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Bannon Steps Down; Immigration Talks; Conservatives Spend Millions in Wisconsin; Florida Dropped from Drilling Plan; Tagovailoa Goes from Backup to Hero. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired January 10, 2018 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: People talking to him might say that, you know, he's still going to articulate his message and try fighting some stuff on immigration moving forward, but it's not clear what he's going to do.

And I think this is also a big change for Breitbart, right? Breitbart, over the last years, has been defined by Steve Bannon. It's been his platform. And it's really sort of an extension of him. So that's going to be interesting. I'm told that there's a whole staff phone call later this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with the CEO of "Breitbart" and the editor in chief and they are going to take questions from staffers who are probably, you know, curious to know what it looks like for the publication moving forward.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Sure.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oliver Darcy, great to have you with us. Thanks so much, Oliver. Great reporting.

All right, Congress told by the president that he will sign whatever they bring him, whatever immigration deal they bring him. So what will they present? Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:19] HARLOW: Immigration negotiations in the works in Congress, but not going that well according to a GOP aide who just tells our Phil Mattingly, we are nowhere close to striking a deal. That aide also said that the outlines being considered right now wouldn't get half the support they need in the Senate, let alone the House.

BERMAN: And, of course, you need half to pass in the Senate.

HARLOW: You do.

BERMAN: Important.

Joining us now, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

Senator, thank you so much for being with us.

There was this big bipartisan meeting at the White House yesterday. Cameras were allowed in. HARLOW: On camera.

BERMAN: Fifty-four minutes, this free-willing discussion. Glass half full here. Is the fact that this discussion happened and the fact that we were allowed to see it, is that a positive development?

SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN (D), WISCONSIN: I certainly think it is a positive development. I know that I talked to several of my colleagues who were in that meeting, and while they describe the situation as a little bit surreal and some of the things said by the president were more than a little contradictory, I think the fact that they are focused on the dreamers and recognizing that that is the urgent situation, because the dreamers have known no other home than America and they need to have our action in order to come out of the shadows.

There was bipartisan commitment to that at that meeting and elsewhere in Congress. Certainly those negotiations can involve some of the border security issues. But that is -- you know, keeping our promise to the dreamers has to be the lead priority. And I'm hopeful we can get it done.

HARLOW: Well, it sounds like you're maybe more open than some of the fellow Democrats to giving a little bit here on what the president and other Republicans want, a wall, border security. Joe Manchin, you fellow Democrat, said he would be OK with some funding for a border wall as long as experts weighed in, said that's the right move, et cetera, in order to protect the dreamers. Are you -- are you onboard with that or are you against even a dollar for this wall?

BALDWIN: I think that we should be able to talk about border security in the context of passing the dream act and doing right by the dreamers.

HARLOW: But a wall?

BALDWIN: I think that a wall, as the president has described it at times, is actually ridiculous.

BERMAN: So --

BALDWIN: We should be talking about infrastructure, our crumbling roads and bridges across America with the dollars that he's talking about a wall.

Just yesterday there was a pretty good report about how his intention to build a wall on the southern border would take resources away from time-tested security technologies on the southern border. We should be talking about border security, but not the wall.

BERMAN: So to be clear, yesterday he said -- you know, and you're right, he has changed his position. His position has moved from time to time on that issue. He said yesterday -- so the most recent statement is it doesn't need to be a 2,000 mile wall because there are mountains, there are rivers, there's nature --

HARLOW: Seven hundred feet -- eight -- I mean miles. BERMAN: He said nature. You say you are open to the idea of increasing border security. So it sounds like you may be open to some language, right, where Democrats can say, hey, look, we're providing money for border security and later on the president could say, hey, look, we got money for border security that we're using to build a wall in some places. And that would be OK with you, yes?

BALDWIN: There are walls already in some places. Let's not ignore the facts on the ground.

I think that the negotiations that are occurring both in the House in a bipartisan manner and in the Senate in a bipartisan manner have always included a focus on security. But we also know that we're in an urgent situation right now with regard to the dreamers.

The president rescinded the DACA protections last year. Time is of the essence. And a promise was made to those dreamers, those young people who have known no other home other than the United States of America. We need to make good on that promise and we need to do it now.

