Return to Transcripts main page

Wolf

Interview with Sen. Rand Paul on Repeal and Replacement of Obamacare; Trump Cabinet Confirmation Hearings; Interview with Sen. Chris Coons; Tillerson to Face Senate Wednesday. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 09, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington. Wherever you are watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, our critical week ahead with just 11 days until the inauguration. The Trump transition team faces a jam-packed schedule.

Confirmation hearings for some of the president-elect's key nominees begin tomorrow. He thinks they will all do well. Here's what he told reporters just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Confirmation is going great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

TRUMP: I think they'll all pass. I think every nomination will be -- they're all at the highest level. Jack was even saying, I mean, they are the absolute highest level. I think they're going to do very well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's some concern about Jeff Sessions, in particular.

TRUMP: No, I think he is going to do great. A high-quality man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Confirmation hearings begin tomorrow for Senator Jeff Sessions, Trump's choice for attorney general. And retired General John Kelly is picked for Homeland Security secretary.

On Wednesday, hearings get underway for secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson. Transportation secretary -- Transportation secretary nominee, Elaine Chow, along with Congressman Mike Pompeo for CIA director, and Education secretary nominee. Betsy DeVos.

Thursday's hearings include retired General James Mattis for Defense secretary, Wilbur Ross for Commerce secretary, and Dr. Ben Carson for HUD secretary.

Also this week, President-elect Trump holds his first news conference in six months. He's expected to talk about separating himself from his huge business empire. And he's sure to face serious questions about Russian hacking during the election.

President-elect Trump's nominees face tough questions and intense scrutiny from Senate Democrats. We asked Trump senior advisor, former campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, now -- how they're now preparing for the hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLYANNE CONWAY, SENIOR ADVISOR, DONALD TRUMP: Seventy hours, so far, of mock hearings; 2,600 questions fielded by our nominees and our designates, and we've met with 87 U.S. senators, including 37 Democrats. We like to meet with the remaining Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: She was on "NEW DAY" earlier today, here on CNN.

Our Correspondent Jessica Schneider is joining us from outside Trump Tower in New York City. Jessica, who are some of the nominees that are likely to face the most scrutiny?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, you know, the intense spotlight will be bearing down on nine nominees throughout the week.

But, really, the ones to watch will start with some potential fireworks at 9:30 tomorrow morning, when Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his role.

The Judiciary Committee actually is the same committee that, 30 years ago, actually pushed back on his federal judgeship chances amid allegations of racial bias.

Now, of course, other people to watch this week include, on Wednesday, Rex Tillerson at secretary of state. Tillerson could come under scrutiny for having no government experience, and also harsh questions about his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Of course, Tillerson served as CEO for ExxonMobil for the past 10 years.

And Betsy DeVos for education secretary. She, of course, has no education experience. She sent her kids to private school so a lot of questions could come up there.

And on Thursday, we'll be watching Ben Carson and his nomination for secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Carson, of course, with no previous agency experience. He's also criticized government programs in the past.

So, a lot happening this week on Capitol Hill. A lot of names, a lot of intense scrutiny.

Democrats pushing back. But, of course, they do not have the votes or the numbers to actually block any of these appointments -- Wolf. BLITZER: And at the same time, Jessica we're not getting word, if you could update our viewers, Jerad Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump's husband, he will become a senior advisor in the White House to the president. Is that right?

SCHNEIDER: That's right. And, you know, that's something that we've been long expecting. Of course, Kushner has been a top advisor to Donald Trump throughout this election cycle.

He played a large role in getting Donald Trump elected. Really getting into the nitty gritty in these states that really meant the difference for Donald Trump, looking at the numbers in Michigan and also Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.

Of course, there's been questions about some of the conflicts of interest or the nepotism, anti-nepotism laws. And, of course, we know that Jared Kushner has been working with WilmerHale, the law firm, to see how he can get around some of those concerns.

But, of course, we know now that not being a big concern. They say -- Jared Kushner's lawyers saying that those anti-nepotism laws only apply at agencies and not within the White House itself.

