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New Day
Senate Could Debate Relief Bill Today; Biden Suffers Cabinet Defeat; Cuomo Facing Calls to Resign; Pentagon Report on Jackson; Broadway Performers in Australia. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired March 03, 2021 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Negotiate the final pieces of this bill. But a couple areas that Republicans are eyeing to basically try to peel off some moderate Democrats are amendment votes on things like those transportation projects that you mentioned. That's part of the reason why we expected that these were pulled from the bill. In part because Republicans have held them up as examples of waste, fraud, and abuse in the coronavirus relief package.
One of those projects was a bridge from upstate New York, $1.5 million, from upstate New York into Canada. It was removed from this underlying bill. But it is just an example of the kind of votes that Republicans are going to try to force their Democratic colleagues into have to taking on this amendment process known as the vote-a-rama.
So a lot happening today. Meanwhile, negotiations still continuing to try to get that final language so that they can go to the floor and begin that debate today.
Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Lauren, thank you very much for all of that and what we should expect.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden suffering his first defeat. The White House pulling Neera Tanden's nomination as budget chief when it became clear they did not have the votes.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live for us at the White House.
So what happened, Jeremy?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, last night the White House pulling that nomination of Neera Tanden to be head of the Office of Management and Budget amid bipartisan opposition to her nomination because of some tweets that she issued attacking both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. That was the primary reason for much of the opposition on Capitol Hill.
And this decision came nearly two weeks after Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat of West Virginia, announced that he would vote against her confirmation. And, really, that made very clear that she was going to face a narrow, if not impossible path to actually being confirmed.
But over those two weeks, the White House vowing to continue to fight for that nomination, trying to find support among some of the moderate Republicans in the Senate. But that support never came. And by yesterday it became very clear to White House officials that she was not going to be able to be confirmed. The support from Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, whose support the White House had been pushing for, that support never came.
And a senior administration official also telling us that there were question marks, still, about the votes of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democrat, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat of the state of Arizona. So that also was leading to questions there.
So, ultimately, the White House deciding to pull this nomination, but the president making very clear in a statement yesterday that he will still find a place for her in his administration, just a position that doesn't require Senate confirmation.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK, Jeremy, thank you very much.
So, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's troubles continue amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. We have a live report with the latest from Albany, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:36:43]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has not been seen in public for a week now after three women have accused him of inappropriate behavior.
CNN's Athena Jones in Albany with the latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cracks in the support for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo deepening after two former aides accused him of sexual harassment and a third woman of an unwanted advance at a wedding reception in 2019.
In a statement Sunday before the third woman made her allegations public in "The New York Times," Cuomo acknowledged some of his past comments may have been interpreted as an unwanted flirtation, but maintained that he never inappropriately touched anyone.
Cuomo, who seized the spotlight with his coronavirus briefings throughout the pandemic, has yet to make a public appearance since the allegations surfaced. And Tuesday, both New York senators making strong statements about the accusations.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): These women have to be listened to. I've always believed that sexual harassment is not acceptable, must not be tolerated.
Look, the bottom line is, just let me say, on this issue, I have a great deal of faith in the attorney general's investigation.
: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who in 2017 called for her colleague, then Minnesota Senator Al Franken, to resign before an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations was completed, initially dodged the question on Tuesday.
SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): Oh, yes, I've already answered that one.
JONES: But later writing in a statement, the behavior described in these allegations against Governor Cuomo is completely unacceptable and every allegation of sexual harassment must be taken seriously and be reviewed.
House Democratic leadership stopping short of calling for Cuomo to step down after one Democratic lawmaker publicly called for him to resign.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): These allegations are very serious. Now that the attorney general has taken over the investigation, it will be fully independent and thorough and I await the results of that investigation.
JONES: Now the White House facing renewed pressure to address the matter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the most vocal critics of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, of Senator Al Franken, but she hasn't said anything about the three women who are accusing Governor Andrew Cuomo.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Let me reiterate that they both believe that every woman coming forward should be heard, should be treated with dignity and treated with respect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: On top of these allegations, the New York state legislature is moving to repeal Cuomo's expanded executive powers granted to him at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The move coming after revelations the administration underreported COVID-related nursing home deaths in the state. The bill is expected to pass with a veto- proof majority.
John.
BERMAN: Athena Jones for us in Albany.
Athena, thanks very much.
Joining us now, CNN political commentator Errol Louis, he's the political anchor for Spectrum News, and Jesse McKinley, he's the Albany bureau chief for "The New York Times." He broke the story on Governor Cuomo's second and third accusers.
Errol, among national Democrats and New York Democrats, how many do you count this morning standing up and defending Governor Cuomo?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Vocally defending the governor? The answer at this point is zero. And by vocally defending, I mean, saying, I know this man and this couldn't possibly be true, or this would be, you know, greatly out of character or this -- this comes as a shock.
[06:40:01]
And, you know, nobody is saying that they're shocked. Nobody is saying that they want to vouch for his character over and above any particular facts that may have already come out. And that's telling. And it -- frankly, it's damning. I mean it's a problem. You've got an investigation that's going to take some time. And until that investigation is done, if you don't have anyone whose standing up as a character witness for the governor, it really says something about the political alliances that he has ever never built or allowed to degrade over time.
