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McConnell: "The Mob Was Fed Lies, They Were Provoked By The President And Other Powerful People"; Treasury Sec. Nominee: U.S. Must "Act Big" On Pandemic Relief; CNN: Biden COVID-19 Team Nervous About What Trump Team Hasn't Told Them. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired January 19, 2021 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Will that call cooperation happen? We just don't know yet.

Also, they still need to sort out how that power sharing agreement will work out between the two sides. They still need to sort of those final details today. Can they come to an agreement? Also don't know. And the big question is, how long will that impeachment trial last? When will it begin? And will 17 Republican senators break ranks to join with the Democrats in all 50 Democrats if they vote to convict Donald Trump and prevent him from ever running from office?

Again, McConnell himself, John, not saying what the fact that he just said, the mob was provoked by the President, strongest words yet he has said to condemn the President's actions. Of course, he was charged with inciting an insurrection. But will McConnell vote to convict still a question, John.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: still one of the many questions through the Senate. Manu, appreciate the live reporting on this important day.

And think about that for a minute. Mitch McConnell begins this workweek the, Senate Majority Leader. He will end it the minority leader because of that Democratic wins, the two wins, in Georgia. Those winners will be sworn in this week most likely tomorrow. And with that the Democrats take the majority by the narrowest of margins.

Our next guest knows more than a little about the challenges of trying to get big things through a closely divided Senate. And he knows firsthand the jobs which Senator McConnell faces this week. Let's welcome the former Democratic Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Senator, it's great to see you on this day. I hope you are well. You do know what it's like to go from majority leader to minority leader. As Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell has said Mr. President sent up judges we will confirm them. Mr. President sent up things we will try to get them done. Listen to this. He's already trying to set the stage saying, hey, wait a minute. Don't try to do too much Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): In November's elections did not have any such a mandate for sweeping ideological change. Americans elected a closely divided Senate, a closely divided House, and a presidential candidate who said he'd represent everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: What's your advice to the President-elect this time tomorrow, President Biden, do you go gingerly? Do you try to compromise? Or do you say I won the election? Here's my climate change bill. Here's my new immigration plan. Sorry, we won deal.

FMR. SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): Well, I was interested in hearing, Mitch McConnell, talk about what caused the riot in the Capitol. The direct blame he attributed with the President. Now, I think that of all things working with McConnell in many years I have, he can be accused of a lot of things, but one of them, he's not done. And I think he realizes that Trump is a drag on the Republican Party. And I think that that was the opening salvo for Mitch McConnell to disengage from Trump, to try to reestablish or rebrand of the Republican Party.

I think that it's very clear to me that, I think glass is half full, not half empty. I think it's really a good deal that we pick up those two seats in Georgia. Sure, it's 50-50. But I've been there, I've done that. And remember, every one of the committee chairs is going to be a Democrat. We have Kamala Harris, who will break any tie. So I think that we should understand that all the hearings will come from Democratic chairs. There will be no hearings that will be initiated by the Republicans.

So I think that Joe Biden is in good shape, knowing the Senate as well as he does, knowing the executive branch of government may serve their eight years. I think he's well equipped, he one of our fine, fine Presidents.

KING: You mentioned that you believe Senator McConnell sees the critical imperative of trying to push President Trump to the sideline, the Republican Party. However, with the midterm elections, two years away, you've been through this before the next election cycle starts immediately. And with a 50-50 Senate, McConnell has 20 Republican held seats on the ballot two years from now. Can he cooperate with Joe Biden? You remember, famously, the speech, you know, in the remarks he made early in the Obama administration about he thought his priority was to make him a one term president? Can he cooperate with Joe Biden under these circumstances or is shoving Trump to the sidelines part of trying to prove himself to the Republican base?

REID: I've already said that McConnell is not dumb, but he's made some big mistakes. When Obama was elected, he came up with two conclusions. Number one, you would not be reelected. He failed at that miserably, but that they would oppose everything that Obama tried to do, now that they succeeded.

In spite of that, we had a little change with here and there. We were fortunate in being able to elect some Democrats that no one expected us to be able to do that. And we were able to get a lot done. In fact, some say that Obama's first term as President during his first Congress, was the most successful Congress in the history of the country. So I think that Biden is well equipped to move forward get a lot done.

[12:35:04]

KING: As you know, there are a lot of progressives who in this campaign said let's get rid of the filibuster, done. We can't have it anymore. Joe Biden, as you know, you serve with him for decades in the United States Senate. His first instinct says, let me try. I don't want to do that. I'm an institutionalist. I believe in tradition. I don't -- let's try first to see if we can get things done. Would you put a clock on that? Would you tell Joe Biden, OK, that's what you want to do, I know you respect the institution. Give it what, two months, three months, two weeks, three weeks, or what should he do?

