[Martin Savidge, Cnn Anchor:] Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are backing the president's crackdown on Russia, though some Republicans say it doesn't go far enough. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham releasing a statement saying they plan to lead an effort to impose even stronger sanctions on Russia. And that is teeing up what could be a major battle for the president- elect when he takes over the White House in just three weeks. Will Republicans stick with their long time stance to stay tough on Russia or embrace Trump's calls for a better relationship with President Vladimir Putin? With me now is Ryan Lizza, CNN political commentator and Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker", and Jackie Kucinich, CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief of "The Daily Beast". Good morning to both of you. Ryan, let me start with you. Trump's aide Kellyanne Conway suggests Obama trying to box Trump in with these sanctions. What do you think?
[Ryan Lizza, Cnn Political Commentator:] I think she's absolutely right about that. I think there is more of a focus at the White House on this, and doing it before Obama leaves office. If Hillary Clinton had won, there wouldn't have been such a rush they probably would have waited for Clinton to decide what to do. I do think there's a major disagreement about how to deal with Vladimir Putin between the outgoing White House and the incoming White House. And I think she's right they are trying to box him in. They're trying to put in place sanctions that will be very, very difficult for him to reverse. And he's going to have a big decision to make, you know, in January when he gets in there, because reversing them will run directly in to his Republican colleagues on the Hill who as you pointed out is setting this up, want even tougher sanctions. And most of the criticism from Republicans on the hill is that this is too late and Obama hasn't been tough enough on Russia.
[Savidge:] Uh-huh. Jackie, is it possible for Donald Trump, say, to please Congress, and also to keep a good relationship with Putin?
[Jackie Kucinich, Cnn Political Analyst:] It's a really good question. Right now, it really doesn't seem to. They're just kind of choosing to talk past each other, where Republicans are saying they want tougher sanctions and Trump is saying we should move on but I guess I'll talk to the intelligence guys next week. So, it really sets up this very interesting political dynamic. They have a veto-proof majority for if they send through sanctions and Trump vetoes them, they can get that through. So, he's going to get a very tough lesson in equal branches of government very quickly here if he tries to roll back some of these things on Russia. But it's interesting you do have some Trump loyalists in Congress. Duncan Hunter told the daily beast yesterday that these were stupid. It was stupid for Obama do this going out the door. So, it's not that there are he does have a couple bright spots for him in the Congress. But by and large, it's going to be a really tough fight for him.
[Savidge:] Ryan, let me ask you this: could there be a back lash against Congress? And the reason I say that is that having talked to a lot of Trump voters, both before and after the election, nobody ever said we need to get tougher on Russia. Even with the knowledge that's been brought forward about possible hacking.
[Lizza:] Yes.
[Savidge:] Instead what they wanted was an administration focused internally, looking at domestic issues, especially the economy, saving jobs, creating jobs. Not a fight with Russia.
[Lizza:] Absolutely. You're right about that. It was very clear that he wanted to reorient Republican foreign policy, be a more the Republican Party to be a more pro-Putin party. He changed the Republican platform to reflect that. He's been very up front about that. And the polls show that Republican voters are more favorably disposed towards Russia and Putin than they were before Trump came on the scene and started talking about this. This is going to be the first big test, Martin, of the ideological divide between Trump and the more mainstream conservatives. You know, on a lot of issues during the primaries and the general election, we saw big difference of opinion between Trump and his fellow Republicans, and this is the first test. Who's going to run policy? Is it going to be Congress? Republicans in Congress who are going to control both chambers? Or is it going to be the White House? And this is not just going to be on this issue but on a number of them. But this is the first one, and unusually it's foreign policy where the commander-in-chief has a much freer hand. So, if the Lindsey Grahams and John McCains of the world step up here and think that they can pressure the incoming Republican administration and have a louder say on foreign policy, that's going to put them in to direct conflict with the incoming president. And it's not just going to be on this issue, on a number of issues.
[Savidge:] Yes, as you point out. I mean, Mr. Trump has been in conflict with some of the more conservative members of his party. And, Jackie, is it possible then this whole administration gets bogged down or gets misdirected right out of the gate on an issue they never really foresaw, and never really wanted to get involved in?