[13:05:01] So, Jared Kushner, we know he and Ivanka have secured that house down in D.C. And, now, Jared Kushner will be in the White House continuing to advise his father-in-law, the President-elect Donald Trump.

BLITZER: He has been a major advisor all along, and now will have a formal position in the Trump White House.

Jessica, thank you very much. Jessica Snyder reporting for us.

The fireworks could begin it at the first hearing for Trump's attorney general nominee, Senator Jeff Sessions. He's been actively preparing for his Senate session. We're going to tell you more about that in a little while.

The Alabama senator was elected back in 1996. He also served as U.S. attorney and attorney general for the state of Alabama. Sessions was denied a federal judgeship, back in 1986, after allegations of racism surfaced, allegations that he has always denied.

As our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash reports, those old allegations, though, could play a role at the upcoming hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: I have a man who is respected by everybody here.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's nominee for attorney general, was the first U.S. Senator to endorse him.

SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: This is a movement. Look at what's happening. BASH: The Alabama Republican gave the New York reality T.V. star

credibility with the GOP base because Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III is a rock ridge conservative. An eagle scout from the heart of the south who was a U.S. attorney and Alabama attorney general.

Yet, 30 years ago, when Ronald Reagan nominated Sessions to be a federal judge, Democrats blocked him. Something Sessions rarely talked about but did, with us, in 2009.

SESSIONS: It was not a pleasant event, I got to tell you. It was really so heart breaking.

BASH: He was accused of racial insensitivity, calling a black lawyer boy and civil rights groups, like the NAACP, un-American which he denied.

SESSIONS: I am not a racist. I am not insensitive to blacks.

BASH: He was hounded by Democrats, including then Senator Joe Biden.

SESSIONS: They may have taken positions that I consider to be averse to the security interest of the United States.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Does that make them un-American?

SESSIONS: No, sir, it does not.

BIDEN: No, does that make the positions un-American?

SESSIONS: No.

No, that was not fair. That was not accurate. Those were false charges and distortions of anything that I did, and it really was not. I never had those kind of views. And I was caricatured to it in a way that was not me.

BASH: Now, the son of civil rights activists, whom Sessions prosecuted for voter fraud, is coming to his defense.

ALBERT TURNER, JR.: I don't think he is a racist.

BASH: Albert Turner, Jr. and Alabama county commissioner says he has worked extensively with Sessions who was elected senator 20 years ago.

TURNER: When I was -- talked to Senator Sessions about historical black colleges and trying to get historical black colleges some assistance and funding, he listened. I can go on and on about the particular issues that just Sessions and I have discussed.

BASH: Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, was elected to the Senate the same year as Sessions.

BASH (on camera): You don't agree with him on a lot of issues.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: We don't agree on a host of issues. BASH (voice-over): Still, she plans to introduce Sessions, at his

confirmation hearing, for attorney general.

COLLINS: I don't know what happened more than 30 years ago, but I do know the Jeff Sessions that I have worked with in the past 20 years. I want a person of integrity and experience, and Jeff Sessions has all of those characteristics and qualities.

BASH: Sessions spent two decades in the Senate fighting for conservative causes, but did team up on a bill with this high-ranking Democrat.

(on camera): You worked with him on legislation.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: This was like a miracle.

BASH (voice-over): Dick Durbin was trying to reduce the penalty for crack cocaine which was 100 times higher than powder cocaine. Then he saw sessions in the Senate gym.

DURBIN: We both showered. We were putting our clothes on and about to leave, and I said, Jeff, give me a number. If you can't do one to one and you won't -- I won't go for 100 to one, what is it? It was 18. I can't tell you why, but it was 18. We agreed.

BASH: Still, Durbin says he disagrees with Sessions on most legal issues which makes it hard to support him for attorney general. Other Democrats Sessions got to know in the gym agree.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: I said to Jeff Sessions in the gym the other day, if he made you trade -- head of the trade representative, we'd be working together very well. We can kibitz in the gym. You keep these positions on immigration, you keep these positions on civil rights and voting rights, it's going to be very hard for me to support you.

