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Joe Biden to Seek Increased Public Support for COVID Relief Package; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Calls for 9/11 Style Commission on January 6th Capitol Insurrection; Winter Storms Cause Nearly One-Third of U.S. to Experience Below Zero Temperatures; North Carolina GOP Censures Sen. Richard Burr Over Impeachment Vote; New York Governor Accepts Blame for Nursing Home Scandal, Denies Cover-Up. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 16, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: They're really trying to drum up public support for the package. And right now the public polls show that it is on their side. It may not be bipartisan in Congress so far. Obviously, the administration has struggled to find any Republican support so far for the package. But that doesn't exactly reflect what's going on in the American public. You have Republican governors, Republican mayors talking to the White House, lobbying Congress, saying we need this extra, for example, state and local aid for our communities. Public polling shows that a majority of Republican voters also support this legislation as well.

So if there are -- for the lack of headway that the White House is making among, for example, Senate Republicans, they are moving the American people. And what President Biden is going to do tonight is just to really keep that feeling of momentum on his side in terms of public support for the package, and try to really pressure Congress to move as soon as possible on this big package.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I think it comes in a really interesting time. First of all, it's the president's first trip outside Washington really to meet with voters of this entire presidency. That is always significant. And then Jeff Zeleny, it's obviously President Biden's first chance to speak to the American people since the impeachment trial of his predecessor. This really does come at a key moment. And he has a spotlight in a different way than he's had it over the last few weeks.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: John, there's no doubt about it. Look, after the impeachment trial is over, it's more than that. This really is the beginning of the second month of his presidency, but in many respects it's the first month of him having the spotlight to himself.

And as the impeachment trial was going on last week, the White House was doing a lot of work, having Republican governors and Democratic governors in, mayors in talking about this relief bill. And there is no doubt about that the public supports this economic relief. Do remember at the end of last year, the end of the Trump presidency, there was support for giving $2,000 payments to Americans who were hurting in need. This bill comes with a $1,400 added on top of the $600 from last year. So there is support for that.

The question is are Republicans going to swallow this whole $1.9 trillion price tag. As of now, they're not. But the Biden administration is making its case to the public, talking about all of this. But the bigger burden now for the president is that he owns all of this. I'm here in Wisconsin. I've been talking to voters. Just one small example, in Waukesha County, a Republican County just west of Milwaukee here, they're not getting the vaccine supply that they need. They don't necessarily blame the Biden administration. It's complicated, these formulas are complicated, but this is something the president now owns. So he also could get an earful from people who simply want their vaccines, they want their schools to be opened. So now this burden is his.

So yes, he'll bring empathy. Yes he will bring an open ear to hear all these things. But the charges are absolutely mounting. It's one of the reasons he is traveling outside of Washington this week to make his case for all of this.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And by the way, he doesn't just need to win over the American public, though it sounds like they are mostly on his side, or Republicans. There are also some Democratic senators who are not sold on how this COVID relief bill is structured.

KIM: Right. Right now, the White House should be very much worried, not just about Joe Manchin who we have talked about so many times on this program as being such a pivotal figure for President Biden's agenda, but Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, who is a lot nor low profile than Senator Manchin. She doesn't talk to the press very often. But she made it very clear last week that she does not support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, particularly under this fast-track budget reconciliation process that Democratic leaders in Congress are considering -- are planning to use to pass President Biden's package. She says that is not an appropriate use of the reconciliation process, and she seems pretty firm in that opposition.

And remember, Democratic senators only have 50 votes. To pass something you have to keep all 50 members together. So does President Biden start twisting arms with Senators Manchin and Sinema? Do they hold firm in their opposition? Does that minimum wage increase have to get dropped from the ultimate package? Those are very important questions for the White House and for Democrats in the coming days.

BERMAN: We'll get some answers to that, shortly. Without those two Democrats, it doesn't pass in the Senate, pure and simple. It just can't happen. I'm curious if it stays in the House version of the bill which could pass at the beginning of next week before it goes to the Senate and they take it out in the Senate, then deal with some reconciliation after that or conference. We'll have to wait and see on that.

Jeff Zeleny, Nancy Pelosi coming out overnight saying that she supports the creation of a 9/11 style commission to investigate the insurrection on January 6th is interesting.

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What we don't know is what this will look like. Will they pass a measure through Congress like they did after September 11th that requires a presidential signature. Will this commission have subpoena power? Will this commission call witnesses? How deeply will this commission look into the former president's response to this? And will this get any Republican support as it moves through Congress? What do you see?

