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The Situation Room

Articles Of Impeachment To Be Delivered In The Senate; President Joe Biden's First Week Actions In His Presidency; Growing Concerns In The U.S. On New U.K. Coronavirus Variant; Defense Secretary Austin Formally Sworn In By V.P. Harris; Finger Pointing After National Guard Troops Were Forced To Sleep In A Parking Garage; Janet Yellen Poised To Become First Female Treasury Secretary; Thousands Arrested As Protests In Support Of Putin Opposition Leader Sweep Across Russia. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 25, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): Thank you very much.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And was re-elected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (on camera): We just lost Kyung Lah, but our coverage on CNN continues right now. I will see you tomorrow. Thanks so much.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following breaking news.

Less than two hours from now, the House of Representatives will deliver to the U.S. Senate an article of impeachment against former President Trump, charging him with incitement of insurrection in connection with attack on the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers were certifying the Electoral College votes. Trump is the first American president ever to be impeached twice.

Meanwhile, President Biden is pushing ahead with his agenda and his quest for bipartisanship. In his first news conference of his presidency just a little while ago, he pledged to "eliminate the vitriol." He didn't rule out trying to pass his proposed coronavirus relief bill without Republican support, but he said the decision depends on how negotiations go.

Let's got to Capitol Hill right now. Our chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, is joining us. Manu, the article of impeachment will be marched to the Senate in just a couple of hours, less than a couple of hours. Walk us through what exactly happens.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. This will kick start the process about whether former President Donald Trump will be charged with inciting an insurrection that led to the deadly riot here on Capitol Hill on January 6th.

This article will be marched over from the House to the Senate. The House impeachment managers who will prosecute the case in the Senate will read aloud the text of that very brief, one article charging the former president with inciting the insurrection. And then afterwards, tomorrow will be the day in which the senators, who act as jurors, will be sworn in.

Now, presiding over this case will be Patrick Leahy, who is the presiding Officer of the Senate. He's a Senate Pro Temp, the most senior member, not Chief Justice John Roberts who presided over the 2020 trial because this is not involving a sitting president, but a former president. And that's given rise to a number of concerns, particularly from Republicans about whether this is constitutional or not, to try a former president.

But today, the Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, took to the Senate floor and pushed back on that criticism and said going after former President Trump is within the bounds of the constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The theory that the Senate can't try former officials would amount to a constitutional get-out-of-jail free card for any president who commits an impeachable offense. There seems to be some hope that Republicans could impose the former president's impeachment on process grounds rather than grappling with his actual awful conduct.

Let me be very clear. This is not going to fly. The trial is going to happen. It is certainly and clearly constitutional. And if the former president is convicted, there will be a vote to disqualify him from future office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU (on camera): And that is going to be a central argument that House Democratic impeachment managers will make on the Senate floor when it comes time to argue the case. The arguments themselves won't be heard in public until the week of February 8th. That's when they plan to begin those opening arguments.

But the next two weeks, there will be briefs that will be filed on both sides laying out why they believe this is constitutional, why the president and the views of Democrats believe that he needs to be convicted and the defense will lay out its case about why this should be thrown out.

Now, overall, the question remains, too. How far will Democrats go? Will they bring in witnesses who may lay out more of Donald Trump's thinking at the time in which he spoke to that rally in January 6th and to the run-up of that rally and what he was doing behind the scenes to subvert the will of voters who elected Joe Biden? That will be a question. Will they bring in witnesses? I just asked Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, whether or not he believes there should be witnesses. He said that has not been decided yet. So that is one key question. Other questions remain, too, about the length of this trial.

But Wolf, in talking to Democrats, they believe that this trial will not go as long as the 2020 trial when Donald Trump was charged with abuse of power and obstructing Congress. They believe this trial will be less than 21 days. Uncertain how long it could go, but it could eat up a chunk of February at a key time when Joe Biden is trying to get his nominees confirmed and they're trying to move on a COVID relief package.

