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Joe Biden Announces Miguel Cardona As Education Secretary Nominee; Joe Biden's Education Secretary Nominee Delivers Remarks; Kamala Harris Speaks On Miguel Cardona Nomination As Education Secretary; Trump Threatens To Upend Relief Bill Negotiated By His Own Administration; Trump Unleashes Chaos: Blasts Coronavirus Relief Bill, Issues Controversial Pardons, Attacks GOP Senators. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired December 23, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Help is on the way. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday. May God bless you all and may God protect our troops. I am going to turn you over to the next Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel Cardona.

DR. MIGUEL CARDONA, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION NOMINEE: Mr. President- Elect, Madam Vice President-Elect, thank you for this opportunity to serve. I know how challenging this year has been for students, for educators, and for parents?

I've lived those challenges alongside millions of American families. Not only in my role as State Education Commissioner, but as a public school parent and as a former public school classroom teacher. For so many of our schools and far too many of our students, this unprecedented year has piled on crisis after crisis.

It's taken some of our most painful long-standing disparities and wrenched them open even wider. It's taxed our teachers, our leaders, our school professionals and staff, who already pour so much of themselves into their work.

It's taxed the families struggling to adapt to new routines as they balance the stress, pain, and loss that this year has given. It has taxed young adults trying to chase their dreams to advance our education beyond high school and carve out their place in the economy of tomorrow and it has stolen time from our children.

Who have lost something sacred and irreplaceable this year, despite the heroic efforts of so many of our nation's educators? Though we are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel, we also know that this crisis is ongoing, that we will carry its impacts for years to come and that the problems and inequities that have played our educational system since long before COVID will still be us, even after the virus has gone.

So it's our responsibility, it's our privilege to take this moment and to do the most American thing imaginable to forge opportunity out of crisis to draw on our resolve, our ingenuity, and our tireless optimism as a people.

And build something better than we've ever had before that's a choice that Americans make every day. It's a choice that defines us as Americans. It's a choice my grandparents made - when they made their way from Puerto Rico for new opportunities in Connecticut.

I'm proud to say I was born at the Yale acres housing projects. That's where my parents, hector and Sarah Cardona instilled early on the importance of hard work, service to community, and education.

I was blessed to attend the public schools in my hometown of Meriden, Connecticut, where I was able to expand my horizons and become the first in my family to graduate college and become a teacher, a principal, an assistant superintendent in the same community that gave me so much that, that is the power of America.

And I, being bilingual and bicultural, and as American, as apple pie and rice and beans. For me, education was the great equalizer but for too many students, your zip code and your skin color remain the best predictor of the opportunities you'll have in your lifetime. We've allowed what the educational scholar Pedro E. Guerrero calls the normalization of failure to hold back too many of America's children.

For far too long, we've allowed children to graduate from high school without any idea of how to meaningfully engage in the workforce, while good paying high skilled technical and trade jobs go unfilled.

For far too long, we've spent money on interventions and band-aids to address disparities, instead of laying a wide, strong foundation of quality, universal early childhood education and quality social and emotional supports for all of our learners.

For far too long, we've let college become inaccessible to too many Americans, for reasons that have nothing to do with their aptitude or aspirations, and everything to do with cost burdens and, unfortunately, an internalized culture of low expectations for some.

[12:05:00]

CARDONA: For far too long, we've worked in silos, failing to share our breakthroughs and our successes in education. We need schools to be places of innovation, knowing that this country was built on innovation and for far too long, the teaching profession has been kicked around and not given the respect it deserves. It shouldn't take a pandemic for us to realize how important teachers are for this country?

There are no shortages of challenges ahead. No shortage of problems for us to solve but by the same token, there are countless opportunities for us to seize. We must embrace the opportunity to re- imagine education and build it back better. We must evolve it to meet the needs of our students. There's a saying in Spanish that we say. We say - we gain strength from joining together.

In that spirit, I look forward to sitting at the table with educators, parents, caregivers, students, advocates, state, local, and tribal leaders. There's no higher duty for a nation than to build better paths, better futures for the next generation to explore. For too many students, public education in America has been a - wilted rose neglected, in need of care.

We must be the master gardeners who cultivate it. Who work every day to preserve its beauty and its purpose? I'm grateful for the chance to take on this responsibility and I'm grateful to my own children. Miguel Jr., or we call him, Angelito, and to my daughter, Celine and to my wife and best friend, Marissa herself a middle school family school liaison.

And I'm grateful for the trust you've placed in me Mr. President-Elect and Madam Vice President-Elect. I look forward to getting to work on behalf of America's children and the families and the communities and the nation they will grow up to inherit and lead. Thank you.

