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Don Lemon Tonight

Senate Voting On $900 Billion COVID Rescue Package; White House Advisers Fear Trump's Final Days; Interview With Sen. Chris Coons (D- DE); Biden Gets First Dose Of Pfizer Vaccine On Live TV; GOP Lawmakers Who Downplayed Coronavirus Face Backlash Over Getting Early Vaccinations; White House Considering Requiring Travelers From U.K. To Present Proof Of Negative COVID-19 Test; Attorney General Bill Barr Breaks With Trump In Final Days Of President's Term. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired December 21, 2020 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST (on camera): Breaking news, the Senate is voting on the $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus package. The House already passing the bill, which will finally give relief to millions of Americans who were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic and its damage that it's done to the economy.

As of tonight, a record 115,000 Americans are hospitalized with this virus. And more than 18 million have been infected. You know, you think about this idea that we're watching right now, as the live votes are coming in. And you think about just the amount of delay that it taken to get to this point in time. Months of gridlock had led us to this moment in time.

And you're watching on the floor right now what's happening. We go to Manu Raju, a senior congressional correspondent, who is live on Capitol Hill right now. Manu, you're there, and what are you seeing? What is the latest in the Senate vote right now?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER (on camera): Well, it's going to be a big vote. An overwhelming bipartisan vote will get this bill across the finish line, after months of partisan haggling, stalemate, gridlock, and Americans suffering through this crisis. Finally, the two sides have come together, they'll have agreed to a $900 billion relief package that will eventually get to the president's desk.

It's going to take a little bit of time, because this bill is so gigantic. I mean, you're at talking about a $900 billion relief plan on top of $1.4 trillion in federal spending. They are going to be tied together, $2.3 trillion packages as (inaudible) to more than 5,500 and legislative tax. And that in fact was just unveiled this afternoon.

And already, the Senate right now is giving final approval to this massive package that will land on the president's desk. Now, it's going to take a couple of days to get the paperwork and everything together. The Senate will send it to the president's desk. So, what the Senate and the House did in the meantime, is they approved a one- week stopgap measure to keep the government open for an additional week to get them time to get this legislation formalized and send to the president's desk were he plans to sign it.

Now, once he signs it, then those benefits will start to kick in, including $600 for that one-time direct payments that would go to individuals who make less than $75,000 a year each person in that family will get $600, depending on family of four could get $2,400, depending on the sort of income level that they are on. If they reach the certain income requirements.

And in addition to that, jobless benefits. People are about to see their benefits expire, millions of people, but this legislation would extend those benefits, including that $300 a week to people who are about to see those expire, those enhanced unemployment benefits will last about 11 weeks.

In addition to that, more than $80 billion for schools, billions more for vaccine distribution, about $280 billion for small businesses. So, this package is massive, the second largest rescue package in American history, something that was hard-fought, and really only come together at the last several days of intense round the clock negotiations among the Congressional leaders.

They've drop it, they've laid, they finally put it out today and already it's going to get through both chambers of Congress in just a matter of hours from its introduction here, Laura.

COATES: I mean, the numbers you are talking about are staggering, but so, then again it's to despair people of experiencing all year long. Manu Raju, thank you for you reporting as always. I appreciate it.

Joining me now, CNN's White House correspondent John Harwood, and political analyst Toluse Olorunnipa. Both of you, I'm glad that you're here tonight on what an historic occasion, right now. So many people have been waiting and desperate for this opportunity to try to make ends meet at the end of the year, let alone all through 2020.

John, let me begin with you, because the president was absent from negotiations on this, and the American people have been suffering for months with no leadership and no deal until right now. We are talking about this is what, the 21st of December now? What took so long?

[23:05:05]

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, look, what took so long is a function of what was happening in Congress. With respect to President Trump, he is as secretary Cohen told you a few minutes ago, he's never been fit to be president.

But he is right now in a position where he's not even interested in faking it. No public events on his schedule again tomorrow. And I think what is really going on is that the president is psychologically disabled at the moment by his defeat. This is somebody who throughout his life has been terrified of being labeled a loser.

He's struggling against that. And so he's spending a ton of his time watching television, tweeting, and making some sort of crazy schemes with people at the White House to try to somehow overturn his defeat, which is not going to happen.

