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Joe Biden Prepares Day One Executive Orders; False Alarm on Capitol Hill; Interview with Former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle (D) and Trent Lott (R). Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired January 18, 2021 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:32:01]

POPP HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We are learning much more about President- elect Biden's plan for his first 100 days in office, appearing to have a pretty busy schedule, of course, as he kicks things off. And this begins, Jim, as soon as he's sworn in on Wednesday.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Jessica Dean has more on that.

So his first targets are going to be some of the most controversial steps of the Trump administration, including the Muslim travel ban. Tell us how he's going to lay it out and how quickly.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Jim, and they're going to move quite quickly, on day one. They're saying that President-elect Biden will sign these executive orders. These are promises he made on the campaign trail, and they're really making an effort to telegraph to the American people that he is moving swiftly to do what he promised he would do.

You mentioned rolling back the travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries that President Trump and his administration had put into place, that's one thing that President-elect Biden is going to do. He's also going to rejoin the Paris climate accord -- again, something he promised to do on day one.

TEXT: Biden's Executive Orders on Day One: Rejoining the Paris climate accord; Ending travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries; Halting evictions and student loan payments; Mask mandate on federal property

DEAN: And then there are a number of issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, that is their top priority, getting that under control. And to that end, he plans to sign a federal mask mandate that will apply to all federal property, where they have jurisdiction.

They're also going to extend that pause on student loan payments and the moratorium on evictions -- again, trying to help people who are struggling financially right now as they endure this pandemic. But, Jim and Poppy, President-elect Biden has talked often about how

he views executive orders and executive action, and that he thinks it only goes so far. Some progressives -- especially on Capitol Hill -- are pushing him to use even more of it.

He really hopes that Congress will pass his initiatives and his plans. But of course we're going to have to see if Congress is willing to play ball there, and what exactly they can get done on Capitol Hill -- Jim and Poppy.

HARLOW: Also, today, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris officially resigns her position in the Senate to prepare for the role she's taking on. What more do we know?

DEAN: Well, we know that she has officially offered her letter of resignation to the California governor, resigning her Senate seat there in California.

But of course, remember, Kamala Harris is not going to be a stranger to the U.S. Capitol as she moves forward. She's going to preside over the U.S. Senate, and she will be the tiebreaking vote -- there is that 50-50 split in the Senate between Democrats and Republicans.

She wrote an op-ed in a San Francisco newspaper, explaining her resignation and saying this is more of a hello not a goodbye to the U.S. Capitol, and that she hopes she doesn't have to be the tiebreaker again, Jim and Poppy, the signature refrain from Biden and Harris. They want bipartisan support of their initiatives and their legislative agenda.

HARLOW: Wouldn't that be a change, Jess, thank you very much.

[10:34:52]

Join us for all-day live coverage of the inauguration of Joe Biden, and of course Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. It starts Wednesday, right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

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HARLOW: Such a --

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Well, the number of lives lost to the -- sorry --

HARLOW: No --

SCIUTTO: -- to the coronavirus here in the U.S. will soon pass 400,000. Incoming CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, she is warning that we could be in for some dark weeks ahead, as the surge and death toll keep going. She says we could reach -- as a country -- half a million deaths in just a month, by mid-February. It's remarkable, as we watch that graph go up, Poppy. I mean, these are real people with families, just so sad to see.

[10:40:08]

HARLOW: Yes, knowing that it didn't have to be this bad. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is with us this morning.

Good morning, Elizabeth. That data that CNN has analyzed, it shows 60 percent of the nearly 24 million cases have been reported since Election Day. That was 75 days ago. Why?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, I know. It's because this country hasn't done what it's needed to do. We haven't done the masking, we haven't done the social distancing, we haven't done, as a country, what we needed to do.

I want to take a look at those numbers because I think when you see them in writing, it really is quite stunning. If you look at cases in the United States, January through October 2020 -- so we're talking 10 months -- there were 9 million cases. November until today, not even three months, there have been 14.5 million cases. So there were more cases in the past two and a half months than there were in the preceding 10 months.

And now I know a lot of people feel like, wow, we did our part in the spring, we were so careful, we just feel like we want to sort of let loose now. Well, now is not the time to do it, when it is the worst that it's ever been.

