. i'm just thinking of the economic team, names that we've known for a long time, navarro, larry, moore, even john paulson and steven roth. suddenly invested with real voice. >> and i add to the economic team, wilbur ross, steven mnuchin, right? they're all on the same page what we've heard in the last several days from the confirmation hearings about taking a hard look at the way we're going to do trade and what that means for businesses. that's probably the fulcrum of worry and discontent within the markets. how does that actually play out? we hear a lot of people say we probably have to rethink these things. but, boy, it could get really rocky and rough along the way as they start to negotiate perhaps changes to agreements that have been around a long time and maybe need to be modified in their opinion. >> brings to mind what we just saw the arrival of steve bannon and clakellyanne conway to the capitol. john harwood joins us here on constitution avenue this morning. john rngs good morning to you. >> good morning. >> who is the fulcrum of advice to donald trump right now, do we know? >> jared kushner. >> i'm not sure the market appreciates that yet, do you? >> i don't know if the market appreciates it, but i think people in politics are increasingly -- you saw president-elect last night at union station saying if anyone can solve middle east peace, it will be jared kushner. jared kushner was the de facto chief campaign strategist by the end of the fall campaign. you know, donald trump is somebody who operates with a very close circle and family is the closest circle. and jared kushner's there. >> we talk about somebody could make a deal that speaks very much to the way donald trump thinks about nearly everything. he is transactional. like the way he talks about nearly every part of the platform, whether it's trade, whether it's tax reform, et cetera. i was speaking with someone who was in attendance at the dinner for all the ambassadors, first event of the week tuesday night and they were quite taken with him. and a lot of them were surprised at how warm they found him. how welcoming. and they actually thought it might be an improvement in foreign relations. i heard from several of them in comparison to what the concerns had been leading up to the inauguration. >> and i think democrats like jared kushner they see him as a moderating force. you saw the liberal mayor of new york city bill de blasio say he'll be there. i think kushner may have been somebody who was a democrat in the past as donald trump has been. so i think this is somebody very interesting. he's quite young. he hasn't served in government before. but he's got an awful lot of influence. and by the way, guys, i think in addition to the view, i think we can't take for granted how blessed we are by the weather today. i have been -- i covered reagan's second inaugural in '85. >> coldest in history. >> coldest in history. had to keep it inside. covered george h.w. -- excuse me, george w. bush's inaugural 2001. cold rain. it was just above freezing, but enough to make you freezing cold while you were wet. then you had president obama, you know, under freezing eight years ago, this is a piece of cake. >> they tell brides if it rains on your wedding it's good luck. probably to make you feel better, but maybe it's true as well for today. thanks very much. john harwood will be with us throughout the day. deep in that crowd is eamon javers. he might be in that weather later today. he's on the steps of the capitol getting the buzz on the ground and taking a closer look at trump's first 100 days. eamon. >> yeah, good morning, guys. you might be able to hear behind me the president's own united states marine corps band has just started up. we've been hearing from some of the choirs up here on the west front of the capital and also some of the dignitaries and members of congress and guests have started to fill in the seats just behind me here, which is where they'll watch the inaugural in just a couple hours. one of the big questions on everybody's mind is just what is this administration going to do after all of this pomp and circumstance is over with? they've given some signals. they haven't been very specific but given some signals enough to build out a roadmap to the first 100 days starting with ending federal regulations. donald trump has said he wants to put a moratorium on new federal regulations. and then for every new one that is enacted under his administration he would like to ultimately see two federal regulations removed as well. he said he's going to freeze employee hiring. he's also going to propose he has said term limits for members of congress. some of those members of congress will be sitting right behind him today at the swearing in. they might not like that idea so much. he's going to enact what they call the cleanup corruption in washington act. he's also got a proposal for five-year ban on officials becoming lobbyists after leaving office. that revolving door has been a subject of criticism for democratic and republican administrations alike. they say they're going to tackle it here in the trump administration once they get sworn in here in just a couple of hours. for now, guys, we are listening to the band and we're listening to the choirs that are singing. all of the seats behind me are starting to fill in as you see the dignitaries, but the cheap seats over here where people have been waiting for hours, those are the people you have to hand it to today. they've been out here since before dawn minding their positions. and they're going to be here for several hours more, guys, back over to you. >> eamon, look forward to checking in with you in a bit. eamon javers alt the west front of the capitol. for more this morning joined by the founder of americans for reform, grover norquist. so much discussion about tax reform, conflicting market over the past six weeks, where's your head right now? >> the one thing that's going to happen is take the corporate rate of 35% down to at least 20%. trump had asked for 15%, the house republicans had 25%. they move towards trump, 25 down to 20. and then the other challenge was the republican house guys had full expensing rather than long depreciation schedules. trump's original plan didn't. so trump went from long depreciation schedules to expensing, immediate expensing. and the republicans move to a lower rate. each move towards each other. >> not to oversimplify, but full depreciation. if you can depreciate -- there we see john boehner and newt gingrich walking in. full depreciation, you build a factory this year, you can write down the whole thing this year. >> year one. >> that's incredibly significant when you're making a decision about whether or not to invest and how soon can