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: My first grade teacher Mrs. Frances Wilson God, rest her soul, attended my law school graduation. She taught our first grade class with two teachers' aides and 22 teachers in the classroom and she instilled in me a deep belief in the importance and significance of public education that I carry with me to this day.

If we are going to fulfill our country's promise, we must be dedicated to a strong public education system. We must value it, we must strengthen it, and we must invest in it because one of the most important gifts a society can give its young people is the gift of a world-class education.

We also know that right now, our education system as we have discussed, from early learning centers to colleges and universities is reeling from this pandemic. Parents and educators are being stretched to their limits and so are the cafeteria workers and the bus drivers and custodians and nurses who normally keep our schools running.

Students at colleges and technical colleges now worry about losing credits, losing financial aid, and losing income from working on campus. And all of this disruption is taking a heavy toll on the mental health and well-being of our students of all ages, who are at risk of falling behind.

At the same time, this pandemic threatens to widen disparities between students of different races and backgrounds, making it harder for those who already were behind to keep up. So first things first, we need to get this virus under control and reopen our schools safely, as the president-elect always says.

[12:10:00]

HARRIS: And that is why the president-elect and I are supporting funding for our education system in this recently passed COVID-19 relief legislation and we will continue to fight for additional emergency relief for our educators and our schools. And even as we do, we must also build a public education system that lifts up all Americans, regardless of race, background, or zip code. An education system that prepares them with the knowledge and the

skills to thrive in a 21st century economy we must make sure our children are getting the foundation that's so important for lifelong success. We must end the current status quo, where school districts with the greatest needs get the fewest resources.

And we must remove barriers to opportunity for poor and rural communities and communities of color. The leader that we have announced today will help us do that and unlock the power of an education for all Americans. Dr. Miguel Cardona is not only a seasoned public servant, he is also a former public schoolteacher and administrator, with the experience in the classroom and he knows what our students, teachers, and schools need to be successful.

He has dedicated his career to fighting for our children and dedicated his career to investing in their capacity. And he has a deep belief in the power of a world-class education to help every child, everywhere, overcome barriers of race, gender, our income, to reach their God- given potential. Dr. Cardona represents the very best of our nation, and he is the kind of leader America's students, educators, and families deserve.

I have always believed that government has three-principle functions public health, public safety, and public education. Over the course of the past few weeks, we have announced remarkable leaders, who will help contain this pandemic and keep the American people safe and secure.

Under Dr. Cardona's leadership, we will work together to put together an outstanding education system that will be within reach for everyone, breaking down barriers to equality, opening new paths to opportunity, and helping to fulfill America's promise to all of our children. Thank you, Mr. President-Elect. Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: All right. I'm Kate Bolduan, everyone, where you have been watching and listening to President-Elect Joe Biden announcing his pick for Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona. Let me bring in CNN's Jeff Zeleny. He's been standing by in Wilmington, Delaware, joining me once again. Jeff, another historic pick added to the president-elect's cabinet.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Kate, it certainly is. Miguel Cardona, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, he said he was a product of public schools in Connecticut, grew up in public housing in Connecticut, and described himself like this. He said I'm as American as apple pie and rice and beans. He, of course, has been the leader of the education system in Connecticut.

Really a post he's only had for the last year or so, but it certainly fits the commitment and the pledge that President-Elect Biden made to nominate a schoolteacher for this role. Of course, Jill Biden, the future First Lady, is a community college educator. She is a teacher. She delivered her speech at the convention from a classroom.

Education very important to the Bidens so that, of course, front and center here and it do continue in the series of diverse choices to the Biden cabinet so certainly an interesting choice there and really stepping into what is a remarkable debate now, heightened even more by the pandemic. Will schools reopen in the country?

The president-elect says that it's his goal to reopen schools within the first one hundred days, but he needs funding from congress to do that and they of course need the vaccine to be in place and other PPE and other matters in terms of funding but that is the goal. And he has walked a line between the Teacher's Union and the need to reopen schools here so that's one of the reasons he was nominated here today, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And look, Education Secretary is an important post in any administration's cabinet, but especially at this moment in these unprecedented circumstances that students, teachers, parents, educators, administrators are all facing with the pandemic and shutdowns across the country.

[12:15:00]

BOLDUAN: You can see that in this announcement, in the way they discussed it today. But with that, after that, you now have, I think, five cabinet-level positions left to fill. Chief among them, Jeff, everyone is waiting to hear more, to hear about is Attorney General. What are you learning right now about why this decision, this announcement is taking longer than previously thought?