Let's take a look at those numbers in a graphic form because, again, you can see the numbers crept up, the numbers crept up, the numbers crept, and then the numbers started shooting up around November. So, again, not the time to let our guard down; quite the opposite, the time to really buckle down and double down and do what we need to do -- Poppy, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Elizabeth, can you tell us what the heck is going on with vaccinations in this country? I mean, I think there's a lot of confusion out there. I mean, the Trump administration failed to meet its own repeatedly reduced targets for vaccinations, but then you hear someone like a Dr. Fauci say, listen, it's not as bad as it sounds right now. Where does it really stand and are things ramping up?

COHEN: You know, I think trying to gauge if it's as bad as it sounds or not, you really have to talk to individuals. I mean, I certainly know people who got a vaccine relatively easy -- friends of mine who are doctors or nurses. But I know people who are trying to get shots for their parents or grandparents, they are on the phone, they are online, they are trying their hardest. These are smart, resourceful people and they can't do it. It is chaotic.

In other countries, where I talk to folks I know in other countries, you pick up the phone, you call a central number, you make an appointment, it is not that complicated. Here, it's every guy and gal for themselves, and that is really difficult.

And so let me show you what those numbers -- what that amounts to. So, so far in the United States, about 31 million doses have been distributed -- in other words, have been put around the United States in various locations. But only 12 million have been administered, so 31 million distributed but only 12 million have gone into arms -- Poppy, Jim.

HARLOW: Elizabeth, thank you for that reporting, very much.

Let's go back to our colleague now on Capitol Hill. Manu Raju is with us.

Some sort of security alert at the Capitol. Do you know what happened?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, actually set up a bit of an alarm internally. An alarm went out, warning people to stay away from windows and from -- to not actually leave the building, to be locked down inside the building due to an external security threat.

Now, we just learned that this involved a small fire, just a few blocks away from the Capitol building, it involved a small fire. This is according to D.C. Fire's (ph) -- they -- a spokesperson saying that it involved a small fire involving a tent (ph) that is now out. D.C. Fire was dispatched at 10:14 a.m., a few minutes ago, and it was a very minimal incident and, quote, "pretty much a non-incident," according to a D.C. Fire spokesman.

But I can tell you, I was just in this building when this alarm went off, and it did set off a bit of media panic and some concern. There were troops that were moving all around, we see National Guard members all over this building, rushing into different positions in the complex. They cleared out the west front of the Capitol, where they're preparing for the inauguration, and they cleared other areas of the building. But right now, guys, things seem to be clear, just shows how high-alert this building's in right now.

SCIUTTO: So to be clear, it was a false alarm? This was not a security threat to the Capitol.

RAJU: Yes. It seems like it was a small incident that was dealt with, and everything seems OK here now.

SCIUTTO: All right. Glad to hear, Manu Raju, thanks so much.

[10:44:29]

And we'll be right back.

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HARLOW: President Trump is not really out in the public at all, doing a victory lap in his final days of office. He is really largely out of the public eye, with Vice President Mike Pence making the rounds, doing things such as traveling to thank and greet and speak to the troops.

SCIUTTO: After the November election and the Capitol insurrection, the president is leaving the country and Washington more divided than ever, a 50-50 split in the Senate, a perfect example of that, perhaps. With us now are two men who know about that, both former majority leaders. Democratic Senator Tom Daschle and Republican Senator Trent Lott.

Gentlemen, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

TOM DASCHLE (D), FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Happy to be with you.

TRENT LOTT (R), FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Glad to be with you.

SCIUTTO: It's good to have you together, it really is. You've talked about being friends, right? And the working relationship you had on the Hill, when you were both there.

Senator Lott, you said, "I respected him," speaking of former Senator Daschle. "I trusted him, it's called communication, leadership."

I just wonder, is the reality today that that Senate doesn't exist any more, that the country and the politics -- beyond the rhetoric, but that the politics are so divided, with gerrymandering, et cetera, that that kind of relationship just isn't possible any more?

[10:50:10]

LOTT: Well, you know, Tom and I did have a unique relationship, and we had some hard times we had to deal with, including an impeachment trial and the 50-50 Senate, a number of other things. But you know, the people are different, times are different, the media is different. So it'll be a real challenge, as Tom and I pointed out, in our piece in the "Washington Post," for Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell.