you get the benefit to the bottom line. >> one of the things that president obama did that was actually quite pro growth is he had a small version of expensing. it was limited as to who could have it. it was limited as to how much. but you saw real new investment take place there. what trump and the republicans are looking to do is expand that to the entire economy. this should be extremely helpful. >> david, is it deficit friendly, deficit harmful, neutral? >> first, we need pro growth tax reform. there's no question. and it's not just for corporate business. we need pro growth tax reform across the board including for the many businesses that aren't taxed in corporate form. i think we're going to get that. we don't want short-term repatriation. the real question is how are you going to pay for it. the estimates of the cost over a ten-year period go anywhere from, you know, 3.5 to 7.3 trillion dollars. so ultimately you're going to have to pay for it. there's discussion about a $10.5 trillion spending reduction, projected spending reduction, you know, we'll have to get the details whether that's through the block grantings, certain means tested programs, but you have to do other things other than that in order to get the numbers that big. we need to grow the economy. that will help to get debt-to-gdp down but we have to be able to deal with the 70% of spending that's on autopilot. >> are you convinced it's going to happen? because there's some suggestion in the markets that the reason we've seen a slowdown in the move is now there's concerns that corporate tax reform is being done second to obamacare, that maybe it gets stuck in the quagmire of health care reform. there's already right-on-right civil war about how the corporate tax should be reformed. but ultimately can they get over all those hurdles? and when all is said and done are we going to have it? >> candidly i think they have more of a challenge with regard to the affordable care act and what are they going to do on that. there's bipartisan agreement we need to do something with business tax reform. ultimately we need to go broader -- >> by the end of february obamacare will be gone. and by the end of six months in we'll have the full tax package done. and the spending reforms inside reconciliation. >> so no doubts when we see the markets stall because people are worried it doesn't get done, they're wrong? >> if that's what they're worried about, no, it will happen. you're talking about within two months you'll see obamacare. that's a trillion dollars in taxes. that's a lot of spending. and you're also going to see reforms, not just cuts. talking earlier, block granting, all of the various welfare programs, the larger ones, medicaid, food stamps and so on, just as bill clinton did very successfully with aid to families with dependent children, you can let the 50 states take a better approach on how to do it. you save a great deal of resources. and you have 50 states competing to provide good government at the lower cost. >> while we're talking newt gingrich making his way to the capitol steps. gingrich of course just in the past few days recommended perhaps rethinking the existence of the cbo. are things like that too radical? are they serious, david? are they helpful? >> how you keep score matters, all right. we do need to consider the impact on economic growth both on the spending side and on the revenue side. frankly, we need to change how we keep score. we shouldn't be focused on annual deficits and accumulated debt. we should be focused on debt-to-gdp, come up with a comprehensive and innovative plan on revenue side and spending siam that will get us -- >> that's more unfocused liabilities being created out. pension systems whether it's the federal, or state ones, like to tell you they're not bankrupt now, but they've set up unfunded liabilities that destroy detroit, that are damaging illinois and california. and we have similar problems at the national level. >> yeah, we've got $20 trillion in debt, but we've got multiple times that in unfunded, you know, social insurance obligations, pensions, health care, et cetera for civilian and military. one of the key questions, carl, is going to be what goes through budget reconciliation, which can't be filibustered, which only requires a majority vote, that's going to be a key. >> we remember it well. >> yes. you know, as we watch newt gingrich, we remember the contract for america, the big battles over the budget with bill clinton. what does president-elect donald trump learn from him at all in that process that's going to happen? >> well, we have a different situation because the republicans in '95 house and senate were governing against a democrat president. here you have trump largely wants to move in the same direction that the republicans and the house and senate do. you can have discussions about who goes through the door first, but at the end of the day they both want dramatic rate reduction, they both the house, senate and president, want to see spending restraint. and reforms that give you long term reform and restraint on entitlements that otherwise break us. >> speaker john boehner there of course returning to washington after leaving -- returning to the midwest after his term with basically promises never to return in an official capacity. but it's good to see him here. so much discussion, grover, on border adjustment the past few weeks. donald trump even last night joked about how he and paul ryan agreed not to discuss it publicly once the rift, if you call it that, became public. has it gotten too much attention? >> no. it's a significant change. it raises $1 trillion over a decade. if you're going to cut $10 trillion in spending, you may not need that. if they're really getting spending down, some of the concerns on size with the tax package melts. those reforms have to be real. they have to be permanent. and saving a dollar today -- >> hold on one second, grover. we want to let people know sheldon adelson, getting a very prominent spot in the capitol -- in the -- >> huge megadonor is the word. >> exactly. >> helping deliver the state of nevada and a whole bunch of other things. he'll get good treatment today, no doubt about that. >> he forgot to win the battle for us. he can still be here, but he forgot to win the battle. >> carl, keep in mind that trump is going to try to govern like reagan. we've seen that in a number of different ways. he's going to use the bully pulpit. he's going to go directly to the people. and he's going to cut deals. he's a deal maker. that makes some people on the far right and far left nervous, but we need some progress in some of these areas skbl joint chiefs walking in here as the ceremony continues. >> but it sounds, grover, like you're