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U.S. Capitol Fenced Off, Guarded by Thousands of Troops; All 50 States Brace for Potential Violent Protests; Sources: Trump to Issue Around 100 Pardons & Commutations; Cathedrals Serving as Temporary Vaccination Sites in U.K.; Kremlin Critic Detained on Return to Moscow; Biden to Sign Executive Orders on First Day in Office; California Reports 42,000+ New Cases; Raskin: I'm Not Going to Lose My Son in 2020 & My Country in 2021. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired January 18, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
[00:01:49]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. This is CNN NEWSROOM. Appreciate your company.
And we do begin with breaking news from Washington. We're learning that the U.S. president, Donald Trump, is preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office. Sources say he is not expected to pardon himself on Tuesday. But they caution anything could change between now and January 20, when Joe Biden is inaugurated as president.
Now, this news comes as officials across the country are trying to ensure a peaceful transfer of power on the day. For days now, authorities have been guarding government buildings amid FBI warnings of possible violence from protesters who still don't recognize Biden's victory. So far, the show of force appears to be working.
Demonstrations at state Capitols over the weekend were small and peaceful, with police far outnumbering protesters.
Now in Washington, officials have further ramped up security as inauguration day approach, the U.S. Capitol now surrounded, effectively, by barriers and fences and patrolled by roughly 17,000 National Guard troops with thousands more on the way.
Police presence at the Capitol is, of course, greater than it was on January 6, when rioters stormed the building with little or no resistance. And now, a new video from "The New Yorker" magazine giving us a fresh look at the deadly attack.
A warning: We have not censored the language, and some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knock, knock. We're here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the Senate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the fuck are they? Where are they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we're here, we might as well set up a government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, let's take a seat, people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do we find Nancy Pelosi?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- photos and shit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the fuck is Nancy Pelosi?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We paid for it. This is our House.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, get out of that chair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is our chair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with you, brother, but it's not ours. It belongs to the vice president of the United States, but he isn't here. It's not our chair. Look, I love you guys. You're brothers, but we can't be disrespectful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not disrespectful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can steal an election, but we can't sit in their chairs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's got to be something in here we can use against the scumbags.
Oh no, this is good stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, what happened to the phone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, this is good. This is all good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a good one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me all of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hawley, Cruz.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Cruz would want us to do this. So I think we're good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[00:05:11]
HOLMES: Extraordinary scenes.
The streets of Washington a lot calmer now than they were back then, fortunately. CNN's Alex Marquardt explains what police are doing to try to keep things under control.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Here on the streets of Washington, D.C., things are pretty quiet. There's a sense that this is the calm before the storm. The question is whether the storm comes, whether there's more violence in the days leading up to, and on the day of, Joe Biden's inauguration.
They are not taking any chances. We are here just near the eastern side of the Capitol building. You can see, they've set up what is essentially a fortress around the Capitol, eight-foot fences. They are called a non-scalable. There's razor wire all along the top. There is just a staggering amount of security here on the streets of D.C., many of which have been closed down for traffic and for pedestrian traffic.
Thousands, 25,000 National Guard troops may be mobilized for the inauguration of Joe Biden. You can see some of them are right here behind me. They have been deployed near the Capitol. They are armed, and they have been joined by various law enforcement agencies to create this patchwork of security, this incredible coordinated security operation.
Now, the FBI has said that there are no specific threats, but there is concerning online chatter. They have said, in a bulletin, that armed groups have expressed interest in carrying out protests in D.C. and in all 50 states.
And one of the concerns expressed by the mayor of Washington, D.C., on Sunday was that, because the federal buildings here in D.C. are so fortified, and there's so much security in the nation's capital, that -- that would-be protesters or rioters could target other parts of the city or state capitals. Take a listen.
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER, WASHINGTON, D.C.: I'm not only concerned about other state capitals. I'm also concerned about other parts of Washington, D.C.
What you're showing is, really, the federal enclave of Washington, D.C., not where the 700,000 of us live. So our police department, working with our federal law enforcement partners and the United States army, quite frankly, also has a plan to pivot if we have any attacks in our neighborhoods.
MARQUARDT: The mayor of D.C. also saying that this is the most security this city has seen since 9/11. Normally, there is a lot of security for inaugurations, but not like this.
