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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Government Shutdown: Day 33; Furloughed Frustration; Teachers' Strike; Blown Call Lawsuits; High Court Allows Transgender Service Ban. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired January 23, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Day 33 of the government shutdown. Two competing proposals to end it. Look for a vote tomorrow. Does either have a chance?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL KARL SCHULTZ, U.S. COAST GUARD: I find it unacceptable that Coast Guard men and women have to rely on food pantries.
THOMAS O'CONNOR, PRESIDENT, FBI AGENTS ASSOCIATION: FBI agents should not have to go work at a store.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Frustration mounts. Federal workers set to miss another paycheck in a couple of days.
[05:00:03] ROMANS: Striking. Los Angeles teachers are back in the classroom today, just as teachers in another major American city vote to walk off the job.
BRIGGS: Furious Saints fans are actually suing the NFL. That bad call that cost the New Orleans saints a trip to the Super Bowl.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: So, I'm right in my non-football sportness, yes, that was terrible?
BRIGGS: Nonfootball sportness? Yes, that was inexcusable. My 10- year-old is re-enacting the scene.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's Wednesday, January 23rd, it's 5:00 a.m. in the East.
The Senate is set to take two votes tomorrow on competing bills to end the 33-day old government shutdown. Neither of them is given any real chance of success. Now, one bill backed by Republicans would fund the president's border wall to the full $5.7 billion he's demanding, and it would offer three-year extension for Dreamers and immigrants in the U.S. on temporary protected status.
Now, the Democrats' proposal passed by the House has zero money for the border wall. It would reopen the federal government through February 8th while negotiations for a permanent fix go on. Both proposals are expected to fail because either would need 60 votes to advance.
BRIGGS: But White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders would not directly answer CNN's question about whether the president would veto the Democrats' plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: If it gets 60 votes, is the president going to veto that bill?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, the president has a proposal on the table. He has laid out what he would like to see and he has made in a clear time and time again. The real question is, why are Democrats not supporting the president's proposal?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Democrats are pushing back, saying the Republican plan is one-sided and made in bad faith. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeting if Trump gets away with shutting down the government to get what he wants, he'll do this again going forward. He will continue to hold workers hostage to his demands.
ROMANS: FBI agents sounding the alarm saying serious damage is being done to their counterterrorism and anti-gang operations. Dozens of agents releasing an anonymous report that concludes the impasse is weakening national security. The president of the FBI Agents Association calling on lawmakers to figure out a solution fast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS O'CONNOR, PRESIDENT, FBI AGENTS ASSOCIATION: Realistically, FBI agents should not have to go work at a store stocking shelves because they can't feed their families on their government job. They are still working 50-plus hours a week. So, when are they going to find time to go get that second time? It's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The TSA also pleading for help as the shutdown drags on, according to an internal e-mail obtained exclusively by CNN, officials there are asking for 250 officers to move temporarily from their home airports to bolster staff at airports that are short-handed. Ten percent of the TSA workforce had unexcused absences over the weekend. Three times one year earlier.
ROMANS: Union leaders who represent IRS employees say they expect absences to surge as part of a coordinated protest that could slow or stall taxpayer refunds. "The Washington Post" reporting that hundreds of IRS workers already have permission to skip work due to hardship. The Trump administration last week ordered more than 30,000 IRS employees back to work without day. Is it you're a worker, you pay for your babysitter, day care, the commute both ways, the train ticket, at some point, the math of going to work doesn't make any sense.
BRIGGS: Once the refunds statistic are getting processed, the impacts are going to get real for all of us.
The shutdown over demand for stronger border security forcing the State Department to cancel an international conference focused on stronger border security. Yes. The conference was scheduled to take place next month in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a goal of preventing the proliferation and transfer of weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons across borders.
ROMANS: The Smithsonian managed to stay open for the first 11 days of the shutdown, but has since closed and its museums and National Zoo as well. The Smithsonian secretary says the closure of restaurants, shops, IMAX theaters and other operations is costing the institution roughly $1 million in revenue each week that it won't get back.
BRIGGS: The head of the Coast Guard says members of his service are relying on food pantries and donations during the shutdown. Admiral Karl Schultz tweeting out a video of support to his struggling team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL KARL SCHULTZ, U.S. COAST GUARD: We're five-plus weeks into the anxiety and stress of this government lapse and your nonpay. You as members of the armed forces should not have to shoulder this burden. I find it unacceptable that Coast Guard men and women have to rely on food pantries and donations to get through day to day life as service members.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:05:08] BRIGGS: On January 15th, thousands of active duty Coast Guard members did not receive their regular paychecks marking the first time in history U.S. service members were not paid during a lapse in government funding.
ROMANS: I've said it before, I'll say it again, the richest country in the world not paying a branch of its military. The richest country in the world is not paying a branch of its military.
BRIGGS: Those that keep us safe.
ROMANS: Red lines for government workers.