saying unlike years passed where you were at odds on simple stuff, you're at least now heading the same direction, it's a question of tack, right? the question of angle? >> when president reagan had to cut a deal, tip o'neil is on the other side of the table. never saw a tax he didn't like, never saw a spending program he didn't like. trump and mitch mcconnell and paul ryan are so close together on the direction they want to go, on less spending, tremendously less regulation. and there are a lot of easy issues teed up because so many ridiculous regulations were thrown out in the last weeks and months just to do something calling those back is going to be a lot of activity that's pretty easy pickins. >> yeah. grover norquist, david walker, appreciate seeing you this morning. jackie singing the national anthem today. >> she received criticism for doing it but is doing it because she's an american. long been a singer but became prominent because of "america's got talent" which adds to the whole celebrity feeling when you have donald trump who used to star on "the apprentice" now becoming president of the united states. incoming president is getting ready to get down to business as soon as he gets sworn in. specifically the energy industry is on his list. joining us now is wxpx energy ceo, sir, thanks so much for joining us on the phone. >> thank you very much. nice to be here. kind of loud here. a lot of excitement. >> where are you? you're somewhere in the crowd? >> i am. i'm out here in front of the stage back in the crowd. >> we see you on the phone. you're waving at us. >> yeah. >> there's a lot of hope -- >> a lot of folks from california, west virginia, colorado, savannah, mississippi. we've got a good crew here. >> let you know bob dole is arriving as well. he's on the left hand side of the screen, sir, you are on the left. there's so much hope in the energy industry about changes that are going to happen, stenny hoyer walking in as well at this moment as the pageant continues, so to speak. what are you hoping for in the coming days when it comes to executive orders that might help the energy industry? >> well, i think the first thing is just business across the board but specifically with energy, you know, we're looking at the positive tone being set at the top with the administration. we're excited about that. we're not getting out over our skis but we're very excited about the changes and the trends that have been so troubling for so many years going the wrong direction. we can get back to work, create a lot of jobs, create cheap energy for the u.s. consumers and we're real excited about that. >> richard, trump was trying to put onto a spectrum the things his supporters are most enthusiastic about right now. he said that deregulation was being applauded more than tax reform in the near-term. is that how you feel? >> well, i think so. you know, regardless of the business, whether it's banking -- >> hold on one second, richard, we want to let people know that hillary clinton and bill clinton have just arrived. you've got to wonder what's going through her head as she's there after the bruising, bruising election. i think larry earlier said she showed up and she's a trooper. go ahead, finish your thought, richard, as we watch them arrive. >> yeah, just generally speaking, you know, the regulatory climate is really become such an overreach. it's problematic but specifically for energy slowdowns and permitting complications that were -- many of which were not well thought out, certainly not well executed. we're excited about new tone being set at the top. and then further down in the agencies themselves we in the energy industry have a great track record of environmental compliance and execution. very proud of that. but we can't really tolerate in the future is just continued burdensome regulation. >> so as we saw hillary clinton come in, i think about your industry, energy. and i think it's one of the sectors that the outcome was so different for your sector depending on who won. would you agree with that assessment? >> well, number one, market forces play a role. but i can tell you that our industry is excited about the outcome of this election. not only the administration but certainly in the senate and the house we feel we can get back to work and do the right thing and do it the right way. and we're excited about that. >> well, sir, thanks for taking the time while you're in the crowd enjoying the festivities. keep your poncho on because it may get wetter later on. >> one of the more creative -- >> yeah, great day to be american, great day for the public. and we're excited about today and the change and what the future holds. certainly an energy business we're optimistic. thanks for your time today. >> it was a pleasure. thanks so much. >> for a moment there i thought on camera we saw john lewis. i could be mistaken. but a few of our crew here watching the monitors looked up in surprise. we'll see if we can nail that down. in the meantime, we are within an hour of the proceedings really beginning. the schedule calls for senator roy blunt, who's the chairman of the inaugural committee, to begin delivering his opening remarks at 11:16. >> exactly. >> so less than an hour away before the invocations, chuck schumer delivering his remarks and then of course vice president-elect mike pence taking his oath. >> we continue to see the members of the house arriving. of course it takes awhile for everybody to get in. we're watching for individuals still waiting to see if that was indeed john lewis that had arri arrived. that would be incredibly significant. we're double checking on that because that would -- we had so many democrats decide that they were not going -- >> we're going to cap -- >> -- this inauguration at this point. dick cheney is the individual in the cowboy hat. there's kellyanne conway again. people should note, we struggle a little to see monitors here. when we're not sure, it's because -- >> it is literally play by play as they say. by the way kellyanne conway getting a huge shout outlast night at this candlelight dinner with donald trump in which he basically celebrated her ability to go into any atmosphere, tv studio and as he says destroy them with her ability to answer questions. >> always cool as a cucumber. always ready with a comeback. always trying to focus the message back to what his message was. and constantly defying -- remember when the tape came out and it was probably the lowest moment in the campaign and there were rumors that she was very unhappy, she's a practicing catholic, about to abandon the campaign. and, no, back on twitter almost immediately to say you're all wrong, i'm still here, very, very loyal throughout the whole process. >> indeed. having not