And Wolf, overall question, too, will 17 Republican senators break ranks, join with 50 Democrats and convict Donald Trump? At the moment, that appears increasingly unlikely. Wolf?

BLITZER: You need a two-thirds majority to convict. So, they'll deliver the article of impeachment to the Senate tonight. The trial won't start until the week of February 8th, but tomorrow afternoon there's also some related activity. Tell us about that.

[17:04:58]

RAJU: Yes. That's when the senators themselves will take their oaths to be jurors, essentially, in this proceeding. And there will also be a summons that will be sent to the president and his team. And then after that, the ceremonial aspects will be done and that's when they'll start to lay out specific arguments in briefs.

It will be delivered to the Senate, which is acting as a court here. And then those arguments will occur on February 8th. So, for about two weeks, things will be quiet for a little while as the Senate tries to move on other parts of the agenda and see if they can get bipartisan support to confirm some of Joe Biden's nominees.

BLITZER: Yes. Those 100 senators are supposed to be jurors in this trial. All right, Manu, thank you very, very much.

Let's go to the White House right now. Our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, is joining us. Kaitlan, we just heard from the president a few minutes ago, talking about his latest executive order, the lagging effort to vaccinate Americans against the coronavirus. Update our viewers on the very latest.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Wolf. This is his first formal press conference since taking office and Joe Biden came out and he talked about that campaign promise you heard so many times, where he said 100 million people would be vaccinated in the first 100 days that he was in office.

But because that means 1 million people per day, and experts said we already reached that threshold last week, President Biden raised it earlier today to 1.5 million people per day. That is his new goal, he said. But Wolf, he also warned that before we round a major corner in this

coronavirus pandemic, he said that we could reach deaths upwards of 660,000 people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice-over): President Joe Biden now predicting every American who wants a vaccine can get one by this spring.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we'll be able to do that this spring and -- but it's going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we've ever tried.

COLLINS (voice-over): That is sooner than Trump administration officials had estimated and comes after Biden's health officials had declined to make a prediction.

XAVIER BECERRA, U.S. HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY NOMINEE: And once we have that information, I guarantee you, we will share it.

COLLINS (voice-over): In his first press conference since taking office, Biden also raised his goal of 1 million COVID-19 vaccinations per day after experts said that threshold was already reached.

BIDEN: I think with the grace of God and the goodwill of the neighbor and the creek not rising as the old saying goes, I think we may be able to get that to 150 -- 1.5 million a day rather than 1 million a day.

COLLINS (voice-over): While the White House hammers out details with Congress, Biden's first days in office have been filled with efforts to undo President Trump's actions.

After Trump tried to terminate COVID-19 travel restrictions on his way out the door, today Biden reinstated them on non-U.S. citizens who have been in Brazil, Ireland, the U.K. and much of Europe while also extending them to South Africa, due to the spread of a coronavirus variant strain.

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I believe the travel ban will be important in addition to having a situation where anybody coming into the country now is going to be required to have a negative test before they even get on the plane.

COLLINS (voice-over): In the Oval Office today with his new defense secretary by his side, Biden also reversed Trump's ban on transgender troops serving in the military.

BIDEDN: And what I'm doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform.

COLLINS (voice-over): Trump had announced the ban by tweet, effectively ending an Obama administration effort that allowed transgender service members to serve openly. TRUMP: I think I'm doing a lot of people a favor by coming out and

just saying it. As you know, it's been a very complicated issue for the military. It's been a very confusing issue for the military.

COLLINS (voice-over): Meanwhile, the Justice Department watchdog announced today that he'll investigate whether any current or former officials tried to improperly use the department to "alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election."

That comes after "The New York Times" first reported that a little- known Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, secretly plotted with President Trump about ousting the acting attorney general and using the department to pressure Georgia lawmakers to overturn the state's results.

