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Police Killed in Riot Honored Today; U.S. Bracing for More COVID Cases; U.K. Makes Aggressive Action Against Coronavirus; Germany's COVID Death Toll Now at 40,000; Takuma Sato Wins Two Indy 500; Democrats Eager to Impeach President Trump; GOP Wants Trump to be Held Accountable; U.S. Plans to Designate Houthis as Terrorist Group; Social Media Rattled by Wednesday's Attack; A Lesson Well Learned. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 11, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Donald Trump could become the only U.S. President to be impeached twice as calls grow for him to be removed from office.

Plus, new details of the deadly siege he incited as authorities track down rioters. And January is on the edge of becoming the deadliest month of the pandemic in the United States, how the next administration plans to ramp up the vaccine rollout.

Good to have you with us.

Well in just a few hours U.S. House Democrats will begin their first push to hold President Donald Trump accountable for last week's violence at the capitol. It's not impeachment though, not yet anyway. Democrats will introduce a measure today demanding Vice President Mike Pence invoke the 25th amendment and remove Mr. Trump from office.

And if Pence fails to do so, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will bring impeachment legislation to the floor. In a CBS interview, Pelosi explains why she believes consequences are necessary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY STAHL, REPORTER, CBS NEWS: There is a possibility that after all of this there is no punishment, no consequence, and he could run again for president.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), UNITED STATES SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: And that's one of the motivations that people have for advocating for impeachment.

STAHL: Won't that take more than the 10 days? And does it actually make sense?

PELOSI: Well, I look at the 25th amendment because it gets rid of him. He is out of office. But there is strong support in the Congress for impeaching the president a second time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): There is a lot going on, Jeremy Diamond has the view from the White House, but first, here's Ryan Nobles with more in the Democrats strategy.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ready to move forward with articles of impeachment against President Trump if Vice President Mike Pence does not begin the process of invoking the 25th amendment.

In a letter to her colleagues on Sunday night, Pelosi said that she is going to introduce a resolution on Monday morning that will essentially put Mike Pence on the clock. Give him 24 hours to decide whether or not he is going to take the step of moving forward on the 25th amendment, and if he doesn't then the House will begin impeachment proceedings.

That could happen as early as Wednesday, and there is, certainly, enough votes for Pelosi to get the impeachment passed here in the House, the question is what happens when he gets to the Senate? There doesn't appear to be an appetite by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to begin a trial and convict President Trump especially before he leaves office now in less than 10 days.

So, the question is what does Pelosi do after those articles of impeachments are past? She could send him over to McConnell for him to do nothing with them or she can actually hold on to them and wait until President Trump is out of office and when the Democrats are in control of the Senate and begin the trial then.

There is still some benefits for the House Democrats to move forward with the impeachment even after President Trump is out of office. There are long term consequences that President Trump could be in store for if he is ultimately convicted of those impeachment proceedings.

There is a lot we don't know, the only thing we know for sure is that Speaker Pelosi is ready to take that first step of doing something to hold President Trump accountable for his role in those riots that took place here last Wednesday.

Ryan Nobles, CNN, Capitol Hill.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicates that the House will move this week to impeach President Trump, the president faces the increasing possibility that he will become the first president in American history to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives.

Now a trial in the Senate is a whole litter matter and it's very unlikely that that will happen before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th. But the president is facing not only this prospect of impeachment, he is also facing calls for his resignation, including from several key Republican senators.

And he's also facing these questions of the 25th amendment, so with some calling for the president to be stripped of his presidential powers through that amendment.

[03:04:59]

Now President Trump making very clear according to our sources, that he has no intention of resigning, despite his role in inciting that mob on Capitol Hill last week. But there is this question of the 25th amendment, and the move by the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, will put a lot more pressure on Vice President Mike Pence to make clear what his position is on this 25th amendment.

So far, we've just heard from sources close to the vice president that first of all, it's highly unlikely that he will actually invoke the 25th amendment. And second of all, that he is still not taking it completely off the table. Because he wants to preserve it as an option should President Trump's behavior become more unstable.

