Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

CDC COVID Guidance Pushback?; Interview With Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI); House Nearing Vote on COVID Relief Bill; FBI Releases New Video in Capitol Pipe Bomb Investigation; Queen Elizabeth Breaks Silence. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired March 09, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:01]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Let's go to Washington.

"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

And we begin with breaking news for you today.

Moments ago, the FBI released new videos of the suspect who left pipe bombs outside both the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the Capitol insurrection.

Officials believe the pipe bombs may have been intentionally placed there, away from the Capitol, in order to divert police attention as the insurrectionists stormed the Capitol on January 6.

A law enforcement official tells CNN the pipe bombs had been filled with an explosive powder and rigged with egg timers. They were detonated by robots.

CNN's Evan Perez joins me now live.

Evan, what other new details are your sources in the FBI telling you about the suspect?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, these are new images and new video showing the movements of the person who is believed -- the FBI believes placed these two devices outside the RNC and the DNC.

It's remarkable that, two months after the insurrection, after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, they still have very little to go on. But that doesn't mean that they don't have a lot of clues from these videos. For instance, the FBI says that suspect is seen wearing a Air Max Speed Turf shoes, yellow, black and gray.

You can see in the images he is wearing -- he or she is wearing a hooded sweatshirt, as well as a mask. One of the things that is interesting, Jake, is that the FBI says that the devices are believed to have been placed between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. the night before.

As you pointed out, prosecutors, the FBI have said that they believe perhaps that these bombs were placed as a way -- as a diversionary tactic, as a way to draw law enforcement away from the U.S. Capitol as the attack began on January 6.

But the question is -- the timer that's used here, it's described as a kitchen timer. That suggests that perhaps these devices should have gone off the night before. And if that had been the case, everything would have changed about January 6.

So, again, a lot of questions remain about exactly the relationship between the placement of this device on the night before the January 6 insurrection and the events that happened in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, whether the persons are connected or whether this was another group that had nothing to do with those -- with the attacks that was trying to do something else.

Again, a lot of questions that remain from the FBI. The FBI says that they have a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Well, and that's what I want to ask you about, Evan, because the release of this new video, plus the $100,000 reward, would suggest possibly that the FBI is really not necessarily any closer to figuring out who this is than they were two months ago.

PEREZ: Yes. No, I think that does tell you that they're kind of at a dead end.

Again, they have spent a lot of time looking at these devices. They have them at the FBI lab in Quantico. They have analyzed the makeup of them. The question is, did this person know what they were doing? It looks, from what the FBI is describing, this was homemade black powder that was used.

Why didn't it work? Again, using a kitchen timer tells us that this wasn't some kind of sophisticated device that was set to go off on the day of the attack. Again, if it was placed between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. the night before, it suggests that this should have gone off on the night before the attack.

And you can think, if this had gone off on the night before, perhaps the security picture at the Capitol would have been far different than what we saw.

TAPPER: All right, Evan Perez, thank you so much for that. Appreciate it.

The other big news on Capitol Hill right now, the House of Representatives is expected to vote tomorrow on President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill. But with Republican zero support expected.

But with zero Republican support expected Democrats can afford only a few defections to pass this bill and get it to the president's desk, as CNN's Phil Mattingly now reports for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What hit you the hardest when the pandemic hit?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Joe Biden stopping by a Washington hardware store to highlight his administration's targeting of aid to small businesses devastated by the pandemic.

BIDEN: Four hundred thousand small businesses went out of business. They got in line, but they couldn't get the help. And we found out that an awful lot of that went to bigger business that, in fact, weren't supposed to qualify.

MATTINGLY: The House expected to pass his sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan tomorrow.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): The American Rescue Plan is transformative.

MATTINGLY: Even as all Republicans remain opposed.

[16:05:03]

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): The spending, the $1.9 trillion spending bill, is not focused on COVID relief. It's focused on pushing more of the far left agenda.

MATTINGLY: It includes Democratic priorities, like an $86 billion bailout of union pension plans, and $5 billion to forgive debt for black, Hispanic and indigenous farmers.

But the White House touting the most significant short-term surge in cash for low and moderate income Americans in decades, the stimulus checks, which would provide $5,600 for a typical family of four making $100,000, extensions of emergency unemployment benefits for roughly 11 million Americans, an unprecedented expansion of the child tax credit, which would reach 66 million, and is estimated to cut child poverty in half.