ZELENY: John, no doubt that the impeachment trial did something that we have not seen. We learned so much more about what happened minute by minute by minute on the afternoon of January 6th. But there also, it shined a light on how much we don't know. There are still so many more questions, largely what the president was doing at that point. So I think there is an appetite, no question, for a deeper look into this.

Now, this would have to be something that would be passed by the House and Senate, signed into law by the president. I think that's easily achievable, certainly, with the Democratic-controlled Senate. But I could see some Republicans, likely the Republicans who voted to convict the president, the former president, supporting this. And of course, President Biden would sign it.

Now, this does fly in the face of the Biden administration's efforts to move on. But there also is a sense, a willingness to find out what happened there. So it's not exactly like the 9/11 commission. I would be surprised if it would be as sweeping as that, because, John, you'll remember, that was a deep look into the broader intelligence failures. That was a much longer, more serious investigation.

But I think there is an appetite for looking into this more. And certainly, on Speaker Pelosi's point of view. We heard her words Saturday in the Capitol, still furious by all of this, furious at some Republicans. So in one respect she's also probably trying to urge Republicans and goad them to come along with this. So it's a challenge. Can you pass legislation on other matters, on economic relief and COVID relief and still do this sort of 9/11-style commission? She thinks we can. So we'll see how that goes. But I would suspect it would get bipartisan support, at least in some degree.

CAMEROTA: Seung Min, is there any political risk here for Nancy Pelosi, and does she care?

KIM: Well, I think she's made explicitly clear that she really wants to get down and get a full accounting of what happened on January 6th, because yesterday's letter wasn't the first time that she had thrown support for a 9/11 style commission. But there is certainly Republicans who want to use some sort of a fact-finding mission to target Nancy Pelosi herself. And while we don't yet know what the parameters of this particular commission would be, I would imagine it would not be sitting members of Congress, and I think that would dial down the partisan tensions a little bit. But there are already House Republicans who are saying they want to

push on Nancy Pelosi's role that day, whether she was, for instance, fast enough in calling for extra security at the Capitol. So there are people -- members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats writ large, generally speaking, do want to find out what more happened on January 6th at the Capitol and the days leading up to it. But different sides want to target different aspects of what happened that day. So we'll -- it really depends on how this commission is structured, who leads it, what their mission is, what their parameters are, and that's something that we're still waiting to find out.

CAMEROTA: Seung Min, Jeff, thank you both very much for all of the reporting.

Be sure to join us tonight. Anderson Cooper moderates the first presidential town hall with President Joe Biden. This is live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's at 9:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

We have some breaking news. Right now three people are dead and at least 10 others hurt after a tornado tears through a coastal town in North Carolina. At this hour, search and rescue crews are looking for others who may be trapped in their homes. Joining us now is Kate Merriman. She's a reporter for our affiliate WMBF live in Brunswick County, North Carolina, with the breaking news. Kate, what's the situation there?

KATE MERRIMAN, REPORTER, WMBF-TV: Alisyn, good morning. The sheriff of Brunswick County describing this as something unlike anything he's ever seen. And as the sun has risen this morning, they are expanding their search and rescue efforts right now, so they are out in those communities hoping to find anybody that may have missed. And like you had mentioned, it's three people dead, 10 injured.

Where I am right now, this has become the headquarters for emergency crews. You can possibly hear the sound of some rescue just staging the area, just in case they need to go anywhere. Now, I want to mention this, that it's not a typical time for tornadoes, but between the cold air that we've had, and, of course, being a coastal town, it's created a perfect mix of it, ripping through a community like we had talked about, taking the lives of three. And again, as right now we'll have had -- I have checked in with the emergency management.

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They did tell me that as of now, and when we did check in at 4:30 this morning, and as of right now no reports of any missing persons, but they expect to continue that search effort. They've expanded it all morning just to check to make sure. I'll send it back to you guys. John?

BERMAN: Thank you so much for that report. Please keep us posted. Obviously, much more to learn as the morning goes on.

Developing this morning, nearly 5 million Americans waking up without power for the second day in a row after a huge winter storm paralyzed the south. More than 4 million without power in Texas alone. One-third of the state's residents in the dark amid frigid temperatures. CNN's Ed Lavandera live in Dallas with more. A snowy background, Ed, very unusual.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. It has been an epic failure of energy production and power production here in this state, and it has turned deadly. Houston police reporting this morning that a family of four were found suffering from carbon monoxide. A woman and child have died. And it has been a brutal night here in Texas as millions are without power.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LAVANDERA: Freezing temperatures and power outages are pummeling areas from Texas through the plain states. More than a third of the country reached temperatures below zero on Monday. Texas is receiving the brunt of the storm, with millions across the state left with no power and no heat.

