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Ambitious Agenda Laid Out In Speech; Trump Meets With Lawmakers As Speech Draws Praise; Trump Lauded for Optimistic Tone; Obamacare Repeal; $1 Trillion for Infrastructure; Immigration Reform is Possible. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired March 01, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 9:00 p.m. in Moscow. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, a more presidential Trump. The president is getting high marks today after his first major address to Congress. He's meeting with Republican leaders right now following last night's speech. Here's some video that just fed in of that meeting moments ago. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, thank you very much. We're just here to start the process. It begins, as of now, and we think we're going to have tremendous success. And thank you very much. Appreciate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And the reporters were asked to leave.

His speech last night marked a shift in tone to a more optimistic view of the country. The president also stayed on message, outlining an ambitious agenda and calling for unity and cooperation. It's a message that seemed to connect with a lot of Americans.

In the CNN-ORC poll, 69 percent of speech watchers say the president's address made them feel more optimistic. Just 28 percent said they felt more pessimistic.

Let's bring in our CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, is this meeting with Republican leaders now a chance for them to, sort of, take a victory lap after the president's speech last night or are they plotting strategy?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I think it is more of an opening lap or the first lap than a victory lap.

The reality here now, the speech is the easy part. The more difficult part here is getting all the Republicans in the House and the Senate on board with this agenda and figuring out a way to go forward. So, that's the purpose of this lunch that you saw just a few minutes ago there, the beginning of it. They want to talk strategy. They want to talk about how, specifically, they will start working on health care reform, on tax reform, on every other piece of material the president talked about last evening.

And, you know, it is one thing to get applause from Republican leaders and the Republican majorities in Congress. But, Wolf, as we talked to members last night, one question hanging over all of this was, how will these programs, how will these initiatives be paid for? So, that is part of the discussion happening right now.

BLITZER: The White House press secretary, as you also know, Sean Spicer, spoke to reporters just a little while ago off camera. He was asked about the timing of the travel ban executive action, the new version. The first version did not work out very well, thanks to the judiciary courts. What did he say?

ZELENY: Wolf, Sean Spicer says he does not have anything to announce, in terms of the specific timing of this. He said it is coming but would not say when that would be.

Now, Wolf, I think it's important to just remember here, sort of, going over the past few weeks or so. The president and his -- and his team talked about the urgency of doing this. He said it was absolutely urgent to sign this right away to protect the country and for the national security of the country.

But now, several weeks have gone by without this being signed here. It speaks to the difficulty of trying to get this exactly right to withstand any legal challenges. And it also is a sense that they know it is going to be controversial.

So, that is one of the reasons it was not signed this afternoon because they want to, sort of, bask in the glow of the speech, if you will.

So, we do still expect it this week. But, Wolf, I would not be at all surprised if it was rescheduled again because we've seen that happen now at least four times. So, Sean Spicer not giving any specific timetable to when that travel ban executive order will come -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we'll stand by for that. Jeff Zeleny at the White House. Thank you.

The president promised action on a whole range of issues, from immigration to repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Let's talk about some of the specifics with our panel. Our CNN Military Analyst retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton is with us. Our CNN Political Analyst David Gregory is here. And our Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson is with us as well.

Nia, you said you'd be watching for things like immigration reform in the president's address, how he is going to pay for the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, other sensitive issues. Did you get the specifics in that speech you were looking for?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: No. And I -- presumably, that's what they're going to be talk about today, as Jeff talked about, that meeting that President Trump is having with all of those leaders. Those are the details that are yet to be hammered out.

In the speech, no, he didn't talk about Obamacare. How do you expand access, expand choice, and lower the cost, as he said that he'd be able to do? This wall, it's $20 billion. He called it the great, great wall. And he predicted that he'd start, in terms of being built, in the next couple of months. But how do you do that if you're also going to raise defense spending by 10 percent?

And he also talked about investing in education and maybe funding vouchers and school of choice. How do you pay for that, if you're cutting everywhere else?

So, yes, I mean, there are a -- there -- you know, as a lot of Democrats said and some Republicans privately, the devil is in the details. And, as of yet, we don't really have many.

But, listen, that's what's going to be hashed out over these next many months.

BLITZER: And we'll get, presumably, a lot of details.