originally been a backer of him. >> no, she was with ted cruz originally. >> join the campaign in doing for him what she was paid to do indeed. meanwhile, word that we are getting the presidential motorcade on the move from the white house to the capitol, which means we are getting very close. interestingly this tradition here it wasn't always the case, michelle, that incoming presidents would first go to the white house for a meeting before their own inaugural. lots of things were different. didn't used to be in washington. >> no. >> didn't used to be in january. >> right, used to be in march. washington was in april, used to be in march. >> because it was so cold. >> and they were concerned about the weather. how would people actually get there. but here it is january 20th as a result of the constitution changes to the constitution. happens at noon regardless. there's a lot of pomp and circumstance and ceremony, but at noon president donald trump will be here. >> scott wapner of course when the motorcade does get on the move is watching the procession there. he's going to have a busy afternoon on pennsylvania avenue. scott, good morning to you. busy night last night too. >> yes, no doubt, carl. it's good to see you. thanks so much. we just saw what appeared to be the presidential motorcade pass us on the 1300 block of pennsylvania avenue a couple of moments ago heading up towards the capitol. you're looking at a live picture of that on the right hand side of your screen. i also expect that you would see some more familiar faces to our audience start to arrive at the capitol within a matter of moments. you saw sheldon adleson a little while ago, casino magnate. he was at the kancandlelight dir last night, steve ngyun, carl icahn he should be arriving with his wife, he's 80 years old, believe it or not he's never been to an inaugural, but he'll be there. ken langone arrived last night. we expect him to be there as well. richard la frac told me last night looking at all the people in the room and the ones that he recognized it was like reliving his life right before him with all of his friends including the president-elect last evening at that candlelight dinner. what was really a lovely affair attended by a number of dignitaries. certainly almost all of the cabinet nominees were there last night. i managed to speak with john paulsen, a member of the president's economic advisory council. he told me actually his firm -- he of course known hedge fund manager, that his firm went long stocks after the election. that's how positive he feels about the incoming trump administration and some of the things that will happen whether it is the tax reform or the rollback of regulation that companies will be able to keep more of their own money. they will reinvest it. they'll get a much bigger return on their investment, their earnings will go up and then all of that as a result will be positive for the s&p 500. so my guess is that you're going to start seeing some more of those v.i.p. guests arrive at the capitol within a matter of minutes, carl. >> scott -- >> scott, i was going to say, scott, all the business people that you've mentioned, i've been here for several days and the people here in washington, d.c. are nervous. this is an administration they have never seen before. the permanent bureaucratic class, and i don't mean that in a negative way in this context, but the people who are here and have seen change after change after change, this is not something that they've seen before. so many business people, so many people who used to run their own company now they're going to have a boss for the first time who are very transactional. bob craft arriving at this moment. you can see on the right hand side of the screen. they're nervous about how different this white house is going to be compared to what they're used to. >> yet there is such a high level of optimism, michelle. i can't tell you to a person last night whether it was robert craft, owner of new england patriots who's a close friend of donald trump you just saw arriving there. he was there last night. and to a person everybody said their hopes are so high for what the expectations could be for what the economy could do. i spoke with andrew -- the retiring ceo of dow chemical who told me that he thought the trump policies could add at least a point of growth. i said what makes you so positive? he said business, business, business, the fact we have a businessman now in the white house. the first billionaire president who was really surrounded by a number of billionaires in the room last night. there were several nfl owners there. and certainly, yes, they're optimistic, but yeah, there's a little bit of trepidation as well. and it sort of echoes what we heard out of davos as well from, you know, the likes of ray dalio who said the easy lifting in terms of the market reaction is already over. that the obvious things have already been put into the stock market and now the real work begins. and even the paulsens or some of the other folks that i spoke to last night would agree with that wholeheartedly. their hopes are high, but certainly their nerves are there too. they're not naive to what now exists. the law and legislative making process isn't the easiest thing in the world. they know that. but nonetheless they remain optimistic about the kind of pro growth policies that the trump administration is going to be championing. and they're going to be right there to back them. and you're going to see them on the podium today as a result of all that. >> scott, we'll check in with you in awhile. our scott wapner on pennsylvania avenue watching the procession there. meanwhile, as you know in just an hour from now donald j. trump will take his oath of office to become the 45th president of the united states. we've been watching the arrivals all morning at the west front of the capitol. john harwood's back here weighing in on the outlook for the nation's budget deficit under a trump white house. >> well, if you take his proposals at face value and his campaign statements, the budget deficit will go up a lot. he had a tax plan he offered in the campaign that would add a couple trillion dollars to the deficit. he pledged not to touch medicare, social security and medica medicaid, which are big drivers in entitlement programs of the federal budget deficit. however, we've seen that donald trump can, you know -- we've been told from time to time take him seriously but not literally. so if that means that he can be talked in as kevin brady and paul ryan want to talk him into their vision of entitlement reform, tax cuts, then you could have a different story. >> it is the deficit hawks in congress that are worried about a rising deficit, which leads us to what