HARLOW: Let me ask you about your re-election campaign. As you well know, there are folks who don't want you to win again spending a lot of money against you. New reporting showing $3.1 million pouring in directly against you, more than anyone else in your position, in other states at this point. Super PACs pouring in another 4.7 million to fight your re-election.

When you think about this and how tough the re-election battle could be for you in Wisconsin, what's your reaction? And, also, all the talk about Oprah maybe running for president, would you want someone like Oprah to come, you know, stand next to you, campaign next to you?

[09:40:13] BALDWIN: Well, Oprah is a daughter of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We are so proud of her inspiration for so many, and her life's work. She has done incredible things during her career. So I, like so many others, was deeply moved by her speech the other night.

That said, I know there's been a lot of talk about 2020 and her future. But as you suggest in your question, I'm very much focused on fighting for Wisconsinites. And in the context of my re-election, in some ways I'm not surprised by this outside spending because we know the special interests have taken an interest in getting rid of me. And, why? Because I'm not afraid to stand up to them on behalf of the hard working people of my state. Whether that's the pharmaceutical companies that are jacking up the cost of life-saving drugs, or the folks that are fighting my efforts to create buy America hire America policies. You know, I'm not at all surprised that they've taken note and it's not going to silence me. I am going to continue to fight for Wisconsin's hard-working people in the Senate every day.

HARLOW: The buy America point -- we have to wrap it up -- but that is something where you and the president actually have agreed on some legislation. You want him to move more quickly on that. We'll be watching you --

BALDWIN: I do. HARLOW: Yes.

BALDWIN: And especially in the infrastructure package that we're expecting from this president, I think buy America hire America should be the centerpiece, and that's what I'm going to be looking for.

HARLOW: Senator Tammy Baldwin, we appreciate it. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

HARLOW: So just days after the administration revealed its new offshore drilling plan, one state's Republican governor says, no, not here, and the administration says, OK. Is that going to work in other states?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:46:11] BERMAN: A dramatic and somewhat curious reversal from the administration. After opening vast stretches of coastal water to drilling, the Interior Department now says pretty much everywhere but Florida. Why? Well, because the Republican governor asked.

HARLOW: A lot of other governors are asking, too, and they're going to have to answer to them. But what will they do? This is a big chance of course and it comes just five days after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced new drilling plans for coastal regions all around the United States where drilling has been banned for decades.

Our Rene Marsh has more details.

This happened sort of end of last week, the allowing of this drilling. And it was largely overshadowed by other news. But it's huge. It's a huge deal. And now Florida says, we don't want it, so they don't have to do it?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. That's the case right now. And as you mentioned, Poppy and John, off the top, last week Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke proposed rolling back a ban of offshore drilling on the coast of Florida and California. You're looking at a map there of all the areas that could have been -- that would be impacted. And they're also considering allowing leasing on more than 40 sites for natural gas and oil production. Again, you were looking at that map there.

Now, Zinke hadn't even finished making his announcement when Republican Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a statement that he had asked immediately to meet with Secretary Zinke to discuss concerns about the plan.

Fast-forward to last night and we now have reporting that Zinke now says that he will remove Florida from the list of coastal areas where they would have this drilling. That will no longer be the case. He actually said, I support the governor's position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. That is Zinke's words. However, we should point out, other Republican governors are also saying, not in my backyard. We have a list of all of those. They're saying they want the same treatment that Florida just got. So the question is, will the Trump administration give equal consideration to all other coastal governors, whether they're from Republican or Democratic states?

BERMAN: I will note, in addition to the Democrats, those Republican states you mentioned, Massachusetts and Maryland have Republican governors and have not --

HARLOW: They're also asking.

BERMAN: But they haven't been supportive of the president --

HARLOW: Yes, right.

BERMAN: Like Rick Scott has in Florida.

HARLOW: That's a good point.

BERMAN: So we will see. We will see if they have quite as much luck.

MARSH: And this is also -- and then there's also, you know, as you bring up the point, is this all politics? Of course, many believe that Rick Scott, you know, the president has been pushing for him to run for Senate. This makes him look really good if after this meeting all of a sudden now the policy is changed, at least for Florida. So a little politics involved -- a lot, I should say, probably, as well.

