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Biden Faces Increasing Pressure To Diversify Cabinet; Californians Facing Stay-At-Home Orders Based On ICU Capacity; Pence In Georgia Today, Trump Holds Rally Tomorrow. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 04, 2020 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Remember, it's one idea to have a framework and a top line number that says, OK, we all agree, we're going to spend $908 billion. We all agree in a small business program, another round of the Paycheck Protection Program.

But the sticking points remain. These are issues that have bedeviled leadership for multiple months now. And one of them is state and local funding. You have a lot of Republicans who are arguing that states are actually doing better. That's because many Republican states are doing better than what was expected. They're arguing that Democrats don't need much more money when it comes to state and local funding. Democrats obviously arguing the opposite side of that saying, it's essential for workers in their states, from firefighters to police officers to get that money.

Meanwhile, Republicans insisting on liability insurance, that's something that Democrats have pushed back on. Now, behind the scenes negotiations are happening, all of these members in the bipartisan group have sort of broken into smaller teams to try to figure out some of these problems, whether or not they can do it by a self-imposed Monday deadline, Dana, that's another question.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Well, you know what, we've seen it before, were there is a will there is a way and it looks like they're finally getting their will back after really not doing the job for the American people as they face these twin crises, really an incredible, horrible time for people. Thank you so much, Lauren, appreciate that reporting as always.

And up next, the President-elect defends the diversity of his emerging -- of his emerging Cabinet, rather, I'll talk to a trailblazing member of the Obama Cabinet who worked with Joe Biden.

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[12:36:07]

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Their job is to push me. Every, every special interest and I don't say that in a negative way, every advocacy group out there is pushing for more and more and more of what they want. That's their job. My job is to keep my commitment to make the decisions and when it's all over people take a look and say I promise you, you'll see the most diverse Cabinet representatives of all folks, Asian Americans, African Americans, Latinos, LGBTQ across the board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and civil rights groups are pushing President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris to pick a diverse Cabinet. Yesterday, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with incoming White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and other members of the Biden transition, some of the members of the Hispanic Caucus expressed frustration with the administration picks so far. Next week, Biden and Harris will meet with the NAACP.

Joining me now is Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama and former governor of Arizona, thank you so much for joining me. So these Biden picks, we're going to put them on the screen. I don't believe you can see them. But you're obviously very familiar with them. As you just heard, Joe Biden says that he already has the most Cabinet, diverse Cabinet picks in history. You were the first woman to serve as DHS secretary. You worked with Joe Biden, in the Obama administration. When you see this, do you have any concerns? Where do you want him to fill in with the remaining Cabinet members that he has not yet announced?

JANET NAPOLITANO, FORMER SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, I think one thing people need to keep in mind is that he has a ways to go. There are many positions that are not yet filled. And I think President-elect Biden and his team are going to be identifying the strongest possible candidates to fill those positions. And part of that strength will be the diversity of the Cabinet.

And, you know, from what I can see, I can't see it on the screen here.

BASH: Yes.

NAPOLITANO: But from what I know, it's already a pretty diverse group. And there are so many qualified and diverse candidates out there that part of the problem is kind of weeding your way through to get to the pick that the President-elect feels most comfortable with.

BASH: So with this just happened this morning, CNN is reporting it to members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to President- elect Biden urging him to pick Michele Flournoy, for defense secretary. She served in the Obama administration. Do you cosign that? Should she be the pick?

NAPOLITANO: I know, Michelle. I think she would be an excellent pick. And she would be the first woman to be the Secretary of Defense. And that sends a great message as well. But she's so well versed on our nation's defense, our defense capacities, the challenges that face DOD. She would really be a good pick.

BASH: I want to ask about progressives, because people like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, they're really pushing Biden and Harris to have more progressive voices in their Cabinet. I want to play for you their response to that question last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Who would you point to now as a leading progressive voice in the Cabinet?

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're not done yet, Jake. So we're not even halfway there. So I think that we should have this conversation when we're done.

