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The Situation Room

Capitol Hill, All 50 State Capitols Tighten Security Amid Warnings Of Armed Protests; Virginia Man Arrested In D.C. With Loaded Handgun, Ammunition, And Unauthorized Inauguration Credentials; Interview With Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Lag In Number Of Vaccines Distributed And Vaccines Administered; Biden Plans Nationwide Mask Mandate On Federal Government Grounds, During Interstate Travel; Biden Expected to Rescind Muslim Ban, Rejoin Paris Accords, Steps To Reassure Allies. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 16, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:29]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we begin with very disturbing breaking news, an arrest, which is calling into serious question how safe Wednesday's inauguration in Washington might be. The deployment of some 25,000 U.S. military troops from the U.S. National Guard have turned downtown Washington into a virtual fortress.

And tonight, we're learning why this is so absolutely crucial after a man was caught at a checkpoint downtown carrying a loaded gun, lots of ammunition and most troubling, fake inauguration credentials. The inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden is four days away.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is working his sources. He's up on Capitol Hill for us. Right now, CNN's Matt Rivers is over at Texas state capitol in Austin, where there are also serious developments unfolding. And CNN's Jeremy Diamond is over at the White House.

Shimon, what more do we know about this disturbing arrest by U.S. Capitol police of this Virginia man?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right, his name is Wesley Allen Beeler and what we're told is based on some information we've obtained is that he drove up to check point at North Capitol and E Street northeast and presented this fake credential, this inaugural credential.

And when the authorities checked on the list to see if he had, in fact, been credentialed to enter, they say they did not see that. And so when they asked some questions, he told them he had a weapon in the car and that's when they removed a 9 millimeter Glock and as you said, found over 500 rounds of ammunition.

One of the biggest concerns here, obviously, is that fake inaugural credential and also, obviously, the weapon and the ammunition in the car. We don't know much more at this point. Authorities are continuing to investigate what he was doing there.

But as you said, Wolf, there is a major security concern here, as you can see behind me, there are national guard troops. Just up and down the street here. We're on third street northwest. They are lined up all across the street here and surrounding the Capitol. This is now obviously, we're on the ground. Before we're showing you some aerial shots up on the roof.

And I just want to quickly show you one other thing, Wolf, down the street here. There are tents like this, and some of the intersections. There are magnetometers and that's where people who want to come to this area, they have to go to that area and go through the magnetometers, check your bags and let you through. This is all across downtown, D.C., Wolf.

BLITZER: Yeah, so 25,000 National Guard troops, Shimon, what at least another 10,000 law enforcement, Secret Service, DC police, Capitol police, the FBI and others, right?

PROKUPECZ: Yeah, that's right. In fact, when we were walking through here, a Secret Service, one of the agents here. He's from Texas. We asked him where he was from and he actually escorted us to this location.

So, even the media has to be escorted everywhere we go. They are leaving nothing to chance, Wolf, so they're escorting whoever they need to escort and basically more law enforcement coming in, FBI agents here and law enforcement from all across the country. The New York City, the NYPD said they're even sending officers here to help with the security, 200 officers from the NYPD will be here assisting of D.C. law enforcement and the Secret Service.

And also, the thing, yesterday, we heard from the Secret Service, they keep changing these plans here, Wolf. The head of the Secret Service here yesterday said that they were on their 11th security plan. Obviously, a lot of changes have been made since January 6th when that mob attacked the Capitol, so they are continuously changing their plans. We've seen that on the ground where some of the fencing that is behind us, so it's not here even yesterday and so this morning, new fencing went up and that's just continuing to go.

There are more Secret Service agents on the ground, walking around. You can see that and we're starting to see the increase in National Guard troops. That is becoming very apparent as we walk through this area here in downtown D.C., Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Stand by. I want to go to Matt Rivers. He's in Austin, Texas.

Matt, give us a sense of the security situation at the Texas capitol today. We're hearing reports that protesters are on the scene, that some of them have guns. What are you seeing? What are you hearing?

[16:05:01]

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Wolf, we have seen several people like that throughout the day today. Not all that unusual in the state of Texas where it's legal to open carry, not the grounds of the Capitol but out here on the street where we are.