While it was another stunning sign of how far Trump tried to go to change the election, he never followed through fearing mass resignations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (on camera): Now, Wolf, the president may be about to add another member to his cabinet officially because we believe Janet Yellen is on the cusp of being confirmed as the U.S. Treasury secretary. That comes after Senator Mitch McConnell said earlier that he would vote to confirm her. And Wolf, once she is confirmed, she will be the first female treasury secretary in American history.

WOLF: All right. We'll let our viewers know as soon as that happens. We expect it to happen fairly soon. And that will be an historic moment, indeed. All right, Kaitlan, thank you very, very much.

Let's some more on all of this. Our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, is with us. Our CNN chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is with us. And Republican election attorney Ben Ginsburg is also with us.

So, Gloria, we'll soon see this one article of impeachment against the former president, former President Trump, be transferred from the House to the Senate. This is an important and historic step that's unfolding right now.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it is, Wolf. First of all, we have a twice-impeached president which we've never seen before.

[17:10:00]

I think it's also an existential moment for the Republican Party where senators are going to have to decide whether they want to convict a president of inciting an insurrection, something we've never considered before.

And it's a complication for Joe Biden because he wants to get his COVID relief package through. He wants to get his nominees confirmed. And this will take up an awful lot of time that I think if given the choice, he would rather spend doing those things than impeaching -- convicting, I should say, Donald Trump.

BLITZER (on camera): Yes, I think you're right. You know, Dana, you had a chance to speak with Republican Senator Mitt Romney yesterday. You asked him if he thought it was appropriate that the former president was impeached by the House. Once again, let's listen to what he told you on "State of the Union."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I believe that what is being alleged and what we saw, which is incitement to insurrection, is an impeachable offense. If not, what is? It continues the pattern that the president had of trying to corrupt the election by his communication with Ukraine, by trying to corrupt the election with regards to the lie that he has been spreading over the last several months.

And then, if you will, firing up a crowd and encouraging them to march on the capitol at the time that the Congress was carrying out its constitutional responsibility to certify the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (on camera): Dana, that opinion clearly doesn't seem to be all that popular with other Republicans right now, does it?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: At least not in public. And at least not, for the most part it seems right now, so much that it will guide their vote on the -- during the impeachment trial. But, remember, of course, Mitt Romney, Ben's old boss, is somebody who, A, was the only Republican to vote yes on one of the articles of impeachment a year ago.

And, B, was out there very publicly on this network and elsewhere, warning that if the president and his enablers didn't change their tune, then there would be violence and, unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.

So, you're right. He certainly not in the norm. He doesn't have a lot of people around him who are willing to say what he's willing to say and potentially willing to do what he's going to do. We don't know how he's going to vote on this one article.

But if you talk to people privately, a lot more Republicans agree with him, that if that is not an impeachable offense, they don't know what is.

BLITZER: The other argument, you know, Ben, and Senator Romney said he believes it is constitutional to hold an impeachment trial after someone has left office, but there's some debate about this. I know the president's legal team is going to argue it's unconstitutional to do so since he is now a private citizen and not a sitting president.

BEN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: Yes. It's an issue that's never been litigated before. Whether a president can be tried after he leaves office. Not surprisingly, Wolf, if you ask more than one lawyer you're going to get more than one opinion. But the weight of authority seems to be it is permissible to try a

former president and what is also a little bit of a hold up for the Trump forces is, how do you litigate that? In other words, where's the vote? And the Senate under the Constitution is in control of all of its proceedings which includes impeachment. So, it mostly would be a majority vote of the Senate to try and say that the trial should not be held.

BLITZER: You know, Gloria, the former president is also discussing the possibility of launching a new political party, depending in part on how Republicans vote to convict him in the Senate. What are the implications? What implications would that have?

BORGER: Well, I think, firs of all, we have to say, is he or isn't he? We don't know. There are people who work for him who say he's not going to do that. Then there are those who say that they've heard him say, yes, I want to start a new political party, something called the Patriot Party.