[13:05:02] David, in a briefing that the president gave to journalists yesterday, including me, he said this about comprehensive immigration reform. He said this. He said, the time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides. He's opening -- he's open to new legislation on comprehensive immigration reform. And this is how he phrased it in his speech last night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals. To improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation's security, and to restore respect for our laws. If we are guided by the well-being of American citizens, then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A senior administration official told us that the reference to decades goes back to the Reagan administration. That was the last time in the mid-1980s there was comprehensive immigration reform. And the president, presumably, would like to see if there's enough wiggle room compromised on the both sides to come up with something now.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There's a lot of loopholes in that when he talks about protecting U.S. jobs. Is he just talking about high skilled workers who might come in and work for a lot of tech companies which those companies would certainly still like. Or is there a feeling still that workers from Mexico are going to be taking the U.S. jobs, more blue collar jobs.

So, that is a loophole. But I do think the emphasis on security perhaps creates space for him to negotiate a broader path for a path to legal status, if not citizenship, for those roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants who are in the United States right now.

This could have been achieved back before 911 under President Bush. He tried it again at the height of the Iraq War. He didn't have the political capital. And that's important. The idea of political capital. He's got a lot on the agenda here. And the priorities are around taxes, are around deregulation. They've got to be around Obamacare and about immigration enforcement.

The idea of getting to a big comprehensive immigration bill that would divide his party, not sure that's going to be right at the top of the list.

BLITZER: Another sensitive issue on the travel ban that's expected in the next few days to be released, the new version, take two, let's call it, of the travel ban.

We're now told -- Elise Labott and Evan Perez, two of our reporters telling us that secretary of state, Rex Tillerson; secretary of defense, James Mattis; National security adviser, General McMaster; among others, including Homeland Security secretary, James Kelly, they're inclined to remove Iraq -- John Kelly, I should say. John Kelly. They're inclined to remove Iraq from the list of banned countries. There are seven right now for a variety of reasons.

One of the reasons being the U.S., what, has about 5,000 troops in Iraq and has a relatively decent relationship with the Iraqi government. Do you think that would be a good idea to remove Iraq from that list?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (retired), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I do, actually, Wolf. And the reason I think that is because we have -- we are, in effect, allies with Iraq right now. And you don't treat your allies badly.

Now, there may be individuals within Iraq that are, you know, obviously suspect and are terrorists. They have to be dealt with in the way that you always deal with suspect individuals, no matter where they come from.

But you have to make sure that allies are treated like allies and it becomes very, very important for Iraq to be off that list and I agree with the secretaries in this case.

GREGORY: Can I say how poorly thought out this entire executive order was. If, you know, there's not enough urgency that they can wait and keep waiting on getting it done, and that they're open to arguments that, I'm sure, comes from the defense secretary and others, saying, look, we have allies there. We have people who have helped us on the ground fight in Iraq and are fighting ISIS.

And so, it shows you that they really haven't thought through what the threat landscape was, in terms of dealing with this (INAUDIBLE.)

BLITZER: Well, we're told that the White House has not yet made a final decision. They've got these various recommendations.

HENDERSON: Yes.

BLITZER: A final decision on whether Iraq would be removed from that list of seven nations.

HENDERSON: And they want to try to get it right this time. I mean, it was a disaster, the rollout. The way that it was crafted and talking about religious minorities in the executive order, visa -- people who had visas were included.

So, it was -- it was a disaster and they want to get it right. They have a blueprint, in some ways, if you look at that court decision. They can, sort of, figure out what not to do in this one.

And it's smart of them, I think, to wait and try to get it right and also to not roll it out today and step on all this great coverage that he's getting from his speech.

BLITZER: The argument the president has made about those seven countries is that there's very little government in those seven countries, or the Yemen, or Somalia, or Syria.

[13:10:00] And, as far as Iraq is concerned, they may be a government of Baghdad, but you go outside of Baghdad to Mosul, the second largest city, we see what's going on there. And the vetting process, they are concerned about refugees streaming into the United States without any serious vetting because there is no government in Mosul, except for ISIS right now.

LEIGHTON: Well, that is partially true. But the fact of the matter is, when Mosul was captured by ISIS, the Iraqi government actually canceled all the passports that were issued in that area. And they also canceled the blanks that ISIS would've had access to.

So, what you see is, actually, the fact that the Iraq system is far more sophisticated, when it comes to passport control than many other places.

BLITZER: Well, a lot of these refugees, they escape without anything. They don't have passports. They get into Syria. They try to get into Turkey. And can they really seriously be vetted if they have escaped the turmoil in Mosul?

LEIGHTON: In many cases, the answer is no. And that's where you have to have individualized ways of dealing with these refugees. And the way you do that is you find out as much as you possibly can about their background and then you go from there. But there are going to be a lot of refugees in this world that come without any documentation.

