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Senate Holds Confirmation Vote on Defense Nominee Lloyd Austin; Biden Tackling Economic Crisis with New Executive Orders; Pelosi will Send Trump Impeachment Article to Senate Monday; Interview with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 22, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us this hour.

There is a lot going on this hour. From the White House to the Congress.

First, we are learning more just now about when the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump could start, which is really very soon. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer just said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be sending over the article of impeachment against Donald Trump on Monday. But the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, he is pushing for more time before the trial would begin.

We're going to bring you the breaking details on how that is all playing out in just a second.

Also, on Capitol Hill, President Biden is on the verge of getting his second cabinet secretary confirmed. You're looking at live pictures of the Senate floor right now.

The vote is underway for the confirmation of retired General Lloyd Austin to be the next Defense secretary. If confirmed, Austin will be the first African American to run the Pentagon. The Senate voting as we speak.

Even with all of that happening on the Hill, President Biden is trying to hit the ground running. Biden will be signing two executive orders today on the economy. Trying to offer more immediate relief from the pain brought on by the pandemic.

Let's - we will get to that. But let's start on Capitol Hill. CNN's Manu Raju is standing by.

So, Manu, Schumer said this morning that the impeachment article is coming over on Monday. What does that mean for the timing of the trial?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it could dominate action in the Senate next week and it could push aside action on the agenda of the new Biden administration including confirming those cabinet nominees. Because once the trial starts, they're going to need an agreement from all 100 senators to move on to other action on the morning of each day the trial is taking place. The trial will take place each afternoon.

So, expect this to take up virtually all of the time of the United States Senate. The question is, how long will it last and we just don't have the answer to that quite yet.

What we do know according to Chuck Schumer is that the articles of impeachment will be delivered on Monday and that will kick off the trial. But whether or not to charge former President Donald Trump with inciting an insurrection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I've been speaking to the Republican leader about the timing and duration of the trial. But make no mistake, a trial will be held in the United States Senate and there will be a vote whether to convict the president.

I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi who informed me that the articles will be delivered to the Senate on Monday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So, essentially, the way the process will work is this.

On Monday, the article will be brought over to the United States Senate. It will be read by the impeachment managers.

Tuesday morning, that is when we -- Tuesday afternoon is when we expect the presiding officer to be sworn in. That could be Chief Justice John Roberts. It could potentially be also the president pro tempore of the Senate, Patrick Leahy. That's still an unanswered question.

We expect Wednesday, the arguments could happen on both sides. The question is, how long the arguments will be. Will they bring in witnesses? How many questions will senators have that could prolong this as well. So, there are still uncertainty about exactly how this will play out.

And ultimately, the big question, will it be 17 Republicans who will break ranks, vote with probably all 50 Democrats to join, so 67 members of the Senate would convict Donald Trump on the charges of inciting that insurrection that occurred here on January 6th. That deadly riot here on Capitol Hill.

And as they do that, they have to vote then on a simple majority basis to bar Donald Trump from ever holding office ever again. But they first need to get those 17 Republicans to break ranks.

And I could tell you, Kate, a lot of Republicans are criticizing the timeline, criticizing going after former president arguing in their view, they don't believe it is constitutional. There is debate about that question.

But the question is, if they move quickly, will it be even harder to get Republicans to go on board. Some are already pointing that to that as a reason why they may not break ranks. So, expectation here in the Senate here is that Donald Trump could very well be acquitted but this trial will begin next week. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right. Manu, thank you so much. A lot of moving parts. But it is the wheels are in motion, it is starting next week in some way, shape or form, the articles coming over on Monday. Manu is going to be working sources on this. We're going to get back to you. Thank you so much.

Let's get over to the White House on this. John Harwood standing by. John, any reaction from the White House yet on the fact that the start of the impeachment trial is on its way?