has been one of the most controversial items with tax reform that we've been talking about so much on cnbc is the border adjustment tax. and the reason it's in there is -- one of the reasons it's in there raises more than a trillion dollars and helps to offset a lot of these concerns. but it's led to i think some concerns, worries that it's really going to gum up the works and maybe it doesn't happen even though we just heard from grover norquist, don't sweat it. in the end it's going to get done. >> right. do you see a big clash on entitlement reform between ryan and trump? >> there will be a clash if donald trump sticks to what he wants. because paul ryan's pretty serious about it. so i think that -- and so are the republicans in congress. i interviewed a few weeks ago john thune, third ranking republican in the senate, he said we have basically cut all we can cut from the discretionary part of the budget. and when they looked at the discretionary cuts that came out of the sequester, you found that the republican congress couldn't pass bills embodying those cuts because there was too little money. their constituents didn't want it. so if they want to make headway, entitlements is where they have to go. >> when you look at the federal budget and what has been growing the most through the decades has been medicare spending, et cetera, the entitlements -- >> especially if you're committed as donald trump is to increasing defense spending. >> right. some would argue that's a crucial role of government to defend the borders and that is a justified expense. and then the issue becomes how do you deal with entitlements which grow on their own. it takes literally an act of congress to change them and reduce them. so many vested interests, the inertia sets in. nobody wants to let constituents know. the key is can you do something now so the changes get phased in down the road and you don't hurt anybody who's currently accepting them, right? if you wait too long, you get to that point where you have to hurt -- >> that's paul ryan's argument. >> the current users. >> michelle, i want to add one thing to the culture clash point that you mentioned before about the entirely different kind of people coming in. it's a bit reminiscent of when reagan came in and succeeded carter. not exactly the same because reagan served two terms as governor of california -- >> there's rex tillerson walking in right now. waiting to get him confirmed as secretary of state. >> -- sensibility in the reagan crowd as there is in the trump crowd. >> and we saw tom price going by as well. the one person that you thought if anybody might not get confirmed, you thought it was possible for tom price. though you're pretty optimistic that's going to happen. >> i think that i had conversations last night with senate democrat who said it is likely that all of the nominees get through. however, we're not entirely there. gary cohn has just come in. he's the head of the national economic council. this is another indication of the challenge of donald trump sticking with his campaign rhetoric. he talked about going after the corrupt establishment. >> sure. >> he cited goldman sachs as part of that corrupt establishment. went after lloyd blankfein. now of course gary cohn, steve bannon, steve mnuchin, alums -- >> a long tradition of goldman sachs being involved in government. >> but as you just said taking him seriously, not literally. goldman is a great example of that. >> that is the challenge of how you parse that. >> here's mitch mcconnell, of course. some argue, john, the most powerful republican in washington. he has seated power momentarily until he decides to pull it back. >> there you see elaine chao as well. >> loses power if he's serving under a president of the other party and then his other party comes in. you're the most powerful member of the party, but when you're guy is you have to take direction from him. so mitch mcconnell, yes, he's got power. he's going to have to figure out how to accommodate democrats. but he's also going to have to learn to take signals from donald trump. and is he going to do that? is he going to try to fight him? same with paul ryan. >> kushner family here. on camera right now. also saw earlier elaine chao that we mentioned. former labor secretary. now she's going to be transportation secretary. a lot of experience in government and certainly married to mitch mcconnell, she knows how things get done and how it all works. >> indeed. running joke in the confirmation hearing for her. speaker ryan of course making his way in. kevin mccarthy, getting some of the big names now arriving. john, you mentioned kushner earlier. you said donald trump works in small circles and family is the smallest circle. what should investors know about him? i wonder what the function will be between what kushner advises and how the market responds, or in what issues that plays out the most. >> i get the feeling -- i don't know jared kushner personally, but i get the feeling that he's a pretty practical guy. and that he is going to be looking for results. he's not unlike steve bannon, he's not somebody who is ideology motivated or movement motivated. he's somebody who wants to make his father-in-law succeed and look good. and that is an asset for the president-elect. >> sheldon adleson walking in now. and there's bernie sanders as well, there on the left. you can't miss him. john mccain on the right as well. bernie sanders showing up. he made a very good run for this position. there's a lot of talk within the democratic party bernie sanders supporters. what if there hadn't been superdelegates? what if people thought they could have financially backed bernie in a serious way and might have made it different? would we have had a different race? would it have been bernie sanders versus donald j. trump, two outsiders and what would that have been like? >> bob corker of course making his way on to the steps as well. a lot of discussion about the degree of disarray the democratic party is in. the consistency of their questioning and the opposition in their questioning in the hearings. who's going to be the voice going forward. what's the alignment between warren, sanders, schumer, how is all of that opposition going to play out. >> and they need to make some changes within the party soon because most of the leadership is older to be very kind, right? approaching elderly is the word you would use. >> that's diplomatic. >> that's diplomatic. there needs to be the next generation to come forward. and we really haven't seen that yet at this point. the order was as people were coming in the house of representatives, the governors, u.s. senate, then the cabinet designees, that's the order. i haven't seen members of the supreme court of