REID: John, you realize that I have written an op-ed from "New York Times" and other publications saying the time for the filibuster has passed? It's not a question. If it's going to go away, it's a question of when it's gone go away. You cannot have a democracy, a legislative body that takes 60 percent of the votes on everything. And what McConnell has done is turn the Senate into nothing more than a manufacturing site for judges.

They don't do amendments, they don't do bills. And I think that that filibuster is going to go away now. I know that Joe has said that he's going to be through problem and willing to work with them. And that's typical for Joe Biden. He's a man who tries to get along with people. And I think he should get out of a couple three months. But there's going to come a time when a decision is going to have to be made. And remember to get rid of the filibuster takes a simple majority vote.

KING: Senator, you served under that dome for a long time as a member of United States Senate. You also served a long time ago as a member of the Capitol Police Force. I just interesting, I want to put some video up on the screen of -- I know you live out in Nevada, now you're back home. What was going through your mind? What was your thought process when you saw the United States Capitol under siege from Americans? This was not 9/11 where you were told to go to hiding there, go get out of there. There could be a plane of foreign terrorists coming at the United States Capitol. These were Americans. What was your thought -- what were you thinking?

REID: John, my first job in Washington was a Capitol policeman. I carried a pistol. I directed traffic. I helped crowd control. I was a police officer. And when I came to the Senate, I was kind of the protector of the Capitol Police. They knew I'd been a Capitol Policeman. But little did I know that after I became leader, I had a significant number of threats on my person.

And Capitol Police lived with me for a number of years of 24 hours a day. So I have great, I've really positive feelings about the Capitol Police. And I think that what took place there was really very, very negative. I appreciate what Senator Schumer did, what Nancy Pelosi did, they fired the two sergeants-at-arms because they were negligent. They were not prepared for the upper that took place and they should have been.

And so I look forward to the Capitol Police being reinstated to their higher position of protecting everybody. And I'm glad to see that there's been some changes made. I'm confident the Capitol Police will be better than ever.

KING: Senator Reid, grateful for your time and your insights on this very important day, a day before the transition. Thank you so much.

REID: You're welcome.

[12:38:29]

KING: Up next for us, team Biden outlines its ambitious agenda up on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joe Biden will be in his first hour as President this time tomorrow and he will be working shorthanded. None of his Cabinet picks are slated to be confirmed on day one. These five though right there are getting their confirmation hearings today. Testimony like this from the DHS nominee remind us there are big shifts in policy coming tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY NOMINEE: As a prosecutor, the law and the facts of a case were my foundation and my guide, and they have remained my north star ever since. Sometimes, fixing problems means making improvements. And sometimes making improvements means making change and some people aren't happy with change. But change, improvement, fixing problems is my commitment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Helping us track today's big hearings, our CNN business anchor Richard Quest and CNN national security correspondent Vivian Salama. Richard, let me start with you. The United States economy is bleeding jobs right now. Janet Yellen is Joe Biden's pick to run their Treasury Department? What did we learn today?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Well, Janet Yellen is going to get confirmed of that there's very little doubt. Today, we got first of all, a letter from all living former Treasury secretaries recommending her nomination. She's enormously respected, obviously, in all centers of finance and government having been Chair of the Federal Reserve.

But today, she started to shift the emphasis, talking about the unemployed, talking about those who need help, and of course, putting forward Joe Biden's nearly $2 trillion aid package for economic relief that is already published, and now has to get it through Congress.

Remember what she said today. She said we risk a longer, more painful recession now, and long term scarring if we don't act soon. This is how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [12:45:04]

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE: We really have to worry about scarring of due to this pandemic of workers and the loss of small businesses that can really harm the long run potential productivity of our economy and leave us with long run problems that would make it difficult to get back on the growth path that we were on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: The problem, John, is Janet Yellen is a politician in the widest sense of the word, not a party politician in the narrow sense. We're used to her being a political at the Fed, both in San Francisco and in Washington. Now, of course, she really does have to get her hands dirty. And that means grubby in the field of negotiations and politics.

KING: It'd be fascinating to see that shift, one of the many shifts that are coming. And Vivian, Avril Haines is Joe Biden's picked to be the director of National Intelligence from day one, even before he assumed office, Donald Trump was at war with his own intelligence community. What is the big difference going to be there?

VIVIAN SALAMA, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John, so many things Avril Haines is not a stranger to the Biden crew, not a stranger to the intelligence community, a very highly skilled intelligence career official who has served in the Obama administration in several key senior roles.