[Kucinich:] This could be a big deal. Whether it is diversity in the entire administration it's too soon to tell. I mean, as we know, it moves pretty quickly around here. That said, I think we should keep a very close eye, as if we weren't already, on the confirmation hearings of Rex Tillerson because I think a lot of the questions he's going to get will reflect just how hard and just how serious Congress is going to be when it comes to Russia. He's going to have to answer a lot of proxy questions that I think a lot of senators and frankly Americans have with Trump about his warmer feelings toward the president.
[Lizza:] That's right. First question he's going to get is, do you support how will you advise President Trump on these sanctions? Will you reverse them or not? So, they're going to have to have this policy worked out at least by Tillerson's hearing.
[Savidge:] But, Ryan, has Ryan I should say that president-elect has said that he's now going to meet with the intelligence community.
[Lizza:] Yes.
[Savidge:] And I'm wondering whether that indicates all right, maybe he is going to listen a little more intently and perhaps more seriously?
[Lizza:] Look, if you look at the series of statements Trump has made on this issue, they have always been very defensive, they have always been very critical of the intelligence community's assessment with this. They have always the undercurrent has always been that this is just an issue that is trying to delegitimize his election and he's not taking it very seriously. His statement he put out last night was a break with those previous statements, in that he was a little bit more conciliatory, and he said, OK, I'll listen to what they have here. It's a little surprising that, you know, we're this far into this far past his election. He's been getting quite a few intelligence briefings by now. It's a little surprising that he doesn't have that information already, and that suggests maybe a lack of coordination between the incoming and outgoing administration. But I think it's a you know, positive sign that he's at the very least keeping an open mind about this. Because, look, he's he may have been the beneficiary of this Russian cyber warfare campaign, but when he's president, he's going to be the target of it.
[Kucinich:] Yes.
[Lizza:] It's going to be a very different set of circumstances. So, he needs to the intelligence agencies need to get him up to speed on this and take it a little more seriously than he has.
[Savidge:] And he may, in fact, be waking to that. Ryan Lizza and Jackie Kucinich, nice to see you both thank you.
[Lizza:] Thanks, Martin.
[Kucinich:] Likewise.
[Savidge:] A new cease-fire is holding in Syria. Despite a few reports of minor clashes, the truce was brokered by Russia and turkey leaving the U.S. out of the diplomatic equation. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the deal fragile and said it would need special attention to maintain. CNN's Muhammad Lila is live in Istanbul, Turkey. Good morning, Muhammad.
[Muhammad Lila, Cnn Correspondent:] Good morning, Martin. I think fragile is the key word in all of this. You know, we're not even 24 hours into this cease-fire and as we know, sometimes those first few hours when a cease-fire is enacted are crucial. There are reports, as you mentioned, of some sporadic clashes happening around the country. It's not it's not entirely unexpected. But none involves turkey, Russia, Syria or Iran, saying that those clashes have been on a scale that would jeopardize the cease-fire. So, so far, it's holding and certainly a positive sign toward some sort of more positive and long-term arrangement. But, Martin, an interesting point yesterday. Syria's President Bashar al Assad gave an interview to an Italian TV channel where he talked specifically about the role that he's hoping President-elect Donald Trump might play in helping solve the Syrian crisis. And he said he was cautiously optimistic. This is exactly what he said. He was talking about if there are good relations between these two great powers, most of the world, including small countries like Syria, will be the beneficiary. Mr. Trump said during his campaign that his priority is fighting terrorism, and we believe that this is the beginning of the solution if he can implement what he announced. And, of course, that's key because yesterday offered President-elect Donald Trump an olive branch so to speak, something they hadn't offered to President Obama by the way, offering President-elect Trump a seat at the negotiating table at peace talks scheduled to take place next month. So, clearly, this might speak to the legacy of the Obama administration in Syria and the hopefulness here on the ground that perhaps under a new administration, the U.S. might play a more pro- active role in trying to set up some sort of peace deal to put an end to all of the fighting.
[Savidge:] Yes, that would be a wonderful thing. But right now, we'll take the cease-fire one day at a time. Muhammad Lila, thank you very much. Still to come: major cities across the globe, they are ramping up security for New Year's Eve celebrations. CNN's Brynn Gingras is live in Times Square.
[Brynn Gingras, Cnn Correspondent:] Yes, Martin, 2 million people are expected to come to New York City, in particular here in Times Square for the ball drop. You can imagine the security measures. The NYPD gives us a look and talks about new measures they're taking in light of the recent terror attacks. That's coming up.