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Biden Says Administration "Leaving an America with More Friends, Stronger Allies, and Enemies Under Pressure"; Strong Winds Threaten to Undo Progress as Crews Battle L.A. Blazes; Senate Confirmation Hearings for Trump Picks Start Tomorrow. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired January 13, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: ... without recognizing. I mean, listen, I don't consider myself a spring chicken, right? Joe Biden ...

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I do.

CHALIAN: -- has been in Washington at the center of foreign policy debates and policymaking for longer than I've been alive. And when you think about that, you know, 52 years ago, a 30-year-old Senator was starting out and here he is in his preferred milieu, right? The State Department and as he even referenced, chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, eight years as vice president, four years as president. This is the stuff that animates Joe Biden's public career, probably more so than anything else, domestically or politically. This is the stuff that has been the real-life force of his public life.

And so, seeing him in this moment to try and, of course, put his spin on it as to why he believes he was a good steward is a moment that I think as, you know, we're going to have a farewell speech from him in the Oval Office on Wednesday night, we're going to see him a little bit more this week. And then, of course, he's participating in all the formal tea at the White House and ride up to Capitol Hill for the inauguration to attend his successor's inauguration, because he believes in those traditions and institutions. But this speech was one that he hopes will be left with the history writers.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: And I want to quote, because it's relevant from his USA Today interview with Susan Page: "I think the only advantage of being an old guy is that I've known every major world leader for a long time." And I think that's fair to say. He was trying to bring that to the forefront there.

And look, one of the countries and dynamics we've been talking about a lot is Ukraine and Russia. I want to bring in Fred Pleitgen who's reported extensively from Ukraine over the course of this war.

And Fred, you know, one of the lines that the President had in that speech is that I'm the only one that stood in the center of Kyiv, not him, in regards to Vladimir Putin, of course. It might not be a new sentiment, even if it's a - maybe a new line, but for you, you've reported on the ground extensively with troops - Ukrainian troops. That sentiment, how is that translated to morale, to the president's office, in what has been, we know, a grueling, ongoing war with Russia?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A grueling ongoing war, Omar, is certainly one that's becoming more and more difficult for the Ukrainians. And I think that President Biden is, of course, right that he was the only one who was standing there in that square in Kyiv.

But at the same time, while there has been a lot of aid from the United States, while no doubt the Biden administration has also enabled a lot of NATO allies to do things that they never thought they'd be capable of doing. If you look at, for instance, where I am right now in Berlin, the Germans, they started out in all this offering 5,000 helmets to the Ukrainians.

And it was then when the Biden administration stepped in and offered leadership that the Germans really started offering up a lot of heavier weapons. The Biden administration gave the Ukrainians high mobility artillery rocket systems. The Germans gave the Ukrainians their version of that.

When it came to main battle tanks, the only reason why the Germans gave the Ukrainians Leopard 2 main battle tanks is because the Biden administration offered up the M1 Abrams tank. When you look at air defense, which President Biden spoke about, that is a key aspect where the Germans are giving, for instance, Patriot anti-aircraft systems, which are made in the U.S., but the US is giving most of the missiles.

So, enabling the alliance to give as much as they have to Ukraine certainly was definitely an achievement of the Biden administration. At the same time, as we're seeing on the ground, it certainly isn't enough.

If you look at the front lines, pretty much all of them. Right now, the Ukrainians are on the back foot. And while a lot of that is a lack of manpower on the part of the Ukrainians, a lot of that is also a lack of ammunition, which has been a real issue among Western countries and certainly the Biden administration as well. And then also, of course, a lack of weapons.

So, there can definitely be a case made that the Biden administration did a lot to help the Ukrainians, but at the same time, right now, it's the Russians that are advancing. And if you'll allow me, there's three areas or two areas that I think are still very important to speak about and that the president didn't really speak about at all. And one of them is when he says that Russia is on the back foot, China is on the back foot.

If you look at Africa, for instance, that simply isn't the case. Right there, the U.S. is losing ground. And if you look at Iran and North Korea, for instance, certainly Iran is losing ground in the Middle East, Russia is as well, but there are defense agreements right now between Russia, Iran and North Korea that certainly weren't there before. And that's definitely something that the Trump administration, when it comes in, is definitely going to have to contend with, guys.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, no doubt as China is seeking influence in Africa. But you heard as well, Biden making the case for Ukraine helping build up weapons expansion, just sort of that drumbeat of production in America. A lot of people say that is going to be crucial to be prepared for a potential conflict, very - an eye to China. So, that is something that he was hinting at there.