[11:05:04]

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not yet, Kate. I've reached out to several White House officials, have not heard back. I would expect when I do, I will hear something very similar to what Jen Psaki said -- the White House press secretary said at her briefing yesterday which is this is a decision for the Senate to take and that the could do other business at the same time as it is doing the impeachment trial.

Now, Republicans who don't want to cast this vote, obviously would be difficult for them to cast a vote given the actions that occurred before that insurrection. But also, the strength of support that President Trump has among elements of the Republican base.

So, they want to avoid it and they're saying, well, if we have this trial, we can't do any nominations. We can't do any legislation for the new president while that is going on.

Democrats want to have it quickly. They want the trial to be over quickly. They're negotiating on all of those things. They're also negotiating on the organization of the Senate under the new Democratic majority.

So, all of this is a bit contingent, but the White House obviously has an interest in getting their nominees through. obviously, have an -- has a strong interest in moving the COVID relief package forward that got a meeting with the head of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, and a bipartisan group of senators this weekend. They're working on that.

But the Senate trial is a complication but it's one that really can't be avoided. The House has impeached. The impeachment was a -- the insurrection was a -- extremely serious act that caused five people their lives, can't really avoid action on that.

Now, the question is, under what terms that action takes place. Not a White House decision. BOLDUAN: Yes. It is a good point. So, at the very same time the White House is trying to focus on today, their economic agenda. Rolling out new measure in just in just a short while. What are you hearing about this?

HARWOOD: Well the economic measures they're rolling out, these executive orders, aren't going to accomplish all that much in the near term. There will be a recalculation under this executive order of food stamps that might modestly increase the amount of food stamps, the snap benefits that some low-income families received.

There is a gesture forward on trying to get to a $15 an hour minimum wage for people who work for federal contractors. This order doesn't make that happen. It is beginning the process of exploring that.

The real economic step the administration is taking is the one I alluded to earlier, Kate, and that is the meeting with Republican senators and Democratic senators and the head of the NEC to try to get some action on that $1.9 trillion COVID relief package.

There is nothing wrong with the economy but getting control of the pandemic will not solve in the near term. And so, both the actions the president has taken on COVID relief, using the Defense Production Act to enhance vaccine distribution and administration, setting up the pandemic testing board to try to get schools and businesses back in a more normal operating fashion.

And that relief, the large amount of money needed to make that happen. That is really key for the economy and that is what Joe Biden has got to focus on.

BOLDUAN: Yes. All right. John, thank you.

Joining me right now for much more on all of this really is Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Senator, thank you for jumping in. The article of impeachment coming over on Monday. What are you preparing for in terms of the trial?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Thanks for having me, Kate.

We're preparing to move that trial forward with very deliberate speed. It should be done expeditiously. There may be a need for the president to prepare. He should be accorded due process. There are ongoing investigations that are producing even more incriminating, repugnant facts about the president's guilt and his intent to incite that riot, the assault on the Capitol, the act of domestic terrorism. But there is a timetable and indefinite delay serves no one's interest. So, we need to move forward with deliberate speed.

BOLDUAN: You mentioned that the president is due time to prepare his defense. We just already heard from Mitch McConnell on this Senate floor suggesting that by moving ahead next week, you're not giving him that time. You're not giving Trump enough time to prepare a full defense. What do you say? BLUMENTHAL: The president needs to speak for himself through his lawyer. There has been no request for additional time. And what the American people need and deserve is for us to address the raging pandemic that is costing us 4,000 lives a day still in this country with more vaccines and more testing equipment and the use of the Defense Production Act as well as reviving the economy with more stimulus payments and agenda. Nearly $2 trillion pandemic rescue fund that we need to do. So, the trial should be done expeditiously. And we could do both at the same time.

[11:10:01]

BOLDUAN: What is expeditiously in your mind? A couple - a few days? Do you -- does that mean you're going to see - you're going to hear witnesses? What is expeditiously?

Expeditiously is measured in days, not weeks. The evidence here is pretty open and shut, Kate.

