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Zelenskyy Arrives on Capitol Hill; Zelenskyy to Meet with Biden; House to Vote on Impeachment Inquiry; Harvard President Keeps Her Job; Gov. Sununu to Endorse Nikki Haley; Marc Short is Interviewed about the Iowa Caucuses. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 12, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:43]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Right as we speak, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on Capitol Hill with an urgent funding plea. Will his presence push skeptical lawmakers to pony up funding to Ukraine.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And House Republicans, they are trying to make a big step forward today toward formalizing the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The White House responds to this effort, baseless and a sham investigation.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A milestone ruling on near total abortion bans. The Texas Supreme Court rules against a woman who sought an emergency abortion for her high-risk pregnancy.

I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. We are all here. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: These are pictures from just seconds ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on Capitol Hill for a closed-door meeting with senators. This is a last-ditch effort for the Ukrainian president to try and secure more funding from Congress. The Biden administration has requested $60 billion in new aid for Ukraine, warning that if it is not approved funding could dry up by the end of this year. That is in just the next three weeks.

But it's going to be a really tough pitch for Zelenskyy because talks have stalled over one big sticking point -- the GOP will only move forward on Ukraine if it is grouped together with major policy changes on the U.S. southern border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We understand the crisis there. I understand the necessities of ensuring that Vladimir Putin does not prevail in Ukraine and march through Europe.

I'll explain to him that while we understand that, I've made my position very clear literally since the day I was handed the gavel, that we have to take care of our border first.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Republicans and only Republicans are holding everything up because of unrealistic, maximalist demands on the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Today's visit is a stark contrast to the one this time one year ago. Last year Zelenskyy received a hero's welcome and a standing ovation before addressing a joint session of Congress. You see that there, all of the clapping from both sides of the aisle.

On this visit, however, Zelenskyy was not even invited to speak in front of the House, only a private meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson.

CNN's Manu Raju is joining us now from Capitol Hill.

Manu, I know that Zelenskyy just came through and I think you were able to yell a question at him. What are you expecting from today's hearings?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I tried to ask the president of Ukraine about what would happen if there's no aid approved this month, and what that would mean for the future of his country. Given the fact that the White House itself has given -- offered dire warnings to Congress, saying that if there is no aid approved to Ukraine this month, then it could get kneecapped in its war against Russia. Fears that Ukraine could collapse without action by Congress.

But there are real expectations that there will be no action by Congress this year before lawmakers leave town as soon as this week until the new year because of that dispute over immigration. Republican after Republican are saying that they are welcome to hearing what Zelenskyy will say behind closed doors, but they're not going to change their approach. That's what even the top Republican negotiator, James Langford, who is part of that effort to try to see if there's any deal on immigration to unlock aid to Ukraine. He told me that no matter what Volodymyr Zelenskyy says behind closed doors, his approach won't change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So, he says, can you just approve Ukraine aid. Could you punt on immigration and approve --

SEN. JAMES LANGFORD (R- OK): No. No, no, no. No, we - we -- again, we have a responsibility to the United States of America. That would mean me going back to my state and saying I care about people in other countries, but I don't care about what's happening in my own country. It's important that we actually do two things at once here.

We've got to actually pay attention to our own needs while we're also dealing with the needs around the world as well.

There's no way to get it done this week. There's no way to be able to get it done this week.

RAJU: So you think this is going into 2024?

LANGFORD: I'd love to be able to see it resolved sooner than that, but if we can't get to a resolution on this, this will actually go into 2024 until we can actually get it resolved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:00]

RAJU: So, that is the real expectation right now, that this could drag into 2024. And that's what Democrats are particularly concerned about. They say they are not going to give into the Republican demands to take -- to make -- move from more restrictive policies along the border dealing with asylum provision, dealing with the president's ability to offer parole to migrants who cross -- across the border. They say that those were proposals that the Republicans are pushing would harken back to the Trump immigration policies. So, the partisan divide over that issue, which has been going on for some time, for decades, if you will, Congress unable to deal with immigration, could go into next year.