You can see behind me, there are a couple of protesters. There's some flags lay up against the fence over there, but really, it's been quite calm out here all day long. But that is not to say they're not taking this seriously. So, I want to show, if you want to walk over here, and walk up the steeps, normally, in a normal time, you could walk into the capitol grounds here. This is the state capitol building behind me.

And normally, this is open to the public. The capitol building is open to the public. But right now, it's not. It's going to be closed. I can show you the security precautions the Department of Homeland Security is taking. The building is closed and grounds, Wolf, are going to be closed at least through Wednesday, according to security officials here.

You can see there are dozens of officers inside these grounds. They've been here for several days now. Although this is the first day this has been closed up. You can see there's a padlock chain here on the fence, not allowing people inside at the moment.

And DPS says, look, they're doing this out of an abundance of caution. They said they are trafficking several different events. One that was for today, two more they say they're tracking for tomorrow and they're saying they don't have any threats, per se, that would be deemed as violent, Wolf, but clearly, they are taking those kinds of precautions after what we saw last week in Washington, DC. Security officials here in Austin are saying they're not willing to take any chances.

And so, this scene behind me, closed capitol grounds, dozens of extra officers and some with riot gear on them. That's going to remain on them for the next few days.

BLITZER: Yeah, earlier in the week, the FBI issued a bulletin that all 50 state capitols should take very, very serious precautions out of deep concern. Max, stand by. Jeremy Diamond is over at the White House for us.

Jeremy, President Trump made it clear he will not, repeat, not attend the inauguration of the president-elect on Wednesday, but Vice President Pence has been very visible over the last few days. He will attend the inauguration. He's carrying out the duties that one might think that the president himself would do.

So what's going on? Is the vice president, for all practical purposes, assume some of Trump's duties?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the vice president is certainly filling a vacuum left by President Trump here in the final days of Trump's presidency. The president is behind closed doors, holed up inside the White House. He has no public events on his schedule.

And meanwhile, Vice President Pence is traveling today to one of two military installations that he will be visiting this weekend to try and talk about the Trump foreign policy achievements that they see over their four years in office and also to kind of send a public signal here, to make very clear that there is leadership, still, in this government, and we've seen Vice President Pence fill this role in several other ways over the last few days.

We saw him head to the Capitol where he visited with National Guards men protecting that area ahead of the inauguration, he headed to the federal emergency management agency to be briefed on the security precautions being taken ahead of the inauguration and he also, most notably, perhaps, gave a phone call to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, something that President Trump, of course, has not done as it relates to President-elect Joe Biden.

So, in multiple ways, you are seeing Vice President Pence really fill this leadership vacuum and act in a way much more consistent with most transitions of power in terms of showing the peaceful transition of power happening and helping to actually make it happen in actually, including by attending some of those security briefings, most visibly, of course, when he attends the inauguration, and President Trump would already be long gone.

We are hearing, Wolf, that President Trump is expected to leave Washington on Wednesday morning. That's the day of the inauguration and he is asking aides to prepare for a showy sendoff for him, a military sendoff.

We're not clear if that would be at the White House or Joint Base Andrews where he would be boarding Air Force One for the first time but the president has also been asking that there'd be crowds of his supporters there to really show him off in fashion, in the same way that we have seen the president conduct so much of his four years in office.

But as it relates to assisting a peaceful transition of power, one that's really not like any other we have seen in modern American history, in large part because of President Trump's rhetoric. Now though, the president is doing nothing to try and allay his supporters' concerns that this election was stolen. He's continuing to maintain that view, certainly not doing anything to encourage his supporters to accept Joe Biden as the legitimate next president of the United States and he's also just simply staying out of view -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yeah, at least he doesn't have Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or these other social media posts to rile up those supporters.

[16:10:05]

All right. Jeremy, thank you. Shimon, Matt, guys, we'll get back to you. I know all of you are working your sources. I want to bring in now the Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.

Attorney General, thank you so much for joining us.

I want to get to, first of all, get your reaction to the breaking news that you heard right at the top of the hour about this man stopped with a loaded gun, lots of ammunition, 500 rounds, fake inauguration credentials, stopped by D.C. Capitol police. He's from your state, the commonwealth of Virginia.

First of all, can you share any information? What do you know about this individual?