What came out of the president's mouth at the ellipse that day, what he tweeted before, what he said and did afterward, essentially ignoring those abhorrent, absolutely repulsive photographs of domestic terrorism directed against members of the Congress and the building that is the temple of our democracy. He incited that riot. And Mitch McConnell himself had said that he provoked this action. In fact, instigated it. So, I think that the evidence is the videos and his statements before and after. And his guilty intent is evident from that --

BOLDUAN: So, you don't think witnesses are needed?

BLUMENTHAL: Well the president has a right to present his defense. And if he wants witnesses, we would have to consider them. But this trial can happen in days, not weeks.

BOLDUAN: You linked to this, you were one of seven Democratic senators who filed an ethics complaint against Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley over the insurrection. In the letter, it says that they lent legitimacy to the mob's cause made future violence more likely. What consequence do you want them to face?

BLUMENTHAL: We've asked the Ethics Committee to do is essentially review all of the facts, investigate them and see whether they in effect participated with the alleged architects of this incitement to riot on the House side. There are three congressmen. We named them in our ethics letter. And --

BOLDUAN: By filing this letter, and making this request, you clearly think that they've done something wrong. If it bears out, what do you think should happen?

BLUMENTHAL: The remedies to be considered are expulsion, censure or other strong discipline. That is exactly what we want them to consider. Along with other disciplinary measures.

BOLDUAN: You would support expulsion? BLUMENTHAL: If the facts warrant it, if the Ethics Commission recommends it. I would support expulsion. But we need to have the full investigation. The facts matter. And the consequences matter, too.

BOLDUAN: To you were talking about the COVID relief package. We've already heard from some Republican senators including Roy Blunt that what President Biden is asking for as a whole is a nonstarter. The president has made clear that he wants this passed with bipartisan support.

How long are you, Senator, willing to negotiate with Republicans before you say forget it and just move ahead with Democratic support alone.

BLUMENTHAL: I think we're reaching the end point of our tolerance for delay. The American people want us to work together. The door is open to my Republican colleagues. There is no charge for admission. But we need action, not just talk about unity and bipartisanship. And this is a dispute about the organizing resolution has real consequences for our ability to produce legislation.

I'm on the Armed Services Committee. We still don't know who exactly is going to be on the Armed Services Committee and who will be voting on legislation that is essential to our National Defense.

The Senate is voting right now. And I hope will approve General Austin. But the remainder of his security team, the president's National Security team, including the secretary of Treasury, secretary of Homeland Security and the secretary of state, all should be confirmed.

We can move forward on these confirmations if the Republicans cooperate, even as we move forward on the trial, we can do both at the same time. And the Republicans are offering us false choice.

BOLDUAN: I have to ask you, because there's been a lot of talk about bipartisanship and pleas from the -- the new president for unity and working in bipartisan ways. Fundamentally, do you think if we're being quite candid, that the dynamic has changed or shifted at all in this Senate towards a more bipartisan atmosphere? Does anyone feel more inclined?

BLUMENTHAL: Too early to tell. And again, actions speak louder than words. There is a lot of talk about bipartisanship and unity. But the test is really in what my Republican colleagues do.

And frankly, the stance of Senator McConnell in resisting this organizing resolution as insisting on a condition that we never modify or reform a filibuster. In effect, it is an attempt to maintain control over the Senate.

[11:15:06]

Elections have consequences as he has reminded us so frequently. And working together means that they recognize that we have a right to modify the filibuster. Even abolish it if they misuse and abuse it to prevent action to conquer the pandemic and revive the economy. Our agenda and the president's needs action and their blocking it is simply unacceptable.

BOLDUAN: Senator, thank you for your time. A lot going on in the Hill. Appreciate it.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: We do have some breaking news actually coming in from the Senate. The Senate has just confirmed Lloyd Austin as the new secretary of Defense. Retired four-star army general will be the first, now is the first African American to lead the Pentagon.

