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Biden to Announce First Cabinet Nominations Tuesday; Trump Lawyers Disavow Attorney Spreading Wild Theories; Many Republicans Call for Transition Process to Begin; Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID Vaccine Has 70 Percent Average Efficacy; British Prime Minister to End England's Lockdown on December 2nd; Los Angeles County Orders Restrictions on Outdoor Dining; Senator Kelly Loeffler to Get Further Tests After Mixed Results. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired November 23, 2020 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:23]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, putting foreign policy up front. President-elect Joe Biden gets set to unveil key cabinet posts. We will tell you who the front runners are.

Plus President Trump continues to wage court battles over his election loss, but now members of his legal team seem to be fighting it out with each other.

And AstraZeneca says its new coronavirus vaccine is 70 percent effective. The British prime minister calls the results fantastic, and we will have the details for you.

Good to have you with us. Well, the coronavirus pandemic is spiraling out of control here in the United States. And just days ahead of a Thanksgiving holiday, more than three million new cases have been confirmed this month alone. That is a quarter of total U.S. cases and there's still a week to go in November. There are hopes that vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer could be ready for emergency use within weeks.

And another promising vaccine could be on the horizon. The Oxford- AstraZeneca candidate isn't in the approval pipeline yet but it's reportedly 70 percent effective, and we will have more on that in just a moment.

But despite the pandemic, the current U.S. president remains focused on his election defeat. And Donald Trump's legal team is in disarray after a string of courtroom losses. Joe Biden, meanwhile, is moving forward with his cabinet selections with several names set to be announced on Tuesday. We are told one of them will be Anthony Blinken, a longtime foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration, who will be nominated to serve as secretary of State.

Details now from CNN's Arlette Saenz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Joe Biden is set to roll out his first cabinet picks on Tuesday and the announcements are shaping up to be foreign policy-focused. CNN has learned that secretary of State is expected to be among the first jobs that Biden announces for his cabinet. And the leading contender for that position is Tony Blinken, somebody who served as deputy secretary of State and has longtime ties to Joe Biden, having served as his National Security adviser while he was vice president.

Now Biden also is expected to announce his picks for National Security adviser and ambassador to the U.N. The top contender for the National Security adviser role is Jake Sullivan, someone who served as the National Security adviser for Biden when he was vice president. And the top contender, the leading contender for ambassador to the U.N. is Linda Thomas Greenfield. She is a longtime diplomat who worked in the State Department and she is a woman of color, which would fulfill part of Biden's promise to have a diverse cabinet.

Listen to what one of Biden's senior advisers had to say about how Biden's cabinet will be diverse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, SENIOR ADVISER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION TEAM: The cabinet and the teal will look like America. So that means diversity of ideology, diversity of background, and he wants to have a range of views of people at the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now all of those leading contenders for those foreign policy and national security positions all have decades of experience in the sector. Biden throughout his campaign has said part of his goal would be restoring America's standing in the world and repairing relationships with allies. So in the coming days as he is rolling out these foreign policy focused cabinet positions, Biden is trying to make it clear how his administration would look and operate in the early days of the White House.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, even as President-elect Joe Biden forges ahead with his cabinet choice, the incumbent president shows no sign of budging. President Trump is still putting up a legal fight against his election loss despite a lack of evidence. But now it appears the president's own legal team members are at odds with each other.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, just over a week after President Trump named Attorney Sidney Powell to his legal team in his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the president's legal team now says that Sidney Powell is not a member of his legal team.

Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, two of the attorneys for the president's effort, saying in a statement, quote, "Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump legal team. She is also not a lawyer for the president in his personal capacity."

[04:05:07]

Now this notion that Sidney Powell never was a member of the legal team is absurd. Not only did the president named Sidney Powell in a tweet as he was announcing the members of his legal team, but just a few days ago Sidney Powell appeared right alongside Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis at Republican National Committee headquarters to talk about their legal effort. Giuliani in fact saying that he was in charge of this investigation alongside Sidney, referring to the attorney Sidney Powell.

Now Sidney Powell has been trafficking in conspiracy theories about the 2020 election over the last week during which she's been a member of that legal team. She has alleged that the CIA was somehow involved in rigging the election. She's alleged that the late leader of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez was involved. And she's even accused Republican governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, of also rigging the election in that state in favor of Joe Biden.