QUESTION: Is this a crisis at the border?

MATTINGLY: But now the White House staring down a different crisis.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The people who are being led in are unaccompanied children. That is a policy decision which we made.

MATTINGLY: The surge of child migrants at the border.

PSAKI: We have been very clear that there is an increase, that there are more children coming across the border than we have facilities for at this point in time.

MATTINGLY: More than 3,400 unaccompanied migrant children in Customs and Border Protection custody, according to documents reviewed by CNN.

Biden sent top administration officials to the border and is expected to receive their report soon, officials say. But the pressure is growing for solutions, even if the White House refuses to call it a crisis.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. SECRETARY HOMELAND SECURITY: We are challenged at the border. It is a stressful challenge.

BIDEN: No. We will be able to handle it, God willing."

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: I do agree with the president that it's not a crisis yet.

PSAKI: Look, I don't think we need to sit here and put new labels on what we have already conveyed is challenging.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And, Jake, the biggest question for tens of millions of Americans is, when will those stimulus payments go out? President Biden said by the end of the month, once he signs the bill into law. I'm told that timeline is likely to move up a little bit.

The Treasury Department, the IRS currently working on speeding those payments, particularly for those individuals who already have bank accounts on file. Remember, two payments have already gone out over the course of the pandemic.

One thing that won't be on those -- or on those checks, the president's name. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, today saying it wasn't a priority for the president to have his name on the checks. Therefore, he's not going to do it. Of course, you will remember the president's predecessor, Donald Trump, put his name on the checks, making clear he believed Americans would appreciate his name on a big fat check, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Phil Mattingly at the White House, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss is Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

Congresswoman, thanks so much.

We will talk about the massive COVID relief bill in a minute. But I want to start with these new videos from the FBI of the suspect who planted pipe bombs outside the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee the night before the insurrection.

You're on the House Homeland Security Committee. Does it surprise you that the suspect still has not been identified?

REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Yes, I'm a little surprised that it took us two months to see video. Frankly, this area probably has more video cameras pointing at it than most places in the country. And I'm glad that we put out the search now for whoever this

individual is. But I think the fact that we're unclear about, were the bombs supposed to go off that night, was it supposed to be a diversionary tactic the next day just highlights the need for a 9/11- style commission, something that really has the time and the sort of wherewithal to go through and understand what happened, what led to that day, in a bipartisan way.

But I am surprised it took this long to get that feed out.

TAPPER: I know a lot of Democrats and Republicans have been concerned about their security in light of what happened on January 6.

And since then, we have interviewed members of Congress who ask that we not even say where they are in the interview because of death threats. Have things abated at all? I saw last week there was this concern about March 4, about what might happen with the QAnon on conspiracy theory, et cetera. And that seemed like it was kind of a dud.

Has it dialed down at all?

SLOTKIN: So, we got a briefing. All House members were eligible to go get a briefing yesterday from General Honore, the general who did kind of that quick initial review of what happened on January 6.

And the report out on how many sort of threats there are to members of Congress, both here in Washington and in their districts, I mean, it's up precipitously from a year ago, to the point where the Capitol Police aren't able to handle all the reports they're getting.

I know most members of Congress that I know are getting additional security at their homes back in the district. People are worried about their security when they're here in the -- in Congress, particularly after the National Guard leaves.

So, I don't think it's abated in any way. And certainly in my own experience we just had an indictment against someone who's been threatening my team. So it isn't gone. It hasn't gone down for those of us who are members of Congress, certainly not.

TAPPER: Well, that's bad news. OK. Thank you about that.

I want to ask you about the mass COVID relief bill, $1.9 trillion. We know that no House Republicans are supporting the bill and that House Democrats, you are all going to need near unity to get this passed.

[16:10:09]

Your fellow Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib said last week that she might not vote for the bill if it -- the final one, the final version, does not include the $15 federal minimum wage increase. And it does not. Are you confident that Democrats have the votes to pass this?

SLOTKIN: I do. I am confident. I mean, I think that we don't tend to put bills on the floor where

it's a nail-biter. We tend to know what the votes are. And I know that the whip team, the folks who are counting all the votes, are very busy today.

And, listen, I mean, I think, in a perfect world, we would have been able to do this in a bipartisan way. That's always, for me, a better way to do things. But we have to act. And I think that this is going to provide significant relief to -- particularly to a lot of the businesses that I'm hearing from.