Her nomination, if she gets confirmed, especially, she will be the first woman to be the director of National Intelligence, so obviously, a very potentially historic move there. But there's no way to overstate how important this job is. Avril Haines, if she was confirmed, will be overseeing the 18 intelligence agencies of the of the intelligence community, including the National Security Agency and the CIA. So a massive job there, one of critical, critical importance.

And so a lot of the senators today quizzing her during the hearing about general policy issues, the Biden administration's views on China, on Iran, on other key policy matters, but also Avril Haines trying to assure that moral at in -- within the intelligence community is going to be reestablished and hitting upon some of the really controversial issues during the Trump administration, such as targeting whistleblowers, transparency issues, and just the need for maintaining a political nature to the intelligence community. Why don't you listen to what you have to say about that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE NOMINEE: I think this is fundamental to the work of the intelligence community, that we provide objective analysis that we don't let politics play a role in our work is critical. And it's fundamental to good policy decision making.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SALAMA: So John, still some ways to go before Avril Haines completes her hearing today. But it's expected to be largely smooth sailing from both Republicans and Democrats today.

KING: I'll make a bet, Joe Biden does not tweet questioning the intelligence or the competence of his DNI. I'm just going to make a bet on that one. Vivian Salama, Richard Quest, grateful for the reporting and important insights, big change coming again, 24 hours from now.

[12:48:10]

And up next confusion, frustration, and yes, some worries team Biden nervous about what the Trump administration has not told them about the COVID-19 pandemic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Some new CNN reporting now about jitters on Team Biden worried the Trump administration has not been fully transparent about the COVID crisis and that there could be some surprises waiting. CNN Sara Murray joins us right now. Sara, what are you learning?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right look and reporting this out with my colleagues, MJ Lee and Kristen Holmes, we learn this prevailing sentiment is that the Biden team, they just don't know what they don't know.

And it's going to be hard for them to get their hands around everything, whether that means figuring out what's going on in all 50 states, when it comes to vaccine distribution, and why that's moving slowly, figuring out how much vaccine supply the U.S. has and what can actually be done to try to increase that supply, or keeping track of all these different variants, strains of the virus that are popping up, and making sure the vaccines we have in development and already in circulation are actually going to work.

And of course, they're also grappling with sort of the last gasps of the Trump administration, and this move from President Trump to try to scale back some of these travel restrictions. Here's what the Biden team's incoming CDC director had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, INCOMING CDC DIRECTOR: You know, if you look at the fatalities of 400,000 that we're likely to hit today, if you look at our cases across this country, I don't think now is the time to encourage people to get on international flights, to encourage people to mobilize. I think now is the time to really buckle down, double down our efforts. And so I don't expect that we will be lifting travel restrictions, and if anything, I think we can expect that they might tighten, especially in the context of variants that we're hearing about.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MURRAY: So the Biden team is making clear that they're not going to be rolling back these travel restrictions. And John, I think a lot of this is, you know, reality is setting in for Biden's team of advisors. This is going to become their problem to shepherd in just a matter of hours.

KING: Just a matter of hours is right, 23 hours from now plus six minutes. Sara Murray, grateful for that important reporting.

[12:54:34]

And coming up for us, this time tomorrow, we will be discussing Joe Biden's first speech as President. What history tells us about delivering an inaugural address?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: The Trump State Department today formally accusing China of crimes against humanity. The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the Chinese government persecution of huger Muslims in Xinjiang province amounts to genocide. The State Department assessment says the crimes include torture, forced sterilization, forced labor, and what Mr. Pompeo labels, quote, draconian restrictions on freedom of belief.

And before we go today, it's a tone setting week for President-elect Joe Biden. Unity is Biden's promise theme tomorrow as he takes over a nation dealing with a raging pandemic in just two weeks removed from a violent insurrection led by a pro-Trump mob. Unity was not a word used to describe the Trump, the very dark Trump inaugural address four years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: But that was the exception, page through previous presidents and unity is a through line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the constitution routinely takes place as it has for almost two centuries. And few of us stopped to think how unique we really are.

GEORGE H. W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We meet on democracy's front porch, a good place to talk as neighbors and as friends for this is a day when our nation is made whole when our differences for a moment are suspended.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let us put aside personal advantage so that we can feel the pain and see the promise of America.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometimes our differences runs so deep, it seems we share a continent but not a country. We do not accept this and we will not allow it.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:00:04]

KING: Thanks for joining us today. I'll see you tomorrow during our special coverage of the Biden inaugural.