They are confident, however, that they will have a secure event. The mayor of Washington, D.C., saying that all hands are on deck. But this scene, this security, is not what you think about when you hear that phrase, peaceful transfer of power.
Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Juliette Kayyem is a CNN national security analyst and a former homeland security official in the Obama administration. She's with us from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Always good to get you on, Juliette. I mean, it is incredible we have this digital record of insurrection as it happens. The calls for the hanging of the vice president, where's Nancy Pelosi, Ted Cruz would approve.
I mean, one thing seems to be at least some sign of military tactical aspects, command and control, photographing documents, psychological approaches, dealing with the police. What concerns you most about that video, from a security perspective?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, there's a number of aspects. Of course, it exposes just how violent this group was. It wasn't some random grouping of sort of loser, you know, strangely dressed guys. They were organized. They knew where to go, and they were so disrespectful of, essentially, our House, right, of the United States, the sort of main place of our legislature.
The other is the focus on particular individuals. We do not know if this was a hunt for, in particular, Nancy Pelosi, or the vice president.
The third is another comment that's made, which is -- which they make throughout this long video that "The New Yorker" had, which was "Trump sent us here." I mean, essentially, throughout, they are both aware that -- that Trump wanted him -- wanted them to do this, and this is essentially what Trump had done through tweets and what he said that morning, but also that they think Trump is going to protect them. And they're realizing now he can't.
HOLMES: Yes. You tweeted a couple of days ago -- and I just wanted to read it to people -- "The path to safety is not in unity, but in total and complete isolation of a terror movement's tactical and ideological leader. Then we can talk about bridging the divide."
You also talked, "The continuing threat isn't going to get better, singing kumbaya."
Tell me more about that?
KAYYEM: Well, I mean, basically, I think everyone is struggling to know sort of what is going on. And I think the best framework is through the counterterrorism lens. That we have to view this as a domestic terror threat, an organized one, which it clearly is.
[00:10:10]
And that it's tactical, essentially, and spiritual leader is -- is Donald Trump. He told them to come to D.C. He told them to march up the Hill. He said to fight to stop the steal, and essentially, said he was with them.
So we have to treat Donald -- we have to treat -- how do we get safer in this country? And it is, essentially, to isolate Donald Trump as we would any other leader of a terrorist organization. Now, this is hard to say, but nonetheless, this is how terrorist groups lose steam. So you deplatform. You isolate politically, like the impeachment. You -- you basically, you know, have -- get him isolated, which the cabinet has done.
The money issues around Deutsche Bank, and other banks that will not do business with him. And you -- and you, essentially, make it difficult for him to have a platform.
The most important thing in America right now is that Donald Trump does not seem to have any oxygen.
HOLMES: Yes.
KAYYEM: Because this group remains a threat, as we're seeing from -- from the lead-up with Alex's piece. Right? This is what we're living under.
HOLMES: Yes. There seems to be a growing chorus that, impeachment or not, the president shouldn't get the classified briefings former presidents are entitled to; that the risk of willful or unintentional release of classified information is too great. Which is an extraordinary thing to have to say about an outgoing commander-in- chief. Your thoughts as a security analyst?
KAYYEM: I mean, I obviously would defer to -- to what is decided by the Obama [SIC] intelligence team, but I will say this. There can be no norms around this president, around this ex-president, Donald Trump.
The reason why you allow presidents to look at classified information is because, allegedly, they could be helpful to the present president because, you know, basically, say, the Iranian deal. If you wanted to talk across -- across administrations.
There's no -- nothing that Donald Trump could offer in terms of advice to President-elect Biden. And so we do have to question why would he still want, and why should he still have, access?
I am definitely into the isolation phase of this ex-president, and I just think all these norms that we are used to, that they're part of a club, that they get to see intelligence, we really need to question at this stage, given the continuing threat that is due to President Trump's incitement.
HOLMES: Always good to get you on, Juliette. Thank you, Juliette Kayyem.
KAYYEM: Thank you. HOLMES: And more now on the threat of violence that has put police in
all 50 states on high alert. National Guard troops are mobilized across the nation, not just in D.C. They're aiming to prevent a repeat, of course, of the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. And FBI warning in place for all state capitals.
CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell is in Lansing, Michigan, where a small demonstration was held over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Michael, what you see behind me are military personnel patrolling American streets. These are members of the Michigan National Guard. They are here outside the state capital, that following this FBI warning that we've been reporting on about potential armed protests in all 50 states.
They've left nothing to chance here. A massive security posture. Let me show you what the Capitol looks like right now, which is similar to what we saw earlier in the day. You can see, not a soul in sight. It is very desolate here. No protesters.
There was a small group out here during the day, about 25 protesters, including some self-described members of the so-called Boogaloo movement that have been on the radar of law enforcement. But no violence, no instigators.
We talked to a police official here about what went into the planning and why this, perhaps, ended without a massive presence. Take a listen.
1ST LT. MICHAEL SHAW, MICHIGAN STATE POLICE: So yes, we kind of looked at everything from last week, some of the chatter that we had heard from the FBI in some of the social media there. So this day was kind of picked out, so to speak, in some of that chatter. So we wanted to make sure that what happened in Washington did not happen here in Michigan.
So we put a lot more security outside, a lot were visible security than normally would be there. Naturally, we always have security here. So it's not like a big change.
But we wanted to make sure that people that wanted to come out here and exercise their First Amendment rights, if that was their choosing, were able to do so peacefully. If there were people that were out here looking to damage the Capitol, attack police officers or the media, we wanted to make sure we were very prepared to handle that, as well.
CAMPBELL: Now, when it comes to why they didn't see a large number of protesters, it's worth pointing out that security officials are saying that it may be this large presence, personnel out here, that served as a deterrent. Perhaps people didn't want to come out and engage in violence and then get arrested by authorities.
It's also worth noting that this wide net that the FBI has cast across the country after the January 6 Capitol attack, arresting so many people, could have also served as a deterrent. The feds saying that, if you were part of instigating violence, they will be looking for you.
[00:15:15]
Finally, we've also been reporting that, prior to today, there were messages on some of these online messaging boards that are frequented by extremist groups that were actually warning people to boycott protests today, saying this may be a trap by law enforcement. They wanted people to come out so they could then take them into custody.
A lot of theories out there about why we didn't see these mass protests. But law enforcement tells us that that doesn't mean that this security posture is going away any time soon. A state official that we talked to said that they are continuing to conduct an intelligence assessment. That will then dictate -- dictate how long we will see U.S. forces patrolling American streets, especially up to the inauguration of the new president, Joe Biden -- Michael.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Josh Campbell, our thanks to you.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back on CNN NEWSROOM, more on our breaking news. The pardon-frenzy Donald Trump is planning for his final hours in office. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:20:00]
HOLMES: And more now on our breaking news story. The White House apparently spending the last few days of the Trump presidency putting together a list of pardons and commutations. Sources tell us President Trump is planning to issue about 100 of them on his last full day in office. There are still names that could be added and taken off up into the last minute, of course.
Mr. Trump has already pardoned or commuted sentences for several of his political allies like Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and Judge [SIC] -- Joe Arpaio.
Now for more on all of this, I'm joined by CNN White House reporter Stephen Collinson, live in Washington.
Before we get to some other issues, I want to get your thoughts on those pardons coming soon. We did expect them, but what are the perils for the president in terms of who he pardons and why?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, this is what Donald Trump loves to do. He's long been fascinated by the almost absolute pardon power that a president possesses.
And as you say, he's pardoned, in the past, a number of allies, especially people who were caught up in the Mueller investigation over Russian intelligence and interference in the 2016 election. He's used the pardon power, in fact, to kind of unravel special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and the price that some people paid when they were caught up in that.
I think what we're looking at in the next few days is pardons of white-collar criminals, people who could be helpful to the president down the line. I think there will be some criminal justice pardons, people who may actually deserve clemency from the outgoing president. But largely, this is a transactional exercise by the president. He's looking for people that can help him down the line in the post- presidency, and he just loves wielding this special power that he has as president.
HOLMES: Yes. It does seem to be the theme: overwhelmingly, those who have helped him or those who might be able to in the future.
We had Representative Jamie Raskin, who will be an impeachment manager today. He said that the president's actions were the most terrible crime ever by a president of the United States against his country.