BASH: Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Let's get some more now on the confirmation hearings and what we should expect when they all start tomorrow. Joining us now from Capitol Hill, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul.

[13:10:01] Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY, HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE, HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR COMMITTEE: Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: You're on the Foreign Relations Committee. You're on the Health and Education Committee, the Homeland Security Committee. All of them are going to be hosting confirmation hearings this week.

Let's start with your colleague, Senator Jeff Sessions, for attorney general of the United States. Do you think he will be confirmed and will you vote to confirm him?

PAUL: Yes on both fronts. I think it's unfair for people to -- and actually very hurtful for people to say, oh, you're a racist, when there's no evidence in his public career that he's ever been racially insensitive.

So, I think it's a slander and very unfair for people to try to do that to someone. And I think he's going to do fine in the confirmation process.

BLITZER: On Wednesday, you'll be at the hearing for the secretary of state designate, Rex Tillerson, the former ExxonMobil CEO. Have you spoken with him? What is your sense of that confirmation process? Are you likely to vote, yea, in favor of his confirmation?

PAUL: You know, I've spoken with him privately. I think he's an impressive individual. I think he will always have America's interest first, in negotiating with any country. And I think he will negotiate from a position of strength with the leadership of Donald Trump.

So, in that sense, yes, I'm favorably disposed. I will still ask questions during the public hearing, because I think public answers are very important. I will ask the question of Mr. Tillerson, does he think the Iraq War was a mistake? Does he think regime change throughout the Middle East has made us safer or has made us less safe?

So, I will ask these questions, because I think it's very important that we learn from the past couple of decades, particularly as we embark on the next couple of decades in the Middle East, particularly as we try to figure out what to do in Syria, whether or not we understand that the regime change in Iraq and Libya didn't make us safer and did not make the region more stable.

BLITZER: Does it bother you, Senator, that he's had a good relationship with Putin of Russia? In fact, received an award from Putin personally?

PAUL: Well, I think so did Farber in Indiana. So, a lot of people, apparently, have gotten that award. And I think when you're in business, your job is to be diplomatic. To try to get the best advantage for your company. And so, it is for the company -- the country that you're negotiating with.

So, in some ways, a business transaction are somewhat like diplomacy. You have to realize that your opponent across the table is an adversary which are also trying to find an agreement at which both parties can come away from the table feeling as if they won.

So, no, I think he'll be a skillful negotiator and a good diplomat. And I want somebody who's not a knee jerk, gut reaction, let's, you know, drop bomb on everybody. I want somebody who believes that war is the last answer.

So, in that sense, I think Tillerson's a good pick.

BLITZER: I want you to clarify exactly where you stand and, based on your conversation with Donald Trump, where he stands on repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Because my understanding is you don't want to repeal it until exactly that day there is a plan in place to replace it. And you've said that Donald Trump is with you on that. Where exactly is he and where are you?

PAUL: As a physician, as an individual, as a patient, I'm very much opposed to Obamacare. I think it's been a disaster for our country. And I will vote for a repeal. I do think, though, that we should vote on replacement the same day.

I'm putting together a bill. It's virtually completed. It will be full of the consensus opinions on replacement. Basically, that we need to insure the most amount of people at the least amount of cost.

It'll involve three main areas for replacement. One, that we legalize the sale of inexpensive insurance so everybody can buy it. We help people save so they can buy insurance through health savings accounts. And that we help individuals to associate with groups of individuals through health association plans, so they can spread their risk and get a cheaper product.

If you put those three market reforms together, as well as some tax changes, I think you can get something that virtually every Republican agrees to, but would also help soften the blow as we go from Obamacare to a more market or oriented type of industry again.

BLITZER: Because you've heard a lot of Republican leaders say, yes, you can quickly repeal it. But it could take six months. It could take as much as a year to come up with this specific plan to replace it. In the phone conversation that you had with Donald Trump, what was the impression he left you? Where does he stand?

PAUL: Well, I completely disagree with those who say we either don't have a plan or have to wait. There are about 50 replacement bills that have been out there for years. Congressman Tom Price, who is up for a cabinet position, about half the bills are his.