But what does that mean for the future of Ukraine? That is what the stakes that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will lay out behind closed doors in this meeting. I heard a round of applause from senators as he walked in, but does that changed Republicans' approach? Very unlikely at this moment.

He's expected to meet until about the 10:00 a.m. hour, then go across the Capitol, meet with Speaker Johnson, that private meeting. But you heard Speaker Johnson as well, his approach also not changing as Zelenskyy makes his pitch to lawmakers.

Sara.

SIDNER: Manu Raju, thank you so much for that very late-breaking news there. Getting word to Zelenskyy -- I mean this is what Russia was counting on, for the United States and others to maybe start to pare back as this war goes on.

BERMAN: No, the Russian military could not defeat Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians in Kyiv. Maybe politics in the U.S. can. I mean that's what he's up against right now. A very symbolic picture we've been looking at right now of Zelenskyy flanked by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Minority Leader Mitch McConnell there. Bipartisan support at the leadership level for Zelenskyy. But on the Republican side, in the rank and file, maybe not the same picture.

So, after Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy will head to the White House.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is there.

Arlette, what can we expect?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, President Biden personally invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here to Washington, hoping that he could make that urgent appeal to lawmakers and move the needle when it comes to getting support for aid for Ukraine. After the meetings on Capitol Hill this morning, Zelenskyy will be here for one-on-one meetings with President Biden, as well as a news conference with reporters.

But it really comes at a time when the White House has been warning that there is no backup plan if the $60 billion in aid for Ukraine is not passed. This morning, National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said it's a dire situation for Ukraine if the U.S. does not offer this further assistance.

Now, both Zelenskyy and President Biden have warned that inaction on this front is simply playing into Vladimir Putin's hands. Officials believe Putin is watching all of this very closely in Congress as he is plotting -- also plotting his next steps in this war against Russia.

But it really presents a very critical moment for both President Zelenskyy and President Biden. Zelenskyy, of course, needs to get more aid, supplies into his country as they are continuing their counteroffensive against Russia. And then for President Biden, he has staked so much of his arguments around the war this Ukraine, about trying to maintain western unity in the face of Russia's aggression. The president has also portrayed this as a national security interest for the United States, but also trying to send a message to other would-be aggressors about any actions that they might be considering.

But at this moment, even as Zelenskyy is expected to make that appeal to Congress, is expected to be here at the White House with President Biden, as Manu outlined, the chances of that aid passing before the end of the year really appear to be slim right now.

BERMAN: All right, Arlette Saenz for us at the White House, where part of the action will take place today. Arlette, we'll check back with you shortly.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And we're going to be following all of this as Zelenskyy works his way through the Capitol and then over to the White House throughout today.

Also happening on The Hill this morning, House Republicans are gathering right now behind closed doors, and soon the House Rules Committee is going to gather to vote on formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Now, this all has to do with his son, Hunter Biden, and his past business dealings. A floor vote on the matter could happen as soon as tomorrow.

CNN's Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill.

Lauren, there was a question at one point if Republicans had enough Republican votes to move this forward. That's clearly shifted if they're heading to rules. What's changed? LAUREN FOX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think time has really changed

the dynamics here. You're also hearing from some Republicans who are running for re-election in swing districts who argue that while they still wouldn't necessarily vote to impeach President Biden, they are willing to formalize an impeachment inquiry, and they're willing to vote for it because they argue it strengthens and bolsters their case to get documentation, to get interviews, to get information, all things they say will help them get into the facts of this case.

Now, we should note that there is no direct evidence between financial payments from foreign governments and the president himself. That is something that Republicans are trying to get to the bottom of, they say. But that evidence, when you ask them, they cannot confirm where that evidence exists.

[09:10:03]

So, that's a key component here.

There was one Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, Ken Buck, who had been, you know, pretty down on the idea of opening this impeachment inquiry, but here's what he said on our air last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEN BUCK (R-CO): I'm struggling right now, I have to tell you. On the one hand I have come out strongly and said that there is no direct evidence linking President Biden to the activities of Hunter Biden. And I have -- at the same time, the White House recently sent a letter, after these committees issued subpoenas to the White House, the White House sent a letter back and says, you haven't held an impeachment inquiry vote yet, and we're not going to give you any records until you pass an impeachment inquiry. I think that is an absolutely wrong position, and it's a delay tactic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And I want to point out that Republicans already have announced that they are engaging in this impeachment inquiry. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made that announcement this fall. This is simply a vote to formalize that process.

