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John Kirby Interview; Trump Must Improve U.S./China Relations; U.S. Military: 50,000 Fighters Killed Since War on ISIS Began; Democrats Threaten to Block Must-Pass Government Spending Bill; Trump Speaking in Support Republican John Kenny in Louisiana Senator Race; Trump to Pick Next Supreme Court Justice; Remembering John Glenn. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 09, 2016 - 13:59   ET

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

[13:30:00] JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: This regime in Pyongyang continues to pursue nuclear weapons capabilities, continues to conduct tests, launch missiles, all in direct contradiction to U.N. Security Council resolutions against that kind of activity. And you saw the U.N. act, again, on additional sanctions. The United States followed suit with additional unilateral sanctions.

Talking about China, I forgot to mention, you know, China, also as member of the U.N. Security Council, has been willing to put pressure on Pyongyang to stop this behavior. They have a big stake here. It's on their border. They have a limited amount of trade and are cognizant of that. But we have seen China step up, try to use their influence, seen them try to implement sanctions, some of the stiffest we've seen in more than 20 years now against Pyongyang. Implementations of sanctions is not always consistent. We continue to work with China on that. It remains a concern. Yes, the situation on the peninsula is perilous and dangerous and that's why the United States continues to engage all our allies and partners in the region. That's why we have a robust presence on the peninsula and we take requirements to the Republican of Korea so very, very seriously. That is not a concern that will go away soon. And certainly, this is something that you can certainly expect that the next administration is going to have to stay focused on.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And quickly, on the war against ISIS, right now, senior U.S. military official tells CNN that perhaps as many as 50,000 ISIS fighters have been killed since this war against the terror group began. Do you want to elaborate on that?

KIRBY: Well, I'm not in a position to confirm that particular number. I would certainly defer to my colleagues at the Pentagon and in the military. But what I can say, though, Wolf is that we have made a concerted effort on the military front -- and there's many fronts against is. It isn't just a military campaign. But on that military campaign, we have made a concerted effort to try to decimate their leadership and take their fighters off the field, try to cut off the ways they are funding and resourcing their own recruiting efforts, and we have seen success. Again, I can't speak to the numbers but we know we've killed thousands and thousands of these fighters and taken out some of their top leaders and we will continue to the do that. But it is a network. We're mindful of that. Even as you kill them, they still have the ability to recruit.

On that front, I will tell you we have seen some success in terms of our ability to counter their pernicious narrative and recruiting efforts, online and elsewhere. We have seen them now struggle to get people into the organization. We have seen them struggle to retain people inside the organization. They had many fighters fleeing, that can't handle the pressure and stress of being under constant combat by the coalition. So, we are seeing some success.

They haven't, by the way, gained any territory since May of last year. This is an organization -- sorry, an organization that is very much on the ropes and very much suffering significant casualties and significant influence trying to move forward.

BLITZER: Nice to see the traffic behind you on --

(CROSSTALK)

KIRBY: Yeah, sorry about that.

BLITZER: John Kirby, the State Department spokesman, joining us from Paris.

We'll see you back here in Washington. Good luck with the efforts to stop fighting in Aleppo and some sort of pause or ceasefire, at least, because tens of thousands of people, right now --

KIRBY: Absolutely.

BLITZER: -- including a lot of children, are in danger, and critically -- at a critical point, indeed.

John Kirby, thank as usual for joining us.

Meantime, a U.S. defense officials says one rock shell was fired at the Bagram Air Base about an hour after Defense Secretary Ash Carter left the base by military aircraft earlier today. The round did not land inside the base in Afghanistan. No one injured. Secretary Carter made an unannounced visit to the base. He met with the Afghan president assuring him the U.S. will remain committed to the country. The U.S. still has nearly 10,000 troops in Afghanistan right now.

Coming up, Democrats staging a revolt over a spending bill that could lead to a government shutdown. Will that happen? We'll have details.