And there will be an impeachment trial almost certainly. But what do you see as the political risks of that? Both in terms of keeping tensions bubbling along, but also sidelining new President Biden's agenda?
COLLINSON: Right. So when presidents come into office, they have a very limited period of time when their power is at its apex, and they try to use that, obviously, to get their most key priorities passed, to get their cabinet confirmed through the Senate.
The danger of an impeachment trial as it consumes the Senate for the first two or three weeks of Biden's presidency, and that just slows everything up. He has a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan that he wants to get through. That includes money for things like speeding up the faltering vaccine rollout, getting kids back to school. That's clearly a huge priority for his presidency.
Unlike many presidents, he'll take office with many of his cabinet appointees not yet confirmed, because the Republican Senate has dragged its feet on that so far. So that's going to be a huge problem. You need your treasury secretary, your secretary of state. In this circumstance, of course, the health and human services secretary in the middle of a pandemic. You want to get those people in position as quickly as possible.
And then, of course, as you say, there's a danger that this could further sour the already very poisoned atmosphere in Washington, and Biden needs Republican help to get a lot of what he wants to get done done.
HOLMES: And as we have seen in past years over the peculiarities of the American electoral system, in two years there are the midterm elections. Biden could lose power of the House and his legislative agenda.
I also want to get your thoughts on the National Security Agency installing a Trump loyalist as general counsel. Now, this on its own -- what makes you worry about this is it's so-called burrowing. It's not a small thing. What does Donald Trump install that might be difficult for Joe Biden to undo?
COLLINSON: Well, throughout his presidency, of course, the president has corrupted, really, the U.S. national security apparatus, the intelligence services; tried to put political appointees in some key positions. This is an attempt, I think, to hamper Biden's chance of getting his own people into some of these positions.
By putting this man, Michael Ennis -- Ellis in as general counsel, he's actually appointed him to a civil service job and not a politically-appointed job. That makes it a little bit more difficult for Biden to get rid of him. You know, it gives the impression that there are disloyal people in the intelligence services who are more loyal to the outgoing president than the new president.
So I think we will see a push fairly quickly for Biden to try and sideline Michael Ellis or get rid of him entirely.
HOLMES: Yes. Perhaps even fire him.
[00:25:03]
We've only got a minute or so left. I did want to ask you quickly. One of the most disturbing aspects of the Trump presidency is how the party and the movement coalesced around one individual, you know, who said, I alone can fix it. News is fake. I can be trusted, no one else. How dangerous is that? We know how dangerous it's been for the country. How dangerous has it been for the Republican Party going forward? They have to regroup.
COLLINSON: Well, it's pulling the Republican Party apart, but it's also soured millions of people, Trump supporters, on the U.S. system of government itself.
Only 19 percent of Republicans in a CNN poll that was released this weekend said that Biden was elected legitimately. So that is not just a problem for Republicans who are going to have to deal with Trump -- or with Biden, to some extent. It's a huge problem for the country. It makes it very difficult for -- for Biden to have a successful presidency, especially one in which he's basing on the need for national unity for Americans to pull together to finally get rid of this pandemic.
HOLMES: Always great to get you on and your analysis. Stephen Collinson, thank you.
And coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM, the incoming CDC director makes a staggering prediction about coronavirus deaths in the U.S., as the U.K. imposes tougher travel measures. We'll have the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate you sticking around. Now, a staggering prediction on the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.
The incoming director of the CDC says she expects the number of COVID- 19 deaths in the country to reach half a million by the middle of next month.
[00:30:14]
Dr. Rochelle Walensky adds that the impact of holiday travel and gatherings has yet to be fully seen. And although some states are making progress, others are still struggling to combat the virus.
And turning our attention to Europe, where 3.5 million people in the U.K. have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the British government. That is more than the number of actual COVID-19 cases in the country.
And in an effort to speed up vaccine distribution, England has transformed some of its cathedrals into temporary vaccination sites. CNN's Scott McLean reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The bells are ringing in this cathedral in England, but this is not a traditional service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A sharp scratch.
MCLEAN: High ceilings and open layout make it and some other cathedrals across the country a perfect space for makeshift vaccination centers. So far, a good turnout. The U.K. government says around 45 percent of people 80 and over have been vaccinated.