None of these claims have any basis in fact or reality. But nonetheless, she's been trafficking these claims as a member of the legal team. And they're not all that far from what the president and his lawyers have also been saying. The president has alleged this conspiracy theory about the Dominion voting software, saying that it somehow deleted votes in his favor. No basis in reality. It's something that's been repeatedly debunked by state and federal officials across the country over these last several days.

Now, as this is happening though, the president is losing in the courts one case after the next, more than two dozen cases have been either dismissed or withdrawn by the Trump legal team. And Republicans are beginning to increase the pressure on the president, saying that it is time for him to either show the evidence that he has in court or to move on and allow this transition process to happen.

Pressure coming in on Sunday from Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that the transition needs to happen right now. Others beginning to raise the alarm as well, saying that the delay in transition could cost American lives amid this pandemic.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, meantime, a key Republican who worked on Trump's re- election efforts says it's time for the president to admit defeat. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie told ABC that Mr. Trump should stop trying to overturn the election results. He also had harsh words for the current president's legal team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: This legal team has been a national embarrassment. Sidney Powell accusing Governor Brian Kemp of a crime on television, yet being unwilling to go on TV and defend and lay out the evidence that she supposedly has. This is outrageous conduct by any lawyer. And notice, George, they won't do it inside the courtroom. They allege fraud outside the courtroom. But when they go inside the courtroom, they don't plead fraud and don't argue fraud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN political analyst Jonathan Martin. He's also a national political correspondent for the "New York Times."

Great to have you with us.

JONATHAN MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So, Donald Trump is determined to undermine the 2020 election results but pressure within the Republican Party is building with the GOP governor of Maryland telling Trump to stop golfing and concede, Chris Christie, and an increasing number of other Republicans are now saying Joe Biden clearly won and Trump needs to put country first. So when will he likely do that and stop dividing this nation?

MARTIN: I wouldn't hold your breath. I don't think it's going to be any time soon. I think that this is going to take a lot more states certifying their results and perhaps even next to the electoral college, you know, making it official before Trump sort of acknowledges reality at all. But clearly his own party, at least when it comes to some lawmakers, are starting to grow weary of this denialism. In large part because the efforts of he and his legal team to push some of these conspiracy theories about the results have frankly become embarrassing for the party.

CHURCH: Yes, and President Trump lost the election, but he is winning when it comes to casting doubt on a free and fair election with, what, about 70 percent of Republicans believing his false and baseless claims? How big a threat is President Trump to democracy in this country and how difficult will it be for Biden to lead and stop the pandemic, for instance?

MARTIN: Well, Biden is going to take the helm on January 20th of a very polarized, very divided country. And it's not going to be easy for him to sort of forge a unified front when it comes to the virus, the economy or anything else because of those differences.

[04:10:03]

And to be candid, President Trump has exacerbated the polarization by his refusal to do what every losing candidate for president has done in the history of this country has when the results are clear to concede defeat. CHURCH: And that was my conversation with "New York Times"

correspondent Jonathan Martin.

More now on the vaccine news out of the U.K. that we've been telling you about. An interim analysis shows the coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca has an average efficacy of 70 percent. Now that figure is based on combining data from two dosing regimens with vaccine efficacy at 90 percent in one dosing regimen and 62 percent in the other.

It's certainly welcomed news to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who called the announcement incredibly exciting. He is set to announce a new plan for how England will exit its lockdown later today.

So let's cover all of this. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is outside 10 Downing Street, with more details on the plan, but first our Anna Stewart is following the latest on the vaccine.

Good to see you both, but, Anna, 70 percent efficacy didn't sound too impressive at first, but of course the outcome was actually better than that. What is the whole story here?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a really interesting result really from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. It wasn't necessarily what anyone was expecting. The headline figure, 70 percent efficacy, felt a little bit disappointing, we're not going to lie, compared to Moderna and Pfizer which were over 90 percent. But as you said in the intro there, it's a combined result. And actually they found that on a different dosage level, efficacy was 90 percent. And that was if participants took half a dose initially and then four weeks later took a full dose.