And I think the implications are something we don't really know yet if he were to decide to do it. What he wants to use it for is pretty obvious. He wants to use it for leverage. He wants to be able to threaten those in the Senate who would not go along with him, with being primaried, for example, and raise money against them.

He's got a considerable amount of money that he's already raised in his PAC. So, there are a lot of ways that he could wreak havoc among Republicans and this is just one way. Will he do it? Won't he do it? We don't really know, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. We don't know. You know, and Dana, what does all this mean for President Biden right now? Will this impeachment trial in the Senate that's supposed to be begin the week of February 8th make it more difficult for the new Biden administration to secure bipartisan support, let's say, for the coronavirus relief bill?

[17:14:54]

BASH: I really think that they're separate in so much that the trial is about the former president. And President Biden so far has really tried to stay out of it for lots of reasons. Having said that, if there are Republicans looking for excuses to not work with President Biden, they can probably put that on the list.

Not to say that that would be legitimate, but it would be a potential excuse for them to use in saying that they don't want to work across the aisle. The more likely scenario is that they're going to fight his policies and his proposals rather than use, you know, Trump as an excuse.

BLITZER: You know, Ben, as you know, the Justice Department's inspector general, the internal watchdog over at the Justice Department is launching an investigation into whether officials sought to actually overturn President Biden's election win. Where could this lead? GINSBERG: It can lead to some findings against those people down the

road, Wolf, not in time for the impeachment. But what the reporting on the insurrection within the Justice Department does is make Republican senators wonder about just how deep Donald Trump was in all the machinations, including the Justice Department, including the Georgia secretary of state.

And it's making them wonder how deeply involved was he in the January 6th insurrection march as more and more people are indicted by federal authorities, are they going to find out that Donald Trump or members of his team were talking to the insurrectionists about their plans for that day at the Capitol?

BLITZER: All right, Ben, Gloria, and Dana, guys, thank you very, very much.

Up next, some Republican senator are now arguing the impeachment trial itself is unconstitutional. We're going to talk about that and more with one of the House impeachment managers. Congressman Joaquin Castro is standing by live. We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER (on camera): We are following breaking pandemic news. The U.S. coronavirus death toll now topping 420,000 people as the country faces more than 25.2 million confirmed cases. And tonight, there is deep concern, it's growing, about the variants of the virus increasingly showing up here in the United States.

CNN's Nick Watt is in Los Angeles with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is that more contagious coronavirus variant first found in the U.K. also more likely to kill you if you catch it?

FAUCI: I'm pretty convinced that there is a degree of increase in seriousness of the actual infection, which we really have to keep an eye on.

BIDEN: Good afternoon.

WATT (voice-over): Today, President Biden hoping to slow the spread of that and other variants, reinstated travel restrictions for non U.S. citizens coming from much of Europe and Brazil, also adding South Africa.

FACUI: The vaccines that we have now do work.

WATT (voice-over): Against these variants, although Moderna now says its vaccine works but not quite as well against the South Africa strain. They'll test if a third dose or a variant booster might help. For now, in the raw numbers, there is some optimism.

First time since mid-December, fewer than 115,000 Americans in the hospital with this virus. These past two weeks, average daily case counts have fallen 30 percent. But the country still adding more than a million infections a week. On average more than 3,000 deaths still reported every day, and --

FAUCI: If the variant that has greater degree of transmissibility becomes dominant, we're going to be faced with another challenge.

WATT (voice-over): And six weeks since the first vaccine shot, only around 1 percent of the population double dosed. Team Biden says hamstrung by a Team Trump hangover.

UNKNOWN: Is there at least a ballpark amount that officials are aware of how much vaccine there is?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, our team is working right now. We've been here for five days to evaluate the supply. So the confusion around this issue, which we acknowledge there is some confusion, speaks to a larger problem, which is what we're inheriting from the prior administration, which is much worse than we could have imagined.

WATT (voice-over): There are more disturbing insights now into how hard it was to fight the pandemic and save lives when Donald Trump was in charge.

