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White House Holds Briefing Before Biden Meets With GOP Senators; CDC Says, Women, White Americans Most Likely To Be Vaccinated So Far. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired February 01, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And our team shows you how much of a priority it is here.

[13:00:03]

REPORTER: I mean, can I ask you about COVID. I know the COVID briefings there. But one statistic that really stood out to me and probably to a lot of American is about 47 percent of vaccinations are coming in with no racial data. It's means it's more than 50 percent don't have racial data. I'm wondering if the president has a fix for that, if there is a legislative or a policy change that's going to be made, because I'm wondering how you ensure that the virus -- that the vaccine is given equitably if you don't know who is getting it.

PSAKI: Well, first, you know, the racial disparities and the impact of this pandemic are not lost on the president, and that's one of the reasons he asked Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, who is, of course, part of the briefing this morning, to lead this task force and why he campaign and the need for response rooted in addressing the disproportionate impact on communities of color.

There are couple of steps that we are taking substantively. One includes standing up and supporting venues for vaccinations, targeted and reaching those at the highest risk and the communities hardest hit by this pandemic. So going into communities and meeting people where they are and not expecting every community to go out and seek and search where they can find the vaccine, meeting with states to discuss their plans for ensuring equitable vaccine distribution and offering assistance in achieving that goal.

So as you all know, and we've talked about it in here, governors are obviously overseeing the distribution and effort to ensure that vaccine is getting into communities across the country. We are closely engaged with them and looking for ways to help assist in that front and think strategically and creatively about how to do that. And we're also working with the CDC to identify and explore ways to urgently improve the quality of vaccination data reporting by race and ethnicity. There's no question, it's not at the level we need it to be at.

REPORTER: -- directive that's going to happen or is there a message to the people that are giving out the vaccines? We need this data. I just wonder how that actually gets changed on the ground level. Is that a presidential -- I don't know if it's a presidential memoranda or policy change. I'm just wondering if someone (INAUDIBLE) in CVS, how does that person taking their data to, say, that the White House needs me to get this data from this person?

PSAKI: Well, again, this is -- equity is essential and a priority in everything we do, including addressing COVID and the pandemic, which is the president's top priority. I would certainly defer to our health and medical experts who I know spoke to this a bit this morning, and I think Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith will be out more in the next 24 hours or so talking more about steps we can take on this front.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: Let me follow-on to Yamiche's great question about reconciliation, and it's that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell back in 2017 famously said, winners make policy, losers go home. Given that, why shouldn't Democrat, why shouldn't President Biden be as tactically ruthless as Republicans have been in pushing priorities at the key champions (ph)?

PSAKI: Well, I think the president has been clear that he is encouraged by the pace and the rapid pace, I should say, that Speaker Pelosi and Senator Schumer are moving this package forward. At the same time, as you know, there is time because this process can take a bit to make changes as needed. And he wants to be part of those conversations, hence, he invited Republicans to do that exactly here today.

I can't speak to Senator McConnell's role or commitment or point of view or anything. He's certainly not asking me to be his spokesperson, Lord knows, but President Biden ran on a commitment, of course, of unifying the country but also of hearing from all sides and having engaging and having an opportunity to have discussions. And today is part of doing that.

REPORTER: And, quickly, can I circle back, to use that phrase, to a question I asked during the transition?

PSAKI: Anybody can steal it. It just means you have to get back.

REPORTER: Well, I circle back to this. Has the White House made a determination about whether it will continue to extend the privilege of intelligence briefings to former President Trump given the concerns among some Democrats that he'll either misuse it or leverage it to enrich himself?

PSAKI: This is a good question. I've raised it with our intelligence team, our national security team, I should say. It's something, obviously, that's under review. But there was not a conclusion the last time I asked him about it, but I'm happy to follow up on it and see if there's more to share.

Go ahead in the back.

REPORTER: Right, thank you, Jen. Last Friday, a few dozen men from the white supremacist group, Patriot Front, were film marching on the National Mall toward the Capitol. What is the administration's latest threat assessment on white supremacist groups like this coming to Washington? Is the threat since been increasing?

PSAKI: Well, I think the fact that there was a tasking done through our national security team on domestic violent extremism that is going to review all activity that could pose a threat, including the activities of white supremacists tells you what a priority is and tells you that we believe there is more that needs to be done and a greater assessment.

[13:05:05]

So that review is ongoing. As soon as it's concluded, I'm sure we'll have more to share with all of you about our view at this point in time.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: Thanks, Jen. On just a bit of a housekeeping matter, since the Senate delayed its confirmation vote on Alejandro Mayorkas, does that mean that the immigration rollout that you guys have linked to that confirmation is going to be pushed back as well.

PSAKI: Well, we are certainly hopeful he will be confirmed tomorrow and we have every intention of living forward tomorrow with the immigration executive actions that we have discussed in here a bit.