Now they still have phase three trials ongoing and they are actually going to shift much more towards this dosage in the U.S. where phase three is carrying on these results from the U.K. and Brazil.

More good news, no serious safety events related to the vaccine. Safety of course is one of the major things they're testing for in phase three. And AstraZeneca is really pleased with these results. They are sending them to regulators right around the world to try and get the vaccine approved so that they can start rolling it out.

Now it's a very interesting one in terms of the logistics and the supply chain of making this particular vaccine. It's a different type to the one that was being made by Moderna and Pfizer. It's an actual much older technology in viral vector vaccine and that means that they can actually manufacture quite a lot of this vaccine. They're planning to roll out three billion doses by the end of next year.

Now to give you an idea of how much that is, that is more than Pfizer and Moderna's plans for next year combined. Pfizer wants to make 1.3 billion, Moderna one billion. This is a vaccine that can be kept at fairly normal fridge temperatures as well and it's going to be made by partners and pharmaceutical firms all over the world. Lots of different manufacturing supply chains, which means potentially this is a vaccine that really could be used across all sorts of different nations including the less developed world. It doesn't need ultra, ultra-cold temperatures and so forth -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Great news. Three billion doses. That's extraordinary.

Anna Stewart, bringing us the latest on that. Many thanks.

And Salma, let's go to you. How is Prime Minister Johnson's COVID winter plan likely to work especially as Britain heads into the dark days of winter?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the prime minister is supposed to lay all of this out in parliament this afternoon today. But what we do understand according to the health secretary who was on the BBC this morning that there is going to be two things that are going to take place. First, there's a nationwide lockdown here in England. That's set to expire on December 2nd. And what will happen is it will be replaced with a regional three-tier restriction system. That's what was in place before this lockdown and it was controversial, Rosemary.

That will now be an even tougher system than it was before. Each of those three levels will be even more strict, if you will. We don't know the specifics of it yet, but it's already caused a great deal of controversy. We already have conservative MPs who said they want to see a cost benefit analysis as to why the government has chosen to make this three-tier system even tougher and what the economic consequences of that will be.

The second thing that's supposed to take place is around Christmas time there'll be several days in which social restrictions will be eased. Bubbles will be allowed to mix, potentially up to three bubbles, to allow people to celebrate safely. That's also been met with some controversies from scientists who say this could throw away all of the benefits of the monthlong nationwide lockdown and cause another spike.

And here's the other challenge the prime minister has to face. He wants to have all four nations of the United Kingdom work together to have a unified system during the holidays. That hasn't taken place so far in the last few months. So a lot of work to do, Rosemary, but a lot of hope that there could be a little bit of joy this Christmas.

CHURCH: Yes. Let's hope for that. Salma Abdelaziz, joining us from 10 Downing Street, many thanks.

[04:15:01]

Well, hospitals across the U.S. are reaching breaking point as the country battles a surge of coronavirus cases and heads into the Thanksgiving holiday. The latest after this short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Here in the United States, the coronavirus pandemic is reaching unprecedented numbers with incredible speed. More than three million infections have already been reported this month. That's according to Johns Hopkins University, and that is a quarter of the total U.S. cases confirmed since the pandemic began, and COVID hospitalizations are at record highs across the country with ICUs being pushed to their limits.

But this troubling spike in cases doesn't seem to be stopping people from traveling ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays. Over two million passengers passed through the nation's airports across Friday and Saturday. That's according to officials. Dr. Anthony Fauci says people who are planning to celebrate the holiday together should think about the potential consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: As we're getting into the colder season, particularly the situation with the holiday season where you see people traveling.

[04:20:05]

You see the clips on TV, peoples at airports, I mean, those are the things we've got to realize are going to get us into even more trouble that we're in right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And the governor of California says he's going into quarantine for two weeks after three of his children were exposed to a state highway patrol officer who tested positive for COVID-19. Gavin Newsom says he and his family have tested negative and that they will follow local guidance.

The news is the latest blow to a state being hit hard by this pandemic. It's seeing some of its worst numbers yet, and as CNN's Paul Vercammen reports, the outbreak is about to change daily life in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The number of new COVID-19 cases in California just skyrocketing. It has tripled since the beginning of November. And that means more restrictions throughout California. Among the most severe here in Los Angeles County, you will not see scenes like the one behind me anymore where people are dining outdoors or even indoors in Los Angeles County.