And, remember, we're standing by. Donald Trump getting ready to speak in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Looking at live pictures from Baton Rouge. Once he gets to that microphone, CNN will have live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:38:04] BLITZER: President-elect Donald Trump hoping to boost the Republican Senate majority. Any minute, he'll be taking the stage at a "get out the vote" rally in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where the nation's final Senate race is underway. He's there to help the Republican candidate, John Kennedy. And if that -- if he succeeds in tomorrow's runoff election, as it looks according to the poll, pretty likely, Republicans wind up with 52 seats in the U.S. Senate compared to 48 for Democrats, including two Independents who side with the Democrats. We're going live to Trump rally once he gets to that microphone. Stand by.

Meanwhile, here in Washington, some Democrats are threatening to block a must-pass short-term government funding bill. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and other Democrats say they want improvements in miners' health insurance provisions. If the bill is held up, it could lead to a government shutdown, at least a temporary one.

Joining us from Capitol Hill, our senior political reporter, Manu Raju.

Manu, what do these coal-state Democrats want changed and how likely is it that there possibly to be at least a temporary government shutdown?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, we're not expecting a shutdown at this point, but you really never know. The two sides are no closer to a deal at this point.

What the coal-state Democrats are asking for is a year-long extension of an expiring health insurance program for retired coal miners and their spouses. In this bill, this must-pass spending bill is a four- month ex-tense and they want something with more certainty for a year.

Now, Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, took to the floor this morning and said, look, there's a four-month extension to this bill. We can negotiate a longer-term deal in April. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: -- ready to pass this legislation delayed for storm recovery in many of our states and, of course, failure to pass this legislation means a shutdown of the government. Over what? This is -- we've funded health care for miners through the end of April.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:40:10] RAJU: Now, this fight is being led by Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, who's up for re-election in 2018, and actually under consideration for a possible cabinet post from Donald Trump. They have a meeting actually scheduled for Monday. And Joe Manchin has been on the phone all morning calling folks along with other coal- state Democrats who are up for re-election in 2018, including Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. It's unclear whether or not they have the 41 votes, Wolf, to block this spending bill from going forward, but Republican Senator Shelly Moore Capito of West Virginia plans to side with Democrats to vote against this bill. And also, Rob Portman of Ohio is saying he's undecided right now about whether or not to side with Democrats. So, it could be close right now.

The question is, do they have the appetite to shut down the government? Dick Durbin, the number-two Senate Democrat, tells me doesn't think they have the appetite and doesn't know where the votes are at this point -- Wolf?

BLITZER: We'll watch together with you.

Manu, thank very much.

Coming up, the president-elect of the United States filling up his cabinet. Next task, picking a Supreme Court nominee. His timeline, his short list, what it means for the court.

Plus, Donald Trump will arrive any minute now in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Looking at live pictures at the rally. He'll speak there shortly. We'll go there live once he starts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:53] BLITZER: It's been nearly 10 months since U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died, leaving a vacancy on the bench, nine months since President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, who to a seat, a nomination that has gone nowhere, not even a confirmation heart. His nomination gets sent back to the White House when the Senate leaves at the end of the year.

Now, the next U.S. Supreme Court pick falls to President-elect Donald Trump. He floated a list of over 20 potential nominees, but could decide to go with someone he hasn't named publicly.

So, what kind of nominee is Trump looking for? And how could it change the highest court in the U.S.?

Joan Biskupic is a CNN legal analyst, a Supreme Court biographer, Joan Biskupic, joining us from California.