JUDGE LINA HIDALGO, (D) HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: We all see the current situation. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The next few days are going to be very tough. There's a high chance the power will be out for these folks until the weather gets better, which will not be for a couple of days.

LAVANDERA: The city of Abilene that has a population of more than 100,000 residents was forced to shut off water last night due to power outages. The lacking infrastructure for these conditions is a major concern for hard-hit areas, with some families freezing in their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a walk-in freezer. It's like 34 to 36 degrees, I would say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It depends on which room you're in -- 40 degrees is at the lowest end to 55 at the highest.

LAVANDERA: In Harris County, power outages nearly spoiled more than 8,000 coronavirus vaccine doses. Moderna advised the county that 3,000 of those doses could go back into storage. And the rest were distributed throughout the county. Historic lows in Dallas, Oklahoma City, and in Kansas City, the coldest since 1989. The windchill factor reaching temperatures as cold as minus 32 degrees. In Tennessee, authorities reported two fatalities from the storm on Monday. In Kentucky, the governor is warning that another storm is on its way. He tells residents not to run your gas ovens to generate heat and be careful using generators and camp stoves.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR, (D) KENTUCKY: Again, I can't stress the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is absolutely avoidable. Those are casualties we don't want to see. We did not make it through almost a year of a pandemic to lose people to a snow or an ice storm.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LAVANDERA (on camera): So John, millions across the state here desperately waiting for the power to get turned back on. The Convention Center here in downtown Dallas is being used as a warm shelter for hundreds of homeless people. And the current temperature in Dallas right now, three degrees, John. Tom Brady has more Super Bowl rings than Dallas has degrees. I thought you'd like that.

BERMAN: I'm glad you put it that way. Now I understand. Now I understand the situation. Ed Lavandera, wear a hat. If it's that cold, put a hat on. For God's sake, your hair will handle it.

LAVANDERA: I'm going to toughen this out.

BERMAN: Thanks, Ed. Appreciate it.

So Republican Richard Burr censured by his state party overnight for voting to convict the former president. North Carolina's Republican chair joins me to talk about the decision, next.

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BERMAN: Overnight, North Carolina Republican Party voted unanimously to censure Senator Richard Burr for his vote to convict the former president at the Senate impeachment trial.

Joining us now, Michael Whatley, the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party.

Mr. Chairman, thanks for being with us.

Can I just first ask? You had a tornado in your state overnight. Some really, really dangerous weather. You, your family, everyone you know okay?

MICHAEL WHATLEY, CHAIRMAN, NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Yes, sir. We are good, but we're certainly praying for those families down in Brunswick County and appreciate the effort of our first responders to make sure that they're -- they are going out, the search and rescue crews, and we pray that everybody is going to be okay.

BERMAN: Likewise.

All right. Mr. Chairman, I want to read you a statement, all right?

This statement says: President Trump is most certainly not the victim here. His words and actions were reckless and he shares responsibility for the disgrace that occurred on January 6th.

Is that a statement you agree with?

WHATLEY: Look, I think that the rhetoric and actions that we saw on January 6th, the actions that we saw from the protesters that attacked the capitol are horrific and unjustified. There is no rationale that could excuse the actions of those people that went into the Capitol that caused the violence and the deaths and injuries that we've seen from that are truly horrific. But I think the fault lies with those people who attacked the Capitol. BERMAN: Okay, because that statement blames the former president. It

says that President Trump shares responsibility for the disgrace that occurred on January 6th. That statement made by your other Republican senator, Thom Tillis. Thom Tillis, Republican senator from North Carolina, says that the former president's actions were reckless and he shares responsibility.

So why not censure him?

WHATLEY: Well, I think what we saw coming out of the vote on Saturday, across the state of North Carolina, I talked to over hundreds of volunteers of party leaders, of activists from every part of the state. And they are very disappointed with the vote that we saw from Senator Burr, particularly after he had said that the impeachment process in the Senate was unconstitutional.

BERMAN: What responsibility do you, as the Republican Party chair in North Carolina, think the former president bears for what happened on January 6th?

WHATLEY: I think the responsibility lies with those people who broke the law, who attacked the Capitol, who attacked those police officers, and caused the violence and mayhem which is completely reprehensible and unjustifiable.

[08:20:01]

BERMAN: So you think Mitch McConnell is wrong because Mitch McConnell says there's no question, none, there's no question, none, that the president is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. Why is Mitch McConnell wrong?

WHATLEY: Look, I'm not going to say that Mitch McConnell is wrong. What I'm going to say is that, you know, the actions that we saw by that mob are completely unjustifiable, reprehensible and horrific.