But they've got to find a way to work together. We've got some business we need to do for the country, not only on COVID but the economy and infrastructure. So what Tom and I are trying to do now is what we did then: encourage, you know, communication and get (ph) a chemistry. That was so important part of how we dealt with each other, right, Tom?

DASCHLE: That's exactly right, Trent. I think it's all about inclusion, it's about listening to one another, it's about developing a communication that leads ultimately to collaboration, that's critical, regardless of the circumstances. That hasn't changed in 20 years.

HARLOW: It's such a good piece that you guys wrote a few days ago in the "Post," I would encourage everyone to read it as a reminder that you can work productively together even if you are in different parties -- imagine that.

As you mentioned, the Clinton impeachment that both of you led through, we're about to start another Senate trial for what will be ex-President Trump.

Senator Daschle, I wonder if your fellow -- but both of you, by the way, oppose impeaching -- a Senate trial for the president, which I think is very interesting. And Senator Daschle, I wonder if you think that your fellow Democrats -- putting aside Senator Manchin who agrees with you -- are misguided, then?

DASCHLE: No, I do think that there has to be accountability. My own view is that we ought to use the Section 3 of both the 14th Amendment, on insurrection and rebellion, as the means by which one judges accountability in this case. That is simply handled with a joint resolution, which I thought was a lot cleaner and faster and more efficient.

But nonetheless, I think we've got to go on. The House has impeached, the Senate now has an obligation to follow through -- in my view -- with the trial. That just wasn't my choice.

SCIUTTO: Senator Lott, the rules --

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LOTT: You know, Poppy --

SCIUTTO: Sorry, go ahead, Senator.

LOTT: Well, I'm just going to say, I got a communication this morning from a panicked member of the family who says, What do we do now?

And my answer was, Calm down, go forward.

He said, Go forward how?

I said, Do it one step at a time. We need to have an inauguration, we need to get the president's cabinet confirmed, we need to deal with the COVID issue with some more stimulus, maybe go to infrastructure. Just begin to do business, try to avoid places where you know you're going to have a huge fracas (ph), and just start getting things done in regular order.

SCIUTTO: That's the point right there, to my point, regular order. Because the rules have changed -- you know this better than me. For instance, so on judicial appointees, instead of 60 votes, you just need 50 votes. So you know, no bipartisan cooperation or minimal required there under Senator Mitch McConnell. You know, amendments much harder, close to impossible.

Do they -- perhaps first to you, Senator Daschle -- do those rules have to change back, right? To make bipartisan work possible.

DASCHLE: I don't think they have to. I think we ought to do is, it's possible to create this new climate that Trent just described. I don't think there's any question that it's possible, it's doable.

It really depends on leadership, it depends on a willingness on the part of both the Republicans and Democrats to demonstrate we can govern, to end the dysfunction, to end the polarization, to get on with good governance. That means confirming and that means legislating and that means holding a schedule and doing the kinds of things the American people expect. That's still a possibility, and it should be a probability, going forward. HARLOW: Senator Lott, the reality, though, is there are so many

people detached from reality. I mean, CNN did a brand-new poll. And what it showed this morning, I couldn't believe this number, that only 19 percent of Republicans believe -- still -- that Biden was legitimately elected. I don't know if we have that number, we showed you some other ones from the poll. But 19 percent only, how can that be in your party?

LOTT: Well, you know, there are a lot of concerns about the votes in various states, obviously, Georgia and Pennsylvania. But that was, you know, taken to various courts and dealt with a number of elected officials including Republicans.

Whether you feel that way or not, the fact is it's over and President- elect Biden will be sworn in as president. And we need to begin to focus on the future and quit focusing on or trying to get a redo of what happened last year.

[10:55:14]

You know, I didn't like the results but --

HARLOW: Right.

LOTT: -- I also believe that true patriotism is to try to make the system work and support the president you're going to have.

HARLOW: That's such a good point.

We are so glad to have you both here together --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: -- as friends, former colleagues. Thank you for that message to America this morning, Senators. And --

SCITTO: Yes, from your lips to God's ears.

HARLOW: -- yes, amen, Jim.

And thanks to all of you for being here. Again, it's a huge week, we're glad you're going to be with us for it. I'm Poppy Harlow, we'll see you tomorrow.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto, NEWSROOM with Kate Bolduan starts right after a short break.

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