But it is remarkable, that despite four years of unfailing loyalty to President Trump, we have yet to hear Mike Pence say himself or through an on the record statement from his office that he does not support invoking the 25th amendment to strip President Trump of his presidential powers.

That in of itself is remarkable and this move by the House speaker, could increase the pressure on Mike Pence to actually make his position much more clear.

Now on Sunday, President Trump also finally move to lower the flag on top of the White House, and to order flags across the country to lower half-staff in honor of Capitol Hill police officer Brian Sicknick who was killed in the line of duty during that siege on Capitol Hill.

Remarkable though, that it took President Trump two days longer than it took the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to order that move and only after a lot of withering criticism.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH (on camera): U.S. Democrats whether in the House or the Senate appear united in their concern about what could happen if President Trump remains in office. And their calls for impeachment are growing louder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: There is no doubt about that he should be impeached.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): President Trump by his actions over the last two months since the election has lost the right to be president.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Well, you know, I absolutely believe that impeachment should be scheduled.

REP. MONDAIRE JONES (D-NY): This president must be impeached and removed. And anything less than that is an ad vacation of Congress' constitutional responsibility.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Donald Trump represents a clear and present danger to the health and safety of the American people, as well as our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): At least two Republican senators have called for Trump's resignation, Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, but Toomey says he is not sure impeachment is the right move. Meantime, Republican Senator Roy Blunt says it's time to look to the future and House Republican Nancy Mace says impeachment risks inflaming Trump supporters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): One of the issues that I have right now, whether it's the 25th amendment, whether it's impeachment right now is further dividing the country and pouring gasoline on a fire. I risked my life to take the vote on Wednesday night to certify the Electoral College. There are many of us out there that have happened to -- our lives where people were threatening us. I was accosted in the street on Tuesday night.

And I worry about that because the impeachment articles if it passes with the simple majority in the House it needs two-thirds in the Senate. I don't know that there is an appetite for it there, but if it doesn't get to the U.S. Senate until the 19th of January the day before Joe Biden is sworn into office.

And I think that for unity in this country we need to be really thoughtful and careful about how do we go from here and how do we ensure that there is a peaceful transition of power that the inauguration goes smoothly so that we can get a fresh start starting on January 20th.

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): My personal view is that, the president touched the hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again. If that's the case, we get, every day we get closer to the last day of this presidency. We should be thinking more about the first day of the next presidency than the last day of his presidency in my view.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Daniel Strauss is a senior political reporter for The Guardian. He joins me now from Washington. Good to have you with us.

DANIEL STRAUSS, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, THE GUARDIAN: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made it clear that the House will attempt to pass a resolution by unanimous consent Monday morning, calling for Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment to remove Donald Trump from office. Now, if that fails up to 24 hours, the House will move quickly on impeachment. How do you expect all of this to play out?

STRAUSS: I mean, it's anyone's guess right now, but I would say that the fact that the speaker said she listed impeachment as an option right after going through invoking the 25th amendment suggests that she does not think enough cabinet secretaries will come forward to remove Trump from office that way, and that it will eventually go to impeachment proceedings.

[03:09:54]

Now the reason for this is partially President Trump's own doing. He has a number of officials who are acting secretaries in this cabinet, meaning they're pretty new to the job, they're not officially cabinet officials and they are very, very loyal to President Trump.

So, even if there are a few secretaries who privately feel that the president is unfit for office, it's more likely that they won't join in Pelosi's movement. Now, that means we are going to impeachment, and again, that's tough -- that's a tough road to hold for Democrats as well.

CHURCH: Right.

STRAUSS: They control the House but not the Senate. And there aren't -- they don't appear to be enough Republicans right now to break the requirements to remove Trump from office that way.