ZELENY: That is the biggest cabinet position that remains open. Who will lead the Department of Justice in the post-Trump era? And we do know at least there are two final contenders, we're told. That is Judge Merrick Garland, who of course was nominated by President Obama to serve on the Supreme Court that was blocked and outgoing Alabama Senator Doug Jones.

Those are two of the leading contenders. There may be others who are still being considered, because we heard President-Elect Biden say yesterday himself, there's not an obvious choice for this. So at his end-of-year news conference yesterday, we did ask the president-elect why this is taking so long. What is behind this?

And he said, look, he is looking to fill a team, so it's not just the attorney general. They are also looking for the deputy attorney general, the head of the civil rights division, perhaps the solicitor general, as well. So we are expecting a package announcement, if you will, of all of these contenders but he also said he's looking for someone who's outside the realm of politics given everything that's going on.

And Kate, we should also point out, he said, it's not influenced by this, but one thing certainly going on in this is Hunter Biden, his son's federal investigation, that will certainly be an issue for whoever heads the DOJ next year Kate.

BOLDUAN: That's for sure. Thank you, Jeff. Coming up next for us, the president's airing of grievances threatens to upend a COVID relief bill months in the making. Where do things stand? Basically, no one knows the deadlines that lawmakers are now facing, that's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Let's get to the chaos that the president has now caused for congress. Lawmakers left town, because they finally did their job, approved multiple bills needed to keep the government funded and functioning and get much-needed relief to millions of Americans suffering because of the pandemic. But as if the president just woke up after a months-long nap, he is just now demanding changes but make no mistake.

While he plays this game, unemployment benefits will run out for millions of Americans in just three days, and the government could shut down in just five. CNN's Congressional Correspondent, Phil Mattingly, he joins me now. Phil, what are the facts here? Do you see some chess game the president is trying to play?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, I don't. And look, one thing to keep in mind and you said, this is you're heading into break Kate. The stunning thing about this moment is really nobody knows what's going to happen, Right?

Nobody was expecting this on Capitol Hill. A large portion of the president's team was not expecting him to raise these concerns about the bill, potentially threaten veto of the bill. They had told us the administration has that he would sign this deal when it was done.

His team had been in the room for the negotiations. His team had signed off on those negotiations. His team had proposed the $600 level for the direct payments. Obviously, the president is his own entity and intends to go his own way.

The reality is, a good portion of the video that was released last night where his objections were raised was driven I'm told, by what he saw on television, by what he saw on Fox, by what he saw on News Max, about people getting angry that a COVID relief bill included provisions that had foreign aid in them. Here's the reality of it.

The COVID relief bill, the $900 billion package with the direct payments with the extension of the crucial unemployment insurance programs, that expired December 26th, was attached to a spending bill, to an omnibus spending bill, $1.4 trillion.

And those issues the president raised on foreign aid, Kate, our colleague Kevin Liptak went through, they almost to the dollar match up with what President Trump himself requested in the budget, in his budget request. So there's just a lot of conflating of information going on from the president here and I think the bottom line is, nobody is totally sure what's going to happen or what this is trying to prove?

You mentioned, crucial deadlines beyond the $600 direct payments, you're talking about those two federal unemployment programs, nearly 13 million people expiring December 26th. You're talking about a potential government shutdown in just a matter of days. It's chaos without any clear path forward and everybody is just kind of in wait- and-see mode.

BOLDUAN: Yes, unfortunately with millions of Americans stuck in the middle, as you well are lying out. Phil, thank you. Keep us updated, all right.

So, on top of this, the president is flexing his presidential pardon power in a very real way, announcing a wave of pardons last night, and clemency for loyal allies, former aides, corrupt former lawmakers, and 20 of them in all, all of the departments.

Joining me right now to discuss Bill Kristol, Director of Defending Democracy Together and Editor-at-Large for the Bulwark. Bill, it's been a bit, thanks for coming back in.

BILL KRISTOL, DIRECTOR, DEFENDING DEMOCRACY TOGETHER: Hi, Kate.

BOLDUAN: so I think, Axios, I think Mike Oven (ph) at Axios laid out pretty succinctly what they think is kind of behind all of this, that if you put it all together. That Donald Trump is doing this because he can, because he wants attention, and because he wants to split the party. What do you think is driving this, Bill?

KRISTOL: Hi, Kate, good to be with you. So we just saw Joe Biden. It was normal American politics. The incoming president-elect and vice president-elect nominating a Secretary of Education, a new face and will mark a departure in policy, obviously, from the proceeding administration, which was the opposite party that's how American politics works.