Let's get over to CNN's Jessica Dean. She's on Capitol Hill. She's watching this playing out. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, of course, with perspective there. Jessica, what happened with the vote?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well this was an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in favor of confirming General Austin to be the secretary of Defense, Kate. At 93-2 was the vote just a few moments ago.

And what was interesting about this vote is that to become the secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin had to make it through not just Senate confirmation but had this other extra layer of the waiver that both the House had to approve and the Senate. That's because there is a seven-year rule that they need to be.

Anyone who served in the military needs seven years between when they retired from the military and when they would serve in the post as secretary of Defense. And that all comes back down to this tradition of civilian control of the military.

So, Austin was able to clear that hurdle both in the House and Senate for the waiver yesterday. And then the Senate just now confirming Lloyd Austin as the secretary of Defense in that very bipartisan vote.

And Kate, as we look ahead, Democrats I talk to, they really want to get these nominees through as quickly as possible. It is tough in the sense that this impeachment is - this impeachment trials now looming on the horizon.

But we're told by - we're told by Senator John Cornyn just a few moments ago that it is possible they could vote on Treasury nominee, Janet Yellen, later today. We'll watch to see if that comes to be. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Barbara, could you just talk to us more about General Austin's military background, his long career and how he's viewed and will be received at the department.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is of course now probably within the hour or so as Defense secretary. Lloyd Austin will walk up the steps, enter the Pentagon for the first time as the civilian chief. He has worked here before. He has decades of experience in the military.

But the real message that Secretary Austin is bringing to the Pentagon today, we're told, is President Joe Biden's message. Normalcy. There will be normalcy.

Officials are telling us that is what he's setting out to show the U.S. military which is something that many of them feel they haven't had. Many of the top brass spending the last four years looking over their shoulder, fearful of speaking out publicly sometimes because they fear that President Trump would train his ire on them.

Lloyd Austin has already said his top priority here will be the coronavirus pandemic. And military support to fighting the pandemic. So what we will be watching for is a real continued activation of the Defense Production Act which should free up some funding for coronavirus support, for PPE, personal protective gear, some of the needed supplies for inoculations, needles, vials that sort of thing already people are working on that because that is the top Biden priority. And that now, for now, is the top priority for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Barbara, thank you. Jessica, thanks guys. We appreciate it.

Coming up for us, President Biden calls it a wartime effort as Barbara is just getting to battle the coronavirus.

We're going to talk to the White House senior adviser on COVID on what exactly that means and what Americans can be expecting in the days ahead.

Plus, some Democratic lawmakers are saying that they still do not feel safe around fellow members of Congress after the insurrection on the Capitol.

And now, Capitol Hill police are opening an investigation after a Republican congressman had a gun on him as he was trying to enter the House floor.

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[11:23:50]

BOLDUAN: On his first full day in office, President Biden pledged a full-scale wartime effort to combat the coronavirus. He promises that the administration is throwing everything at this problem.

But according to a new poll, production and distribution aren't the only problems that they had viewed the administration is facing.

Listen to this. The Kaiser Family Foundation found in a survey that nearly 6 in 10 older Americans, they don't know when or where they can get a shot. This is also a problem of simple information. Here is what Dr. Anthony Fauci said this morning about that challenge ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You're going to ask me, why did this group here not have enough doses and this group here has doses that are lying around. I have to tell you, honestly, I don't know right now. We got to go back and figure out what that is and the important thing is to fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: One of the people who have been brought in to fix it is joining me right now, Andy Slavitt. Senior White House adviser for the COVID response. Thank you for coming in.

Dr. Fauci, what he just said right there, that he doesn't know why so many doses appeared to be on shelves in America or they're here and not there. He doesn't know. He says. Do you?

ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER FOR COVID RESPONSE: This is part of a larger issue, Kate, that we are cognizant of the fact that we have an emergency effort to carry out and we're not inheriting a national plan or an infrastructure.