STELLA BENNETT, VACCINE RECIPIENT: I do feel a bit safer. I live on my own, so you know, it's important.
MCLEAN: So important that Britain's foreign secretary says the goal in the U.K. is for every adult to be offered a first dose of vaccine by September.
As shots go into arms, the U.K. is also taking tougher measures to try to stop new variants of the virus from entering the country. Starting Monday, all travel corridors are temporarily closed, and all incoming travelers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine upon entry.
Austria is also extending its current lockdown until February 8 over fears of new variants. Even though thousands of people rallied in Vienna on Sunday calling for the government to resign, to protest the third round of closure since March.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It can't go on like this. The measures are simply too much, from all sides.
MCLEAN: Riot police used water cannons on thousands of protesters in Amsterdam, gathered in similar protest after the Dutch government extended its closures of schools and most shops. In France, only melting snow on some city streets as a curfew from 6
p.m. to 6 a.m. went into effect over the weekend.
In Norway, health officials are looking into the cases of 23 elderly people who died after receiving the vaccine. The Public Health Institute says it can't rule out that common reactions to the vaccine like fever or nausea may have contributed to the deaths of elderly frail people with underlying disease.
Scott McLean, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Brazil has given emergency use authorization to two coronavirus vaccines, the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as the CoronaVac vaccine from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, will be used to help slow the spread in the worst hit country in Latin America.
Healthcare workers give the first dose of the CoronaVac vaccine to a nurse in Sao Paulo on Sunday, despite only having a 50 percent efficacy in Phase 3 trials.
Brazil's health agency regulated and noted it was given approval due to the rise in COVID-19 cases and a lack of therapeutic alternatives.
Now just months after a poisoning nearly killed him, Russia's opposition leader is back in Moscow. What Alexei Navalny was met with on his return. We'll have that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:37:16]
HOLMES: And welcome back. We've got a quick programming note for you. Don't forget to join us for our extensive live coverage of the Biden inauguration this Wednesday, January 20.
Turning our attention now to Moscow. An outspoken Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny, barely fit -- set foot back on Russian soil before police arrested him.
He was returning from Germany, where he spent months recovering from being poisoned last summer. When he announced his plans last week to return to Moscow, the prison service vowed to arrest him for violating probation connected to an alleged fraud case. They made good on that promise.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A final kiss, a final hug with his wife, Yulia, and then opposition leader Alexei Navalny is led away by Russian security forces, detained shortly after landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, his first time back in Russia in five months since he was medevacked to Germany in a coma after he was poisoned by the chemical nerve agent Novichok.
Shortly before his detention, Navalny saying he's not scared. "Everyone is asking me if I'm scared," he says. "I'm not afraid. I feel completely fine walking towards the border control. I know that I I will leave and go home because I'm right, and all the criminal cases against me are fabricated."
When Alexei Navalny boarded the plane hours earlier in Berlin, Germany, he was still joking when addressing reporters. "Me, arrested? That's impossible," he joked.
But the events that then unfolded were remarkable. As Navalny was in the air, hundreds of his supporters and many journalists gathered in the airport where his flight was initially supposed to land. Scuffles broke out and riot police arrested several people.
Minutes before landing, the flight was diverted to another airport, Navalny saying he believes the move shows President Vladimir Putin was afraid of his return.
"This is not just the power of some despicable crooks," he said, "but the power of absolutely worthless people that are doing some nonsense. They are jeopardizing the air safety of a wonderful big city. Why? Just so Putin can say who needs him."
An exclusive CNN and Bellingcat investigation implicated Russia's intelligence service, the FSB, in the plot to poison Navalny. The Kremlin denied involvement.
CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward even confronted one of the agents alleged to be behind the plot.
[00:40:00]
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (SPEAKING RUSSIAN) My name is Clarissa Ward. I work for CNN.
PLEITGEN: After he recovered, Navalny said he wouldn't give Putin the satisfaction of keeping him out of Russia, and he decided to return, knowing the threat of arrest was real, as Russian authorities said he'd violated the terms of his probation in a 2014 fraud case, which Navalny says is politically motivated.
Alexei Navalny never made it out of the airport. He will now remain in custody until at least the end of January, Russian authorities say.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And in the next hour, we'll speak more about Navalny's situation with former CNN Moscow bureau chief and Georgetown University fellow Jill Dougherty. So do tune in for that.