DEBORAH BIRX, FORMER COORDINATOR, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made. So, I know that someone or someone out there or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data.

FAUCI: There was a considerable amount of mixed messaging about what needed to be done from the top down and that really cost us dearly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (on camera): Now, President Biden is saying that he thinks by the spring anybody, everybody who wants a vaccine in this country will be able to get one. He calls it a logistical challenge unlike anything ever seen, but says it is doable.

However, Wolf, the darkest hour comes before the dawn. January, this month is projected to be the deadliest month of this pandemic so far. Wolf?

BLITZER: First day of spring, what is March 21st? Let's hope that happens. Nick Watt in L.A. for us. Thank you.

Let's get some more on all of this. Former CDC acting director Dr. Richard Besser is joining us. Dr. Besser, thank you so much for joining us. The new CDC director, who's just taken over the position that you once held says, and I'm quoting her now, "I can't tell you how much vaccine we have." That's a direct quote. How quickly should we expect the new administration to get their arms around this crisis and improve vaccine distribution?

RICHARD BESSER, FORMER CDS ACTING DIRECTOR: Well, Wolf, you know, that's a good question. I couldn't imagine what it would be like coming in and not having that critical piece of information. You know, as states around the nation are planning to administer vaccines, not knowing for certain how many doses are going to be coming each week, that makes it really hard to figure out how many doses do you need to make sure you have for second doses versus first doses?

[17:25:00]

It's a critical piece of information to have, to be able to predict how many people can you vaccinate and how quickly. It's a starting block that they just don't have yet.

BLITZER: Yes. They need that information and they need it right away. The White House also says it's working to ensure there is enough supply for Americans to get their second doses on time, either three weeks or four weeks, depending on the vaccine.

There is some confusion about when people should go back for a second dose. And the CDC has updated its guidance. What do Americans need to understand about the two doses that are required?

BESSER: Well, you need to understand that both doses are required in order to get the full protection. I think you also need to understand that while we all want to get vaccinated, there are people in our country who are at greater risk.

And, you know, as we think about what people need to do to protect themselves and get this under control, it's wearing masks, it's social distancing, it's washing our hands. But it's also waiting our turn and making sure that there's enough vaccine for essential workers, those people who are keeping society going.

I look forward to the day when I'm called to get vaccinated, but I would not want to get vaccinated ahead of someone who is working in the grocery store or someone who is running our transit system. We have to be patient and recognize there's not enough vaccine right now. We knew that coming into this. But eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone in America.

BLITZER: The CDC is also reviewing new data that suggest, Dr. Besser that the coronavirus variant identified in the U.K., for example, could be even more deadly. Modeling shows this new variant could become the predominant variant, actually, in the United States by March. What precautions do Americans need to be taking now?

BESSER: Well, I think it reinforces the importance of flattening the curve. That phrase we used back in the spring. The more the virus can transmit, the more those mutations are allowed to take hold. But if we all do those steps and follow public health guidance, we can reduce transmission, we can reduce the impact of mutants.

From a public health perspective, it ups the ante, ups the importance of them doing monitoring, checking the genetic makeup of viruses as they're spreading across the country. And companies like Moderna being ready, if the virus changes, to have vaccines that will be effective. This is all part of the back and forth between us and this virus and that we're going to need to continue to do this until it's under control.

BLITZER: Moderna says its vaccine is expected to protect against new variants, but it has also says it's working on a booster to better address the variant found in South Africa, for example. So, how quickly could that booster be developed and tested? And does this mean that people have gotten two shots might need a third shot down the road?

BESSER: Well, at this point, what we can say is that these vaccines are effective against both of those mutant strains as well as what's circulating here primarily in the United States. But it does show the importance of scientists keeping up with this.

One of the exciting things about the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccine, this category called mRNA vaccines, is that they were developed extremely quickly. They can be modified extremely quickly. So, it's one of the things that gives me hope is that the vaccine technology can keep up with these mutations.

But, again, it points to the importance of getting this under control quickly so that mutations, you know, mutated viruses can't take hold in our communities.

