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Biden's Executive Actions Reverse Trump Policies with Stroke of Pen; Biden Dismisses Officials from Trump Administration; Woman Accused of Stealing Pelosi Laptop Released on Bail with Stern Warning; Pelosi Emphasizes Concern for Those Traumatized During Insurrection Rather than on Physical Damage; New Insurrection Arrests, Include a Proud Boys Leader; Derek Thompson, Staff Writer, "The Atlantic," Discusses How Biden Can Avoid Mistakes of Obama Administration. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 21, 2021 - 13:30   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: CNN has learned today that President Biden plans to keep FBI director, Christopher Wray, in his post. That is according to a senior official.

The move, though not expected, is a sign of confidence in the bureau's leader who has six years left in his term.

Biden said during the transition that he planned to keep Wray on board assuming he wasn't fired by Trump first.

President Biden is working faster and more aggressively to dismantle his predecessor's legacy than any other modern president.

With the stroke of a pen, Biden signed 17 executive orders, memorandums and directives on his first day in office to make coronavirus a top priority and to undo many of Trump's signature policies.

CNN's senior political reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson, is with us now to talk about this.

This was quite the whirlwind of orders and memorandums. Walk us through what he signed so far.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: It sure was. And coronavirus, as you said, front and center in terms of what this challenge is for this incoming president.

And so you saw him yesterday signed two things, essentially. One is a federal mask mandate. Meaning, if you're on federal property, you have to wear a mask. That was one big thing.

And the other was rejoining WHO. The Trump administration made a big deal of pulling out of WHO. This administration getting back in and appointing Anthony Fauci as head of that delegation. Others on immigration and equity. Remember the big call from Donald

Trump during his campaign, build a wall, build a wall, build a wall. You have President Biden saying stop with the wall. So that was an executive order that he signed.

The other thing, in terms of equity, one of the things the outgoing administration wanted to do was put regulations on diversity training. And Biden wants to come in and say no regulations on military diversity.

So this, I think, is a way to show the kind of values on inclusivity and diversity that this administration has.

On climate, another big deal, rejoining the Paris Climate Accord. That was a promise that he made. He signed that re-entering the Paris climate agreement.

And then rolling back the permit on the Keystone Pipeline. Lots of conservatives not happy about that.

But it, again, is showing what the values of this administration are, pro-science, pro-environment. So you saw those executive actions on those issues signed yesterday.

KEILAR: Tell us about these departures because Biden is dismissing officials from the former administration.

HENDERSON: That's right. Listen, this is the prerogative of the president to have the people he wants in these very key posts.

So you see the NSA counsel on leave. That was a very controversial appointment that Donald Trump made in the last days in office. That person is now on leave.

The head of Voice of America, seen as wanting to turn that institution into too much of a pro-Trump outlet, so he is out.

The Consumer Protection Bureau director, he is also out.

They want to bring in people that reflect their priorities.

The chief usher, who was somebody who had been at a Trump property, brought in as the chief usher, Biden will get to bring in his own person.

Same with the Labor general counsel. That person seen as sort of too pro-business. They'll get a new appointment there in this administration.

The surgeon general, Jerome Adams, he will stay on as an adviser but Biden will bring in his own person.

KEILAR: Nia, thank you so much for taking us through that.

HENDERSON: Thank you, Brianna. KEILAR: It is the most famous office on the planet, where war have been waged, disaster managed, it's round walls witness to some of the most dramatic moments of American democracy.

Every four to eight years, it is transformed as its occupant changes. The decor of the Oval Office symbols the vision for the country.

On President Biden's first full day in the White House, let's take a look inside the Oval Office.

To the left now of the Resolute Desk, Biden replaced the portrait of Andrew Jackson that President Trump had displayed.

He replaced it with Benjamin Franklin, giving the boot to one of the most controversial presidents in favor of one of the founding fathers who made contributions to science.

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No coincidence that he figures prominently along with a display of moon rocks, as this White House promises to bring truth and science back to the White House.

And behind the desk, Biden chose to display a bust of Latino-American civil rights and labor leader, Cesar Chavez, whose granddaughter, by the way, if Biden's director of intergovernmental affairs.

Of course, as you can see there, which is customary, there are family photos, and this includes one prominently displayed of his late son, Beau.

To the right of the desk, Biden has brought back the famous painting "The Avenue in the Rain" to the Oval. The patriotic scene was completed in 1917 as U.S. entry into the First World War was imminent.

And this oil painting also hung in the Oval during the Obama and the Clinton administrations.

Then across the room, the wall of the Biden Oval features paintings of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and FDR, who notably led the country through several crises at once. He is very prominent there.