Joan, let's talk a little about some of these names he's floated. A big list. I want to talk about three in particular, Joan Larsen, from the Michigan Supreme Court; William Pryor, serves on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals from Alabama; and Judge Diane Sykes on the Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from Wisconsin. What do these three picks say about the president-elect's thinking when it comes to the United States Supreme Court?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST & U.S. SUPREME COURT BIOGRAPHER: All conservatives, and all people who we suspect might be against abortion rights. These are the - these are kind of things he's told us, Wolf. He's told us he wants someone who would be a conservative in the mold of Antonin Scalia, wants someone who would roll back abortion rights and send the matter to the states. And all three of these individuals are known for conservatism. One of them, who you mentioned first, Michigan Justice Joan Larsen, was a Scalia clerk. And right after his death, on February 13th, she wrote a pretty compelling opinion piece talking about how closely aligned she was with Justice Scalia. The other two individuals, Judge Pryor and Judge Sykes, are both on appeals courts, Judge Pryor in Alabama, Judge Sykes in Wisconsin. And Donald Trump, during the campaign, singled out both of them. You know, it's interesting you talked about what a big decision this

is. Think of how different this is than these cabinet picks we're starting to see, Wolf. Those are for four years, possibly eight at the most. These are individuals who will be on the Supreme Court now for life. So, they would have an effect on all of our lives long past Donald Trump's tenure in the White House.

BLITZER: Yep. They're in their 40s, could be on the court 30, 40, maybe 50 years, depending on their health.

But in the short term, Joan, what are some of the big decisions the court is expected to hear right now in the next couple of years?

BISKUPIC: That's a great question, because these individuals will take on what we've got now, and also what could come down five, 10 years. Think about transgender rights. Back in 2015, the court for the first time declared a right to same-sex marriage. And we've had other issues come up from that, some sexual identity and sexual orientation. And there's a case before the justices now on a young man from Virginia's challenge to policy about transgender bathrooms. So, you've got that before the court. There are cases coming up on immigration rights. A big topic under Donald Trump's new administration, I'm sure. We've got that. Death penalty. I think given his position on abortion rights, we're going to see that issue back up. I know you remember, Wolf, at end of last term, the justices by a 5-3 vote rejected a challenge from people in Texas to Roe v. Wade, essentially, with a very restrictive abortion regulation. The justices struck that down with Justice Kennedy flipping over to join the liberals for that. And it looked like abortion was going to be secure for a while, but not with the election of Donald Trump in November, those kinds of challenges will head this way, too.

[13:50:00] BLITZER: He definitely will name one, maybe two, or even three over the next four years. If he's reelected, it could be more.

Joan, I have to leave it there.

BISKUPIC: OK.

BLITZER: But clearly this is one of the most important decisions any president has to make.

Thanks very much, Joan Biskupic, for joining us.

BISKUPIC: Thank you.

BLITZER: We have live pictures coming in from Baton Rouge once again, President-elect Trump will be taking the stage any moment now. His goal, to rally Louisiana voters for the last Senate race of the year, and to boost the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. We'll go there live.

But first, we're also remembering American space pioneer, John Glenn. A look back at his incredible life and career right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Before we go, a look back at the truly extraordinary life of John Glenn. He was a four-term U.S. Senator and a World War II fighter pilot, but he may best be remembered as a NASA legend, the first American to orbit the earth. In 1998, when he was 77 years old, Glenn agreed to return to space for nine days to test the human aging process.

I interviewed him shortly before his trip. He was at the National Air and Space Museum here in Washington sitting in front of an iconic relic from the space race of the '60s.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[13:55:07] BLITZER: You're standing in front of something very historic as far as you're concerned.

JOHN GLENN, FORMER ASTRONAUT & SENATOR: It's historic as far as I'm concerned. It's the "Friendship 7" that I flew in, which was a one- person spacecraft, which was the biggest one we could put up. And it has a likeness of me. Annie is fond of telling people to come over at the Air and Space Museum and see the other dummy. That's the one behind me in here.

BLITZER: I know she's there with you. How does she feel about the new adventure you're about to embark on?

GLENN: Annie and our children were cool about this to begin with. But the more we talked about the importance of this for so many people, and the opportunity I have to contribute in this area, the more they've come to support it. You think yourself, mother, father, brother, sister, husband, going into space, people would have their reservations, but they're for it, and I'm all for it certainly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: John Glenn was 95 years old. Truly, a great American.

That's it for me.

The news continues right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)