BLITZER: Yes. All these viruses, they have a tendency to mutate, and we'll see what happens. This potentially could be a huge, huge problem. Dr. Fauci says that wearing two masks is likely more effective than a single mask. When should people consider double masking and what types of masks, Dr. Besser, can be layered most effectively?

BESSER: Yes. You know, I've seen a lot about double masking, you know. My recommendation first off is if everyone wears one mask, we will accomplish a lot. Right now, there are a lot of people who aren't wearing masks, who don't see the value in that. There's incredible value.

I have a lot of hope. CDC is working on recommendations, on rating scales for masks because, you know, you could stack together two masks that aren't very good and it won't be as effective as one mask that has a much higher rating.

So, you know, there's a group at CDC called NIOSH and they rate masks for hospitals, for health care settings. My understanding is they're working on ratings that can be used for the masks that we buy in the stores. And I would look to that to help instruct people, you know, what masks to wear that will provide the best protection.

BLITZER: Important information from Dr. Richard Besser. As usual, doctor, thank you so much for joining us.

BESSER: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And stay with us. We're about 90 minutes away from history.

[17:29:59] The article of impeachment being delivered to the U.S. Senate. The article of impeachment against the former president of the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A truly historic moment over at the White House today. There was a ceremonial swearing in for the new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Vice President Kamala Harris administered the oath and tweeted this photo. The Pentagon's new Press Secretary is joining us right now for his first CNN interview since taking the job. He's a familiar face to all of us here in THE SITUATION ROOM, retired U.S. Admiral John Kirby.

John, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck with your new assignment. I know this is something you know well serving at the Pentagon.

[17:35:01]

Let's talk a little bit about the history, what's unfolding right now. It's truly historic to see the country's first African American Vice President swearing in the first African American Defense Secretary, how significant of a moment is this for the Pentagon?

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I think it's very significant for the Pentagon, Wolf. I mean, think about that the first African American Defense Secretary. And you have to ask yourself, why did it take us so long, but it speaks to the value that a diverse military brings to the defense of the country. It certainly speaks to Secretary Austin's long, dedicated career in uniform and the capabilities, the leadership that he'll bring to the department.

But I also think, Wolf, it sends a really powerful symbol and to a degree (ph) example to young men and women all throughout the country who are thinking about joining the military and thinking about what they can do to contribute to the defense of this country to see that an African American is now the civilian head of the Defense Department.

BLITZER: Yes, I mean, the U.S. military has been very diverse ahead of the curve in so many areas. I remember when I was covering the Pentagon, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was General Colin Powell. So there's been a history of diversity in the U.S. military, which is really good. And Secretary Austin was there today when President Biden signed an executive order repealing the Trump ban on transgender Americans serving openly in the U.S. military. So what's the message of that, John, the message being sent today to the LGBTQ community?

KIRBY: The message is simple. Everyone who's fit and willing to serve this country in uniform should have the opportunity and now they will have that opportunity. As long as they meet the regular standards were coming in to join the military, they will not be discriminated against, they will not be barred from that service based on gender identity. It's very much about what we just talked about, the military representing all Americans because we defend all Americans. But as Secretary Austin said in his statement, it's also about having enough talent, the right talent to fill out the ranks. And why would we rob ourselves? Why would we deprive ourselves of the talent of so many Americans based on something like gender identity? It just is not in keeping with our core values and what we represent. And so, it's a historic day for the Pentagon and yet another way today.

BLITZER: As you know, the former President Trump, he said this was not what the military wanted. It was uncomfortable for the military, you know the military, you served in the Navy for a long time, give us the reaction from the men and women in the military to this decision today by the President?

KIRBY: Well, you know, what's interesting is that there hasn't been some rousing reaction to this, Wolf. I think, you know, this was a policy that was in place in 2016, during the Obama administration that had been fully staffed and vetted and the chiefs of all the services said, they'd see no decrease in military readiness because of allowing transgender people to serve in the military.