CAMEROTA: But, Jesse, wouldn't it be hard for people to come out and say something like that when he has admitted to some of this? I mean he says he was joking around. He likes to ask personal questions sometimes in a joking manner of his staff, about if they're married, they're not married. I mean how -- the fact that he has admitted to some of this makes it hard for people to come out and say, impossible.
JESSE MCKINLEY, ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Yes. Well, not so much admitted as not denied and not strenuously denied. I think, as Errol knows and would probably say, you know, the governor is not shy about telling people when he thinks they're wrong, when he thinks they've gotten facts wrong. He has not said any of that in light of our reporting of Saturday and/or Monday.
And as Errol points out, I think what's interesting right now is the governor has not been heard from. As Athena pointed out, you know, it's been a week since he's made an appearance in public. If anyone should be out there defending Andrew Cuomo, it is Andrew Cuomo, and he is nowhere on the scene at this point.
BERMAN: Now, I have a couple sound bites I want to play for you because you have, I think really eloquently, stated the interesting nature of the timing of all of this. It comes after the Me Too movement.
I would note, I think that the things that the governor has been accused of are creepy and potentially actionable in any era. However, I think you correctly note, the timing after Me Too --
CAMEROTA: Yes, it's hard to have missed what happened in Me Too.
BERMAN: Right.
CAMEROTA: The message from Me Too, I think. BERMAN: And there is evidence that Governor Cuomo didn't miss it, or
at least knew it was happening at the time also.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY) (August 19, 2018): You had thousands of women stand up and show the courage to come forward with the Me Too movement, speak about their sexual harassment that is endemic in our society.
CUOMO (May 10, 2018): And change should come to this nation's policy vis-a-vis sexual harassment against women, which is chronic, long- term, and endemic. And it has to stop. And we're going to do our part.
CUOMO (March 30, 2018): It says to the nation, once the problem is revealed, do something about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: You know, so, Errol, quickly, I mean that was in 2018. Everything he's accused of doing now has happened after 2018.
LOUIS: Yes. I mean, and, listen, those words were backed up by action. I mean the governor pushed through important changes to the law so that it doesn't have to be a situation where just harassment is pervasive. That used to be the old standard. They also lengthened the statute of limitations so you can bring a claim longer than one year after an incident might have happened.
This is all sort of, I guess, coming back to haunt him in some ways, but there's no question, if you just looked at it politically, he has been a staunch advocate for making it easier for people to fight back against sexual harassment, which makes this all so ironic that all of this reporting is coming out now.
CAMEROTA: So, Jesse, now that this investigation is beginning, this is going to take a while. I mean, and what's going to happen while this investigation unfolds, just a stalemate?
MCKINLEY: Well, I think if you're Governor Cuomo, you're looking at basically three different things. You're looking at how many Democrats are going to continue to call for resignation -- that is the r-word that is being, you know, bandied about at this point -- and how many people are going to be asked for in the investigation, which, as you point out, would take a while and would potentially buy some time to see whether or not the furor dies down around this or whether or not the investigation itself is -- is -- determines these claims to be credible.
But he's also going to be looking at polls. You know, there was an Emerson College poll out last night that had some bad numbers for him, showing that a lot of people are upset about this. And then, of course, you know, he's looking at re-election next year. And so the -- the -- if there's signals that, you know, his candidacy could sink other Democrats on the ticket, or if donors are starting to flee from him, those could be troubling signs, as well.
BERMAN: Jesse McKinley, Errol Louis, thanks, both, so much for being with us this morning.
LOUIS: Thank you.
MCKINLEY: Of course.
BERMAN: So he is now a freshman member of Congress, but a Pentagon report paints a disturbing picture of Ronny Jackson during his time as the top White House doctor. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:48:35]
CAMEROTA: Developing overnight, the Pentagon about to release a scathing watchdog report on Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson and his time as the top White House position in the Obama and Trump administrations.
CNN's Barbara Starr is live for us at the Pentagon with details, first reported by CNN.
Wow, there's a lot in here, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You will remember, Alisyn, now retired Admiral Ronny Jackson, now a congressman from Texas, had been President Trump's choice to lead the Veterans Affairs department. These allegations came to light. It was, in fact, Congress that asked the inspector general, the watchdog agency, to investigate the allegations. The report expected to be released in the next couple of hours. CNN has had a look at it ahead of time.
And what this report says is it details a number of allegations the IG said did prove to be validated in their view were accurate. They said that Ronny Jackson made sexual and denigrating comments about a female subordinate. They said that he violated the policy for drinking alcohol on a presidential trip. They said that he took prescription- strength sleeping drugs, raising concerns by his colleagues that he would be able to provide medical care to the president of the United States, which was his job as the top White House physician.
Now, Ronny Jackson issuing a statement saying, in part, and I want to quote it, I'm proud of the work environment I fostered under three different presidents of both parties.