MARK HERRING (D), VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, I don't have much more to add than what you've been reporting, Wolf. And thank you for having me.

I think it does show a few things though. First of all, it shows that the planning and taking these threats seriously is really important. And what we saw on January 6th involved thousands of people storming the capitol in an act of domestic terrorism, it was a national disgrace and desecration of the symbol of our democracy and culmination of the Trump presidency which has been marked by lies and violence and words matter.

So, I think it shows that words matter and the planning that is going into the security is really important and while what happened on January 6th involved thousands of people even if the crowds aren't as large, it only takes a few people or just one to cause a great deal of harm.

BLITZER: Yeah, certainly, indeed. We know that one individual, a high- profile arrest also from Virginia, that individual Robert Keith Packer, the man that was seen wearing that shirt glorifying Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp. We also know that two police officers from Virginia were arrested.

What can you tell us about these Virginians and why do you think several Virginians were actually arrested for storming the U.S. Capitol?

HERRING: Well, you know, there's going to have to be a deep look in a 9/11-style commission to really get to all of what happened and why. But I think a lot of it is -- gets back to how words matter. You know, this started -- of course, it's been all through the Trump presidency, but especially the last couple of months about the lies of a stolen election.

And so many Republican leaders went along with it, and continued to repeat those lies and repeat the conspiracy theories to the point where the president seemed to be pressuring a secretary of state to falsify an election, and then storming the capitol to try to interfere with what Congress was doing for its congressional duty.

And so, words matter and, in fact, these political leaders, some of these Republican leaders who should be coming out and saying, "No, this is wrong," are doing just the opposite.

You know, one of the -- one state official, a state senator from Virginia and a gubernatorial candidate, went to D.C., participated in some of the events that led to this seditious riot, spoke and addressed the crowd. And you know, she spoke on the Senate floor just two days ago trying to explain herself. But in fact, actually doubled down and repeated the same conspiracy theories, the same lies and actually called them patriots.

You know, wearing a Camp Auschwitz shirt in the capitol, no, there's nothing patriotic about that. Storming the capitol with Confederate flags, there's nothing patriotic about that. And I think part of the problem, so many of these Republican leaders should be calling it out and instead are just continuing to repeat the lies and the conspiracy theories and words matter.

BLITZER: They certainly do. Good luck in Virginia. The Attorney General Mark Herring, thank you so much. Thank you so much for joining us.

HERRING: Thank you for having me and stay safe.

BLITZER: You too, please.

And join CNN for all day live coverage of the inauguration of the President-elect Joe Biden, history making event in a truly unprecedented time. Special all day live coverage starts Wednesday right here on CNN.

The arrest of that Virginia man is just another awful reminder that uniting our nation after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol will be easier said than done. Is there anything President-elect Biden can do to make that happen?

We're going to discuss that and a lot more. Get all the late-breaking developments when we come back.

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[16:18:47]

BLITZER: The breaking news we're following. We learn a Virginia man was arrested here in Washington, D.C. after he tried to pass through a police checkpoint, once again, in the nation's capitol with a loaded handgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and according to a source, fake inauguration credentials.

Friday's arrest coming days after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol to try to overturn the results of a free and fair election here in the United States. After the president of the United States and his supporters constantly repeated false, totally false claims of fraud. With that, we're getting a clear picture of what's at stake if these lies continue to spread unchecked and if the political divide in this country continues to only deepen.

Once again, Abby Phillip is joining us, our CNN political correspondent.

Abby, so many Americans sadly still believe the lie that the election was stolen.

What role can the President-elect Biden, for example, persuade them otherwise to move the country forward?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's really hard to say what Biden is going to be able to do about this because the reason that so many Americans believe that is because Republicans spread this lie for so many months. Not just the president but many members of Congress and elected officials up and down, you know, the spectrum here.

[16:20:08]

And so, the responsibility is theirs to tell truth to their supporters.

Now, Biden, I think, is going to focus on two things. One, governing, but secondly, trying to work with people that he considers to be reasonable. And I do wonder if that will be helpful in terms of turning the temperature down, getting some people who have been in a very Trumpian mode to get back into a kind of sense of normalcy where some of these lies that they've been willing to tolerate over the Trump era, especially in the last few months, they are no longer willing to do and say that.