And so, we're kind of going back to that old policy. That's the new policy now made old. And I just don't think you're going to see much of a reaction other than the support that we have already seen and heard from service members all throughout the country that they believe this is the right thing.

BLITZER: And that's so, so encouraging. The Acting Army Secretary today commented on the ongoing threats here in the nation's capital, saying there are concerns that, in his words, malicious actors could use lawful protest to create trouble. About 7,000 National Guard troops will stay here in Washington through mid-March, John, but have lessons been learned since the Capitol Riot? Give us the latest.

KIRBY: Of course, lessons have been learned. I mean, this is not a mission that our National Guard typically performs. Obviously, they support civil authorities and admissions throughout the country that's typical for them, and they've had a very busy year. But this is a unique mission. So I think, yes, they're clearly learning from this. It is put them in some ways, a very difficult spot sort of in between defense of the capital and the government and the institution and the people that those institutions serve.

But they're doing an amazing job. They really are. They were sucked out of their jobs and away from their families on very short notice. And they're out there in the cold, making sure that the business of this government can go on safely. So I think we are learning a lot of lessons. And I think we'll build on that going forward.

But, mostly, we want to make sure that while we keep the institution of government going safely, that we get them back to their jobs and back to their homes just as soon as practicable. And many of them will be leaving very, very soon.

BLITZER: Very quickly, have you gotten any explanation by those National Guard troops, hundreds if not thousands, were booted from the Capitol force to go to some underground, garage breathing, exhaust fumes, very few bathrooms. It was a horrible decision. I don't know who made it, but is there an explanation of why that occurred? The men and women of the National Guard should not be forced to do that.

KIRBY: No, they shouldn't. And you saw that even President Biden was very clear and open about his regrets for what happened to them, as many members of Congress were to. I think it was a miscommunication between the Capitol Police and the National Guard. It was temporary. They weren't actually there for that long but it should never have happened clearly.

[17:40:03]

And I think everybody has learned a lesson from that as well. You saw just recently the Capitol Police and the National Guard for D.C. put out a joint statement about their appreciation for one another and the respect that they have for both institutions. So we'll obviously learn a lesson from that. That's not going to happen again. I think it was really more a miscommunication than it was anything as a matter of policy or anything like that.

BLITZER: Retired Admiral John Kirby, good luck as the Press Secretary over the Pentagon, some tough job. We'll stay in close touch with you. Thanks so much for joining us.

KIRBY: Thanks for having me, Wolf.

BLITZER: Stay with us. We're awaiting the historic moment when the House impeachment managers will actually walk from the House to the Senate to deliver the new article of impeachment against the former President of the United States.

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BLITZER: We're following breaking news up on Capitol Hill. Right now, the United States Senate is voting on the nomination of Janet Yellen to be the first female treasury secretary in U.S. history. Let's go back to Manu Raju who's watching all of this unfold. She's expected to be easily confirmed by other -- rather lopsided majority, right?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. Overwhelmingly, the Senate is about to confirm her to become the first woman to take that pose to top the Treasury Department. Right now, just three Republican senators have voted against the nominee, that is Senator John Boozman of Arkansas, fellow Arkansas Republican Tom Cotton, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley.

The vote is still open so there might be a handful more but we expect this vote to be overwhelmingly lopsided in favor of her confirmation that includes the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell who announced today that he also would support her nomination.

[17:45:09]

Now Wolf, this is the third -- this will be the third Biden nominee who has been confirmed since the President took office on Wednesday. He's -- Lloyd Austin to be the Defense Secretary swore -- confirmed on Friday. Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence to be -- was confirmed on his first night in office. But those three nominees were all groundbreaking in their own right, first woman in that position, first African American in the -- as the heading the Defense Department, first woman above Treasury.

This effort to confirm these nominees are moving at a slower pace than Joe Biden's past predecessors including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, all had nominees confirmed at a much more rapid clip.