Go ahead in the back.

REPORTER: Thank you, last week, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was desecrated, vandalized in the city of David, California. There are (INAUDIBLE) Indian-Americans that are followers of Gandhi in this country. Does the president know about and does he has any thought.

And this was (INAUDIBLE) this has happened in this country in the last 20 years, the last two times that happened in the city itself in Washington, D.C.

PSAKI: Well, we certainly would have concern about the desecration of monuments of Gandhi, and I -- that's certainly what we would express where you ask -- sorry, what was the last part of the question you were asking?

REPORTER: Does the president know about it and what are his talks on it?

PSAKI: If there's more to share on the president's point of view on it, I'm happy to get back to you on that. But, certainly, we would condemn that desecration and watch it closely.

REPORTER: A follow-up on Burma (INAUDIBLE). Do you recognize the new army leadership in Burma or you don't recognize that (INAUDIBLE) you are commenting on?

PSAKI: Well, I think our statement makes clear what our view is on the events of the last few days and where we stand with the declared new government. REPORTER: As you know, former President Trump has been barred from a lot of social media sites. I'm just curious whether you think his absence has made your job any easier or the White House's job any easier as it goes forward on these COVID negotiations?

PSAKI: In what way?

REPORTER: He incurred a lot of noise, right? He would have certain gravitational pull with Republicans who may be more inclined to take a harder position. I wonder if that's could do anything that you guys have thought about or kind of considered?

PSAKI: This may be hard to believe. We don't spend a lot of time talking about or thinking about President Trump here, former President Trump, to be very clear. I think that's a question that's probably more appropriate for Republican members who are looking for ways to support a bipartisan package and whether that gives them space. But I can't say we miss him on Twitter.

REPORTER: Does the President Biden support to continue the ban of President Trump on their sites?

PSAKI: I think that's a decision made by Twitter. We have certainly spoke to and he has spoken to the need for social media platforms to continue to take steps to reduce hate speech, but we don't have more for you on it than that.

REPORTER: -- that the president is trying to -- keep touch with everyday Americans such as getting or sampling of letters that are sent (INAUDIBLE) especially as it relates to the pandemic?

PSAKI: That's such a good question. You know, he is looking to remain engaged. It's hard when we haven't done any travel yet, and we're certainly hoping to do that at some point in time to engage with Americans more directly. I don't have anything specific.

Well, he does receive, of course, letters. It takes some time for them to come in. As you know, they kind of go through a process once they arrive at the White House. That's something he is eager to have access to. Obviously, there are also many ways to provide feedback or input to the White House which he's eager to receive too, but let me see if I can get more detail for you on that.

Go ahead.

REPORTER: Another housekeeping question. Do you know if all ten senators are coming to the meeting this evening?

PSAKI: That's a great question. I don't have an official manifest, but we will venture to circle back with all of you on that after the briefing.

REPORTER: If I ask another one on Burma. That the president's statement that just came out, he's calling on the international community to come together in one voice to press the Burmese military to reverse what they've done. But do to the events at the Capitol on January 6th make it harder for the United States to be part of this international community that he's calling on?

PSAKI: Look, I think President Biden -- I don't think the international community sees President Biden as a route of the events on January 6th, and certainly he has made every effort through conversation directly with partners and allies through how he has spoken publicly and discussed about the events on January 6th. And through his own commitment to restoring rule of law, democracy here in the United States, the United States remains a country in the world that is looked to for, you know, leadership, and it's going to take some time, but he's certainly committed to doing that.

[13:10:01]

REPORTER: Thank you.

PSAKI: Go ahead.

REPORTER: Another housekeeping relating to the Capitol. Does the president or anyone else here plan to visit Wednesday to pay respects to Officer Sicknick?

PSAKI: I will check on his schedule for you, Ed, if there's more to outline for you.

Go ahead, Hans (ph).

REPORTER: Can you make it (INAUDIBLE) if we have an immigration (INAUDIBLE), if for unaccompanied migrants arriving at the border now, after that, appeals court decision, are they being turned away right now?

PSAKI: We're going to have a briefing tonight for all of you on our actions tomorrow and the president will have more to say. So, we'll -- I'll refer to that.

REPORTER: Is that one of the subjects, one of that's going to be discussed?

PSAKI: I'm not going to preview it more for you. We're still kind of doing the final review, believe it or not, but we'll have a briefing tonight in advance of our announcement tomorrow.

Great, thank you, everyone.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right. Jen Psaki there wrapping up this first White House briefing of the week.

A few headlines, of course, right now, stimulus talks are underway to get the economy going in the middle of this downturn because of the coronavirus pandemic. There will be talks with Republicans tonight but the White House is clear, Jen Psaki is clear, that Joe Biden is fear is not that the relief package is going to be too much but that it's going to be too little. So, of course, he's not in favor there of a smaller relief package.