And as a result, the American people are seeing people like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Flynn, and various people going in and out with the president. Just engaging in crazy talk about martial law, at seizing voting machines, and all that sort of stuff. That's where we are with this president. And we have got 30 more days to go with it.

COATES: You named about a couple members of the motley crew. So, you know, that he met with members of Congress as well tonight to try to push his otherwise bogus claims at this point in time about the election. So, what are you hearing about the meetings with the actual members of Congress as well, John?

HARWOOD: Well, he's trying to get people to contest the election on January 6th when Congress meets to certify the Electoral College vote. It's going to be easy to get one in the House because there are so many Trumpy extreme members of Congress who see doing this, doing Trump's bidding underscore as a way to raise money and get famous, and get praised by him.

Some of them may even believe it. Because some of them are not all there (inaudible) either. But in the Senate, it's going to be more difficult. Because Mitch McConnell is really putting the hammer down, trying to stop this. John Thune, one the members in the Republican leadership said tonight that if a Senator objects and tries to provoke a debate, it's going to get taken down like a shot dog.

So, I think it is not going to go anywhere. But if you're the president of the United States, think about where you are. You have 30 more days in office. You're about to lose the benefits and protections of the presidency. You owe hundreds of millions of dollars. And you are facing the threat of criminal prosecution.

It's a bleak picture and so the president, who often talks about how people choke like a dog in certain situations, is right now choking on his defeat, thrashing around, trying to figure out some alternative. He's not going to find one.

COATES: I mean, Toluse, I'm dying to hear your opinion of this as well. Because you know, there are multiple senior Trump officials who are telling CNN that they're fearing what could happen in the final days that John is talking about. I mean, the talk of seizing voting machines, there's talk of invoking martial law.

Is there anyone in the White House who can tell the president that this is insane? Is there any adult in the room who is confident but not being a yes-man at this point?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALSYT, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, BLOOMBERG NEWS (on camera): They are fewer and fewer people who could be seen as guard rails around this president, even as he has become more and more unhinged, more and more willing to break with traditions and break norms and push the bounds of you know, just general human behavior, not to talk about presidential behavior.

And talking about things like invoking martial law, attacking members of his own party if they get out of line. The president had seen, you know, people who were somewhat in the mainstream, even though they were very much on his side.

People like Attorney General Bill Barr, starting to leave his side, leave the administration. A lot of people are shopping around their resumes. So there aren't that many people who might be seen as relatively sane to talk to the president and say, no, you cannot invoke martial law, you cannot use the military to try to overturn the results of an election that you lost.

And instead, he has people around him like Sidney Powell, people like Rudy Giuliani, people who are willing to tell him whatever he wants to stroke his ego, even if conspiratorial, even if there's no basis in fact to the things that he's hearing. He's looking for that kind of affirmation. He's looking for people to tell him he's going to be able to stay in office after January 20th.

And he's reaching further and further to the fringes of the political atmosphere to find those people. And the guardrails around the presidency have really, you know, fallen away. And there are not very many people who are left, people who may have been able to tell the president the truth.

Now, they've either disappeared or they've been sidelined or they've been ousted, or they've been attacked by the president. And now instead he's surrounded himself with sycophants who are willing to tell him what he wants to hear.

[23:10:00]

COATES: Well, you know, looking for ego stroking is one thing, Toluse, but you're actual reporting that this is that president actively trying to handicap Biden's presidency, not just have his own ego stroked and have people not acknowledge of the emperor has on no clothes. Is the ultimate goal here to try to create Trojan horses in the incoming administration, too?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, there are a number of things the president is doing to make it much harder for Joe Biden to govern as a president after January 20th. He's already going to be inheriting a number of problems from the pandemic to the economic challenge that the country is facing.

The issue of racial injustice is facing the new incoming president. President Trump is making it that much harder. He is installing people across government to burrow into the various agencies to continue his policies as opposed to Joe Biden's policies after Joe Biden takes over.

He is essentially making it hard for millions of Americans to see Joe Biden as a legitimate president, by you know, pushing forward all of this fraudulent -- all these claims of fraudulent voting and the idea that the election was stolen and rigged. And he's essentially saying that Joe Biden is not a legitimate president.