BIDEN: A lot of people are saying, am I going to pick some very, very prominent and well known progressive who sits in the House or the Senate right now. As close as everything is in terms of the House and the Senate, they are tough decisions to make to pull somebody I'm going to badly need out of the Senate and we now don't reelect or have an appointment of somebody who is a Democrat.

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[12:40:11]

BASH: I want to ask you about that argument. It is not apples to apples the comparison I'm going to make. You were governor, you are not senator, it has to do with balance of power, not an executive of the state. However, when you enter the Obama administration, you will know you were replaced by a Republican governor. So I'm sure you have heard similar concerns voice before. So how much should that be a concern of Biden and Harris?

NAPOLITANO: Oh, I think it's a very relevant factor. You know, people still remember and some Arizonans hold it against me that when I left to join the Obama administration, I was term limited, so as at the near the end of my time as governor. But nonetheless, Republican Jan Brewer succeeded me. And people weren't happy about that.

When you get to the Congress, the margins are so slim between the parties, that removing a Democrat, I think you really have to think twice about doing that. I think vice or President-elect Biden is signaling in a very helpful way that he knows that and he's got to be very careful if he makes that sort of a selection.

BASH: So interesting. Let me ask you about national security and who Joe Biden has selected so far for Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. That's obviously the post that you held for, director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, a national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. What do you think the biggest challenges will be for them at the beginning, aside from the obvious, which is the pandemic but beyond that?

NAPOLITANO: Well, you know, I think one of them is to reestablish the relationship between the intelligence community and the President, which hasn't actually been a very good one under President Trump. But from a security perspective, I think the security aspects of climate change need a real focus and a long term strategy on how we're going to deal with that. Climate change has so many ripple effects that confound our national security from kind of extreme weather patterns to destabilization of countries, where, for example, there's been extreme drought and the agricultural economy is down the tubes and all of a sudden you have political unrest. And so I believe that climate change needs to be at the forefront.

BASH: Always fascinating to talk to you, former Governor of Arizona, you can see, well, maybe not in this shot but before you could see with the pillow behind her that she said her sister made by the way, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, there you see it. Thank you so much for joining me. Appreciate it.

NAPOLITANO: Thanks, Dana.

[12:43:17]

BASH: And up next, the California Governor says his state is at a tipping point in the fight against Coronavirus. The new restrictions he's putting in place is next.

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BASH: In parts of California right now residents face looming stay at home orders that will be triggered when too many patients sick with coronavirus fill hospital ICU beds, the numbers are not in their favor. This week, California for the first time reported 21,000 new COVID cases in just one day. Demand for even more hospital beds can't be far behind. CNN Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles. So Stephanie, breakdown the stay at home order, what it means and what it doesn't mean.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Dana, keep in mind that we haven't even seen the expected surge after Thanksgiving, that's still a couple of weeks away. And that is why these numbers are terrifying. Here in Los Angeles County, I can tell you that we hit a record number of new cases that were reported that number 7,854, according to the state, that's the second record this week. And hospitalizations, also hitting a record as well, 2,572 that broke the record that was set the day before.

So that just shows you things are going in the wrong direction here. They do expect that their ICU beds will fall below this 15 percent threshold next week. In fact, according to the governor taking a look at this new stay at home order that we're on the precipice of right now. It takes a look at the state and breaks it up into five different regions. And then inside those regions, when the ICU bed capacity falls below 15 percent, that is when it's going to trigger this new stay at home order.

There are some things that are different this time. For example, in the spring, you can go outside, you can go to the beach, you can hike on a trail, all of those things are staying up. So that is a big difference here. But still when they are looking at this number, they're saying that they expect next week, four out of five of those regions will be in that category. And the week after that, that's when you'll see that final area fall within it. It just shows you things are not going in the right direction here, Dana.

BASH: They sure are. And Stephanie Elam, thank you for bringing that to us.

[12:50:00]

And up next, the President gets ready to rally in Georgia for two GOP Senate runoff candidates whose fate will determine the balance of power here in Washington. Some Republicans are nervous about what he might say.