What's also interesting, as you look at these pictures, is the Jefferson and Hamilton portraits because they're next to each other on the wall, though these two men famously disagreed with each other.

The Oval is filled with other tributes to American historical figures. There's a bust of Martin Luther King Jr.

There's also one of Robert Kennedy, key figures of the civil rights movement, as well as Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, sparked a bus boycott that ultimately forced the city to integrate its bussing system.

Then Eleanor Roosevelt, one of America's most consequential first ladies, as well as Daniel Webster, who is the former Senator who fiercely defended the union.

But no longer there is the bust of Winston Churchill that Trump prominently had on display.

On the Resolute Desk itself, there are two phones. There's a cup and saucer set, which is something we did not see during the tenure of Biden's predecessor, who is a Diet Coke enthusiast.

Trump was rarely pictured with a coffee cup at his side. He reportedly had a button to summon a staffer to bring him his favorite soft drink.

There's another notable contrast and that is Biden's pens. There's a box of them that he can use to sign orders.

That is not particularly unusual, but it is quite different than the Sharpie-style markers that Trump used to make his oversized signature stand out on documents.

Even the desk chair is different. You can see Biden -- we saw him sitting in a dark brown leather chair, tufted, after Trump's thick reddish brown executive seat that was identical to, if not the same one, that he used when he became president.

And the Bidens also switched out the rug. They have a yellow-gold Oval Office rug that they switched out. And they put in a blue one that presents the presidential seal and it's ringed by a floor rim.

And official with Biden's Oval Office operations telling "The "Washington Post" that, quote, 'It was important for President Biden to walk into an Oval that looked like America."

We are waiting to hear from President Biden on his detailed plan to fight the coronavirus, which includes reopening schools and businesses.

And the mixed messages over his vaccine plan. We'll bring that to you.

Plus, a judge's stern warning after releasing the woman accused of stealing Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop during the capitol insurrection.

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KEILAR: The woman accused of stealing Nancy Pelosi's laptop has been released on bail. But earlier today, the speaker of the House emphasized she was focusing less on the physical damage done to her office and more on those traumatized by the attack.

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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): When the press came to my office and asked about things that were stolen, glass that was broken, just violation of the property there, I said, that's important, I respect the speaker's office and the history that is there. But I'm more concerned with the damage that they did to our staff, to our colleagues, and the Congress, to the custodial staff, and the capitol of the United States.

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KEILAR: I want to bring in CNN justice correspondent, Jessica Schneider, who is following these arrests.

Jessica, Riley June Williams has been released. It's interesting to hear the speaker talk about this and to say she's more focused on the damage that's been done to her staff.

But why has this person been released? Did the judge explain?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: He did, Brianna. And we're seeing this in various cases, these suspects being released.

The reasoning today was, by the judge, saying the Constitution demands her release, just as the judge said the Constitution demanded that Joe Biden be certified as president, which, of course, these rioters were trying to prevent.

So this federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania, he said Riley Williams' actions were antithetical to the Constitution but still she is released to home confinement with electronic monitoring and travel restrictions.

So the judge putting it this way, saying, "We know now that the mob failed and the Constitution prevailed. The Constitution prevailed because Congress, stepping over the wreckage of its capitol, met and confirmed with the vice president of the United States the vote of the Electoral College, setting the stage for the latest peaceful transition of power yesterday."

The judge continued there, saying that the Constitution and its freedom also facilitated Williams' release.

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You know, Brianna, this case has been one of the most bizarre and disconcerting that we've seen. She is accused of aiding in the theft of that laptop from the speaker's office.

And her ex-boyfriend even told the FBI said she had plans to sell it to someone who would hand it over to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

So that part of the plan doesn't seem to have materialized. But her lawyer said in court today that those allegations were overstated.

But he also said something of note, Brianna, that Williams took the president's bait in storming the capitol. He said she was just following Trump's direction.

So that's a theme that we're seeing in this as well as these people go into court -- Brianna?

KEILAR: So interesting that he said it was overstated. That's something that kind of stands out.

Tell us, authorities also arrested a leader of the Proud Boys, which is, of course, an extremist group. What is this arrest?

SCHNEIDER: Right. Joseph Biggs. And prosecutors say he was actually one of the first rioters to enter the capitol after a small group he was with busted through a window with a police body shield.

The FBI is disclosing that they interviewed him on Monday and that Biggs admitted to entering the capitol, but he is denying forcing his way in.

He's also denying any preplanning or coordinated attack. But the criminal complaint against him is just the opposite.

It says how he posted on Parler days before the attack, and he told his followers what to wear to blend in on January 6th instead of what they usually wear, their signature black and yellow.