That's going to make it much harder for Biden to take office and to take control. And President Trump is using his final 30 days or so that he has in office to put in place all kinds of policies that will be very difficult to overturn, very difficult to shift back to the traditions and the norms that the country is used to. So, it will be very difficult for Biden to take over.

COATES: Yes. John, Toluse, thank you for your time. You know, I shuddered to think, if that's the plan, how does that serve America? That rhetorical, no needs to answer that. We'll talk again soon. Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate it.

I want to bring in Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware. He just cast his vote on the stimulus bill in the Senate. Senator Coons, thank you. I'm glad that you're here, particularly after having cast that very important vote. Are you happy with this $900 billion stimulus bill? I mean, it's far from the $1.8 trillion that Mnuchin made this fall. That offer?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Laura, I'm relieved. This is something that we had to get done. We should have gotten it done months ago, as you mentioned. There were offers back and forth before the election. But there was never a moment before the election where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of the Senate said he would accept more than $500 billion.

So the fact that we are overwhelmingly passing a $900 billion relief package tonight is some encouragement to me. This is just short-term aid. What I hear every day from Delawareans is they are incredibly anxious, concerned even angry.

Their unemployment has run out, they are facing eviction, many are going to our food bank for the first time. This will help provide stopgap relief for several months. But we are going to have to come back and provide more relief early next year.

COATES: So, when do you think this might actually be a check in hand for people? Or when do they get the funds?

COONS: Some folks could see the stimulus checks, the $600 per individual making under $75,000 or a family under $150,000. Those could be sent out as early as next week. A family of four that is eligible could get $2,400. Those will be distributed fastest to those who filed electronically for their taxes, or who received a stimulus check before.

There is also close to $300 billion in support for small businesses. Those who received one of those PPP loans before, who had particularly big loses and especially those like restaurants and hotels who are in the hardest-hit segments, they'll also receive relief fairly quickly.

But there's lots of ways in which this bill is providing support through states for the distribution of the vaccine, for schools, for those facing eviction or housing loss, for nutrition. It does provide a lot of relief across a lot of different areas, Laura. COATES: Well, Senator Coons, while all this hard work is being done,

the president is still trying to overturn the election.

COONS: Yes.

COATES: So, I mean, we're told there's been talks of even trying to seize voting machines, about invoking martial law. I mean, are you worried that these things could actually happen? Especially of you have this backdrop of this all important bill and relief for people to get what they needed all this time?

COONS: Laura, I'll remind you that President Trump in recent days has been doing nothing to help us as a role model by getting vaccinated or wearing a mask. Nothing in terms of responding to a broad scale attack by Russia on our security infrastructure, and nothing to help get this final COVID relief bill done.

In fact, he is threatening to veto the defense bill that we recently passed that would strengthen our cyber defenses. So, you know, look, President Trump has utterly failed to actually be president in these recent days. We have just a month left until the inauguration.

[23:15:03]

Of course I'm concerned about the ways in which he is setting a terrible example for the world, about how to serve as president and how to accept the results of an election. But I'm confident that Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20th as 46th president of the United States.

COATES: I mean, Toluse Olorunnipa just told me that Trump is actively trying to make Joe Biden's job harder. You talked about the idea of setting a bad example for the world about how to lose an election. Is he setting some sort of a trap, or establishing disadvantages for the incoming Biden administration right now?

COONS: That started with the election, when President Trump refused to allow his senior leaders to begin a transition to prepare the incoming Biden administration to handle the pandemic that President Trump so mishandled. To help with our economic recovery. The transition got started more than a month too late.

And I am concerned that there are ways in which some of his most loyal administration leaders like the Secretary of Defense have slow walked or interfered with transition briefings. This is concerning. But frankly, tonight is the winter solstice, as I think you know, stars aligned in the sky tonight. And I think that's an important symbol of what happened on the Senate floor that we passed a $900 billion relief package.