There are consensus on at least 10, 15 different bills in Congress. So, I think consensus is there. The bills have been written. Let's put them together and let's have a vote on replacement.

With regard to the president, all I can tell you is he called and said he agreed with me. We ought to vote on replacement the same day we vote on repeal.

[13:15:06] BLITZER: Because a lot of Republicans, they want to vote to repeal it on day one. They don't want to wait at all. They say, you know, we'll have plenty of time to come up with a plans in the months that follow. You're totally opposed to that. And what I hear you saying is that the president-elect is totally opposed that as well.

PAUL: We have a replacement plan. We have 50 different bills out there. What I keep hearing people say --

BLITZER: But -- but there's not just one plan -- senator, senator -- PAUL: That's what I mean. Yes.

BLITZER: We need one plan.

PAUL: Exactly.

BLITZER: If you have 50 plans --

PAUL: Exactly.

BLITZER: You've got to put -- put the best of it together and say -- the majority leader, Mitch McConnell, says that could take six months.

PAUL: Exactly. No, I disagree completely. We have them out there, and there is a consensus position on the vast majority of what Republicans do for replacement. We're putting it together, and we will put it forward. I will do everything in my power to have a vote on it. The day we repeal Obamacare, I want to vote on replacement. And we'll see where I get with that. But there's a growing momentum both among Senate Republicans and among House Republicans that we should vote on replacement the same day we vote on repeal.

BLITZER: And will you -- in the legislation that -- you have to put it in legislation. Will it require 60 votes? In other words, will Democrats who oppose the new plan, will they be able to filibuster requiring 60 votes?

PAUL: For part of it, yes. I think you can do some replacement within the reconciliation, this arcane budget rules. You can do some replacement. But there needs to be a separate replacement bill. That's what I'm working on. It will be out within two days. So we're not saying it's never coming. Within two days I will have a bill that is the replacement bill and then we'll go from there. But we should vote on both the same day.

BLITZER: Senator Rand Paul, thanks very much for joining us.

PAUL: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, will Democrats dig in and delay the nomination hearing for many of Donald Trump's nominees? Democratic Senator Chris Coons will sit in on several of those hearings. He's standing by live. He'll join us right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:21:00] BLITZER: There are now only 11 days until the inauguration for President-elect Donald Trump. But the real action starts tomorrow with the first two of a series of cabinet confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate. Democrats have promised no free passes to the Trump picks, but incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer has this advice for the Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN SPICER, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think Senate Democrats have two choices. They can aimlessly follow Senator Schumer and put the American economy and security at risk because of the uncertainty created by a lack of continuity of government, or they can join the timely and thorough vetting of cabinet nominees which will ensure the president is ready to govern on day one. Our expectations is that this cabinet will receive broad bipartisan support throughout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Joining us now from Wilmington, Delaware, is Democratic Senator Chris Coons. He's a member of the Judiciary Committee, as well as the Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Do you believe at least some of the confirmation hearings scheduled to begin tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, should be delayed? And if yes, which ones?

COONS: I do think, Wolf, that we need to make sure that every one of Donald Trump's nominees completes their FBI background check and their Office of Government Ethics forms before we proceed with any confirmation vote. We've never seen a cabinet so full of billionaires in American history. And the complexity and the reach of the potential conflicts of interest for many of the members of Donald Trump's cabinet deserve thorough and fair consideration.

We also have hearings this week that I'll be participating in for two different gentlemen, Mr. Tillerson for secretary of state, and Senator Sessions for attorney general, who have complex public records and difficult public positions that I think deserve a full and fair hearing. I'm going to be pushing back on our moving forward with eight different confirmation hearings this week. The same week that we're also going to be voting on the budget reconciliation measure that is setting up the repeal vote for the Affordable Care Act, and the same week that Donald Trump is at least allegedly going to finally hold the press conference where he will reveal how he plans to deal with his conflicts of interest.

BLITZER: What would be wrong with starting the process. Let the committees start the confirmation process, but make sure before the full Senate votes the FBI background check, the full vetting, all of those reports are in place before all 100 senators vote. Why not get the process started right away?