But you see there from Ken Buck that his belief is that moving that forward, having the formal vote, is going to bolster their case to get more information, which is why some skeptical Republicans, including himself, are weighing that as a potential option.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And that is even if Ken Buck still lands in the same place later on that he seems to be in right now, which is, he hasn't seen any direct evidence that Joe Biden has benefited from anything that Hunter Biden has done or is connected to anything Hunter Biden has done. It's this kind of in-between step that seems to be what's changed.

Let us see what happens. It's still a huge deal when they formalize this, if they formalize this and take it to the House floor.

Great to see you, Lauren. We're going to be back with you in a bit.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this just in here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL, Harvard's top governing body has issued a statement in support of the university's embattled president, Claudine Gay, signaling she will keep her job. This comes despite calls for her to step down after that disastrous Capitol Hill testimony on anti-Semitism.

CNN's Matt Egan is following this story for us.

Matt, you have already reported that UPenn's president resigned and stepped down. But we're seeing something a little different with Harvard. What do you know?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Sara. You know, this was a monumental decision facing Harvard, fire Claudine Gay or accept her apology. And after what they described as extensive deliberations, Harvard officials decided the latter. They're going to stand by Claudine Gay. They put out this statement pledging their unanimous support, calling her, quote, "the right leader to help our community heal."

But the statement from The Harvard Corporation did offer some criticism, including how Harvard responded to the Hamas terror attacks, saying, quote, "the university's initial statement should have been an immediate, direct, and unequivocal condemnation. Calls for genocide are despicable and contrary to fundamental human values."

And the statement did note that Gay has apologized for her testimony and committed to redoubling the fight against anti-Semitism.

Now, this will come as a huge relief to the Harvard faculty, who spoke up -- hundreds of them in the last 36 hours spoke out in support of Gay. Clearly a lot of Harvard professors, they did not want what they saw as outsiders meddling in their internal affairs. I did already hear from Harvard Professor Jason Furman, who's a former top Obama economic official, and he told me that he's glad that The Harvard Corporation made its own decision here instead of, quote, "outsourcing it to others," although Furman said he does hope that officials press Claudine Gay to move forward in a better way.

Now, this, of course, is not going to silence Claudine Gay's critics. Billionaire donor and Harvard alum, Bill Ackman, and he already posted last night on social media his displeasure for this decision before the decision was even announced.

We also heard last hour from New York Democratic Congressman Daniel Goldman on CNN saying that he is disappointed by this decision, and he's still calling for significant change.

And, by the way, Sara, a conservative non-profit group told me that they still plan to send four mobile billboard trucks to Claudine Gay's home today and tomorrow demanding that she resign. So, the controversy may not be over, but Harvard has made its decision. They are standing by Claudine Gay.

SIDNER: All right, Matt Egan, there is plenty of more reporting that will be coming out of this and the entire issue that happened on that congressional hearing on anti-Semitism. I appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: New this morning, Nikki Haley is about to pick up a big endorsement. This coming from sources.

And Ron DeSantis says polls are never accurate when it comes to the Iowa caucuses. We're live in Des Moines ahead of tonight's CNN town hall with the Florida governor.

Plus, a CNN exclusive, why Donald Trump kept reaching out to a former Mar-a-Lago employee-turned-witness months after the FBI raid on his Florida residence.

[09:15:08]

And new signs inflation could be slowing. The closely watched consumer report just up.

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BERMAN: All right, you are looking at live pictures from inside Capitol Hill where very shortly we will hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He is behind closed doors right now meeting with U.S. senators in what might be a futile effort to secure new funding for his war against Vladimir Putin and Russia's invasion of his country. We will bring this to you as soon as it happens.

In the meantime, breaking this morning, one of the biggest endorsements of the presidential primary season.