And I think we've already seen some hints of that as more and more Republicans, especially in the Senate, have come forward and said clearly that there has been no fraud and Joe Biden was the duly elected president of the United States.

BLITZER: Yeah, there was a free and fair election in the United States. President Trump was the loser in the election. He's leaving office on Wednesday. But sadly, the conspiracy theories that he inspired, they are all over the place. Not only here in Washington, but all over the country. QAnon has adherence in positions of power within the Republican Party right now, including in Congress.

Has Trump unleashed something that's likely to continue and spin and spin maybe out of control?

PHILLIP: I think it's already out of control, Wolf. This is out of control. We are basically a lockdown state here in Washington because of threats that have been sewn by adherence to the president's lies. I mean, just even yesterday, the president was still entertaining the MyPillow executive pushing him to declare martial law and do all kinds of things in furtherance of this lie about the election.

The Republican Party has lost control over this situation. So much so that more than half of Republicans in this country believe that there was widespread fraud where there was not in the last election. It's the responsibility of leaders in that party to turn the tide here and it's going to take leadership. Clearly, you know, very few Republicans have been willing to speak up.

You see people like Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney but many more will need to do that if they want to take back control over their party and have voters who are operating from the same set of facts the rest of the world is operating on, not some kind of imaginary conspiracy theory invented by President Trump.

BLITZER: We know, Abby, that President Trump is always desperate for attention. How much could he actually hinder the country moving forward even from the sidelines?

PHILLIP: Well, I think that's a huge, huge question. I mean, when he's no longer president, he's not going to command the same amount of attention that he did before. And not only that, I think probably the most notable thing that's happened in the last week is that he's been banned from social media, from Facebook, from Twitter, from so many different social media companies that he's relied on to get his message out.

I think that's really going to tamp down on the degree to which he can set the agenda for Republicans. But at the same time, it's going to depend on whether Republicans in positions of power are willing to step away from Trumpism in the coming months and even years. He also is going to be trying to claim that he will run again in 2024 and using that as a sort of scare tactic for Republicans.

I am not sure that he will actually do that but I think the fear that they might have of the president running again is going to be a force within the Republican Party for some time. Wolf, it's also notable, the Republican National Committee is still being run by a Trump loyalist, Ronna Romney McDaniels. So, even at the very core of the Republican Party, Trump is embedded there, and I think it will be hard to change that overnight.

BLITZER: Let's not forget. Since the election on November 3rd, he's raised at least $200 million, maybe $300 million in various campaign money that he could use in all sorts of ways if he decides to do so.

Abby, thanks once again for joining us. I just want to alert our viewers, we want to congratulate Abby, who next Sunday, not this Sunday, next Sunday, will begin a new job here as the host of "INSIDE POLITICS", Sunday mornings on 8:00 a.m., right here on CNN. That would be January 24th.

Congratulations, Abby, on that.

PHILLIP: Thank you so much, Wolf.

BLITZER: I know you're going to be a fabulous anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS" on Sunday mornings and one more note.

Make sure once again to tune in tomorrow night 10:00 p.m. Eastern for her CNN special report, "Kamala Harris: Making History", where she talks with the soon to be vice president of the United States and her family.

Abby, a very, very busy journalist here in Washington.

[16:25:02]

As we follow all the developments of and arrests last night of a Virginia man in Washington, D.C. with a loaded gun over 500 rounds of ammunition and unauthorized inauguration credentials. One lawmaker says the biggest threat to their safety may be from Republicans across the aisle.

Stand by. This is so disturbing.

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BLITZER: Federal prosecutors have opened at least, at least 275 cases stemming from the Capitol Hill riot.

[16:30:00]

BLITZER: And a U.S. intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN says that extremists view the capitol attack as a success, meaning the threat is clearly not going away.

We're now learning that, last night, a man was arrested in downtown Washington with a loaded gun, 500 rounds of ammunition, and fake inauguration credentials.

I'm joined now by the Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

Senator, I know there's a lot going on. Thanks so much for joining us.

How concerned are you about the threats to the inauguration on Wednesday, four days away, and potentially what could happen in the coming days?