GREGORY: And a lot of women and children. You talk to national security experts in this area that the composite here is full of a lot of women and children. It's not, you know, single men who might be a particular security threat, based on the kind of profile who might be carrying something out. And there is still a wait period to get access.

HENDERSON: Yes, I mean, it's two -- almost a two-year process, in terms of the vetting for refugees to come over.

BLITZER: Presumably this week, we'll hear what this new travel ban is all about.

LEIGHTON: Right.

BLITZER: Guys, thank you. Nia-Malika Henderson, David Gregory, and Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Our news is continuing right now. Take a look at this. Wallstreet on a clear roll after the president's speech to Congress last night. For the first time ever, the Dow Jones Industrial has topped 21,000. Investors praising the president's, America, first message, his vow to invest big money in infrastructure and the military.

Right now, the Dow Jones Industrial is 21,124. Up more than 300 points on this day.

One thing Wallstreet is still waiting for, specifics on what the president says will be his historic tax reform proposals.

And a reminder, CNN hosts a special town hall event later tonight with two Republican senators who have been outspoken on some of the president's policies, John McCain, Lindsey Graham. Our Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash will moderate. That's tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

Coming up, President Trump calls on Congress to save Americans from what he calls an imploding disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Obamacare is collapsing and we must act decisively to protect all Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, what will a replacement plan look like and will it leave some Americans without coverage? Republican Senator John Barrasso, he's my guest, right after the break.

[13:13:04]

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[13:17:07] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The president's address before Congress has been applauded for the tone, for the optimism, but also criticized for the lack of specifics. Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso is with us right now. He's a member of the Senate Republican leadership, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee as well. Senator, thanks for joining us.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BLITZER: Were there enough specifics in there for you?

BARRASSO: Well, I think there were. I thought it was a very optimistic and aspirational speech. I really liked the fact that he talked about in nine years the country will be 250 years old and what do we want that birthday celebration to look like in terms of our country, in terms of jobs, in terms of the economy and in terms of national security.

BLITZER: But he didn't really get into specifics on how he wants to repeal and replace Obamacare and come up with a new program. He gave some broad outlines. He seemed to be moving towards what the House version is, but you tell me, were there any specifics there, enough specifics to get a sense of where he's moving?

BARRASSO: Well, I think absolutely there were. He had a five point plan. He wants to make sure people with preexisting conditions are - continue to be covered. He wants a smooth transition. He wants to give states more authority.

BLITZER: What he said was they would continue - to continue have - to have the opportunity to be covered, if you will. It wasn't necessarily a firm guarantee.

BARRASSO: Well, you want to make sure that people with preexisting conditions -

BLITZER: He said something about access to coverage.

BARRASSO: Yes. Well, my wife's a breast cancer survivor and I know as a doctor, as well as a husband, how important it is for people with preexisting conditions to continue to have the availability of coverage. I think that's very critical. I'm committed to that and I know the president is as well.

BLITZER: Are you - are you OK with the House version, basically what Paul Ryan is putting forward right now, because that seems to be something in play?

BARRASSO: Well, there's only one person who can sign the law and the status quo has failed. Obamacare has failed. The House is going to work on passing something. We're meeting with the House leadership later today. We're continuing to work on finding the best way to do it. But the problem is the cost is so high and Obamacare has contributed to that. We want access for people. We want affordability. And you ask people what the biggest problem with Obamacare is, it costs too much. That's why young people aren't buying. Even with the mandate, they're moving away from it.

BLITZER: Let's talk about infrastructure for a moment. This is - I'll play the clip. This is how the president phrased his plan for a billion dollars to rebuild roads and highways and airports. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States, financed through both public and private capital, creating millions of new jobs.

BLITZER: Democrats like that. A lot of Republicans are worried. A trillion dollars. Where is that - where is that money coming from?

BARRASSO: Well, that's the exact question is, where do you come - the money. But I'm the chairman of the committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee. And we held a hearing today about infrastructure that included the California, the situation with the dam there, and the situation we have in Worland, Wyoming, which shows that one size doesn't fit all. So when the president talks about private partnerships with the public, that works in many places. It doesn't work necessarily in Wyoming, where we have, you know, a - so many square miles and so few people. So there are ways to do it.

[13:20:15] BLITZER: Where's the trillion - where's the trillion dollars going to come from?

BARRASSO: Yes. That's still being worked out. We're looking for the president's suggestions. I've talked to his secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, who has a plan for how it comes, that generates revenue. That will work in some places. It won't work others. The whole issue is one size doesn't fit all.

But we have had bipartisan support in the Senate over the years for a major transportation bill that passed a year and a half ago, a major water resource development act that passed last year. We have Republicans and Democrats working together for infrastructure and we look forward to that 250th birthday of the country. We need to improve the infrastructure which is failing around the country.