A makeshift food pantry for federal workers springing up in Brooklyn. Sonia Smith, a furloughed TSA employee, drove all the way from Queens. She's never had to depend on anyone else for food, but as sole provider for her family, she has no choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONIA SMITH, FURLOUGHED TSA EMPLOYEE: I feel like I'm in another world. I can't believe this is happening. Every day I'm like, wow, here we go again. And I stay watching the news just to hear something positive, but it's not working. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sonia Smith said she's burning through her savings and if the shutdown lasts another week, she'll be spending time traveling from food pantry to food pantry.
BRIGGS: For more information about how you can assist federal workers affected by the shutdown, you can go to CNN.com/impact.
ROMANS: The state of the president's State of the Union Address is a little vague. House Speaker Pelosi is calling for the address to be delayed or delivered in writing. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says that's not stopping the president for now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: Nancy Pelosi invited the president, he accepted. She cited security concerns as a potential reason to delay that. The United States Secret Service and DHS have addressed those concerns and we're moving forward until something changes on that front.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now, Pelosi appears to be playing hard ball with the administration asking for a walk through the House to prepare for the State of the Union Address. That requests was denied.
BRIGGS: Special counsel Robert Mueller wants to know more about the Trump campaign's relationship with the National Rifle Association. A former Trump campaign aide tells CNN he was asked about it a year ago when he was interviewed by Mueller's team and CNN has learned that the special counsel had been asking questions about the NRA as recently as a month ago.
More now from Sara Murray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave.
We are getting our first sign that the special counsel is interested in the Trump campaign's relationship with the National Rifle Association during the 2016 election. Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign aide, telling CNN, when I was interviewed by the special counsel's office, I was asked about the Trump campaign and our dealings with the NRA.
Now, the questions from Nunberg's interview in February 2018 are the first indication that Mueller has been probing ties to this powerful gun rights group and Mueller's team was still asking questions about this as recently as a month ago, CNN has learned. Mueller's investigators wanted to know how Trump and his early operatives first formed a relationship with the NRA and how Trump wound up speaking at the group's annual 2015 meeting just months before he announced his presidential bid, according to Nunberg. Now, the NRA hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement, but it has come under plenty of public scrutiny for its ties to Russians like Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty to engaging in conspiracy against the U.S. And as part of her plea deal, she actually admitted to trying to build relationships with the NRA and trying to influence U.S. relations with Russia.
Lawmakers have also been looking into the NRA financial support of Trump in 2016 and whether there were any large sums of Russian money that flowed to the NRA. This is something the NRA denies.
Now, we don't know if Mueller is diving deeply into this NRA Trump connection, or just covering all of his bases. The special counsel's office declined to comment for our story, and the NRA didn't respond to request for comment. We should note when Mueller posts a series of written questions to President Trump, Trump was not asked about the NRA.
Back to you, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: OK, Sara Murray, thanks.
Michael Cohen's testimony before Congress next month will not include any topic that is under investigation. That's according to top Republicans on the house oversight committee. They claim Cohen's lawyer informed them that testimony will be unsatisfying and frustrating, because so much is off-limits. That could mean that the president's former attorney won't discuss lying to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow project or the payments made to women during the 2016 campaign in exchange for their silence.
ROMANS: The newest member of the committee that will question Michael Cohen is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The freshman Democrat from New York is one of several young progressives to join the oversight panel which will be very active investigating the Trump administration.
Joining her on the committee will be Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, and Ro Khanna of California. The committee is expected to hear testimony from Cohen on February 7th.
BRIGGS: Sources tell CNN that President Trump is not mad at Rudy Giuliani, despite his conflicting answers in interviews recently. Among the many contradictions, Giuliani told NBC that the president had been involved in talks about building Trump Tower Moscow nearly up to Election Day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[05:10:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout 2016.
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: Yes, probably up to could be up to as far as October/November.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: That answer contradicted months of statements by Trump and his team that discussions ended in January 2016. Within a day, Giuliani had to walk it back, saying his comments were, quote, hypothetical. Even so, a source familiar with the Trump team says, Rudy is not getting fired. The president thinks Giuliani is effective. Another source tells us Giuliani is one of the few people that the president has not been screaming about over the last few days.
ROMANS: Larry Kudlow is denying reports that the U.S. cancelled the meets with the Chinese government as the two countries rush to strike a trade deal. Now, there were reports that suggested that the United States had turned down an offer by Chinese negotiators to hold some preliminary talks this week, ahead of that critical meeting with China's chief trade negotiator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KUDLOW, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S TOP ECONOMIC ADVISER: There were no other intermediate meetings scheduled. The story is unchanged. We are moving towards negotiations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now, the Chinese Vice Premiere Le is expected to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and the Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for two days of talks next week. A White House spokeswoman says preparations for those talks are ongoing.
The two countries are racing to reach a deal by March 1st. If there is no deal, the U.S. jacks up tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent from 10 percent.
It's unclear how much of this is semantics. The United States didn't cancel meetings with the Chinese because there weren't really meetings on the book. But the Chinese have made overtures for he, we should have a deputy level discussions this week to see where the goalposts are for next week.
BRIGGS: A long way to go.
ROMANS: Just to show you where the headlines are. Even a whiff of talks of not talking --
BRIGGS: An out-of-control car on a slippery highway heads straight for a state troopers. See what happens next.