CHURCH: Some Republicans are still reluctant of course to call out President Trump. Senator Roy Blunt says the president touched the hot stove and learned his lesson, but we of course all remember Republican Susan Collins saying exactly the same thing after Trump's first impeachment.

What does this indicate to you about where are other GOP senators might stand when it comes to an historic second impeachment of the president, and of course for the Senate there is talk of possibly doing the House first and the Senate later when it comes to these impeachment proceedings.

STRAUSS: It still, it still suggests to me that there just aren't enough Republicans in the Senate to impeach, to successfully impeach the president. There are a number of them, Roy Blunt is a great example, the Missouri senator is up for reelection soon. He is worried about angering the Trump base, either to a point where they will pose a primary challenge to him or that will take away from his voter base which he needs now. Missouri is a very red state. There aren't many Democrats in the highest elected offices there, but that could always change.

CHURCH: And a new ABC News/Ipsos poll shows 56 percent of those American surveyed think Trump should be removed from office, while just 43 percent believe he should not be removed. What impact could a poll like this have on any decision made by Vice President Pence, given he has not yet taken off the table his option to invoke the 25th amendment, which is interesting of course to remove the president.

STRAUSS: I mean, I'm still skeptical about that majority swing their required number of federal officials needed to remove the president from office. There are only a few days left in his presidency and 54 percent isn't that surprising given that Democrats will control the Senate soon, they control the House and they narrowly won the presidency.

So that really reflects the margin of sentiment across the country, but it's probably not enough for to sway the necessary mount of Republicans needed to remove Trump from office.

CHURCH: And would you expect to see Donald Trump pardon himself between now and his departure, and can he even achieve that now, given he and Pence appear not even be on talking terms?

STRAUSS: Yes. I mean, it's unclear if he can do that, but this has been something the president has been talking with aides and floating for some time now. And it's clearly something that appeals to him, and at least to some extent, but it's unclear, especially since originally, part of that whole strategy required Pence to be involved for him to be out of the picture, makes it even more difficult for the president.

Keep in mind that the vice president and the president have not talked directly since the rioting and since the mob attack on the capital.

CHURCH: Indeed. Daniel Strauss, thank you so much for your analysis. I appreciate it.

STRAUSS: Thanks.

CHURCH: And we have new horrifying video from the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol showing the mob dragging a police officer down the stairs and brutally beating him. I first need to warn you, of course, the video we are about to show is graphic, but it's important to see the reality of Wednesday's attack.

It is difficult to watch. The officer gets beaten and stomped on. Even hit with a poll that carry the American flag. The rioters used anything they have, a broom, a crutch, even a Trump 2020 flag fastened to a poll to throw at police who were trying to maintain a barricade at the tunnel entrance to the capitol building.

And the assault on the officer happened roughly 10 minutes after President Donald Trump urged his supporters through his now deleted Twitter account to be peaceful and go home.

[03:15:07]

Well in the wake of the siege on the capitol, law enforcement agencies around the country are bracing for more possible violence. Officials say the riot has heightened their planning for the upcoming inauguration of Joe Biden. CNN's Jessica Schneider has our report.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: There is a lot of concern as we move into a new week and closer to the inauguration in the wake of last week's attack of the U.S. Capitol. The capitol now surrounded by a 7-foot non-scalable fence and hundreds of National Guard members. They will be sent in for the inauguration next Wednesday. That includes 1,000 members from New York, 6,200 from across the country.

And so far, nearly two dozen people have been charged federally from their involvement in the violent mob that stormed the capitol, that includes a man who was found with 11 homemade bombs in his truck park near the capitol, plus a handgun, assault rifle and ammunition. And prosecutors say that that man actually had two hand guns on him when police finally found him.

Then there was another man charged with allegedly sending text messages, threatening injury to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when he was found he had firearms including an assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, that was in a truck that he had parked outside of a Holiday Inn hotel in Washington.

But you know, this is likely just the beginning of the charges. The acting U.S. attorney in D.C. now says hundreds of people may end up under arrest as they continue this investigation that encompasses hundreds of prosecutors and FBI agents working from three command centers 24/7.