COONS: I do think we can get the process started right away. That's why I will be participating tomorrow in an all-day hearing reviewing Senator Sessions' backgrounds on a wide range of issues. I spent the weekend reading through a 300 page background briefing memo.

I know Senator Sessions well. We belong to a weekly prayer breakfast. We work out in the gym occasionally together. And he is a pleasant man. And I have given him a fair review. But there are many areas, many areas, Wolf, where his actions, his votes, and his record from civil liberties to civil rights, torture to criminal justice reform, to immigration are starkly different from my own, and I look forward to a full hearing tomorrow and the following day of Senator Sessions' record.

BLITZER: On Wednesday you'll be in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in that hearing when the secretary of state choice, Rex Tillerson, appears before your committee. Do you need answers from him on his ties to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin? As far as you're concerned, is that an issue at all?

COONS: Yes, that's a real issue. I had an hour and a half private meeting with Mr. Tillerson last week. He was able to be very forthcoming and clear with me about his views on NATO, on Putin, on Russia, and on our role in Western Europe and in confronting Russia's attack on our democracy. I will be looking forward to see whether Mr. Tillerson is as clear in a public hearing on the record because it creates some tension between his views and the statements by at least candidate Donald Trump and some recent statements by President-elect Donald Trump. I found Mr. Tillerson to be thoughtful and experienced, although we have different values and different priorities. And I am going to be asking him some of those same tough questions again on the record in the hearing this Wednesday.

[13:25:28] BLITZER: Do you concede, though, senator, that given the fact the Republicans are in the majority, they have 52 Republicans in the Senate, they only need 50 given the fact that the vice president will break a tie and the vice president will be Mike Pence, they only need 50 to confirm. Do you concede that realistically all of these nominees are likely to be confirmed?

COONS: Wolf, these nominees will be confirmed if Republicans do not conduct a thorough review of their background and their record. In a number of cases we have nominees to lead the EPA, or to serve as attorney general, or to serve in a number of other agencies, where their record really runs against the core mission of the agency they've been nominated to lead. The gentleman from Oklahoma who's been nominated to head the EPA has a long, public record of going directly against the core mission of the EPA. So, you're right, numerically, if Republicans vote in lock step with their leadership and their party and their president-elect, it will be very difficult for us to stop any of these nominees. But it's my hope that after a full day of hearings, deep dives into their background and conversations with home state constituent that a number of Republicans will be persuaded that this is one of the most extreme, most right-wing cabinets ever assembled by an American president.

BLITZER: But the other problem you have, and you understand this, several of your Democratic colleagues, especially those who were up for re-election in two years in states that Donald Trump won decisively, they're already indicating they're going to side with the Republicans on this and go ahead and vote to confirm as well. So you really face an uphill struggle in trying to derail any of these Republican nominees.

COONS: Well, Wolf, it's -- that's right, that there are a number of nominees who I think will win bipartisan support. There's a number of nominees who have strong experience in the relevant areas for which they've been nominated. But there are others who are quite extreme and I think well out of the mainstream. We'll have to see as the next few weeks unfold.

I do think that it's unfair to move forward any vote on any one of these nominees until their ethics -- ethics disclosures are completed and their FBI background checks are completed. That's a standard that Mitch McConnell held President Obama's nominees to, and that's a standard I think we should be following here as well. And I'll remind you that in some previous administrations, folks who looked like they were going to sail through confirmation were ultimately tripped up on issues that came up in their FBI background check or in their ethics disclosures.

We still also, Wolf, have the significant and unresolved issue of President-elect Trump's potential conflicts of interest, which I hope we're going to hear a clear answer to this Wednesday.

BLITZER: That's when he holds his first news conference in more than six months. All right, Senator Coons, thanks very much for joining us.

COONS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Still ahead, a current U.S. senator, a retired major general, and a billionaire all with one thing in common, President-elect Trump. We'll break down who to watch in this week's cabinet confirmation hearings. And we tell you which hearings could spark some real fireworks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)