They are closing down restaurants for indoor and outdoor dining. That starts Wednesday at 10:00. You can only pick up and deliver. We talked to the GM at this oyster bar. She is absolutely just shattered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN REHAK, GENERAL MANAGER, L&E OYSTER BAR: It's really truly devastating. It's really upsetting. I just think about all of our staff, all of my friends and colleagues in this business. Everybody is really hard hit. We're all struggling to get by as is with our patio set up. So this is a real blow for us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: The economic ripple effects, tremendous. Not only will employees' hours in these restaurants have to be trimmed or people will be laid off but then all of the vendors and everybody else linked to the restaurant business is also going to see yet another downturn as the pandemic just rages on here in California.

Reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen, now back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN medical analyst, Dr. Leana Wen. She is also a former Baltimore health commissioner.

Thank you, Doctor, for talking with us and for all that you do.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Always good to join you.

CHURCH: So sadly, U.S. COVID hospitalizations have set records for 12 straight days. We are seeing three million new cases and 25,000 deaths in November so far. All of this as Donald Trump's coronavirus vaccine chief admits no contact has yet been made with President-elect Joe Biden and his team. What impact might this have on the way vaccinations will be rolled out and on the lives of so many Americans.

WEN: Well, we are seeing this unprecedented number of cases, hospitalizations and soon to be deaths here in the U.S., but we have such amazing news this last week of a vaccine that could be 95 percent effective. I mean, Operation Warp Speed in terms of drug development has been a huge success if this really pans out in all the rest of the scientific studies and reviews. But now we need to make sure that the warp speed for drug developments translates to warp speed for distribution because it would just be so tragic if we have this life- saving vaccine that for whatever reason is unable to reach the hundreds of millions of Americans.

And so anything that can be done to expedite the transition so that things are smooth and seamless and so that Americans can get access to this vaccine when it's out, that's what's going to save lives.

CHURCH: Yes. And let's talk about that because we are hearing that vaccine distribution should begin within 24 hours after Emergency Use Authorization is given. But we're still getting mixed messages on that timeline, aren't we, so what will it mean in terms of getting vaccines to frontline health workers, the elderly and ultimately the general public?

WEN: Well, the initial tranche of the vaccine is going to be given to those who are at the highest risk. And different states may be defining it in different ways because there is a limited resource. Initially the supply of the vaccine is going to be much less than the demand for it. And so there will be some level of prioritization initially, whether it's health care workers treating COVID patients will get it first and then maybe residents in nursing homes, et cetera. But then by the time that the general public gets access to it in the

hundreds of millions of doses, we're looking probably at spring to maybe even early summer by the time that we can get that level of vaccinations out. And again that's the key. It's not just the vaccine, it's the vaccination. And local and state health departments are very strained when it comes to resources. So they also need to hire many additional staff, they need to do all the coordination. They need to figure out IT systems, so that they can input individuals and track their vaccination status.

CHURCH: Our thanks there to Dr. Leana Wen.

[04:25:02]

Well, Georgia Republicans up for reelection have been sidelined due to COVID-19 scares and it couldn't have come at a worse time for the party with the fate of the Senate hanging in the balance. We will have the details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: All right. Time for a recap of some of our top stories.

Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are surging across the U.S. but there are bright spots. An Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine isn't in the approval pipeline yet, but AstraZeneca says it has shown to be 70 percent effective on average. Meantime, the current U.S. president remains focused on his election defeat rather than the escalating pandemic. Donald Trump's legal team is also in disarray after a string of courtroom losses. But President-elect Joe Biden is forging ahead. The former Obama foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken will reportedly be tapped as the next U.S. secretary of State.

Well, the two Republicans in the high stakes Senate runoff here in Georgia have stepped away from campaign appearances for now. Kelly Loeffler is isolating after coronavirus tests came back with mixed results. Because she's been campaigning with David Perdue at some events, he's isolating as well.

Ryan Nobles has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These Senate races in Georgia are so important. They're going to determine which party has control in the next Congress, and the Republicans were forced off the campaign trail this weekend after Senator Kelly Loeffler tested positive for coronavirus.

[04:30:00]