BERMAN: Because it sounds to me you are censuring Richard Burr, you say, for voting to convict because you say it's unconstitutional. But it sounds to me like you're punishing him or you're refusing to put any responsibility on the former president, correct?

WHATLEY: No, I don't think that's the case. I think that the Republicans across North Carolina, the party leaders that I talk to were shocked and disappointed with Senator Burr's vote. And wanted to put out a statement just saying that we disagreed with it.

BERMAN: In Utah, which is a Republican state, I mean, it's as red as they come. They had two senators voting different ways. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney voted separate ways. The Utah Republican Party put out a statement that said our senators have both been criticized for their vote. The differences between our own Utah Republicans showcase a diversity of thought and contrast to the danger of a party fixated on unanimity of thought.

So what do you think of what Utah did? WHATLEY: Look (INAUDIBLE) what the Utah party did. What I can say is

I had conversations with over 100 leaders across North Carolina over the three days following Senator Burr's vote. And there was universal disapproval of the vote itself.

Look, we -- Richard Burr has been a leader in the North Carolina Republican Party for over 20 years. He will continue to be a leader in the North Carolina Republican Party. I don't think that this is a statement against Richard Burr as a senator. I think this is a statement that we disagree with that particular vote.

BERMAN: You censured him. I mean, that's quite a statement against Richard Burr.

WHATLEY: It is a statement against that particular vote.

BERMAN: You know, we hear a lot from people in the Republican Party about cancel culture. You know, you are canceling Richard Burr for his vote, which he said was a vote of conscience.

WHATLEY: Well, I think that the cancel culture where we see the president kicked off of all -- the former president kicked off of all social media, where we see people losing their jobs, where we see people who have been hit on social media or deplatformed is entirely different from us as a state party saying that we disagree with one particular vote cast by a senator.

BERMAN: You're canceling him because of that vote.

WHATLEY: We're not canceling anything. We're saying that we disagree with one particular vote.

BERMAN: In Utah, you know, I understand you say that you're hearing from Republicans. Donald Trump won Utah by 20 percent. He won North Carolina by, you know, which was by the way an impressive victory in North Carolina given the circumstances, but barely 1 percent.

So, you know, Utah can handle it. How come you guys can't handle diversity of opinion?

WHATLEY: Well, I think that we're perfectly fine with diversity of opinion. I don't think that you should read anything into this resolution that was passed last night other than the fact that, across the board, the North Carolina Republicans were disappointed with Senator Burr's vote.

BERMAN: Has the North Carolina Republican Party made any statement condemning or putting responsibility on the former president for anything that happened on January 6th?

WHATLEY: Well, we put out multiple statements saying that we were horrified by the actions on January 6th. And that they were unjustified and unreasonable.

BERMAN: Can I ask you one of the things that may be a byproduct of this? Is rumors that the former president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, might run for Senate seat. Richard Burr, the censured Richard Burr is retiring. He was going to retire anyway.

But how do you feel about the possibility of Lara Trump running in North Carolina?

WHATLEY: Yeah, I think that we're going to have tremendous special on both sides of the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats in this race with Senator Burr stepping down. I think you're going to need a dance card to keep straight everybody who is going to look at it. And ultimately, who is going to get into it.

I think if Lara Trump were to get into the race, there would be immediate widespread interest and support from across the state. But regardless of who comes out of that primary, we're going to have a great Republican candidate that's focused on a North Carolina first and America first agenda and they're going to be running against a Democrat who is going to be pushing the agenda from Washington, D.C., with the Biden/Pelosi/Schumer agenda.

BERMAN: Michael Whatley, chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, we appreciate your time this morning. Glad you and your family are safe given the weather that has taken place in your state.

[08:25:01]

Appreciate it.

WHATLEY: Great. Thanks so much. Have a great day.

BERMAN: All right. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo denying a cover-up about data on nursing home deaths. The governor, it's possible, he could be stripped of emergency powers amid growing scrutiny. That's next.

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CAMEROTA: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday tried to defend his administration's decision to delay releasing data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We created a void. And we didn't answer every question. So it allowed the void to be created, the void begets disinformation. The disinformation begets pain of people. I take responsibility for that. Total death counts were always accurate. Nothing was hidden from anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: In response, state lawmakers are considering repealing the governor's emergency powers.

Joining us is Jesse McKinley. He's the Albany bureau chief at "The New York Times", and CNN political commentator Errol Louis. He's the political anchor for Spectrum News. We should note that we continue to invite Governor Cuomo on NEW DAY to answer some questions, but we have not heard back from his office.

It's great to have both of you because you're both steeped.

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