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Well, it's certainly reassuring that intense planning has occurred based on what happened a week ago Wednesday. I feel it may be one of the safest places in the world to be on inauguration day.

There's other threats I think people continue to worry about, the possibility of drones or things of this nature.

But certainly on the ground, I think the perimeter is going to be highly secure.

BLITZER: Well, that's encouraging to hear that. And it's an enormous security presence developed. I've never seen anything like this in Washington and I suspect you haven't either.

And 25,000 National Guard troops, 10,000 FBI U.S. Capitol Hill Police, D.C. police, Secret Service, they're all over the place, as they should be given the threats out there.

As you know, Senator, some Democrats say one media threat -- and this is unbelievable to actually hear it -- right across the aisle.

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, put it in very stark terms yesterday. I want you to watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I did not go to the secure location because I feared other members of Congress that would have allowed harm to me.

So I was not in the secure location that day. I was almost never in a secure location that day.

One of the most frightening things is, as I had said earlier, is just not knowing who's there to help and who's there to hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: An extraordinary comment. She's so concerned about colleagues from the House of Representatives potentially endangering her.

Do you share those concerns, Senator?

MERKLEY: I do not, on the Senate side.

It's so disheartening to hear that we're at the point where the chasm between the party is so large, the incitement to intense opposition is strong that people fear the actions of their colleagues.

I certainly disagree profoundly with the actions of my colleagues in terms of their decision to essentially burn the ballots of Arizona and Pennsylvania.

But in terms of feeling personally at risk, no.

BLITZER: Pretty amazing development that happened in the House in the past few days. They put magnetometers around the floor of the House of Representatives.

So lawmakers have to go on the metal detectors before they can walker onto on the floor of the House of Representatives. That's a pretty amazing development, in and of itself.

At the same time, Senator, there are allegations that Republican lawmakers or their staffers actually aided the insurrectionists who showed up and stormed the capitol last week.

Have you seen or heard anything that indicates there was that kind of inside help?

MERKLEY: Well, nothing on the Senate side.

The allegations I've seen are all about House members who may have worked in partnership in planning or assisting or giving advance tours.

Again, it just, it's stunning. Absolutely stunning situation we're in.

It's why I keep coming back to the fact that we have to have a huge effort for accountability in every way. The investigations that are under way, the prosecutions that need to follow, completing the trial in the Senate.

Hopefully -- though, I'm not optimistic -- hopefully, with conviction and a ban on Trump for life and certainly passing the For the People Act, that is to take on the factors that are corrupting our election system, not the factors that Trump pointed out, but the gerrymandering, the voter suppression, which is completely out of control and the dark money.

And so that would be a really strong way to shore up our institutions as well as the security side that we're focused on at the moment.

BLITZER: You raise the issue of the upcoming Senate impeachment trial. He was impeached in the House. Let's see if he is convicted in the Senate.

You need two-thirds votes, 67 Senators, 50 Democrats, so you need 17 Republicans to join the Democrats, if all the Democrats vote to convict.

Talk a little bit about the timeline you expect. When do you think this trial will begin?

[16:35:02]

MERKLEY: Well, the Senate rules say immediately upon receiving word from the House. So Nancy Pelosi, if she conveys the articles on the 20th or 21st, we'll convene at least by the next day.

I hope that we will be able to design a process that's far more expeditious than what we saw a year ago.

We have one straightforward charge, an incitement to insurrection. We have a lot of evidence, some of which we've witnessed ourselves.

Their sides will want to make the legal case whether you can continue with a trial or have a trial after the president is out of office. I'm absolutely convinced that you can.

And the point would be, of course, to be to apply the second punishment, not remove from office, but disqualification to hold office in the future or any position of trust in the government.

And I'm hoping that it could be the sort of thing that could be done in two or three days.

We have nominations. We have the economy. We have the pandemic. And then we have all the work that's been postponed, on issues from climate chaos to the foundations of thriving families, health care housing and education.

BLITZER: You really think there could be a trial that could be completed within two or three days?

So far, every impeachment trial that has gone on involving a president, in this particular case, a former president, has gone, the shortest, it's been about 20 or 21 days.

MERKLEY: Yes. It's a far simpler case that's being presented. And it will depend a lot on the will of the Republicans, if they wish to stipulate certain facts, rather than having an extensive review of the multitudinous of people giving the same evidence over and over again.