the united states come in. oh, here it is. there she is. ruth bader ginsburg. after that will be the former presidents. so there's a process, a very standard process that happens. >> what i like about this process, guys, it's like rings on a tree. traditions get built on traditions to make this day the way it is. >> yes. >> also, as you're waiting in that hallway and the moment you -- >> chief justice roberts. >> and see the national mall in front of you must be a breathtaking experience. >> clarence thomas. going to swear in the vice president later on today. so we might actually now have a full supreme court, which means the decisions that they make will actually be binding at this point because right now anything that they would decide could literally go down 4-4. cory booker senator arriving. >> speaking of young talent. >> that's true. that's true. >> characterize his future as a democratic party leader. >> well, he sees a big one for himself. and i think some democrats also see it. i would expect him to run for the democratic nomination in 2020 along with some of the next generation types or at least one, elizabeth warren maybe. kind of doubt bernie sanders, but we'll see. >> at the risk of playing the overly female role, carl, the crack -- there's elizabeth warren as well. the crack control team tells me that hillary clinton is also wearing ralph lauren just like melania trump. and company that's in transition, right. >> yes. >> under tough restructuring have really suffered a sales declines at this point. so two very prominent women wearing ralph lauren today. maybe it will move the stock. >> we'll watch the shares. joining us this morning, obama's co-chair of the national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform, former republican senator from wyoming alan simpson joins us on the phone. senator, it's great to talk to you again. >> nice to hear you. you bet. here i am. >> we are watching for some movement at the white house here. you know, we were just talking about the sensation you must have walking down those steps in advance of the inaugural, you must remember a couple of your own. >> i did five of those. five inaugurals starting with reagan in '80 and then on through to '96. oh, yes, it's very impressive thing. i was privileged to walk george and barbara down the east front of the capitol and into the chopper. and bringing bill clinton and hillary up the stairs. we had a rich conversation. he's a good egg. i enjoined him very much and served under him too. yeah, there's nothing like it. it's a goose pimpler. >> i'm just curious, give us a little color on what that conversation must be like. you're moments away from going out there taking on the biggest job in the world. what does get said? what can you say? >> well, what you say is that we knew the bushes for 40, 50 years, we walked them down, they got into the chopper and then bill clinton and hillary get out of the car, we walk up the steps. and he says senator bumper told me all about you. i said what'd he say, and hen he unleashed a remarkable statement that i'll never forget and do not wish to share. and hillary said, oh, stop it. then she turned to him and said barbara pryor, who was the wife of dave pryor, democrat, said she loves you and you're going to be the first people in the white house. and we were. we were. and it was a very nice relationship. and all the anguish going on with people out there in the world and disappointment and the disgust and all that, just think of this for a minute, think of hillary clinton and her feelings. and she had the grace enough to say let's move on and open -- keep an open mind. i think that's pretty classy. >> senator simpson, to what -- how significant is the election of donald trump when you think about republicans controlling all three arms of government at this point. some would say the fourth one as well because now he's going to be able to fill out the supreme court. the markets are acting like this is an incredibly consequential change in government. are they right? >> well, sure. i mean, but when you have -- when you're sitting in the wheelhouse with the controls -- all the controls, you better produce. my greatest concern right now has to do with the fact that in this budget -- don't forget the head of the budget committee -- >> jared kushner and his wife arriving, sorry to talk over you, we want to let people know what's going on. >> -- if you're there -- anyway, it is -- they're not dealing with two-thirds of the budget and all the anguish you're seeing. you're not dealing with entitlements, solve venn si of social security, and you either deal with those things or you're not responsible. if you're going to repeal obamacare, you better have another pistol in your pocket as to what you're going to replace it with. the greatest mistake for our party would be to repeal it and not even give a vision. >> okay. >> of replacement. >> senator simpson, do you see donald trump changing your republican party? >> oh, sure. i mean, you're not kidding. i mean, this is it. this is a sea change. it's going to be critically important. it's going to put people around him with experience and wisdom. i don't care how much money they have. that's not the point. we won world war ii with the dollar a year guys who didn't take any money. and these people are nearly the same. they say we're not interested in the salary. we're interested in doing something. they're not academics. they're practical -- >> speaking of experience, sir, we apologize for interrupting, but we see now carl icahn arrive at the capitol. tom barrack, there we see carl icahn moving toward his seeat. >> not just an early and consistent supporter of trump's, but we all remember the -- i wouldn't call them rumors, call them hopes by some that he was going to be involved in a more formal fashion, maybe at treasury. scott wapner is on pennsylvania avenue. scott, you know a lot about that story. >> maybe hopes by everybody but carl icahn, carl. because as everybody else was talking about the possibility that mr. icahn would potentially be the next treasury secretary of the united states. he had no intention of giving up his day job, so to speak, and coming down here to washington full time. i mentioned earlier 80 years old, he'll turn 81 next month. this is his very first inaugural. and he was happy to be here. as you've said, he was an early supporter of donald trump's. and i do have to say in the summertime when it didn't appear to be going well, i'm not so sure that carl icahn and his wife gayle, right there, owner of t of the new england patriots, robert craft right there, ever thought this moment would occur or he would be on that platform up there about to witness donald trump, his friend, taking the oath of office