[12:25:00]

KRISTOL: And in the split screen, we have the current president, the incumbent president, the lame-duck president who is causing chaos, out of the blue - not who cares about chaos for congress, they've got to work on that.

But chaos for Americans, obviously depending on unemployment insurance, people looking forward to various provisions in the Coronavirus package, the COVID package, which includes money for accelerating the distribution of vaccines by the states. It includes money for testing, there's a lot of important stuff in there.

We might have a government shutdown on Monday night, in the middle of a pandemic, and in the middle of the transition. And we have the pardons and we have related to that, this, I think, people haven't noticed quite enough Bill Barr, seven days, nine days ago, I think, he and the president kind of negotiated, really, his resignation. They weren't getting along anymore. He's leaving as of tonight.

Yesterday, he mentioned a bunch of things. It was Monday that he hadn't done that the president clearly wanted him to do, using the power of the Justice Department. He's being succeeded by a deputy attorney general, who I'm told, has been much more compliant with Donald Trump and the Trump White House and saying, yes, let's go ahead and do all of these things using the Justice Department. Maybe Barr also wanted to get out before some pardons that were coming

that would be more egregious, really, than the ones we saw yesterday. So we have a Justice Department turnover, very unusual about three, four weeks before the end of the term. I mean, Bill Barr doesn't - I don't think, have any family business or personal business that requires him to leave on December 23rd, as opposed to January 20th, right?

But he chose to get out or Trump wanted him out of there, to be able to presumably do a few things that Barr might have objected to. Defense Department, I've talked to people who just left there recently. People are pretty concerned about the Trump team that was put in there when the Defense Secretary was fired after the auction, not a very common thing, either.

So I think the degree of not just chaos, but actual damage that Trump can continue to do over the next three, four weeks, shouldn't be underestimated.

BOLDUAN: You actually - I wanted to ask you about pardons, because you tweeted that if you think these pardons are bad that just happened, it's going to get worse. What do you mean, Bill?

KRISTOL: Well, I think we'll certainly get Manafort and other people involved in the Russia's cooperation, let's put it that way from 2016, and people who didn't cooperate with Mueller are going to be rewarded for not doing so by getting pardoned. There could also be pardons of figures like Snowden and Assange, which Barr certainly would have objected to.

And other Trump business cronies and corrupt politicians who happened to support him, so he's pardoning them. I'm thinking about the pardons of those members of congress. What is more important in America and any democracy than upholding just basic laws against crooked behavior if that behavior is indulged in by members of congress?

No one's challenged the veracity of those charges. They were convicted by juries of their peers. It's straighten out just corruption, you know, embezzlement of money and using campaign funds for mistresses and that kind of thing. What's the rationale from a public policy point of view of those pardons? None.

And then he'll pardon various other cronies, and then of course we get to his family, we get to Rudy Giuliani, we get to people very close to the current kind of conspiracy, you know, that Trump is engaged in. So I think the pardons could be quite something over the next few weeks.

BOLDUAN: And Bill, when you look at what he's doing, in the process of doing to the Republican Party, essentially trying to split it. He's taking on John Thune, he's taking on Mitch McConnell, and he's going against what they agreed to in the COVID bill.

How much of this is Trump knowing he's on the way out, do you think, but also just desperate to keep a hold of the Republican Party? Do you think these moves make him successful in that? KRISTOL: You know, I would have said six, eight weeks ago, despite any

disappointment of the Republicans, both elected officials and the electors, over the last four years, I would say, no, he can't get away with this. But money is pouring in, he's going to leave with hundreds of millions of dollars, probably, a couple of hundred million in a leadership pack that he will control.

Money is power, the ability to get the base riled up his power and I'm not so sure that Mitch McConnell and John Thune sort of win this show down with Trump in the sense of who really can control things going forward. January 6th will be important. How many Senators if there as if any, McConnell and Thune?

In the old days, you would have said none, McConnell is going to tell them, they just can't do it, and they'll pay a price for doing it. And they don't mostly want to do it. So why would they, but now with Trump making an issue.

Will Mike Pence show up on January 6th to preside over the Senate and do his constitutional duty and do it in a gracious way as Al Gore did in 2001 and his other vice president's - Dan Quayle presided over the Senate when Bill Clinton and Al Gore won in 1993 and symbolized the peaceful transfer of power. I'm not confident that Pence is going to do that on January 6th.

BOLDUAN: Yet another date we must mark on the calendar for sure. Bill, thank you.

KRISTOL: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Coming up next for us, the Trump Administration will buy another 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.