And finally, there is some growing concern for the safety of members of Congress. Many of whom we've seen in videos yelled at, surrounded in airports as they traveled to and from Washington. Well, this weekend we learned that all members will be able to get increased security when they travel through airports, U.S. Capitol police, they are coordinating with other law enforcement agencies to make sure those protections happen to keep those numbers of Congress safe.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Well, big tech is responding to the siege of the U.S. Capitol. How are these moves impacting social media? We'll take a look at that coming up.

Plus, the U.S. is now moving to designate Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organization. A look at what this could mean for the incoming Biden administration and humanitarian aid.

[03:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone.

Well the U.S. plans to designate Yemen's Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist group. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the move will provide additional tools to confront the Iran-backed militia. But diplomats and aid groups fear it could damage the U.N.'s work on peace talks in Yemen, hinder humanitarian aid and make it more difficult for the incoming Biden administration to craft a Yemen policy.

Joining us now with more details is senior international correspondent Sam Kiley standing by in Jerusalem. Good to see you, Sam. So, what could this potentially mean for Joe Biden's administration and of course the humanitarian crisis there?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, firstly on the international diplomatic front, as you know, the Houthi rebels and other belligerence in that now pretty long running war, are part of the faltering peace process sponsored by and led by the United Nations, and if one of the belligerents in that namely the Houthi rebels designated as a terrorist organization, it makes it very difficult for them to participate, not impossible.

Now remember of course that the Taliban is currently involved in face to face negotiations from time to time with American officials in their efforts to try to broker a long-term peace in Afghanistan. So, it doesn't completely cripple, but it certainly hamstrings the Biden administration's future ambitions if they've got any, and I'm sure they do for peace in Yemen.

In terms of humanitarian operations, the impact is much more significant. The Houthi rebels have already come under pressure as a consequence of the cut, particularly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and their contribution to the annual United Nations humanitarian efforts where 80 percent of Yemenis are effectively dependent on humanitarian aid. That's on all sides within the conflict, Rosemary.

That cut (Ph) in the view of the diplomats directly involved in the peace negotiations, was partly intended to try to force these back to the negotiating table. But it has -- it will have a profound humanitarian impact. Now the U.S. administration is saying that they are going to issue licenses and various waivers for specific humanitarian efforts there, but the United States is the biggest donor to the humanitarian effort there with over $680 million pledged in the last round.

And the transfer of funds into Yemen is going to be extremely difficult if you can't use U.S. dollars and you can't use the federal banking system. Again, not impossible. Things -- waves will be found around it, but it does make it extremely difficult when at a time when the United Nations, Rosemary, is saying that Yemen is facing once again imminent famine.

I should also say there's one very important aspect to this that perhaps even the Trump administration doesn't understand this, which is that in Yemen, in order to prevent belligerent groups, notably the Houthis from manipulating humanitarian aid, there has been an effort to try to get government salaries based on a roster of government employees dating back four or five years directly to individuals.

[03:24:57] In other words, bypassing belligerent groups like the Houthis who might cream off food aid and other aspects of it, so that people get money in their pockets. That's going to be extremely difficult to achieve even in the medium and long term, let alone the short term under this terrorist designation against the Houthis. And arguably will actually, ultimately empower them even more, because at the end of the day they are backed by Iran and they will have to inevitably turn more directly to Iran for support if they are no longer part of any kind of diplomatic, much less humanitarian effort in large areas under their control. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes, some important points there. Sam Kiley joining us. Many thanks for that update on the situation. I appreciate it.

Well, President Trump is vowing to fight big tech during his final days in office after getting booted from Twitter. Amazon was also set to remove Parler from its cloud hosting service. And now the web site is no longer showing up as available. The move effectively boots it off the public internet until it can find a new web hosting provider.

Apple and Google already banned the alternative social network from their platforms. Apple gave Parler 24 hours to remove hateful and violent comments before mixing the app.