And starting tomorrow, the night get shorter and the days get longer, and we begin to move towards a new year, a new spring and hope for a new beginning for our country. With Joe Biden as our next president, we have a chance to come together as a country and to move past this disastrous presidency of Donald Trump, and forward towards a more unified country and a more positive presidency. COATES: And the vaccines, as of late, are also giving people a much-

needed optimism about what the future could look like. A return to normalcy or maybe even the planet earth. And we have a picture of you Senator Coons receiving your COVID-19 vaccine this weekend. How are you feeling? Any side affects you should know about? Any concerns?

COONS: I feel great. Laura, there were no side effects, just a little bit of soreness in my arm that is typical with any vaccination. But no side effects, whatsoever and frankly many of my colleagues have also been vaccinated and have told me none of them have had any side effects either.

This is a miracle of science, this vaccine and we're so grateful to the researchers here and around the world who raced from the discovery of this pandemic, this COVID-19, and into the development of several safe and effective vaccines. This is the shortest timeline in which an effective vaccine has ever been developed.

I have full confidence in its safety. I urge people to take it when it's available. And to recognize that the only way we will ultimately get back to normal, get back to the robust and positive lives that we all hope to enjoy, is if over 70 percent of the American people get vaccinated. So, it's my hope folks will follow Joe Biden's example, the example of many others and embrace this as a safe and effective vaccine.

COATES: Of course the theme here, the people you've named, they are not the everyday American. I mean, what's your response to those who accuse lawmakers of so to speak cutting the vaccine line?

COONS: Well, we did have a robust debate about that in my congressional delegation. I talked with friends and family in Delaware, I have a constitutional obligation to be able to be here to cast votes. We have got issues like this bill tonight, like some of the nominations that will be considered early next year.

And we got told, we were told excuse me by the physician of the Senate that the national Security Council had decided for the stability and security of our government, that the Supreme Court, the entire Congress, and senior leaders of the administration should be vaccinated. After some debate and consideration, I decided to agree and go ahead with being vaccinated.

COATES: Well, we're glad that you decided to do so. We are glad that you know, they are able to have your constitutional directive to have votes like you're having right now. And hopefully the relief will get to the Americans who so desperately need it right now. Senator Coons, thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

COONS: Thank you.

COATES (on camera): Well, you heard the Senator say that he got his coronavirus vaccine, and so did a lot of others on Capitol Hill, including by the way, some politicians who denied the virus was a big deal at all, and even downplayed it to the potential danger of their constituents. But someone who didn't downplay it and told the American people they shouldn't, either, also got the vaccine today and with enthusiasm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Are you ready?

JOE BIDEN, 2020 PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

COATES (on camera): Republican lawmakers who have repeatedly downplayed the virus getting a lot of backlash for receiving early vaccinations. Several tweeting out images of them even getting the vaccine, including Senator Lindsey Graham, the same Graham who refused to get tested before a debate with his 2020 challenger after he had been on a hearing with another lawmaker who later tested positive.

Senator Joni Ernst also posting her vaccine shot, yet on the summer she peddled a conspiracy theory that suggested doctors may be even inflating the death count for profit. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JONI ERNST, (R-IA): I have heard it from health care providers that they do get reimburse higher amounts if it's a COVID related illness or deaths. They're thinking there was maybe 10,000 or less deaths that were actually singularly COVID-19.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES (on camera): And that was August 31st. Joining me now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, and Dr. William Schaffner. I'm glad you're here professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University. Gentlemen, I'll begin with you Dr. Reiner, after hearing about that long list of lawmakers who now have the vaccine, I mean, for the public health, we all support everyone getting vaccinated. Nonetheless though, these GOP lawmakers being first in line to get a vaccine enabled misinformation about this virus. And I'm wondering how you feel about that.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST (on camera): Hi, Laura. Well, it rubs me in a wrong way also. But I will say that there's a lot of benefit that they can do now. Now that they sort of see the benefit of vaccination. Every member of Congress who gets vaccinated should post a picture of them doing that. And then tell all their constituents why they got vaccinated, and how safe the vaccines are. How much confidence they have in them.

There's really an enormous amount of vaccines hesitancy in United States and it split along party lines. So, particularly the Republicans, where a recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation has suggested that over 50 percent of Republicans say they either definitely won't or probably won't get the vaccine. Having some of these members of Congress post pictures and attest to the safety will go a long way in relieving some of that hesitancy. So, let's have them make this a positive.