BLITZER: Very quickly, when he says it would be financed through both public, which is taxpayers, and private capital, what does he mean by private capital? Are you going to be doing tax credits, tax breaks, to private companies to build stadiums and other projects?

BARRASSO: Well, that's that. There's tolling and roads where actually a toll road gets sold and then that company who works that has the revenue that comes in to fund that. There's bonding. There's a number of different potential ways to do it. Different people have different ideas. And I know we need to do the work with the bipartisan group committed to that. We have to find a source of funding that works for everyone. And one size doesn't fit all. So while that works maybe in major cities, it doesn't necessarily work in rural America.

BLITZER: Yes, I think a lot of Democrats are anxious to get that trillion-dollar infrastructure building project going. Let's see if it happens.

Senator, thanks for joining us.

BARRASSO: And for so much of the infrastructure, just getting rid of some of these regulations, which have been oppressive under the Obama administration, they've been punishing and now we think we can do a lot better if we can just get rid of a lot of these which makes it a lot tougher.

BLITZER: Yes, and the president - the president believes that getting rid of these regulations is even more important than tax cuts in stimulating economic growth.

BARRASSO: It will do a lot. There's a lot of optimism coming out of that speech. You see it in the stock market today.

BLITZER: (INAUDIBLE). The stock market is doing great today.

All right, thanks very much.

BARRASSO: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: But what goes up, as you know, can go down.

BARRASSO: Can go down.

BLITZER: Yes.

BARRASSO: It's a matter of optimism and opinion.

BLITZER: All right, senator, thank you.

BARRASSO: Thanks.

BLITZER: Coming up, the president rides a wave of positive reviews for his speech, puts off signing a new travel ban. We'll take a closer look at his strategy and a lot more when we come back.

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[13:26:40] BLITZER: President Trump promised to be tough on immigration and just over a month into his presidency, the president has been true to his word. But now that word may be changing a bit from tough to at least flexible. Last night the president signaled a desire for a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible.

If we are guided by the well-being of American citizens, then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Here with us is Congressman Raul Grijalva, the Democrat from Arizona.

Congressman, thanks for joining us.

REP. PAUL GRIJALVA (D), ARIZONA: You're welcome.

BLITZER: Are you ready to come up with a compromise to work with the president, to find some sort of path for comprehensive immigration reform? It's been since the '80s in the Reagan administration that such legislation has been passed.

GRIJALVA: And President Obama tried and it was resisted in the House. It never got anywhere. And, obviously, George Bush, President Bush, tried as well. Again, resisted primarily in the House and it never got anywhere.

I think that if there is really good faith on the part of President Trump to do something about immigration, to accept the premise that the system is broken, to understand that it's more than just enforcement and security, that we need a comprehensive approach to dealing with immigration reform, then I think many, many people, including myself, would be more than willing, but you've got to accept the premise, otherwise we're still talking about a very limited approach with enforcement only being the only caveat that he's been talking about since he got elected and prior to during the campaign. I don't know how that rhetoric that set up the tone and the feeling out there at this point, how you pull away from that.

BLITZER: This is what a bunch of journalists, a few journalists, were told yesterday by a senior White House official -

GRIJALVA: Yes.

BLITZER: That the president is open to comprehensive immigration reform, not necessarily leading to a pathway to citizenship, but a pathway for millions of undocumented immigrants to legal status here in the United States. They would be able to work, pay taxes, raise their families, and not fear deportation. Legal status. The legislation failed the last time around had a pathway to citizenship. Would you be at least open to that?

GRIJALVA: I - I think there has to be a path to legalization, but we can't create in this country that is made up and - and grown and nurtured by immigrants throughout its history, we can't set up this barrier that you can do - you can work here, you can live here, you can pay taxes here, but there will never be an opportunity for you to make your status beyond legal to go - go toward becoming the full breadth of being an American, and that's to be a citizen. I think -

BLITZER: Well, the dreamers - the dreamers, the children who were brought here as kids, we're told, they wouldn't have to worry. They would have a potential path to citizenship.

GRIJALVA: Exactly.

BLITZER: It's the other - and there's millions, as you and I know, of undocumented immigrants, that they at least would not have to wake up every day and worry about being deported.

[13:29:51] GRIJALVA: Well, the good faith that I talked about and I - and I think closing the door on potentially 11 million people in this country, that they can stay here if they have followed the rules and play - and worked hard and that they meet all the criteria of a good, hard-working person and citizen in this country, then they - that they would have some protection. OK. The problem