Well here to discuss further is John Defterios. He joins us live from Dubai. Good to see you, John, So the tech giant seemed to have a unified position on this. Why are they moving so quickly?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, I think the game has changed completely, Rosemary, as a result of the Capitol Hill attack while big tech or Silicon Valley was low to challenge Donald Trump and the traffic, I should say that he represented on their platforms. They see now that they have to have a move forward here to get off the flat foot and be proactive, I think, because of their reputational damage if they don't.

You talked about Apple. Apple is saying that Parler had the most successful free app on the platform, so it's a big move to take it off. Google is doing the same. Amazon web services deciding after sending a letter to Parler saying if you don't change your practices, we're going to take you down. As you noted, the Parler said they are looking for a new host and they hope to have that solve within a week.

The CEO of Parler was suggesting that this was politically motivated, but I think it's to the contrary. I think that the Silicon Valley companies were very easy on Donald Trump not wanting to face the reprisals and now see that they need to kind of strike a balance between free speech on one side, but also not being seen as soft on regulation going forward.

So they wanted to get ahead of this on the Biden administration, because right now, Rosemary, they are not treated as publishers, not legally bound by what is put on their platforms and they fear this could change and evenly potentially to a breakup of some of these companies, because they are seen as too big. CHURCH: And John, while I have you here, are we witnessing the start

of the business down falling to the Trump brand as the PGA decides to pull out of a Trump golf course next year.

DEFTERIOS: Yes. Let's call it a busy weekend for Donald Trump and the Trump organization, and not on the positive front. As you suggested, the PGA was supposed to host a championship. The golf championship in May of 2022 at Bedminster in New Jersey, the Trump organization's golf course here. They are calling it off. The board of the PGA said they thought it was detrimental to the PGA of America the brand if they decided to keep the championship there.

It's one of four as I was suggesting before held in terms of the major tournaments. So, it's a great deal. The Trump organization, Rosemary, by the way, is saying this is breaking a binding contract that they had with PGA, but PGA obviously sees that he had an escape clause for an event of this sort.

We have to think about of this in a global context as well that's not limited to the United States. Trump apartments, Trump hotels, Trump golf courses, there's one here in Dubai, it sold apartments in India which I was covering a couple of years ago, they are all facing pressure now as a result of what transpired over the last week. And I would say even for the last four years.

CHURCH: A lot going on. John Defterios brings us to date from Dubai. Many thanks.

Well, a dire situation in the U.S. where COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are soaring. Ahead, the fight against the virus and the vaccine rollout that's falling short of expectations.

And saluting a man a remembered as a hero. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died after Wednesday's riot. We will look at how members of Congress are paying tribute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Welcome back, everyone.

Well, a few hours from now Democrats in the U.S. House will attempt to force the vice president to invoke the 25th amendment and remove Donald Trump from office over the riot at the capitol. Today Democrats will introduce a measure demanding Mike Pence take action. If it passes and Mike Pence fails to respond, they will bring impeachment legislation to the floor.

Flags at the White House are flying at half-staff to honor two late police officers. Brian Sicknick and Howard Liebengood were both on duty when pro-Trump protesters stormed Capitol Hill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered flags on the hill lowered on Friday. President Trump followed suit on Sunday.

CNN's Brian Todd looks at officer Sicknick's career in service. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With flags lowered to half-staff the Capitol Hill community is reeling over the death of a respected police officer. Forty-two-year-old Brian Sicknick. But with their sorrow, some including members of Congress are also expressing anger.

REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D-MA): My heart goes out to Officer Sicknick's family. There are a lot of people who have Officer Sicknick's blood on their hands.

THEORTIS 'BUTCH' JONES, FORMER CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER: The way that they went out or the way that he died was unnecessary.

TODD: Capitol Hill police say Officer Sicknick was injured on Wednesday while, quote, "physically engaging with protesters." That he then returned to his division office and collapsed. He died late Thursday. The youngest of three sons born and raised in South River, New Jersey, Brian Sicknick is being called a hero by his family.