[09:20:01]

CNN has learned that New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is poised to endorse Nikki Haley, appearing with her as soon as tonight. Also tonight, one of the people who did not land that endorsement, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, he appears in a CNN town hall in Iowa where a new poll shows he trails Donald Trump by 32 points.

CNN's Jessica Dean is in Des Moines. We just learned of this imminent Chris Sununu endorsement of Nikki Haley. I'm sure Ron DeSantis will be asked about that tonight.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm sure he will be, John. And here in Iowa, of course, he got the endorsement of Iowa's very popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds. That was a big get for him.

This is a state that the DeSantis team has gone all in on. They think it's a really good state for him with a lot of evangelical voters that they've been courting. And you can imagine that's who he will be talking to tonight. New Hampshire, of course, is a state that Nikki Haley has been very

focused on. She and Chris Christie have their eyes on that state as a place that can really catapult them and give them even more momentum as we move through this primary season.

But the fact remains, John, and you have seen this as polling comes out and in the important state-by-state polling. And we got new polling from "The Des Moines Register" just yesterday giving us a snapshot of where the voters are here. And in that poll you can see that the former president leads with 51 percent. It is a commanding lead that he has held onto for the entirety of this primary season up until this point. And then you see DeSantis at 19, Nikki Haley at 16. So, DeSantis here in Iowa, a state that has meant so much to him and his campaign, is kind of fighting a two-front war, right, against the former president as the frontrunner and then in this fight for this second place against Nikki Haley.

So, we have seen him sharpening his attacks against both of those rivals in the past few days. Most pointedly on X. We actually saw -- the former president had said that he -- someone had told him that he was braver than those that serve on the battlefield by debating Hillary Clinton in 2016. And so DeSantis was responding to that and he said in part, "debating isn't brave, it's the bare minimum any candidate should do. Hiding from debates, on the other hand, is an example of cowardice." So pretty direct words there.

One thing to watch tonight, John, is just how sharply he does go after Trump and Haley. Trump in particular, because DeSantis has really tried to pitch himself to voters as essentially former President Trump but without the baggage. Someone that can, in his words, get the job done without kind of everything else and the chaos that follows the former president.

But in doing so, you can't alienate those people who have voted for the former president likely in the last two elections. So, he is going to be talking to people in this room. We will see how they react in real time when he's on that stage behind me with Jake Tapper tonight.

BERMAN: Yes, what's tough for Ron DeSantis right now is he trails Donald Trump in Iowa and then heads to New Hampshire where, again, Nikki Haley picking up this key endorsement from Governor Chris Sununu. It will not get easier for Ron DeSantis after Iowa.

Jessica Dean, thank you very much for that.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us now for more on this is Marc Short, longtime adviser to Mike Pence. He was also chief of staff when Pence was vice president.

It's good to see you, Marc.

So, let's start with Ron DeSantis and this big moment that he has this evening, big moment, big opportunity to connect with voters in Iowa. But this comes on the heels of this Iowa poll showing that he is not denting Trump's support there.

First and foremost, when DeSantis said yesterday that polling is never accurate when it comes to the Iowa caucuses, do you agree?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Partially, Kate. I think the reality is that Iowans have a tendency to choose late in the cycle. They can look back to whether or not that was Barack Obama's surge against Hillary Clinton or whether that was even Rick Santorum or Mike Huckabee's victories. The reality is, they do decide late. They like to see somebody who's been in their state.

As you know, Ron DeSantis finished touring all 99 counties in Iowa. But I do think that the dynamics are just different in this cycle. The reality is that Republican voters continue to rally around Donald Trump with each successive indictment, any sort of crowd out the rest of the field.

So, yes, I agree that in Iowa people are late deciders and the polling is not as significant as other states, but it's still hard to see how you change the trajectory right now.

BOLDUAN: And I hate giving you credit, everyone should know since we have so much fun jabbing each other on air.

SHORT: Well, thank you.

BOLDUAN: I'm playing, but you definitely deserve it, talking about this poll that we -- just came out yesterday from "The Des Moines Register," which gets at something that you have really been talking about for weeks now, which is, the conventional wisdom of when the field shrinks, the polls will narrow, making the Trump alternative stronger. That is not playing out. Do you think that when you see what this "Des Moines Register" poll, you know, 35 days to the Iowa caucuses, this makes Trump inevitable?