COATES: You know they say it's never too late to do the right thing. Maybe this is an opportunity to do so. Dr. Schaffner, you know, Senator Rand Paul telling CNN that people who already had COVID shouldn't be getting a vaccine. Including nursing home patients. Is that good medical advice from Dr. Paul?

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER (on camera): Well, Laura, good evening and that's not the current advice from the CDC. We're taking all comers. We're happy to vaccinate people who have not have COVID and people who have had COVID.

[23:25:02]

It's very important that as many people as possible, just as Dr. Reiner said, get vaccinated absolutely as quickly as possible. We want everyone to come in and as we were saying, we welcome the converts. Come on in, and they can be particularly important as role models because they may be able to convince skeptics even more than I'm able to convince skeptics. So we want everybody to come in and be vaccinated.

COATES (on camera): Well, if they're able to be even more influential, that can't be a bad thing. Dr. Reiner, I got to look to what's happening across the pond as they say, because the White House is now weighing testing requirements for travelers from the U.K. As you know, there's this new variant of the virus there. And President Trump, well he loves to tout his early travel restrictions on China. Well, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I stopped China from coming to the United States. I stopped Europe from coming into the United States long before the March date that you're talking about. So people should say I acted very early.

In January, we put the ban on in China. And that was a very early day. That wasn't late, that was an early date. Then we later put the ban on in Europe. This country is very lucky, and I'm very lucky that I put the ban on China. Lucky I did the ban. That's all I can tell you. It's lucky I did the ban.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES (on camera): Well, Dr. Reiner, as you know, Biden is not yet the president, and Donald Trump remains the president of the United States. So, should he be as a part of the government banning travel from the U.K. right now, similar to what he did with China?

REINER: Well, I don't think it's a bad idea at all to try and test all visitors who come to the United States, particularly from a new hot spot in the U.K. I love that idea. But I think this virus was, at least this variant, was first identified a few months ago.

And because it was identified a few months ago, it's almost certainly in the United States in some numbers. But if it's growing in numbers in parts of the U.K., and we can test all travelers, or even have a momentary pause on travel from the U.K., it's not a horrible idea, and I would support that.

COATES: Dr. Schaffner, you say if this new variant was spreading in the U.K., you agree, that if it's already been there for a while, then it's probably most assuredly already here. So, do you agree? I mean, what effect would this travel ban if there were one with the U.K., would that be effective here in the states right now?

SCHAFFNER: It might have some limited effectiveness, Laura. Clearly, we want as little of that virus in the country as possible. But we just have to remember, travel bans or even tests of incoming travelers have their limitations. They're not a big steel door that comes down. And if we recognize what the limitations are, we'll be successful.

What it comes down to, remember, wear your mask. Do social distancing. Yes, if you want to add travel bans, or testing on incoming people, sure. But we have the responsibility to interrupt the transmission of this virus or reduce it as much as possible. And that's what we need to do right here, right now.

COATES: Doctors, I have my mask, I have my mask right here. Thank you both for your time tonight. I appreciate it.

SCHAFFNER: Thank you.

REINER: Thank you.

COATES: Attorney General Bill Barr making a big break. One of President Trump's most loyal lieutenants going against his soon to be former boss in a very public way. Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is with me. That's up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

COATES (camera): Attorney General Bill Barr breaking with President Trump today on the way out the door, contradicting the president on election fraud, on Hunter Biden, on the cyber attack, and on voting machines. Take a listen to this exchange with CNN's Evan Perez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president has continued to make the case that there was fraud in the election. Do you believe there's enough evidence to warrant appointing a special counsel to look into it?

WILLIAM BARR, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and was appropriate, I would do -- I would name one. But I haven't, and I'm not going to. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES (on camera): Joining me now, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. He is now a CNN senior law enforcement analyst and author of the book "The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump." I am glad you're here tonight. Nice to see you, Andrew.