In a statement sent to CNN, the family is saying he wanted to be a police officer his entire life. As a means to that end, they say, he joined the New Jersey Air National Guard. That branch says Sicknick joined in 1997, was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan and served in a security force's quadrant, the air guard's military police.

[03:35:04]

Sicknick was honorably discharged from the New Jersey Air National Guard in 2003. And joined the Capitol Hill police in 2008. Capitol Hill police say Sicknick most recently served in of the force's first responder's unit. One former Capitol Hill officer says the job is dangerous, even under normal circumstances.

JONES: Every day your life is in danger. It's no promise that you are going to come home the next day or the same day that you go out, every officer that swears and take the job very seriously to protect Congress.

TODD: Officer Sicknick and his colleagues, though by most accounts overwhelmed by the rioters, are drawing praise from members of Congress who they fought to protect.

PELOSI: Many of our capitol police just acted so bravely and with such concern for the staff, for the members, for the capitol, for the capitol of the United States. Many of the men and they deserve our gratitude.

ANNIE KUSTER (D-NH): We were all very fortunate that the Capitol Hill police that were there were thinking as quickly as they had if they had automatic weapons, they could have killed hundreds of members of Congress.

TODD: Now, one of the man who helped prevent that horror is being remembered by his family for his empathy, his commitment to rescuing dogs, his love of the New Jersey Devil's hockey team. Brian Sicknick had no children but lived with his girlfriend of 11 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD (on camera): In a statement to CNN, Brian Sicknick's family asked the public and media not to make his passing a quote, "political issue," but his death will be the subject of a federal murder investigation with the U.S. attorney's office, the Capitol Hill police and in the D.C. metropolitan police taking part.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: And on Sunday, police gathered in Washington to honor Sicknick. They saluted as the procession passed carrying his body to a funeral home. Ryan Sicknick was 42 years old. We will be back in a moment.

[03:40:00]

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CHURCH (on camera): A surge new COVID-19 infections across the U.S. shows few signs of letting up. Since the first of the year, the U.S. has added more than 2.3 million cases with hospitalizations and deaths soaring. Right now, January is on track to be the deadliest month of the pandemic. More than 28,000 people have died in just 10 days.

Making matters worse, vaccine efforts are rolling out much slower than expected, the CDC says of the more than 22 million vaccine doses that have been distributed just over 6.6 million have been administered.

Well, right now, let's bring in Dr. Scott Miscovich. He is a family physician and a national consultant for COVID-19 testing. Thank you, doctor, for being with us and for all that you do.

SCOTT MISCOVICH, NATIONAL CONSULTANT FOR COVID-19 TESTING: Hi, Rosemary. How are you today?

CHURCH: I'm good. I'm good. So, the U.S. is seeing these record numbers of COVID and hospitalizations. As we watch a very slow rollout of vaccines, just 6.6 million administered so far. President-elect Joe Biden is considering releasing all available doses for vaccination once he takes office. Is that what needs to happen or do you see problems with that solution?

MISCOVICH: It's part of the solution, but the solution has to be more federal health at the state level or the county level. Again, this is unprecedented time in the United States and the world to think that everyone at every corner of the world has to get a vaccine is just unimaginable.

There is no direction. There is no leadership. We are seeing all the states and counties being left to their own accord. There has to be plan. We have to give guidance with those 20 million and the next 20 million, and the next 100 million of how the federal government will not just throw money at it but put more resources including bodies, and leadership and what we call logistics and helping it happen. So, I'm looking forward to the Biden administration stepping up.

CHURCH: Right. And you say we have to have a plan. The problem is no one seems to have a plan. Former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says we need to hit the recent reset button on vaccine rollout because the current system isn't working. So why have so few doses being administered and how can this be done better?