It has been a consequential four years, and it is wonderful to speak with you about it, Fred, as well as you, David, Cedric and Kim. Thank you so much.

[15:05:04]

We do have other breaking news happening right now, of course, in Southern California, where winds are kicking up. It's triggering fears of new wildfires being ignited. So, we've been watching these fires that are so destructive, they're now worried that there could be more that begin as crews are racing to contain these ones that are already raging across L.A. County.

The next few days are going to be critical. There are gusty conditions that are expected to intensify, and it's threatening to reverse the progress that has been made containing two of the largest and most destructive fires. Of course, the Palisades fire to the west, closer to the coast, which is 14 percent contained. And the Eaton fire, which is closer to Pasadena, it is currently 33 percent contained.

JIMENEZ: And look, when you zoom out here in total, flames have burned about 60 square miles. That is an area larger than Paris. And as far as we know to this point, at least 24 people have died, with dozens still reported missing. Officials are now warning residents who haven't been impacted yet to get an evacuation plan in place. Already, 10s of thousands have fled. Countless homes have been destroyed, and entire neighborhoods are now ash and debris.

We're following all of the latest developments.

I want to go to CNN's Stephanie Elam live in Malibu, who's been reporting really since the beginning of these fires.

I wonder, Stephanie, what are you seeing now?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You see a lot of downed power lines here, Omar. You can see right along here; these lines are down. But you also see across the street back there, up in the bucket, they've been out here. And those power lines that were down on that side are now back up.

So, they're trying to get those up, back and running, because this obviously is a hazard to have these power lines down here like this. But this is all the effects of what we see after a really big fire comes through.

And when you look over to my right here, you can see some of the destruction of where the fire just rolled through here a couple of nights ago, and just demolished this business here, charring everything. And coming across that hillside you see back there, and rolling all the way to the ocean. I went down there to check. There's a tree in the sand that is charred. It basically burned until it couldn't burn anything else here. And it's demolished these small businesses. It's demolished homes. It's demolished big businesses.

The amount of devastation from the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire in particular is astronomical. If you're at the other fire there where I was earlier this week, the Eaton fire, it's block after block that has been demolished. And when you look at the infrastructure that is impacted by this, even if your house did survive or your business did survive, do you even have sewer lines? Do you have water lines? Do you have power? There's - do you have a grocery store?

That's how massive this is and how it's so - it's fundamental things that we need just to exist. And that's why it's going to take a long time. And that's what you see here is the leftover of these questions for people as they're trying to figure out what their next step is going to be.

JIMENEZ: And as we show the progress of some of the fires on the screen as well. Progress has been made, but again, windy conditions ahead could complicate some of those efforts. Stephanie Elam, really appreciate the reporting.

I want to go to a major development on Capitol Hill where House Speaker Mike Johnson now says he believes conditions should be placed on California wildfire aid. I want to bring in CNN's Manu Raju who joins us from Capitol Hill.

Manu, you just spoke to the speaker about this issue. What is he saying?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I just spoke to him just moments ago about all of this. Remember, typically aid to rebuild after natural disasters typically does not have conditions. Typically, it's done by significant bipartisan support, but this has been a different situation with Donald Trump coming into office, with Donald Trump and Republican criticism over the leadership, the Democratic leadership in California and a sign that the aid to California could come with strings attached and could become a big fight in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We've we got have a serious conversation about that. Obviously, there's been water resources management, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems. And it does come down to leadership. And it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects, so that's something that has to be factored in.

I think there should probably be conditions on that aid. That's my personal view. We'll see what the consensus is. I haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend, because we've all been very busy, but it'll be part of the discussion for sure.

RAJU: What about the debt limit increase? What about tying the debt limit increase to it?

JOHNSON: There's some discussion about that, but we'll see where it goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And that last point has come up in private meetings as well is about how to raise the national debt limit to avoid a debt default. The suggestion there from the speaker that that's potentially could be tied to aid to California.

[15:10:03]

He said this has been part. This is just a discussion. We'll see where it goes. He was noncommittal about that, but certainly not ruling that out. So, expect that to be a live discussion. Now, Democrats pushed back at some of the accusations made about their leadership of the state of California. And some already are pushing back at his suggestion that there should be some strings attached to it.