It could be done just like the House, so much shorter than it was a year ago, the actual impeachment process. The Senate could be much shorter.

I have a feeling that we Republicans will not be helpful in this, that they engage as a strategy in delay and obstruction. But if we had their cooperation, it could be much faster than a year ago.

BLITZER: Senator Merkley, thank you so much for joining us. Stay safe out there.

MERKLEY: You're welcome, Wolf. Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

The coronavirus vaccine that does nothing sitting in a vial. But delays right now here in the United States are plugging the vaccine rollout across the country.

And as the U.S. nears 400,000 COVID deaths over this past year, time is of the essence. Which states are doing the rollout right? Which are doing it wrong?

We have lots to discuss. There's more news right after this.

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[16:41:47]

BLITZER: We'll have much more on the breaking news just ahead. Arrest of a Virginia man here in Washington, D.C., with a gun, ammunition, unauthorized inauguration credentials. A lot developing on that front.

But right now, I want to get to another critically important story. The coronavirus pandemic, which is getting worse and worse here in the United States.

The global coronavirus death toll has now surpassed two million. Here in the U.S., the pandemic death toll could surpass 400,000 Americans dead before President-Elect Biden is sworn in on Wednesday.

And as variants of this virus seem to increase the infection rate, there's not a second to waste when it comes to making, distributing, and injecting vaccines.

CNN medical analyst, Dr. Megan Ranney, is joining us right now. She's an emergency physician at Brown University.

Dr. Ranney, thank you for joining us. Sadly, we're seeing great lags between the number of vaccines that

have been delivered to various states out there and the number of actual injections that have been given. What's going on here?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: You know, there are a bunch of different reasons for that, Wolf. In many ways, it feels like the PPE crisis all over again, where we're hamstrung by our lack of last-mile distribution systems.

There are things ranging from difficulty getting the vaccines from their cold storage facilities to the places where they actually need to be administered, to challenges in identifying who the next person to administer a dose is.

We've had reports of vaccine doses having to be thrown out because, in some states, administrators are being told if they administer it to the wrong person, they could get fined.

There are all of these logistical difficulties preventing us from getting those vaccine doses in arms.

And that's not even to mention the challenges of getting vaccines from their central storage facilities, from Pfizer, Moderna, and the federal government, to the states.

BLITZER: When it comes, Dr. Ranney, to the vaccination plans that we're all seeing right now some states are getting the doses out relatively well, others are struggling.

Why do you think there are these discrepancies?

RANNEY: So I think it's a few things. You know, remember, up until late December, there was virtually no funding provided to the states to provide for these last-mile logistics.

We have states across the country with underfunded public health departments, overworked health care systems, that have been working on the edge for 10 months straight.

Our health care workers, our public health professionals are already exhausted.

And then they've been asked to add on this whole new logistical challenge to their existing work without extra funding, without extra staff.

We're seeing some states that were better prepared and better funded that are doing a better job. Whereas, those states that lacked leadership and lacked funding are, not surprisingly, doing a worse job.

My home state of Rhode Island, we've been quite active in trying to get vaccines out into the highest-risk neighborhoods through mobile vans and door to door, knocking on people's doors as well as through health care facilities.

While other states, it's like a Black Friday sale, first come first serve, people lining up overnight.

[16:45:00]

I think a lot of it is explained by the state's focus on the importance of public health as a key strategy for their state's economy and wellbeing.

BLITZER: We're getting, Dr. Ranney, some new details of some of the executive actions President-Elect Biden is planning on signing once he's in office. He is sworn in on Monday.

One is a mask mandate on all federal property and during interstate travel. Do you think that will be enough, some sort of nationwide mandate? It's a limited nationwide mandate.

RANNEY: I think every element of that plan is necessary and, together, it may be sufficient.

I'm thrilled at the idea of interstate travel requiring a mask mandate. I'm supposed to be flying down to D.C. this week to, hopefully, come to inauguration.

And I would love -- yes, there's officially a rule that people are supposed to be masked on the planes. But I would love for there to be rules about masks whenever you're traveling between states.

I think any time that we set a norm that masking is expected, that helps to remind people that it does help to save them and their communities.