MISCOVICH: Well, again, I think the biggest issue now is the number of bodies to do it. I mean, it's a very big effort. My group right now, I will be heading into Arizona tomorrow to help lead efforts to do vaccine rollout there and getting the people together, whether it's hiring retirees that are qualified to do it or bringing together people from the National Guard or retired guard or other personnel.

That maybe right now, we take, like, six weeks and put a training program together so that when we hit the national effort where everyone becomes eligible, not just first responders, that is where we're really going to need the effort.

So, there's got to be that type of guidance and that type of leadership to show how to do it instead of just saying well here it is, and here is money in your accounts.

CHURCH: Yes. You and I have spoken about this, the National Guard, the military, FEMA are trying to get them involved in some way, because this has to be done on mass. We'll see. Perhaps Joe Biden will do something in that direction.

But we've also learned, doctor that some hospitals are being forced to throw away vaccine doses, because not enough people are available to take all those doses once the containers are open for use. How do you avoid that from happening?

MISCOVICH: That's just unfathomable. To think that we are throwing doses away when one dose could save so many lives because of the amazing transmission rates that are occurring. Remember right now, across the mainland we have that disease spreading so fast. We also talked about I think last time on the show that, could we just start getting one dose at least to everyone in the country and we will be saving lives?

So, I don't care if you stand on the street corner and you walk for the dose, they should never be thrown away. There are so many people that are begging for this right now.

CHURCH: Yes. And of course, that's what the U.K. is hoping to do. We'll see what happens. And doctor, after the storming of the capitol on Wednesday, it turns out some members of the Congress were exposed to the coronavirus in a room where some Republicans refused to wear masks even though they were offered them. What is your reaction to that revelation, and of course, you would have seen the vision.

[03:44:56]

MISCOVICH: Again, it goes back to the same thing. Right now, the very positive thing I saw earlier on CNN, you have announced that everyone has to think about the new measures with the new variance and how contagious and how much disease is spreading, masks are number one.

And you know, I'm going through an effort with all the people I'm treating and training. We even train them how important it is to have that fit across their nose because we've all seen it with people with it hanging down and loose on one side.

And so, for members of Congress, I don't care what your party is, they have to be role models. They have to be able to show people how to save their lives and there is no excuse and a close quarter where a closed room, again, same type of thing. That is where you get the spread, of course you're safer but in a closed room they are so susceptible with the new variance that are going around.

CHURCH: Yes. I mean, if they haven't worked this out yet they shouldn't be there representing the people, right?

MISCOVICH: Right.

CHURCH: Dr. Scott Miscovich, thank you so much for joining us. We do appreciate it.

MISCOVICH: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: With cases surging in the U.K., the government is set to open a series of new mass vaccination centers, facilities like this one, open this week. That comes as experts warn new case numbers could soon overwhelm hospitals.

In Germany, the death toll from coronavirus has now topped 40,000. The country reported its single deadliest 24-hour period on Friday with nearly 1,200 new deaths.

Melissa Bell is live for us in Paris tracking developments across Europe. But we begin with Salma Abdelaziz who joins us now live from London.

So, Salma, in the midst of surging cases, the U.K. government is set to announce its COVID-19 vaccine delivery plan. What is expected and how has it been progressing so far?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: That's absolutely right. The health secretary, Matt Hancock is expected to give a presser this afternoon to lay out the details. But here's what we know so far. Today, seven mass vaccinations centers were open, these are tennis courts and stadiums and huge conference centers across the country and they joined about a hundred -- rather, 1,000 other sites across this country that have been inoculating people at breakneck speed.

So far two million people in the U.K. have received their vaccinations. But look, Rosemary, if you asked the authorities, this isn't fast enough. They want to move it faster. Their goal is to get 15 million people vaccinated by mid-February. The country's most vulnerable. Those who are living in care homes, or work in care homes, frontline health care workers, those who are considered clinically vulnerable, and all of those over 70.

It's ambitious. Some might say it's unrealistic, but as you said, Rosemary, this country is facing record-breaking hospitalizations, record breaking infection rates. The House secretary warning over the weekend that any violation of the rules could be fatal.