Even Donald Trump on his first day in office in 2017 had two nominees confirmed on that first day. Biden, as I mentioned, just one. So Democrats are trying to get more nominees confirmed this week, including possibly Tony Blinken to be the head of the State Department. Others as well, but they will need cooperation from Republicans as well given the rules of the Senate.

And given the unusual nature here, this 50-50 Senate, they have not officially organized the Senate because of a fight between the leaders of the Senate. As a result, Republicans still control the Senate Committees, even though the Democrats are overall in the majority right now because they're operating under last year's rules. So they don't have to sort that out, Wolf, as if they want to try to get by -- some Cabinet confirmed quickly.

BLITZER: Yes, history unfolding on the Senate floor right now. We'll update our viewers on the final vote. Janet Yellen will become the first woman, the Secretary of the Treasury, Avril Haines, the first woman to leave the U.S. Intelligence Community, Lloyd Austin, the first African American to leave the Pentagon. History unfolding.

All right, Manu, we'll get back to you.

There's more news just ahead as we stand by for the House set to deliver an article of impeachment to the Senate against the former President Donald Trump. We'll be right back.

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[17:51:29]

BLITZER: Our top story this hour, historic developments as we stand by for the House of Representatives to deliver the article of impeachment against former President Trump to the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, the White House is now joining with the State Department in demanding that Russia released the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny and thousands of people arrested at protests in his support over the weekend. CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance has the latest from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is how Putin's Russia has suddenly changed. Across this vast country, supporters of a jailed opposition leader have come out in their tens of thousands. Some clashing with police, losing all fear. Even as protest organizers were quickly detained. There's no need to be afraid, they're scared of their own people, says this opposition campaigner before she's hauled away. Nationwide, riot police detained more than 3,500 others. And this is what has jolted, so many Russians into action. Not just the horrific nerve agent poisoning of Alexei Navalny in Siberia last year, but also the arrest of the Kremlin critic when recovered, he flew back to Moscow earlier this month. The brave farewell to his wife at the airport seems to have struck a chord.

As does his latest anti-corruption expose, detailing an extravagant palace in southern Russia alleged to have been built the Vladimir Putin foreseeing the Russian President to publicly deny it.

I haven't seen the whole film, Putin admitted to these university students, but nothing of what is listed there as my property has ever belonged to me or my close relatives, he said. Still, more than 87 million people have now viewed the investigation online, a sign of how broad the appeal of Alexei Navalny and his anti-corruption campaigning has become.

And that's a terrifying challenge to the Kremlin. Now, frantically casting these protests as a Western plot. Opposition activists say this protester draped in a U.S. flag was planted to reinforce the idea of a conspiracy before they objected it. Russian officials accused the U.S. Embassy in Moscow that actively encouraging the protests by listing the locations nationwide for U.S. citizens to avoid.

MARIA ZAKHAROVA, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN: They even used such a term as March on Kremlin before the protests started. So when Friday was that an instruction, was that a motivation? Who knows? But actually --

CHANCE (on-camera): It was it a warning because the embassy put that statement out --

ZAKHAROVA: Absolutely not.

CHANCE (on-camera): -- to warn America citizens not to go.

ZAKHAROVA: No, no, no, because those who organized the protest never mentioned the March on Kremlin.

CHANCE (voice-over): It seems like a desperate attempt to distract from the very real crisis now unfolding on Russia's streets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Well, Wolf, and that unfolding is set to continue into the weeks ahead because tonight, the opposition has confirmed they're calling another nationwide protest for next weekend for Sunday.

[17:55:10]

At the same time, the Russian authorities are showing no sign of backing down, no sign at all of releasing Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader from jail. Back to you.

BLITZER: Yes, this is really, really a major development unfolding in Russia right now. We will stay in close touch with you, Matthew, thank you very much.

Coming up next, House impeachment managers are preparing to deliver an article of impeachment to the U.S. Senate triggering an unprecedented second trial for former President Donald Trump.

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