[11:25:09]

And so, I suspect we will find not only things like that but other things that we're learning that we need to get at and execute right away because we need to get as many vaccines to people who need them as quickly as possible. He announced the national plan yesterday, I think for the first time.

So, we will now have community vaccination centers opening up. We will be getting more supply into pharmacies. We have liberated the rules so that the people 65 and up can get vaccines. I expect that demand will be ahead of supply for a little bit, a while. So, there will be some queueing. That's just because there hasn't been enough produced as much as we have thought and that's going to take a little while to fix. But we've got a plan to get vaccines out there so that people who want them can get them.

BOLDUAN: You've got the survey though, six in 10 older Americans, they don't know even know how they can - how -- where and how they can get it. You've got websites crashing. Hours long waits on phones to try to sign up. You were brought in to fix this problem. You have been experiencing in fixing a rollout that's been botched when we talk about healthcare.gov. How are you going to fix it, Andy?

SLAVITT: Well, I think the key is to provide assistance to everybody who is in the channel. I just talked this morning to one of the country's leading logistics and distribution partners. They have offered to provide help and assistance to a number of states.

Remember, now, what is going on is that -- that the vaccines are being sent out to states. And the states are deciding independently what and how they are going to distribute them according to their own strategy. And that - there you know -- there is certainly an appropriateness to states being able to guide what happens. But there has to be visibility at our level so we could help make sure that the vaccines are getting to where they need to get. And I mean that in two ways.

One is, as you say, getting as many people who want to get vaccinated. They don't know where they can get them vaccinated.

And then secondly, to make sure that we're not just vaccinating the easy people to vaccinate. It's going to be incredibly important for us. The equity is enormous part of our plan and that we get vaccines also to the places where people can't easily get - to get a vaccine, people with disability community, people who are living in black and brown communities and all across the country.

BOLDUAN: I totally hear you, Andy, and that is a definitely a conversation we've been having for quite some time and you've been coming on the show. But I have to say just -- this is a now problem. This is a yesterday problem. This isn't a week or two from now problem. How -- what you're saying to me, though, I would have a very hard time explaining to an elderly member of my family what you've just said and how that's going to help them get a vaccine faster.

SLAVITT: So, job one for us is to get more vaccines produced and out. Part of the challenges, even if they knew where to go, we need to get more vaccines out to more people. We are now beginning to vaccinate people who are over 65.

That's - so that's when the start that to happen. It wouldn't be fixed overnight. Because we don't have enough production capacity. We committed to get all of the inventory that has been there out to the public. And there is not as much as we were all led to believe.

So, it is going to take some amount of time for us to get all of the vaccines out to people. But what people will start to see is more places to go to get a vaccine. The community vaccination centers that we've committed to open a hundred. They will begin to begin to be opening next week. The drug stores near them will begin to have more supply so they'll be able to do their outreach. And then we're going to reach out to every possible point of communication to make sure that that information gets to people reliably.

There are websites out there that - to tell people where to go to get vaccines. I'm not sure at this point how reliable they are or whether or not all of those places have those vaccines. That is the work to be done.

BOLDUAN: So, wait. So, do you think -- you said one of the problems, it's good -- it is necessary but it's a problem. 50 different strategies in 50 different states and how to roll out a vaccine. Is there going to be a federal website, something like a healthcare.gov where people can go, a central portal?

SLAVITT: There are those portals now. They take the information up from the CDC. We have to get a better comprehensive answer to people so that they have a place to go that they could rely on. I don't think it is good enough to say here is a site where you can get a vaccine theoretically.

We have to be able to know where the supply is. BOLDUAN: Right.

SLAVITT: And when you know where the supply is then we could tell people how to get to that reliably. That has not been done, or if it's been done, it's been done in some states and not others. We got to take a comprehensive look at that and make sure that whether or not it continues to go through the states or whether we supplement that or something federally, we'll do that.

BOLDUAN: Walgreens just told CNN today that up to 80 percent of the staff at some long-term care facilities where they've been tasked with administering the vaccine.