Now, this just in. China's economy grew beyond expectations last year, the government reporting the economy expanded 2.4 percent while the rest of the world, of course, struggles through the pandemic. China, the only major economy to avoid a contraction in 2020, defying the International Monetary Fund's prediction of 1.9 percent growth.
I'm Michael Holmes. For our international viewers, WORLD SPORT is up next. For everyone else here in the U.S., the news continues after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:27]
HOLMES: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.
With just days left before his inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden is preparing to hit the ground running when he takes office, his team announcing a dozen executive orders he plans to sign on day one, and they are a direct rebuke to the Trump administration's policies. CNN's Arlette Saenz with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President-elect Biden wants to show he's getting right to work right after his inauguration, and his team is preparing roughly a dozen executive actions for him to sign on that very first day.
A lot of these policies will build on promises he made during the presidential campaign. And some of the executive actions are aimed at undoing policies from the Trump administration, including rescinding that ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries, as well as rejoining the Paris climate agreements.
There are also some executive actions focusing on the pandemic, ones that will halt evictions and foreclosures, as well as continuing that pause on federal student loan payments throughout the pandemic.
And the president-elect will also be signing an executive action to mandate masks in all federal buildings and interstate travel.
And with his inauguration just around the corner, the president-elect sent a message to his supporters. Take a listen.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We rely on you through those hard-fought early days, the ups and days all the way through today, as Kamala and I get ready to become the next president and vice president of the United States. I can tell you that we would not have been here, we would not have had this opportunity, had you all not stepped up. You made this moment possible.
SAENZ: And the president-elect is expected to participate in a service event for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. His inaugural committee is promoting a national day of service leading into the inauguration.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And Joe Biden says he plans to make the coronavirus the first issue Congress takes up after he is inaugurated January 20. This as the incoming CDC director issues a staggering prediction on the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky says she expects the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country to reach half million by the middle of next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, INCOMING CDC DIRECTOR: Nearly 4,000 deaths a day, almost 400,000 deaths total. By the middle of February, we expect half a million deaths in this country.
That doesn't speak to the tens of thousands of people who are living with a yet-uncharacterized syndrome after they've been -- after they've recovered. And we still yet haven't seen the ramifications of what happened from the holiday travel, from holiday gatherings in terms of high rates of hospitalizations and the deaths there after. So yes, I think we still have some dark weeks ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The state of California is nearing three million total cases. Think about that. That's more than a whole lot of other countries.
On Sunday, the state reporting more than 42,000 new cases and along with about 400 new deaths. Hospitals continue to be overwhelmed and near capacity in most cities. The state now running a mass vaccination program in Los Angeles that will hopefully curb the rise in cases.
CNN's Paul Vercammen with the details -- Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, more awful numbers out of California today: 42,000 new cases of COVID-19 and more than 430 deaths.
And in Los Angeles County, this weekend we've passed that horrible benchmark, which is 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. All of this sapping the resources of hospitals, firefighters, funeral homes and so much more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are working nonstop. They're working hard. I talked to a captain who had two hours of sleep, trying to set this up, trying to set up the logistics part of this huge on-taking here at Dodgers. And you see him, and he -- he has a smile on his face, because he's doing everything he possibly can, humanly, to -- to make this a success and make it efficient.
VERCAMMEN: Now, they hope to put a dent in the numbers by a mass vaccination campaign, including at this mega site now at Dodgers Stadium. The goal at one point: vaccinate 12,000 people a day. They did not vaccinate on Sunday.
[00:50:04]
One of the things they're concerned about is will they have enough vaccine in the end? Right now, Los Angeles County is focused on vaccinating healthcare workers and people in related fields, and then they'll get to more of the vaccinating of seniors and people 65 and over down the road.
Reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you -- Michael.
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HOLMES: Dr. Celine Gounder is a member of the Biden/Harris transition COVID advisory board and joins me now from New York. She's also, of course, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist.
Good to see you, Doctor.
I'm just curious. What are or should be the immediate priorities day one after inauguration? What is ready to hit the ground running in terms of action planning?