One congressman, Jared Moskowitz of Florida said that - about Johnson's comments. He said, "This is a Mistake. If you start this, it will never end. When Dems retake the House, they will condition aid to Florida and Texas. Disaster Aid must stay nonpartisan."

And that has been really the tradition for many, many years even though there - sometimes it's subject to negotiation, some of the aid to rebuilding after natural disasters. Typically, it's done, it's approved as a major disaster relief package, was approved to deal with the hurricanes and natural disasters that hit last year through parts of the country, including in the southeast of the United States.

So how will this be resolved? That's going to be a major question and a crisis that the incoming president, Donald Trump, will confront. And how will the single party - Republican single party, GOP rule of Congress, how will they deal with that, all big questions in the weeks ahead, guys?

JIMENEZ: It was one of the rare moments of bipartisanship where you would see President Biden standing along for the governor, Ron DeSantis, for example.

Manu Raju, really appreciate the reporting.

Joining me now to talk more about the personal impact of these devastating fires is Nataly Tavidian. She's a reporter for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, and she sadly lost her childhood home to these catastrophic fires.

I'm so sorry. Thank you for being here.

I saw you write about your house on social media. You said, this is where I took my first steps, spoke my first words. Losing it is the worst pain I felt, second to losing my 58-year-old dad just three years ago.

I know you've been working as a reporter on these fires, but for you personally, what did you feel when you confirmed with your own eyes that your childhood home was gone?

NATALY TAVIDIAN, KNX RADIO REPORTER, LOST HER CHILDHOOD HOME TO FIRES: Omar, I feel it in my gut the way you just told me. It is the worst pain ever, and I know I'm not alone in this. When I first got the news, I was up working till about two in the morning, and I was covering the Palisades fire, and then the Altadena one broke out. And I just couldn't wrap my mind around it, and I needed a couple hours to even process what happened to bring myself to going to my childhood home and looking at it. It's in rubble. It's in ashes and I know I'm not the only one.

There are thousands of people going through this right now, but it is very, very painful to both cover this as a story and to tell my own story and to see what everybody is going through.

JIMENEZ: And as you were talking, we were literally showing some before and after images of your home that, again, have mirrored so many images of people who have lost their homes and more lost people in this as well.

As I understand, you were the one that had to tell your mom that your childhood home was gone. What was that conversation like?

TAVIDIAN: That was so difficult because I found out at about 4 AM, after working till 2 in the morning, and another friend of mine from a different television station actually called to tell me. And when she called me, I could hear it in her voice how horrible the damage was. And like I said, I couldn't believe it. I wanted to be like, can I salvage anything? Can you go inside? There is no inside. There is no outside, and I had to wait for a couple hours for both my mom and my brother to wake up so I can break the news to them.

And it's a death. It's the worst news to break to anyone to say, this is the home that you and dad built together. This is the home that my parents, they brought me home from the hospital. They closed escrow (ph) on pretty much the same day, and it is gone. It's 36 years of memories just gone. My mom was hysterical. I can't even put into words how painful it was to see her pain, how painful it continues to be to see her pain and to see so many people's pain.

And Omar, even people whose house - whose homes were spared when I'm speaking with some of my friends who say, you know, we won the lottery, but it doesn't feel good because in - this is our childhood. This is where we grew up, and entire towns are gone, and it is just heartbreaking on a level that I can't even put into words.

JIMENEZ: You know, and at this point, it's hard to even start to think about what comes next after all this. But the FEMA administrator, Deanne Criswell, told CNN it's going to take more than six months to clear the debris left by these fires. But, to your point, the memories and the community, and - like, that never comes back or at least not in six months. It's going to take years, decades. And for someone like you who's born and raised in L.A., I can only imagine what you're going through, you and your family.

[15:15:04]

Really appreciate you being here. Thank you for sharing your story, and thank you for continuing to report on your community.

TAVIDIAN: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, still to come for us, we're going to have more coverage of what have been really devastating wildfires in Southern California. At least 24 people have died, and dozens are still missing.

KEILAR: And later, President-elect Trump's cabinet picks set to face the white-hot spotlight of Senate confirmation hearings. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:55]

KEILAR: Senate confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump's cabinet picks begin tomorrow. A total of 13 people will face senators' scrutiny this week, and it's expected to be one of the most high- profile tests for Trump's picks, not just of their ability, but also their loyalty. CNN's Alayna Treene is near Mar-a-Lago, covering the President-elect.