We have been pushing for relief for restaurants for almost a year now. And ,finally, we have $25 billion in grant money for our restaurants, our small businesses. So, it isn't a perfect package. No package ever is. But I think, on net, it's a positive to help momentum in recovery.

TAPPER: All right, Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, thanks so much for your time today. Appreciate it.

SLOTKIN: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: A day after releasing its new guidance for vaccinated Americans, the CDC is getting some major pushback. You can find out why next.

Also, two Biden nominees facing especially tough scrutiny from Republicans. Critics say they see a familiar pattern.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:44]

TAPPER: We're back with the health lead; 60 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose of vaccine, including many of the most vulnerable Americans. According to a CNN analysis, 60 percent of Americans aged 65 or older have received at least one shot.

And we should just take one second here to acknowledge how remarkable this is. Within a year of this pandemic spreading throughout the world, several lifesaving vaccines have been developed, and the U.S. ranks in the top 10 of countries when it comes to the percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated. That's great news.

Now, that said, of course, most of the country is eagerly waiting for their turn to get the vaccine and -- quote -- "COVID isn't done with us" is the message from former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, as we approach the one-year mark of this pandemic.

CNN's Erica Hill now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 9, 2020:

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: CNN is now calling the outbreak a global pandemic.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When we look at these numbers now and look at what's happening around the world, it's important, I think, to call this a pandemic.

HILL: The numbers then, 22 lives lost in the U.S., 565 confirmed cases, one year later, nearly 525,000 deaths, 29 million cases.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We will be lowering the flags across the state of Ohio to honor the lives of all those who have been lost, and to honor all those who have been part of this battle.

HILL: But there are reasons to celebrate today. With an average of about 2.2 million shots a day, nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population is now fully vaccinated. Among those 65 and over, it's 30 percent.

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Getting those two doses of vaccine, being fully vaccinated, and now knowing they can get together with other people, that's a huge, huge emotional release and lift.

HILL: Getting together OK, with caveats, according to the CDC, but travel for fully vaccinated Americans still discouraged, prompting immediate pushback.

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH, EMORY UNIVERSITY: I think it's important to tell people how to travel because, they are traveling already.

HILL: Over 5.6 million people passing through TSA checkpoints in just the last five days. New polling finds Americans are more optimistic about a return to normal; 40 percent see it happening in the next six months or less. That's up from 26 percent in January.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We're going to vet fully vaccinate the American people by the summer. But with this new -- these new variants on the rise, we have to be really cautious.

HILL: Texas is set to reopen tomorrow, the same day its mask mandate expires, though businesses can keep their own requirements in place.

ART ACEVEDO, HOUSTON, TEXAS, POLICE CHIEF: I can see the conflict coming, and the cops will be stuck in the middle, just like we always are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said he will likely still wear a mask, despite the mandate expiring in his state tomorrow.

And that's news that's been met with some frustration, understandably. But, Jake, he may not be alone. That same poll that I just mentioned from Axios/Ipsos found that some 81 percent of respondents said, even after they received the vaccine, they would continue to mask up.

TAPPER: All right, Erica Hill, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Joining us now, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, let's begin with the CDC guidance. The good news is -- let's just take my personal example. My mom is fully vaccinated. So, if my kids are healthy, which they are, my kids can now go hug their grammy for the first time in more than a year.

But there are some caveats. What are they?

GUPTA: Yes.

It's funny, Jake. We have been doing this a year, right? And you and I text back and forth all the time, so sort of figuring out our lives and all this. And I'm happy for you, because it sounds like this is going to happen. I know you -- your kids have been wanting this to happen. And it can now, which is an amazing thing.

Caveats? So, 10 percent of the country's vaccinated, 90 percent is not. That's the basic thing. Your mom is -- your mom is -- she's protected, right, and largely protected because these vaccines. It's really more about her obligation to others, if she's traveling to see you, whatever it might be. Could she still be a carrier and transmit it to somebody who's vulnerable? Perhaps.

I think it's very unlikely. I think we're going to find, as we're starting to see data out of various places around the world ,that the vaccine not only dramatically reduces illness, but also dramatically reduces transmission.

[16:20:08]

TAPPER: Fully vaccinated Americans are still being discouraged from traveling. But we have learned that the CDC did consider changing that guidance. Do you expect that to change going forward?