as the 45th president of the united states. but nonetheless he made the trip, noticed him last night at the party along with richard handler of jeffries, tillman fratida, friend of ours in the network, as well as a number of carl's friends from the industry. we're here to witness this as well. >> yeah. scott, you mentioned an early and consistent supporter, also enthusiastic one, right? there were a lot of people who came onboard because they had supported jeb and then jeb lost. they supported ted and then ted lost. some people went through several candidates before they finally got around to getting onboard with donald trump. but carl icahn was there from nearly the beginning. we're told by the way jimmy carter has arrived. so we're now at the moment where the former presidents have started to arrive. that's the last of the procession, so we're getting closer and closer to the moment where donald trump is sworn in. but we are watching for former president jimmy carter at this point. >> michelle -- >> still with us? >> if you want. >> senator, i was just wondering whether or not you think simpson bowles would be championed by a president trump. >> yes, bullt they'll have to u a new name. because of the acronym we switched it, but it's there, it's a 67-page report. it's in english uses phrases like going broke and shared sacrifice, but you can't use the phrase because it made it a toxic thing. but let me tell you, it's like a stink bomb at a garden party. it's out there and it ain't going away. and you either start dealing with the entitlements and social security solvency, listen to the wailing of all the special interest groups, but boys and girls, you got to start acting like men and women and do something with this system. >> sir -- >> senator, do you expect donald trump to come off his pledge not to touch social skurecurity, medicare and medicaid? >> as you see rudy giuliani right there. >> no, he won't. they're terrified of the -- we don't even affect people over 55. no one who's suggesting anything is doing anything to somebody over 55. and howling is like the ghouls in yellowstone park out here, not here -- >> does that mean you don't think it will be dealt with under this president? >> no. no, it won't. because the trustees of the system, democrats and republicans alike have said unless you do something with social security right now, in the year 2034 -- and they keep moving it up, you're going to get a check for 23% less. how smart is that? and ask the aarp where do you stand? they're really obnoxious, they say to all the candidates where do you stand, forget it. >> sir, thank you, sir. >> yes. >> great to have you. senator simpson. >> that's fun. yes. good. >> this is where the pageantry here will really begin. the first lady and melania trump exiting the white house as they make their way to the west steps of the capitol. "new york times" this morning had an interesting bit that she'll be known as mrs. trump, not ms. trump. so much stylistically we don't know how she'll handle the first lady's office for sure. >> i think it will be very stylish for sure. >> yes. if today's any indication. >> yes, exactly. i mean, it's been so interesting to watch these designers all refuse to dress her at this point. which i always found very surprising such a prominent position. it's always been such an honor to do so. >> and here we have vice president biden, vice president-elect pence making their way out of the white house. biden's last time in the white house. as vice president. >> the last moments in the white house michelle obama put out a piece on instagram where she was giving a tour to the dogs and walking around the house for the last time and looking around longingly. you can imagine having been here for eight years and now having to move onto being a private citizen when they're both quite young, right? they have a long life to live t after this, as he was a very young president, and it will be interesting to see what is their next act. >> all right, named some staffers today, some spokespeople. and this is where the transfer of power will begin. the president and president-elect trump. >> and we can hear the cheering behind us on the capitol. >> president clinton, hillary clinton coming down the steps of the capitol as we watch the president and president-elect trump make their way into the beast, which will, of course, now be president trump's ride, michelle. >> that's right. and we can see there's bill clinton and hillary clinton on the right coming down the stairs. it's got to be a bittersweet moment for her, no? she thought it was going to be hers at this point. and to show up here, a lot of grace and class, especially -- >> as simpson just said, you've got to think about hillary clinton and her feelings and his words, showing up here and saying let's move on. it's pretty classy. >> i would think more bitter than sweet for hillary clinton. >> i would think so, too. when you see bill clinton and you look back on the moments of the campaign and you think back to some of the things he said and his voice, at moments you realized it was incredibly accurate when he said don't count out donald trump very early in the campaign, and what many other people had. and in retrospect, his political instincts were right on. and if they had heaped it more, how things could have turned out different. >> we think about last time in the oval office, last time in the white house. it's also got to be a weird feeling for president obama to take his last ride in the beast. he is going to -- he'll be protected by the secret service for the rest of his life, but there's nothing like riding in that vehicle as president of the united states, and this is the last mile and a half he'll travel in it. >> we're also getting into a period here around this time of day where donald trump will be given the briefing, walk through the steps of -- >> may have already gotten it. >> yes, of the football, the biscuit, the steps that the president takes and needs to understand in order to wage nuclear war, awesome responsibility that is handed over to him for the next four years. >> george w. bush there on the right, i believe. again, we're having trouble seeing the monitor sometimes. there's laura bush. yes, definitely. there could have been question about whether or not they were going to show up, considering what happened on the campaign. >> one thing about george w. bush, and we've heard this repeatedly from president obama, he had a very difficult end to his presidency. but since he left the office, all class. and he kept his voice down, did not criticize president obama. he executed a very smooth transition, went above and beyond to be helpful. president obama said that made an impact on him. >> there we see steven