You know, Attorney General Barr, you know, has been a staunch defender of this president. But today, he contradicted him, what, four times. What is happening right now? Is it that the president has actually maybe gone too far this time for Barr or is it something a little more self-serving, perhaps?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: Well, you know, Laura, it's hard to say. It certainly is a late point in the game to find the courage to stand up to this president and his political mendacity. I mean, let's remember the ground that we've covered up until this point, right?

This is the same attorney general who blatantly misled the country about the substance of the Mueller report. This is the same attorney general that weighed in on the prosecutions of the president's friends in ways that were beneficial to them like Roger Stone and interfering with his sentencing of Roger Stone, attempting to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn, which was an absurdly political result.

This is the same attorney general that supported the president's efforts in manhandling and abusing people exercising their First Amendment rights during the George Floyd protests over the summer.

So, we have covered a lot of ground up until this point that showed William Barr to be the attorney general who most closely aligned with the Department of Justice with the politics of the White House in a very detrimental way.

You know, maybe he has realized that the president has through all that managed to drag him and his personal and professional reputation down a pretty dark hole.

COATES: And you mentioned just a sliver of the things that could be covered in the grand scheme of things. I wonder if that really is the motivation of not.

But, you know, we've been reporting, the president is still, in all of this, still trying to overturn the election. And a lot can happen, as you know, between now and January 20th. So will the new acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, now hold the line, do you think?

[23:35:04]

MCCABE: We're about to find out. As you and I both know, the deputy attorney general is probably one of the toughest jobs in the entire federal government, right, over 100,000 employees in the Department of Justice, $30 billion budget, 93 federal judicial districts. So, the deputy attorney general really runs the day-to-day operations of DOJ, and Rosen, so far, has been able to do that without really attracting any major attention.

Those days are over because he is going to be on the hot seat as the acting attorney general, and if there is something that this president wants, whether it will be unlawful or unconstitutional, he is going to ask Jeffrey Rosen to do it.

So we are about to find out whether Rosen has the wherewithal and the integrity to stand up to that kind of pressure.

COATES: And I wonder in a context to say special counsels because, you know, the president, you know, wants special counsels. Will he get one by hook or by crook or by leaning on Rosen enough? Will that work?

MCCABE: He certainly could. I mean, as you know, the special counsel, it is not a law, it is really just Justice Department policy, but it requires an appointment by the attorney general. It is not the sort of thing that the president does by himself.

And in order for that special counsel to have law enforcement and prosecutorial authority, you really derive that from the attorney general.

So, if this president wants it and all indications are that he wants them investigating Hunter Biden or investigating this preposterous theories of voter fraud, he is probably going to put significant pressure on Jeff Rosen. The question for Mr. Rosen is are you prepared to get fired by doing the right thing?

COATES: Mm-hmm. We will see if he is indeed. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

MCCABE: Thanks, Laura. Good to see you.

COATES: We got 30 days to find that out. Good to see you, too.

MCCABE: That's right.

COATES (on camera): You know Americans are struggling right now to make ends meet this holiday season. They've been all year long. And with millions going hungry, situation is getting so severe that many are worried that there won't be enough food to go around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH HIGHTOWER, LINES UP FOR FOOD: I would hate for the first -- me to get the last of something and the person behind me being in a worse position than I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES (on camera): Relief from Congress on the way to the American people. Yet this holiday season, many are lining up at food banks, hoping to get enough for themselves and loved ones. And there are concerns, as the pandemic surges, the need will get worse.

CNN's Rosa Flores has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before dawn, people waited at a South Florida mall on the weekend before Christmas.

UNKNOWN: I was sleeping.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES (voice-over): But they are not here for holiday shopping. They are in line for free food.

HIGHTOWER: Always been hesitant about coming because -- I'm sorry. I would hate for the first -- me to get the last of something and the person behind me being in a worse position than I am.

UNKNOWN: Melon. Can I have to melons here, please?

FLORES (voice-over): It's a scene replayed across the country, from Los Angeles, where one food bank says distribution of groceries has doubled since the pandemic began, to the suburbs of Atlanta where 500 cars waited for an hour and a half before distribution started.

UNKNOWN: This is another indication of the pain and the suffering that being felt all across our nation.

FLORES (voice-over): Since the pandemic began in March, hunger in the United States has skyrocketed. Feeding America, the nation's largest food bank network, reports a 60 percent increase in the demand over last year.