HARLOW: Yes.

BERMAN: Rene Marsh for us in Washington.

Rene, thank you very, very much.

HARLOW: Thank you.

BERMAN: This is just what everyone needs, more of Tom Brady on your screen. A new sort of reality show coming from inside the home of Tom Brady. This is everything we ever wanted and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:43] HARLOW: All right, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley, furious that his Democratic counterpart released a key transcript that he did not want out there from some of their testimony. Let's listen in as Manu Raju just caught up with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Requested that the transcript be made public?

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Uh, yes. And I think he's probably a little surprised about some of the conclusions people are going to derive from it. I think if you -- if you want to know about, for instance, collusion with Russia, all you've got to do is refer you to the Twitter of Browder (ph), you know, as one example, to show how that was the case.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So is Jared Kushner off the hook then?

GRASSLEY: No. No, not at all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, guys.

QUESTION: Sir, just -- do you think you'll continue to be able to work with Senator Feinstein in a bipartisan way on this going forward?

GRASSLEY: Of course.

RAJU: Will you -- will you bring Glenn Simpson to the committee, sir?

BERMAN: All right, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chuck Grassley there, answering questions from Manu Raju. Of course, Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member, the Democrat, released the full transcript of the testimony that Glenn Simpson gave the committee. Chuck Grassley was not happy about that, although he used that opportunity as a way to run down Glenn Simpson in a way and Fusion GPS to sort of criticize the dossier and the idea of Russian meddling.

[09:55:05] HARLOW: And, interestingly, he did say, when they asked, can you work with Dianne Feinstein, well, he said, of course. But others on the committee have said this essentially ends their, you know, investigation, their cooperation. We'll see.

BERMAN: We shall see.

All right, just two days ago, he was the unknown backup. Now Alabama's freshman quarterback is a superstar.

HARLOW: Andy Scholes has more on the "Bleacher Report."

Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys.

You know, Tua Tagovailoa has got a very bright future, I'll tell you what.

This "Bleacher Report" brought to you by the new 2018 Ford F-150.

Tua hadn't played a meaningful snap really all season before he became the hero of the National Championship game. So now that he's an Alabama legend, what's changed for Tua?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUA TAGOVAILOA, ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE: I'd say the only thing that's changed is the followers on social media. Aside from that, I mean, nothing else has really changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: The 19-year-old staying humble. Tua, he actually shared a very special moment with his parents after the big win. They moved from Hawaii to Alabama to watch their son play football and be closer to him. And Tua, I'll tell you what, he actually went to the very same high school as former Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota in Hawaii. Mariota's actually been a mentor for him since he was in the fourth grade. And Mariota says, you know, he wasn't surprised at all by his performance Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCUS MARIOTA, TENNESSEE TITANS: He's a stud. He's a stud. He's the -- he's the next guy coming up. It's nice to see someone like him continue to carry the torch from back home. And, you know, hopefully he'll continue to take it to a higher standards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And Mariota's got a big game this weekend himself, taking on Tom Brady and the Patriots. Brady releasing a trailer yesterday for a documentary series on his life called "Tom vs. Time."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: If you're going to compete against me, you better be willing to give up your life, because I'm giving up mine.

When I see myself out there, I feel like, man, I still do this and I do it better than I've ever done it, so why should I stop?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, the 40-year-old giving us an inside look as his family life and how he remains the best as he continues to get older. It's a six-part series. It's going to be on FaceBook.

And, Poppy, I can see it now, Berman getting his notepad out and just watching it, taking notes about how to be more like Tom Brady.

HARLOW: I mean --

BERMAN: I've already planned for the day off.

HARLOW: It's just going to play in a loop in his office all morning and I'm going to have to listen to that all morning.

BERMAN: All I can say is, thank you, Andy Scholes. But, more importantly, thank you, Tom Brady.

SCHOLES: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, the White House is now slamming a federal judge's ruling that stops the administration from rolling back protections for dreamers. New developments ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Good morning. Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman.

[10:00:00] Just moments ago, broken and unfair, those words from the president reacting to a court ruling that blocks the administration from removing protections for some 800,000 dreamers.