mnunchin on the right arriving with his wife. >> but your point's a good one, john. even with this last press conference the president gave, outlining things that he would need to see in order for him to speak out again. >> it raised a lot of questions about whether he was going to have a different style than george w., who purposely said he was not going to comment. president obama said, for the most part, i won't, but -- leaving the door open to hear criticism. >> no question, much different. >> yes. >> scott wapner, you are the closest to this procession of all of us. what are you seeing? >> reporter: we're at the 1300 block of pennsylvania avenue, carl, just across from the reagan building, where we just saw a couple of motorcycle police go by us. we presume that the motorcade is just behind as the president-elect donald trump and his wife make their way. in fact, you're going to see some of the motorcade go right behind us now, and you should see the presidential motorcade, or the president-elect's motorcade, go up towards the capitol, make that 15-block or so drive up pennsylvania avenue, where he will take the oath of office as the 45th president of the united states in just a short period of time. you can see some onlookers who are here. really not a big protest presence, i should say. there is an area cordoned off just near where the motorcade is passing by us where you were going to have some protesters potentially, but they are -- if they're there, they're not very loud, that's for certain, but you do have a number of folks who are lining pennsylvania avenue here, as you do have a number of suvs go by. presumably, you would see some of their -- and here you're going to see right behind us. the motorcade is literally passing as we speak. the presidential limousine's heading up towards the capitol, where donald trump will take the oath of office. you can see about four limousines, five or so passing right now in front of your camera, followed by the pool camera of the press. there you go, waving to the crowds who are gathered here on pennsylvania avenue, who have come out here and braved the weather. it is raw out here. the rain has stopped, thankfully, for the folks who made their way through security and have been waiting for hours to get a glimpse of the new president, the man who will be the new president, and they have just had at least one of their moments of being able to do that. they'll have to wait several more hours, of course, after oath of office is taken for the parade to begin at 3:00, where the motorcade will then make their way back by us here in front of the reagan building and then wind its way up to the reviewing stand in front of the white house. my colleague, kayla tausche, is in lafayette park as well for us today. kayla? >> reporter: -- our purview here. to my left is blair house, where as is tradition, the presidential family that is incoming stays overnight. then they went to church just across the street from here, and then they went to the white house for that meeting that we've been showing you. and the motorcade, as you know by now, has just left. the question for the building behind me is what happens when the president and his staff gets to work later this afternoon? there have been many presidents who have submitted executive orders on day one or memoranda of sorts. reagan, of course, notoriously put in a federal hiring freeze on inauguration day. several days later issued a reduction in federal spending. presidents clinton and george w. bush issued executive actions on ethics for their executive offices. so we will see what the incoming president and his team will do. one interesting detail of note, as hallie jackson, nbc news, has reported, he will be taking on the @potus twitter handle. he will still reportedly be tweeting from hi his @realdonaldtrump handle and it will move to @potus44 for barack obama, but he has already tweeted "the work will begin." the movers are set to arrive at the white house momentarily and undergo that frantic multihour turnover as the ceremony of today takes place on capitol hill, carl. >> now he's got a new phone for that tweeting. >> yes. >> encrypted, a new phone number. so many people we know have donald trump's phone number. not anymore. >> yes. and as bob corker said, sometimes you call it, he would pick up. >> oh, yes! absolutely. there you see -- >> i like the moving camera coverage on the pool coverage of the motorcade. there's president clinton, hillary clinton making their way down the capitol steps. if you're just joining us, you are watching cnbc's special coverage, of course, of the inauguration of donald trump. you're looking at live pictures of the capitol, where in less than an hour from now, donald j. trump will take the oath of office and become the 45th president of the united states. welcome, everyone, to this historic day. i'm carl quintanilla. >> i'm michelle caruso-cabrera. we heard cheering at the moment that bill and hillary clinton arrived. i'm not sure if it was coincident or not. we're not out there, but certainly as they were coming out, and it might have been a nice gesture from the crowd. scott was talking about protesters. there are some, but the feelings i've gotten since tuesday with so many more republicans coming in from the country, it's more of a fourth of july celebration. it's very, very happy. the town's filled with very happy individuals who are excited to see a republican president in office after eight years of democrats. >> the fireworks last night were some like i've never seen. >> yes, fantastic. >> unbelievable. chief washington correspondent john harwood joins us on set along with larry kudlow, of course. time to start talking about the tone of the speech, john, i assume. we're told it will be philosophical in tone. people calling for it, some say it should be unifying, some say muscular. what's your take? >> i would expect him to have unifying passages in the speech. that hasn't always been a dominant theme for him, although he did strike that on election night. i would expect him also to reiterate his commitment to not just make america great, but in particular, to focus on the forgotten working-class americans who have fallen behind in our economy, who have not thrived while income inequality has widened, people have done well at the top. that was the signature of his campaign, and i suspect we'll hear some more of that. >> that huge cheer was the arrival of george w. bush and laura bush. larry, we also saw governor chris christie in the crowd just a few moments ago. chris christie had been in charge of the transition team. then he was booted. only journalists would notice that in the last couple of days there have been a lot of internal leaks where somebody's been t