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BASH: Vice President Pence is in Georgia today meeting with the CDC and then campaigning for the states two Senate runoffs, Republicans Of course and the President is gearing up to hold his own rally tomorrow in the Peach State. Here's a tale of two Trump tweets. This morning, the President wrote big rally Saturday night in Georgia. Then, less than an hour later, rigged election. So that mixed messaging has some Republicans in the Peach State here in Washington also pretty worried about the President's involvement in the runoff races.

[12:55:19]

With me to discuss that is national political correspondent for The New York Times, Jonathan Martin. Good to see you, J. Mart. So --

JONATHAN MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey Dana.

BASH: -- take us inside the strategy of Trump traveling there, the pros and the cons.

MARTIN: Well, the pros are that nobody turns out conservative voters like this President and especially in rural parts of Georgia. He is essential, and that's why he's going to South Georgia, Valdosta is, you know, about six hours from Atlanta and sort of the heart of South Georgia.

The downside is well, he may promote Loeffler and Perdue, the Senate candidates, Dana. There is real concern among senior GOP officials that he's going to go off the rails. And he's going to talk about this being a rigged election, criticize the governor, criticize the Secretary of State. And I think the concern is that that drowns out his messaging for the two Senate candidates that that becomes the takeaway in the news coverage in the days after. I think that the concerns.

BASH: I mean, Jonathan, this is so ironic to me. I don't even know if that's the right word. You tell me. The leadership here in Washington, they have been reluctant to say anything, particularly the Senate Republican leadership because they don't want to anger Donald Trump, because they're worried about winning the Senate race.

So in the meantime, they're not correcting the notion that there's a rigged election, but they could be actually cutting off their nose to spite their face with their -- the very goal that they're so worried about.

MARTIN: Yes, there's no question about it. There's a torn between trying to pacify President Trump and his conspiracy mongering about the election to keep him, you know, somewhat, you know, settled in a good place that he can help the college in Georgia via force for good and Georgia. At the same time, we're now days away from this election being ratified by the Electoral College. And I feel that is creating some challenges in terms of reality.

I talked to a few senators in the Capitol this week, Dana, including John Cornyn from Texas. And they make the point that that December 14th vote for the Electoral College could actually be an important hinge point in this Georgia race, because that at least gives Loeffler and Perdue, the two candidates in Georgia, the opportunity to say this has now been decided. And it's important that we have a check on Democrats in Washington, because that's their best message, Dana, that, you know, you might have preferred Biden as President, but do you want full Democratic control of D.C. But they can't drive that message as long as the President is refusing to acknowledge reality.

BASH: That's exactly right. That's what I talked to Roy Blunt on State of the Union this past Sunday. And that's what he kept pointing to that Electoral College vote. But, you know, we've heard dates kind of or seen dates come in and go when the Republicans were going to stand up and explain reality to the President. And it hasn't happened. Maybe that will be the date.

I want to quickly ask you about the Republican governor in Georgia, Brian Kemp. He has been on the receiving end of many of the President's attacks. I want you to listen to how he responded to those last night.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's kind of mad at you. He's torqued at you, right?

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Well, I know. But look, I'm frustrated like he is, a lot of people are, the President, as I said many times, he's a fighter. You know, we've had a few battles, but nobody worked harder for Donald Trump before November 3rd. And I've continued to support his efforts in the campaigns any way that I legally could.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: We've got 45 seconds left, Jonathan, take me into the reality of what you just heard.

MARTIN: Two things, first of all, the key words there legally could, he's trying to make the case that he helped Trump but also, you know, making clear that he didn't break any laws and doing so. And that's why he can't deny the reality of Biden carrying the state because of those two words. He did everything he legally could.

Secondly, Kemp, Dana is looking to a future. And by that I don't mean January and I don't mean the Senate, I think his own future. He needs President Trump supporters to get the nomination to win reelection for governor in 2022. And he can't alienate those people by being too hard on Trump.

BASH: I think that ship is sailed. But, you know, we'll see. We'll see what happens. Jonathan Martin, always great to see you and always appreciate you sharing all your reporting with us.

And a programming note Senator Kelly Loeffler and Reverend Raphael Warnock debate each other live on CNN Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

[13:00:00]

Thank you so much for joining us. Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now.