Now, is that interstate travel and the federal properties going to be enough, that's debatable.

Ideally, we have it in every single state, and not just the mandate, but also enforcement of it because policy alone is not sufficient. But it is a step in the right direction.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Dr. Megan Ranney. Thanks for everything you're doing. Stay safe out there.

RANNEY: Thank you.

BLITZER: With the nation's capitol essentially on lockdown, surrounded by fencing, barricades, and over 25,000 National Guard troops, many world leaders simply can't believe what is going on, what's happening in the United States of America right now. We're going to talk about that.

What President-Elect Biden may do to try to change how the United States is seen abroad.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:23] BLITZER: Right now, so much of Washington, D.C., is looking more like a fortress than the seat of democracy as authorities race to try to secure the U.S. capitol and prevent yet another violent attack.

And as Americans watch in horror, so, too, are the country's strongest international allies, as global leaders await the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden.

CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is joining us now.

Nic, what are some of the closest allies of the United States saying right now about what they're seeing going on here in Washington?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Wolf, it's certainly getting a lot of headline attention.

The idea that you can have as many armed U.S. troops on the streets of Washington, D.C., as you have deployed internationally in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan, multiple times more, that's catching people's headlines.

You know, the fact that there are big fences being put up. Huge areas being locked down. That also is getting a lot of attention.

We saw leaders like Boris Johnson, who is formally very close to President Trump, denouncing the insurrection and President Trump's role in it just 10 days ago.

Now leaders are being a little more quiet, waiting to see how the process plays out, inauguration.

But the real concerns here are perhaps less around the event itself, shock and surprise about the level of security that's required.

But the real concern is how much of a distraction for President-Elect Joe Biden will this be going forward. Will there be continuing acts of violence?

When, you know, the United States allies here in Europe or Japan and South Korea and the Indo-Pacific region, they want President-Elect Joe Biden to be able to focus on their primary concerns, be it China, which is also a concern for Biden and for the Europeans firming up a strong transatlantic relationship. All of these are important things.

But what they see on the streets in Washington today, it is, frankly, a worry. And I think they're all going to be holding their breath to hope that Inauguration Day goes off without a hitch, and whatever may come after, President-Elect Biden can get on top of that quickly, and deal with international issues, too.

BLITZER: Yes, so many world leaders, America's closest friends, allies, are having a hard time understanding what is going on here in Washington, D.C., right now.

We've also learned, Nic, just learned a little while ago what some of President-Elect Biden's first orders of business will be after he takes office on Wednesday.

Among them, an executive order to rescind what's called the Muslim ban to rejoin the Paris Climate Accords.

You think these steps are going to be enough to, let's say, reestablish America's strength on the world stage and reassure the closest allies?

ROBERTSON: It's a huge first step, Wolf. And the fact that President- Elect Joe Biden wants to do this the first day is absolutely a message that allies will want to hear.

This is going to help reestablish the legitimacy of the United States.

Let's say, in South Korea and Japan, where they have seen under President Trump this sort of call for them to pay more to keep U.S. troops on their soil, when it's all in the United States and Japan and South Korea's interest to have a strong ready-to-go military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

And here in Europe, when you have President-Elect Joe Biden saying that he'll rejoin the Paris Climate Change Accord, this is the sort of U.S. politics that they want to see here in Europe.

This is what's going to keep the strength and connection of the transatlantic alliance strong and alive in a way that it was being damaged under President Trump. So this is a good first step.

[16:55:06]

But everyone will recognize, Wolf, this is a signature. These will be signatures, important signatures on paper.

But President-Elect Joe Biden is still going to have all of his domestic issues to deal with.

So I don't think anyone is fooled that Joe Biden is really going to be able to turn his back on what's happening at home and really focus internationally.

But undoubtedly, these are going to be very welcome steps. And they are ones that, frankly, world leaders were expecting, had been telegraphed. And if they hadn't had come, that would have been a desperate worry.

BLITZER: Yes.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much for that analysis.

We're following all of the late breaking developments here in "THE SITUATION ROOM," out special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM."

Including the arrest of a Virginia man here in Washington, D.C., with a gun and 500 rounds of ammunition. This, as the nation prepares for potential violence.

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