DR. CELINE GOUNDER, MEMBER OF THE BIDEN/HARRIS TRANSITION COVID ADVISORY BOARD: The president-elect is very committed to making sure we meet his goal of 100 shots in arms by 100 days. And so I think you're going to be hearing a lot about his plans for vaccination roll- out over the coming days.
He's already announced a $1.9 trillion package, the American Rescue Plan, to rescue the American committee and rescue the American people from the coronavirus pandemic. And coronavirus vaccination roll-out is going to be a very big part of that plan.
HOLMES: What does the emergence of these variants mean when it comes to urgency? I mean, of course, way more contagious than what we've seen. No sign it's more deadly. But more cases means more death, as we know. I think the former FDA commissioner said that we're looking at what he called a relentless strike heading into the spring.
GOUNDER: Yes, that's right, Michael. The U.K. strain, in particular, is probably the one that we know the most about among these variant strains. And while it is definitely more infectious, it does not seem to cause more severe disease.
But because it is more infectious, because it passes more easily from one person to another, you end up with a lot more infections, with cases. So therefore, you end up with more hospitalizations and deaths. And so in a sense, it's more deadly just by the fact that it spreads so much more.
We don't have evidence yet that these new variants can evade the immune system response to the vaccines that we have. But that is still being studied.
HOLMES: Yes, it's certainly a worry. I mean, you mention the Biden plan to get a million vaccinations a day. A lot of people -- some people have said that's ambitious. Other people have said it's not nearly enough. What needs to happen, given that we have seen the roll- out logistically not go smoothly so far?
GOUNDER: Unfortunately, up to now, there hasn't really been a plan for distribution. It was really just a plan -- Operation Warp Speed was really just a plan for research and development and manufacturing of vaccines.
But what we have now moving forward is going to be a real partnership. A partnership between the federal government, state and local health departments, primary care providers on the ground, as well as pharmacies.
And the idea here is all hands on deck. How can we help you? What are the staff, the support, the space, the supplies, the funding that they each need to move forward with roll-out of vaccination? And the feds are going to be very much hand-in-hand partners with all of those parties on that.
HOLMES: There's something I've sort of done interviews on since the beginning, really, is you know, it's easy to forget that, you know, as staggering as the death toll is, so many of those who supposedly have recovered from COVID have long-term lingering effects. How big of an issue do you think that will be in the months, perhaps years ahead?
GOUNDER: We don't really know yet, because we don't know yet how long these lingering symptoms will last.
We are seeing people who are having lingering cognitive affects, so essentially a brain fog. People who are having ongoing gastrointestinal issues, heart issues, kidney issues. So you know, I think it's really important that we continue to study the longer term effects, that we be able to recognize them.
And in some cases, some people may need disability or other supports to help them through the fact that they may not be able to work because of those lingering effects.
HOLMES: always great to have you on, Dr. Celine Gounder. Thank you so much.
GOUNDER: My pleasure.
HOLMES: And finally, the man leading the impeachment push against President Trump had an emotional interview with my colleague, Jake Tapper.
Congressman Jamie Raskin describing his devastating loss on the final day of 2020. That is, the death of his son, Tommy, at just 25 years of age. Just days later in the deadly Capitol riot, Congressman Raskin worried that he and other family members might be injured or killed by the angry mob.
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[00:55:03] REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Well, Tommy was a remarkable person. He had overwhelming love for humanity and for our country in his heart and, really, for all the people of the world. We lost him on the very last day of that godawful year, 2020.
And he left us a note which said, "Please forgive me. My illness won today. Look after each other, the animals and the global poor for me. All my love, Tommy."
And that was the last act in a life that dazzled anybody who came into contact with Tommy.
I feel him in my chest. When we went to count the Electoral College votes and it came under that ludicrous attack, I felt my son with me. And I was most concerned with our youngest daughter and my son-in-law, who's married to our other daughter, who were with me that day, who got caught in the room off of the House floor. In between them and me was a rampaging armed mob that could have killed them easily and was banging on the doors where they were hiding under a desk with my chief of staff, Julie Tagen.
These events are personal to me, Jake. There was an attack on our country. There was an attack on our people.
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HOLMES: Extraordinary times.
Thanks for watching the program, everyone. Do appreciate your company. I will be right back with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM after the break. Hope you'll stick around.
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