ROMANS: And the next big American city that could soon be dealing with a teacher strike.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:16:22] BRIGGS: LGBT activists expressing dismay this morning after the Supreme Court allowed President Trump's ban on military service by transgender people to take effect at least temporarily. The ban first announced by President Trump in a surprise tweet in 2017 will now go into effect while lower courts decide whether the ban itself is legal.
CNN's Ariane De Vogue has more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: A divided Supreme Court allowed President Trump's policy that block most transgender people there serving in the military to go into effect for now. It was a closely divided 5-4, the Supreme Court splitting down ideological lines. The court did not take a stance on the legality of the ban. They will let that play out in the lower courts.
This policy was first announced by the president via Twitter in 2017, it was later released by then Secretary of Defense James Mattis. It blocks individuals who have been diagnosed with a condition known as gender dysphoria from serving with limited exceptions. The Department of Defense says the policy was based on its professional military judgment so that the armed forces remain, quote, the most lethal and combat effective fighting force in the world. But it was a huge disappointment for supporters of LGBT rights, they call the policy irrational and cruel -- Dave, Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Ariane, thanks.
Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court once again took no action on the Trump administration's efforts to end protections for Dreamers. The leaves DACA in place for at least the next several months for the nearly 700 undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
ROMANS: Los Angeles teachers are back in the classroom this morning. Union leaders say early vote counting shows more than 80 percent of teachers voted to end the six-day strike. The agreement with the L.A. unified school district calls for decreased class sizes and more counselors and nurses. In addition to a 6 percent raise for teachers. The union says it will fight alongside the district and the mayor's office for an increase in state funding.
BRIGGS: As L.A. teachers head back to work, teachers in Denver are planning to strike. The Denver Teachers Association voted Tuesday to go on strike. The city's public schools though will be open today. The school superintendent says the district is committed to working with the union to reach an agreement. At the earliest a walkout could happen is Monday.
In the midst of some brutal weather, police in Wisconsin are usual a visual aid to encourage safe driving. The video shows a speeding car sliding across lanes in a icy snow-covered road and barreling towards a police officer who just manages to get out of the way. The county sheriff's office released the video to serve as a warning for drivers to go slow. As another round of severe winter weather approaches the region.
ROMANS: That's so dangerous.
BRIGGS: Indeed.
All right. Legendary Yankee closure Mariano Rivera, sandman, heads the hall of fame class of 2019, going where no major leaguer has gone before. Andy Scholes tells us how the voting went in the "Bleacher Report."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:53] BRIGGS: Yankees' legend Mariano Rivera can now add first ballot hall of famer to list of accomplishments. He's the first ever unanimously voted into the hall. Finally, writers got it right.
Andy Scholes has the "Bleacher Report" for us.
Hey, man.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, finally, Dave, is right.
Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Babe Ruth, no one had been an anonymous selection. There was always one writer who decided to leave occupy the legendary writer off the ballot out from principle. Not the case for Mariano Rivera. He's the greatest closer of all time, and he was ecstatic to learn he was the first selection ever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the first.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: You see him there, with his friends and family. He's baseball's all-time saves leader. He's not only one of the best players to play the game. He's also one of the best people. The Panama native has opened churches all over the world. And he's known for his philanthropy.
Going into the hall with Rivera are Mike Mussina, Edgar Martinez and Roy Halladay. Halladay going in on his first ballot. He died in a plane crash in 2017.
[05:25:02] His oldest son Braden tweeting: A great honor for a great player and an even greater person. Proud of you, dad. I love you.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens once again coming up short, both receiving 59 percent of the vote. You need to be on 75 percent of the ballots to get in.
All right. Preparations continue to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta. The field crew painting the team names in the end zones on Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. And officials say so far, the government shutdown hasn't affected Super Bowl preps at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ERIC FINKELSTEIN, NLF SENIOR DIRECTOR OF EVENTS: The Super Bowl is a secure one national security event. So we work very closely with all of the entities involved to ensure that we have the proper security in place to support the Super Bowl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And a shocker at the Australian Open. Serena Williams had four match points up 5-1 in the third set against Karolina Pliskova. And she lost. Serena turned her ankle. In six straight games. She said she didn't choke. Pliskova just played her best tennis ever.
All right. Finally, New Orleans Saints fans filed lawsuits over their loss to the Rams in NFC championship name. The fans claimed the egregious no call has caused mental anguish and emotional trauma, loss of faith in the NFL and loss of enjoyment of life. They're requesting Goodell to use his power to replay the final one minute and forty-nine seconds of regulation.
And, Dave, you know, Goodell does have that power. But in the rule book, it also says he should not use it because of a bad judgment call by an official. So, it's not going to happen.
I do applaud Saints fans for never letting this go and fighting it to the end. I applaud them for that.
BRIGGS: Yes, keep it up. Loss of enjoyment, man, that's dire after a football game, but you do feel for those Saints fans.
SCHOLES: Yes.
BRIGGS: Thank you, Andy.
Romans, what's coming up?
ROMANS: All right. Well, both sides of the plan, Dave, to end the government shutdown, but neither have enough votes to pass at this point. The latest on that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