So, everything is pinned right now on this vaccination program. Essentially ending this pandemic sooner, saving the health care system, it's all about getting those injections into people's arms. So, what do we expect in this press conference today?

Well, we expect the house secretary to lay out how he is going to get 15 million people vaccinated in this period. It's less than six weeks that you have to do all of this. Now we know again 1,000 sites up and running, as many injections as possible, but they've also done some very interesting things like delaying the second dose of the injection.

So, you can -- you can expect that this is going to be an ambitious, a creative, a very stretching of resources plan, Rosemary, that we're going to hear from the house secretary today.

CHURCH: That is critical. Thank you so much for that, Salma. Melissa, let's go to you know. Let's talk about the situation across Europe specifically, starting with Germany. Because as we mentioned, they topped 40,000 COVID deaths and that is just extraordinary when you consider how well they were doing in the initial stages of this pandemic. What is going on?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Think back to that first wave. Germany had been one of the countries that seem to have coped the best with it and had the least impact on its people. That of course has changed. And it is one of those countries now hardest hit. It isn't simply the deaths have now passed 40,000, Rosemary.

When you look at the number of new cases it's always an indication also of course of what's to come. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, more than 20,000 new cases announced every day, on one of those days more than 30,000.

And what we heard from Angela Merkel on Saturday was that that could not yet be the worse. There could be worse to come. The next few weeks could be even worse, really hinting at the fact that that New Year and Christmas period could lead to a surge that has yet to be recorded in the numbers. That's how bad things are.

She also mentioned of course that hospitals in Germany are running at near capacity already. So, the situation is looking extremely difficult.

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Now she did express some hope of course, when it comes to vaccinations, acknowledging that Germany as other European countries had been slow in the initial part of its rollout, it's now been of course more than two weeks since the E.U. started that vaccination process.

Rosemary, it's been remarkably slow in a number of countries including in Germany. They have now vaccinated and we had this confirmed by the German health minister on Sunday, half a million people, and Angela Merkel really vowing that that should improve and pick up pace and that there would be enough doses for everyone in Germany.

We know that today Germany received their first Moderna vaccines. They should begin to start vaccinating people with that tomorrow, so some hope that things will improve. Will they improve quickly enough? That's really the question, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Absolutely it is. Melissa Bell joining us live from Paris. Many thanks. And we'll be right back.

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CHURCH (on camera): All this week, CNN is bringing you stories of sporting excellence. We will be meeting athletes from Japan as their country gears up to host the Olympics.

Coy Wire has this story of a race car driver who made history in 2017.

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COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With two Indy 500 wins under his belt, 43-year-old race car driver Takuma Sato shows no signs of slowing down.

Seven times you chase victory --

I first met him in 2017 when he became the first Asian driver to win one of racing's most prestigious honor. You are the first Japanese driver to ever win the Indy 500. How big of a win is this for you and your country?

TAKUMA SATO, INDY 500 CHAMPION: It's special myself, but also, it's special for Japan too.

WIRE: In 2020 due to the pandemic, the Indy 500 was held in August without spectators. Almost running out of fuel in the final lap, Sato was able to finish first in this prestigious race for the second time in his career.

SATO: This is actually an incredible moment, because having this actual race winning car from 2020 Indianapolis Motor Speedway 500 race -- here sitting in the Honda headquarter in Tokyo this is just a beautiful machine.

WIRE: As someone who has experienced the pride of representing his country, Sato knows firsthand what it means to break barriers for future athletes.

SATO: I'm looking for the next generation to come in through it and to make me do a more bigger impact, even when you come somewhere east little island -- to be able to win such iconic race, especially a two- time winner. This is just a dream come true. And it's certainly a significant moment in my life.

WIRE: Coy Wire, CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And thank you for watching this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Rosemary Church. And I'll be back with more news in just one moment. Do stick around.

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