And Alayna, this all starts tomorrow with two Trump picks. Tell us what to expect.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right. We will see two of Donald Trump's picks before the Senate committees tomorrow, both Doug Collins, a former Georgia congressman who was Donald Trump's pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, but also Pete Hegseth, his choice to lead the Department of Defense. One of the most controversial nominees that Donald Trump has, will be on Capitol Hill tomorrow.

Now, one key thing that we've been hearing from behind the scenes, and our colleagues, Steve Contorno, Lauren Fox and Ted Barrett have all done great reporting on this as well, is that Donald Trump and his team, his allies, his advisors, have really been working behind the scenes for weeks now to prepare these different picks for these big, high-profile battles.

And part of that has consisted of these mock hearings, we're told. Even some Senate Republicans have been involved in these sessions. We're told some of them have gone on for several hours. They have been rigorous. They have really been forcing some of these people, particularly ones like Hegseth, who are more controversial, to face some of the more controversial things from their past. Things like - that Hegseth has to confront, for example, maybe some of his allegations of sexual assault against him, some of his past comments regarding women serving in the military, things like that that they have been doing behind closed doors to help these different nominees prepare.

Now, a key thing that I've been told from Donald Trump's advisors is that they are confident and optimistic heading into this week. They believe that several of Donald Trump's cabinet picks should be sworn into office and confirmed within Donald Trump's first few weeks in the White House.

Just this week alone, you're going to see 13 of his nominees face their different confirmation hearings. And that is far ahead of schedule than what we saw eight years ago during Donald Trump's first administration, when it took several weeks and sometimes months to get some of his picks through.

And one thing I'm told as well is that they have learned from that prior time, that many of the people working with Donald Trump now know what to expect this time around. The people surrounding Donald Trump are more experienced and that they've really been able to help some of these different picks, again, particularly the more controversial ones like Hegseth that we'll see tomorrow, really prepare for some of these, you know, open and publicize battles. Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for that report from West Palm Beach.

Winds are picking up in Southern California as crews are battling wildfires for the seventh day now. Residents are being urged to prepare now for more evacuations. We're going to have the very latest from Altadena next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:27]

JIMENEZ: Back now to the breaking news. Right now, firefighters in Los Angeles are making a desperate push to stop deadly wildfires as dangerous wind and weather conditions over the next few days threaten to upend some of the progress made in this nearly week-long battle to save homes, communities and lives. The Eaton fire is now 33 percent contained, while the Palisades fire continues to burn out of control at just 14 percent containment, a much larger fire there.

Now, those killing at least 24 people so far, and fears are growing today that the number of victims will rise as dozens more remain missing. More than 92,000 remain under evacuation orders, and it's unclear when many of them are going to be able to return to their homes.

CNN's Veronica Miracle is live in Altadena, the site of the Eaton fire.

So, Veronica, what are you seeing there now?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Omar, I - you know, I'm losing service. We're kind of in and out of service. It's a touchy area right now as they're repairing all the power lines, so I didn't hear your question. However, we are in the middle here of the damage in Altadena at the Eaton fire, where the Eaton fire burned. And you can see behind me, just home after home has been destroyed. And a lot of what's happening right now is crews are out here.

We have seen crews - electrical crews out here all day trying to repair some of the power lines. But I was talking with the lineman and he said that, you know, they're repairing the power for the homes that are still standing. Unfortunately, these power lines are not going to be serving a lot of customers. There's just nothing left really in this block. But they're still wanting to make sure that those who do have a home are able to come back to something, to some power.

Now, the authorities today, they have been saying they need people to be patient because it's just so unsafe to come back, not only because we have all the repairs going on, the downed power lines, there's toxic ash in the air. There are gas lines that they're taking a look at to make sure that everything is safe.

They're also going home by home to see if there are human remains in these houses. And they are finding remains, and they expect to find more remains as there are people missing.

In terms of the investigation, right now authorities are saying here for the Eaton fire that the cause is still under investigation. However, the L.A. Times is reporting that there's an electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon that is currently blocked off that is being investigated as the possible source of the origin of the fire.

Now, SoCal Edison did put out a statement yesterday saying that all of their electrical equipment in Eaton Canyon was working fine and is not the cause of the fire.

[15:30:06]

But again, there is a - reportedly an electrical transmission tower that is ...