It seems like, if you're fully vaccinated, you could get tested. And if you're not a carrier, why not travel?

GUPTA: Yes.

No, I think it will change. And I think that it may change within a couple of weeks even. Andy Slavitt, I was talking to him. He basically said, they're tying these recommendations directly to the percentage of people who are vaccinated. Doing 2 to 2.5 million vaccines a day means another 10 percent of the country will be vaccinated in the next two weeks.

Now, 30 percent of the country could be vaccinated by the end of this month. So, I think it will change.

Jake, I think the reason they didn't put the travel thing on there had nothing to really do in this case with the vaccines, as much as they just don't want people traveling. One could make the argument that vaccinated people would be safer to travel, because they'd be less likely to transmit the virus. And, Jake, as you know, we have talked about this a lot. We haven't

seen huge outbreaks related to airline travel. Maybe the outbreaks are related to when people gather in large locations after airline travel, such as spring break or whatever, but the airplanes themselves don't seem to be the issue.

TAPPER: And, right now, about 60 percent of Americans 65 years old and older have received at least one dose. I mean, that's great. It's significant progress, given that 65 and older is one of the most vulnerable populations.

GUPTA: Yes, so we talk about the 10 percent number of people who have been vaccinated, but we're largely and more so now vaccinating the right people, in the sense the people who are most -- this prevents illness. So the vaccine should go to people who are at most risk of getting sick.

So I think we showed the numbers earlier. But if you're starting to get to 30 percent of people over 65 who are vaccinated, keep in mind that they are far more likely to get sick, to be hospitalized than people 5 to 17, for example, 35 times higher; 85 years old are 80 times higher more likely to be hospitalized. So you got to vaccinate the right people.

Jake, you will remember, at the beginning of this pandemic, about a third of the deaths were occurring in long-term care facilities. Those residents have now largely been vaccinated; 75 to 80 percent have been vaccinated. That makes a difference. You got to vaccinate and vaccinate the right people first.

TAPPER: Yes, it's a great achievement. I mean, it started with Operation Warp Speed under Trump, and it's continued in earnest under President Biden. It's -- and the scientists obviously get most of the credit.

One year ago today, Sanjay -- we went back and looked -- one year ago this week -- or today, rather -- you began calling this a pandemic, even though the World Health Organization and the CDC were not using that term yet.

So, one year since you accurately labeled this as a pandemic, what do you make of where we stand in the fight against this pandemic right now?

GUPTA: Jake, right now, there's favorable signs.

But, I mean, this has been a terrible year. And this should not feel like normal in any way. I mean, people see the numbers on the right side of the screen, and we remind people of this every day. I think, at that time, a year ago today, I anticipated that things were going to get bad. That's why we went ahead, and, after looking at and doing our analysis, we knew this was turning into a pandemic.

But, Jake, I got to be honest. There's that adage, prepare for the worst, hope for the best. I never -- even in the worst models, I didn't think it'd be what we're seeing now. TAPPER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

And this Friday, join me and Sanjay. We're going to have a live CNN special about how to get kids back into the classroom safely. We're going to hear from parents, students, teachers, unions about the daily challenges of education during the pandemic. The secretary of education, Miguel Cardona, will be there, the head of the NEA teachers union, Sanjay as well.

Join me, "Back to School: COVID and the Fight to Reopen," only on CNN at 9:00 p.m. Friday.

The first royal reaction to the Harry and Meghan interview has come out, and it's from the queen herself. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:28:55]

TAPPER: Our world lead now: The royal family says in a statement that they are saddened by the allegations made by Harry and Meghan in the explosive interview that they did with Oprah seen around the world.

That is the first reaction from the queen, who released a statement this afternoon, saying -- quote -- "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."

They go on to say nice things about Harry and Meghan.

Let's get right to CNN's Max Foster outside Windsor Castle.

Max, what's your big takeaway from the statement?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have to decipher them.

First of all, it's a statement from the queen. It's not from Buckingham Palace. So this is the queen at Windsor Castle making it very clear she's in charge. Everyone, sit down and listen to this.

When you say she was saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been, what she's saying is that -- saying there is, we didn't know a lot of this.

When Meghan and Harry say the palace did know about it and they didn't act, she is saying, we didn't know the full extent of what you're describing here, presumably, the mental health issues there.

She also talks about how recollections may vary.

[16:30:00]