UNKNOWN: Merry Christmas! God bless you guys!

FLORES (voice-over): In South Florida, one in five people need food assistance and a quarter of children go to bed hungry, according to Feeding South Florida.

Deborah Hightower is an accountant.

HIGHTOWER: So, this is hard for me to come here.

FLORES (voice-over): The mother of three teenagers was recently hospitalized and says she has lost her job twice since the pandemic started.

HIGHTOWER: I'm very independent and do not like to ask for help. But sometimes, you just have to do (INAUDIBLE). FLORES (voice-over): Some people like Larry Battisti waited for hours not to get food for himself but for three members of his church who are unemployed or can't leave their homes due to COVID concerns.

LARRY BATTISTI, LINES UP FOR FOOD: You certainly get a lot of smiles and you can't hug them anymore.

FLORES (voice-over): Leonard and Julie Thompson delivered the food they received to seven neighbors and friends.

UNKNOWN: Appreciate you sharing with me, as usual.

FLORES (voice-over): As the pandemic surges, demand for food --

UNKNOWN: Merry Christmas!

FLORES (voice-over): -- is expected to grow.

UNKNOWN: I'll see you soon.

(LAUGHTER)

FLORES (on camera): Feeding South Florida has distributed more than 150 million pounds of food since the pandemic began. That is double the demand compared to last year. And people from this food bank say that they're only expecting for the need to grow. Laura?

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COATES (on camera): Rosa, thank you. And as the food and the need for food surges, Congress is on track to pass its COVID relief bill.

Here with me now is CNN economic commentator Catherine Rampell. It is hard to even watch what Rosa was presenting, knowing how much this relief package means to so many people.

And yet we have this long-awaited COVID relief package. It includes direct payments of up to $600 per individuals, enhanced jobless benefits of $300 per week, roughly $284 billion in Paycheck Protection Program alone. So, what is left out here?

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: There are some big pieces left out of this legislation. Among them, aid to states and municipalities. And by the way, it is not just blue states or blue cities that are in trouble here.

There have been, you know, letters signed by mayors in republican and democratic cities, governors of republican and democratic states, county executives, et cetera, pleading for this money. They have already laid off 1.3 million public sector workers.

[23:45:02]

RAMPELL: These are first responders, teachers, cops, sanitation workers, public hospital workers, et cetera. And more layoffs are likely coming because frankly these governments are just broke and they really need the aid.

COATES: And Catherine, we see now that Congress has, in fact, passed the $900 billion COVID relief bill. It now goes to the White House for Trump's signature. And the relief bill includes the so-called three martini lunch tax deduction, meaning businesses can deduct meal expenses. The president believes it is going to help restaurants.

So, how will that help when restaurants are either closed during to restrictions or people aren't even eating indoors because obviously they're afraid of getting COVID?

RAMPELL: Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head here. The reason why executives aren't whining in dining clients is not that the tax break is insufficient. It is that they don't want to get sick. And their clients frankly don't want to leave their homes.

So it seems highly unlikely that an expansion of this tax break that already exists, by the way, is really going to convince a lot more people to do in-house dining if we even want there to be more in-house dining. And even if it did, even if on the margin, it did encourage a little bit more business, it is probably not going to help the vast majority of restaurants out there.

It will help steakhouses, it will help high-end sushi restaurants here in New York, sure, but your local diner, your local pancake house, you know, they're probably not getting a ton of revenue from expense accounts. So really, if we want to help restaurants, if we want to help restaurant workers, we need to pay them directly.

That makes a lot more sense than this sort of Rube Goldberg machine- like contraption of basically giving a tax break to companies to encourage their employees, to go out and use expense accounts, and then hope some of that money gets passed along to waiters and line cooks.

COATES: As always, Catherine Rampell, thank you for your expertise and insight. I appreciate it.

RAMPELL: Thank you.

COATES: You know a change inside the US Capitol building. A statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee removed this morning from its perch, where it stood since 1909. The removal made at the behest of Virginia's governor, Ralph Northam. All states are allowed to donate two statues as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection. The Lee statue was donated by Virginia.