The FBI also believes he wore an earpiece for communication that day and had a walkie-talkie device.

So, Brianna, this is part of the FBI and federal prosecutors trying to prove their case that this was planned and coordinated, so then they can bring the broader conspiracy and maybe even sedition charges down the road -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Jessica, thank you so much for updating us on that. We appreciate it.

My next guest will lay out what Biden should do to avoid the mistakes of President Obama's time in the White House.

Plus, how Biden's inauguration has thrown QAnon believers into a wild frenzy of confusion.

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KEILAR: President Biden today is launching his ambitious plans to attack the devastating coronavirus pandemic, a chaotic vaccine rollout and a teetering U.S. economy.

Biden has inherited domestic crises before but not as commander-in- chief.

Back in 2008, he was President Obama's V.P., of course, and his right- hand man as Obama pulled the nation out of the Great Recession.

I want to bring in Derek Thompson, who is a staff writer for "The Atlantic." Derek, you write, "Biden should stive to make his signature policies

as stupidly straightforward as possible. Where the Obama administration's approach was too often clever and strewn with budgetary wonkiness, the Biden formula should embrace the opposite, big, fast and simple."

What does that mean, Derek, "big, fast and simple?"

DEREK THOMPSON, STAFF WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": Yes. It's jumping into a time machine and going back to 2009, the economy then, like it is today, was in a steep recession.

And the Obama administration thought -- they wanted to be kind of clever. They thought if they sent Americans checks, a lot of Americans would look at the check and say, great, I'll throw this into my savings account.

But if they somewhat surreptitiously tricked Americans into becoming richer than they expected, they might spend the money quickly. So they adopted a policy called Making Work Pay.

It essentially adjusted a payroll tax withholding, such that as Americans looking at their bank account, would see more money than they otherwise expected when they got those biweekly checks from their employer.

So the thinking was we could nudge, quote/unquote, "nudge" Americans into spending more than they otherwise would.

This just didn't work. The reason it didn't work, it was too subtle. Americans did get richer, did benefit from the Make Work Pay tax credit, but didn't know they were getting richer.

And 90 percent of Americans didn't know this tax credit existed at all.

What I'm saying in this piece is that politics is not hypnosis. The point is not to subconsciously make Americans better off. It's to very consciously make Americans better off and have them know that you did it.

So when Biden is looking at a similar stimulus plan in 2020, 12 years later, what he should do -- 11 years later, excuse me -- what he should do essentially is try to find a way to give people money as fast as possible such that they know they're getting it.

And $2,000 checks or $1,400 checks, that would do it. Checks over tax credits, that's the key.

KEILAR: OK. And you know, former President Obama spent his -- a big part of his political capital on the $787 billion stimulus package in 2008 to head off the Great Recession.

You say his stimulus numbers weren't big enough. I was covering it at the time and I remember a lot of experts saying it wasn't big enough.

How big should Biden go on his stimulus package and, you know, how big can he actually get?

THOMPSON: Look, I think somewhere between $1 trillion or $2 trillion is appropriate. It's not about the size of the package. It's really about what's in it.

We need money for vaccines. I think it would be great to have money for states and cities really struggling right now with the depletion of sales tax revenue. Some money for hospitals would be fantastic. And money for the $1,000, $2,000 checks would be fantastic as well.

[13:55:04]

So when you add that all up, which is necessary, you get to about $1.4 trillion to $1.9 trillion. That's a lot of are money.

The thinking in 2009 was, well, wait, this is way too much money. Trillion-dollars stimuluses and trillion-dollar, multi-trillion-dollar deficits are just something we can't stomach.

But one thing I think the entire economic community has gotten smarter about is exactly how much debt this economy can withhold.

What is worse for an economy like ours is not running the deficit really high when the economy is really bad. It's having a weak recovery for many, many years.

That's what we had in the 2010s. We had a weak economy for so, so, long. And that meant we had a weak labor market. It meant that wage growth wasn't high.

And most importantly, for Democrats, it meant that voters blamed the Democratic Party for all the terrible stuff we were seeing in the economy.

Much better to blow it out. Go big, go fast, go simple. Put $1 trillion, $2 trillion into the package and make Americans feel you are helping their lives immediately.

KEILAR: Yes. We'll see what headwinds, of course, he's going to face in Congress.

Derek Thompson, thank you for being with us. It's such a hugely consequential time in our country and we appreciate your perspective.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

KEILAR: Moments from now, President Biden will speak live on his first full day in office. He's going to reveal his coronavirus executive actions after CNN reports that his team says the Trump administration left a vaccine mess behind.

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