[06:50:09]
I take my professional responsibility with respect to prescription drug practices seriously and I flat-out reject any allegation that I consumed alcohol while on duty.
There are a number of accounts in the report that say people saw him consume alcohol.
Ronny Jackson denying all of this. Congress briefed yesterday on the findings in the report. And it will be public later this morning.
John. Alisyn.
BERMAN: Barbara Starr, terrific reporting, as always. Thanks so much for being us.
So country music legend, really more than country music, like earth legend --
CAMEROTA: Yes, earth legend.
BERMAN: Universal legend Dolly Parton, she donated $1 million toward the development of the Moderna vaccine. Actually, that money was so crucial early on. And, yesterday, she received a dose of her own medicine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOLLY PARTON, COUNTRY MUSIC LEGEND: Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I'm begging of you, please, don't hesitate
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Oh, that's beautiful.
BERMAN: All right, so, I mean, obviously, that is a new song --
CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, it's set to "Jolene."
BERMAN: It's set to "Jolene," right, which makes her a hundred times even more awesome than she was already.
She posed getting vaccinated in Nashville with this message to the American people.
(VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Message for the American people, not seen here. She is basically trying to shame folks into getting vaccinated.
CAMEROTA: That was an understated message.
BERMAN: Yes, she's sending a mentally telepathic message to the American people about how important it is --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: How important it is to get vaccinated.
All right.
Well, we're going to get to the bottom of that message. CAMEROTA: She's an angel. Look, here's the point, here's the point, she's an angel on earth.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: She has long been my girl crush since I was 12 years old and I played her in a variety show in my middle school. I have the picture. I'll show people. And she just continues to be an inspiration.
BERMAN: So the message is, it's all about you.
CAMEROTA: Yes. Yes.
BERMAN: Also, Dolly Parton telling people to get vaccinated, really important there.
CAMEROTA: OK, meanwhile, Broadway has been dark for nearly a year, but for some American performers, the show must go on, even if it's on the other side of the world. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:56:39]
CAMEROTA: It's been nearly a year since the lights on Broadway went dark. Since then, some actors and performers have packed their bags and traveled half a world away to find work and try to survive.
CNN's Will Ripley reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The brilliant lights of Broadway, dark for almost a year. New York's iconic theaters, empty, likely for many months to come.
Nearly 10,000 miles away, in Sydney, Australia, the show goes on.
Kismet created by Broadway performer Reed Kelly, and Australian acrobat Jack Dawson, the aerial straps duo, Two Fathoms.
REED KELLY, PERFORMER: Right now this is really the only place that both of us can be and do what we do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You good?
RIPLEY: What they do takes hours of daily practice, discipline, athleticism, sacrifice.
KELLY: I'm away from my family. I'm not at home. I don't get to see my husband. We FaceTime every day and -- but it's -- it's been such a challenge.
I'm good. How's your day? RIPLEY: Kelly's husband, a doctor in Los Angeles. They've been apart
for almost a year. If Kelly leaves Australia, his visa won't allow him to return. Sydney, one of the only places in the world where theaters have reopened.
JACK DAWSON, PERFORMER: We seem to be doing really well. We're really grateful to be here where everything seems to be really under control.
RIPLEY: Broadway star Gabrielle McClinton just returned to the U.S. She spent months in Australia as the lead player in "Pippin." The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical was a smash hit in Sydney.
RIPLEY (on camera): Does that give you hope about Broadway?
GABRIELLE MCCLINTON, ACTOR: Absolutely. It definitely had its challenges, but we got through the season. And people came to the show wearing their masks, and we would get COVID tested every week. And when we weren't on stage, we were in our masks and everybody obeyed all the rules and we did our due diligence when we were outside of the theater, to make sure that we weren't putting people at risk.
RIPLEY (voice over): A model for reopening Broadway and beyond, says Australian playwright, Thom Wright.
TOM WRIGHT, ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE, BELVIOR ST. THEATRE: You need political and social leadership to provide a safe set of circumstances for theater to reopen.
RIPLEY: Sydney's Belvior St. Theatre has been open for five months. Strict COVID-19 lockdowns worked, virtually eliminating local cases.
WRIGHT: The reason why Sydney has been able to reopen is because people at local, state, and federal level took seriously the safety of the most vulnerable people in their society. And we're a reflection of that.
RIPLEY: The pandemic's devastating toll goes beyond empty theaters. Artists around the world are struggling.
KELLY: I've lost three people this year to suicide. And that's on top of the people that I know that have actually died from COVID. It's not just a job for us. This is our lives.
DAWSON: Yes.
We want to do this and we need to keep doing this. So we're just pushing through and in the hope for better days.
RIPLEY: Giving hope to performers everywhere. Their future remains up in the air.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: How are they doing it in Sydney? Well, they're really taking a scientific approach. Everything looks normal on stage, but offstage, there's social distancing, lots of sanitizer, wearing masks during rehearsals.
[07:00:02]
They've kind of created a bubble around the cast and crew, separating them from the audience and the people who deal with the crowds, which means none of those.