[09:25:06]

SHORT: Kate, I don't see what changes the reality that we're probably going to face a rematch of the 2020 election. I think even if you look further into the numbers that - that, I'm sorry, Trump is leading among pretty much all demographics. He continues to solidify support. It becomes more and more enthusiastic.

And to the first point you made about, as the field shrinks, there's a conventional wisdom that that would just benefit whoever's opposing Trump.

But, in particular, if you look at DeSantis' support, if and when he ever gets out, the reality is that most of his support goes back to Trump, not to the rest of the field. I think that's been playing out as Mike Pence exited, Tim Scott exited, others exited. It continues to create this more inevitability that Donald Trump will be the nominee for the Republicans.

BOLDUAN: We really have been seeing that, Marc. What do you think of what we've just learned this morning of Governor

Sununu getting ready to, according to sources, endorse Nikki Haley potentially this evening. He's scheduled to appear with her at an event in New Hampshire. What do you think - what do you think of the endorsement, and what do you think he can do for Nikki Haley?

SHORT: I don't think the endorsement is that much of a surprise. I think everybody was anticipating this. The question was when he would offer it to Nikki Haley. I think she needed this endorsement. I think that certainly every candidate in the field would want to get Chris Sununu's endorsement. But the reality is that I think DeSantis is -- with Kim Reynolds' endorsements, he has a bigger operation in Iowa. I think he's on track to finish second in Iowa. She needs to have a strong showing in New Hampshire. Her biggest competition there for second is probably Chris Christie. And so getting Sununu's endorsement is helpful.

But, Kate, again, run it through the table. If DeSantis is second in Iowa, if she's second in New Hampshire, you get to South Carolina, where, by all intents and purposes, it appears that Donald Trump is the strongest of all. And at that point I sort of feel like we sort of know where this inevitably is going to end up at that point. So, I think we're not far off from getting through South Carolina and seeing Donald Trump winning the first three states and every candidate then not really having a path forward.

BOLDUAN: Yes. So then let's talk about the hypothetical becoming less hypothetical rematch between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. His -- you've got strength amongst Republicans, but you have the new CNN polls that came out also yesterday in Georgia and Michigan showing that Trump is leading Biden in a hypothetical there.

But there's also this part of it that I wanted to ask you about. In Georgia and Michigan, when voters were asked about the charges that Donald Trump is facing, if true, 47 percent and 46 percent on this -- in those states say that it would disqualify Trump to be president. If that -- if that is weakness for him, how real do you think that problem is looking ahead?

SHORT: I think that Donald Trump is always going to be very polarized. Candidly, Kate, I think the two biggest issues to watch are the economy. With inflation coming down, I think that the economy has been a huge albatross for Joe Biden. That could change over the next 11 months if actually inflation stays low and you see the markets continue to rally. That's a big dynamic.

The second biggest fact, I think, candidly, is the third-party candidates. Donald Trump's support is so polarizing that there -- some people will never leave him. The people who I think were reluctant Republicans who chose Joe Biden in 2020, if they have other avenues, because there's more candidate on the ticket and they go there, I think that hurts Joe Biden significantly. And I think there's probably been less coverage of the fact of that dynamic playing out, the third- party candidates. You're not going to really eat into that loyal support for Donald Trump. It eats into more of Joe Biden's support.

BOLDUAN: Yes, the numbers from some of the third-party candidates are really eye-opening, as they have been at least recently.

It's great to see you, Marc. Thanks for coming in.

SHORT: Thanks, Kate. Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

And don't miss the CNN Republican presidential town hall with Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis. That is tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern live from Iowa. Jake Tapper hosting that. Don't want to miss it.

Sara.

SIDNER: We even do ventriloquy on this show, as well. So, watch for that.

New coming up, exclusive CNN reporting about Donald Trump's classified documents case. What we're learning about who the former president contacted just a few months after the FBI seized those classified records from his home. That's ahead.

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