Governor Northam is saying the confederacy is a symbol of the state's racist history and it is time to take it down. It will be replaced with the statue of the late Barbara Rose Johns, an African-American woman who played a key role in the civil rights movement, particularly Brown versus Board of Education.

Now, up ahead, a UPS driver, who lost his father to COVID, delivers what he calls his most important shipment.

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[23:50:00]

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COATES: Coronavirus vaccines now rolling out across the country. More than 4.6 million doses have already been delivered, according to the CDC. Many states are receiving their first shipments of the newly authorized Moderna vaccine earlier today.

And for some of the drivers, task for shipping out the vaccines is more than a job. In November, UPS driver Todd Elble's parents came down with COVID-19 and 78-year-old father, Paul, lost his life to the virus.

But on Sunday, Elble drove out a shipment full of the country's second authorized vaccine, saying he felt as though his father was right there with him in the truck. Todd Elble joins me now.

Todd, first, I am so sorry to hear about your father. I understand your family was very hit hard by this particular virus. How is everyone doing now? How is your mom? How are you?

TODD ELBLE, UPS TRACTOR TRAILER DRIVER: My mom is doing well. She is at home. She has recovered. She is doing wonderful, as good as can be expected. And we -- I'm sorry?

COATES: Go ahead, sir.

ELBLE: Oh, we are just staying strong as we can, one day at a time, to get through this together.

COATES: Do you even know how your dad got the virus, any thoughts?

ELBLE: There's speculation. He went to Wyoming to go hunting with some family members. And he called me, while he was out there, told me he thought he was getting sick. And I got worried and suggested he pick up some medication and hopefully get home soon and safe.

And about five days later, he ended up in the hospital. And it wasn't very long and then he was on the ventilator. A total of 13 days, he was in the hospital.

COATES: That's just so terrible and story that we hear far too often and what it has done to families like yours. I just have to know. I mean, what would your dad think of you helping get this vaccine out to people across the entire country? What would it mean to him?

ELBLE: I know my dad is smiling down on us right now. He's very proud. He always was. I've been with UPS for 37 years. And I started right after high school. Started part time, went into the package car, and then to the tractor trailers and the feeder division.

And he always was excited, wanted to know where I was going and how the weather was. He would call me all the time and give me reports. But he was a great guy. He has been missed very badly.

COATES: Well, sounds like you're a great guy, too, Todd. And you know, it's not just the vaccine, because truck drivers like yourself have been keeping America running during this entire pandemic as people have been ordering everything online. They are trying to social distance.

So, I mean, what does it mean to you? You must be as proud of yourself, hopefully, as we all are to be helping the country like this.

ELBLE: Well, we did not get any days off. I know a lot of companies shut down. And at UPS, we just kept after it, working day in and day out. Many of my co-workers were asking. They wanted to stay home with their families. And I said, no, this is what we do now to keep this country going.

We had to stay strong and stay focused and do it a day at a time. And we did. It's not been easy, taking care of our parents while they were told to stay home. And on the weekends, we would shop for them and drop things off. But this shipment yesterday meant a lot to me personally. It was a great honor and an honor for my father.

COATES: Were you worried about being exposed yourself in all of this?

ELBLE: I've been careful. I have asthma myself. And I use the hand sanitizer in my truck every day, the wipes, the mask, and just trying to stay as safe as possible and careful who comes in and out of our house.

When we would stop at our parents, we would definitely put things on the porch and walk away and leave. So we weren't there face to face. So, it was very hard.

COATES: It's been so hard. And the work that you guys are doing to try to make sure it's easier on the rest of us, you said yourself, it's what you do now. And you said that you're going to get the vaccine. So, what's your message to folks who may be hesitant right now to get vaccinated, Todd?

ELBLE: Well, I want to get vaccinated as soon as possible. I was asked yesterday if I would get it and I said, when my time comes, I'll be first in line on that day. And I hope all my family members and friends get it.

[23:55:00]

ELBLE: I hope everybody gets it so we can get through this pandemic, get our lives back together, and hopefully continue to dreams, the American dreams we all have and we've all lost.

COATES: Thank you for sharing your family with us.

ELBLE: Thank you for having me.

COATES: Thanks for watching. Our coverage continues.

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