And I want to bring in right now our CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins along with Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger and our Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles.

Takeaways for you, Kaitlan.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, the meeting tonight is basically what everyone has been looking ahead to with President Biden inviting these ten Republican senators who have made this basic counteroffer to his COVID relief proposal, saying that this is a package they believe could actually get bipartisan support while still having a relief package out there.

But what Jen Psaki said there was, she said what's happening tonight with this meeting here at the White House is not a forum to make and accept an offer on coronavirus relief. So, basically, don't expect them to leave this meeting with a new agreement on what this is going to look like.

It seems to be more of an effort by the White House to say that they are trying to pursue bipartisanship here, when, of course, it appears increasingly clear that Democrats on the Hill are moving forward with this reconciliation process, which will allow them to pass this bill with only Democratic support.

And one big thing was the top line of these two different packages, because President Biden's proposal is $1.9 trillion. The ones by Republicans led by Susan Collins of Maine is closer to $600 billion. And Jen Psaki said there, they do want it to be closer to the number that Biden had initially proposed, basically saying they stand by that top line.

So we'll see how this meeting goes. The White House doesn't seem clear if all ten of those Republican senators are actually coming, and we should get a readout of it after that happens.

But we should note one other aspect of this that she was asked about there was the anger that we saw from West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin over the weekend, after the vice president did a local interview in his state calling for support for this package. He said he did not get a heads-up about that and he was visibly frustrated over the weekend because he said he did want to work on some of agreement on what this package could look like with bipartisanship.

And so she did say there that the White House has been in touch with Manchin. She did not say specifically whether President Biden has actually called him.

KEILAR: Yes, and that's a very good point. And, Gloria, obviously when you look at Joe Biden's inauguration speech, it was all about unity, and yet here he is kind of coming up against the cold, hard reality.

And it's really just an issue, right, of is the White House actually going to admit it at this point in time. I mean, I kind of think back to, for instance, the Obama administration when they came into power, and there was this earnest push for there to be bipartisanship when it came to a health care plan. I think it was very much genuine on the side of some Republicans as well. But in the end that's not, you know, what ended up really happening. And so it's a wonder sort of what the lesson and the takeaway is going to be moving forward. Are they really into a bipartisan push?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think they are making a really big bet here, Brianna. And the big bet is that this COVID relief package is going to be more popular with the country, including Republicans in the country, than it probably will be with Republicans in the Congress. And so she was very careful in talking about sort of unity and bipartisanship and pointing to the fact that, you know, one poll shows that over 70 percent of people in the country support this package.

So it kind of reminds me in a way of Ronald Reagan who very often went over the heads of members of Congress who didn't support him and went to the American people and tried to shore up support for his plan outside of the Congress if he couldn't get it inside the Congress.

So, sure, they're going to push for a budget so they can maybe do this with majority votes.

[13:15:02]

They're going to try and get as many Republicans as they can, of course, but their game, their play here is the American public has told us they need it, there are lots of Republicans out there in the real world, not in Washington who want it, and we're going to be doing this for them. That's what you're going to be hearing them saying.

KEILAR: And, Ryan, of course, Republican senators meeting tonight with the White House, what are we expecting?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they're probably going to be met with a harsh reality from the Biden Administration, and then by extension, what congressional Democrats are thinking about this. It's not just the size of the package, we should point out, Brianna, it's also missing some really important key components that Democrats consider to be very crucial to be put in this package, you know. The direct payments, for instance, to most Americans is not nearly enough as to what many Democrats want.

And what Democrats campaigned on in this last election, particularly those two senators from Georgia, who promised that there would be $2,000 paychecks in most Americans' bank accounts after they got elected.

And the other thing that this package is lacking at least the Republican proposal is direct aid to state and local governments. I mean, that's something even Republican governors are begging for this administration from. So the size of the package is one thing, but what is in it is also not enough.

And I think that Gloria is 100 percent right. You know, maybe President Biden desperately would like to have his first big legislative victory involve Republicans, but that's not nearly as important to Democrats here on Capitol Hill. They are much more concerned with passing a package that they believe is going to help as many Americans as possible across a wide spectrum. And they also understand that they have the votes to get it done with or without Republicans. They have this reconciliation option at their fingertips. They are more than willing to use it. They are going to invite Republicans into this process. You know, they've even suggested that Republicans can be involved and vote for the reconciliation package if they want, but they are not going to wait for Republicans because they believe that this needs to be done and it has to get done as soon as possible.

KEILAR: Is that resonating with any Republicans, that belief that Gloria was talking about, that, look, this is a package that might actually be very well received by some Republican voters? And so is that sort of overture of Republicans who can get on board even though it would be getting on board maybe a proposal they don't particularly like as much, Ryan? Is that something that's getting through?

NOBLES: It doesn't appear to be, at least, not yet. I mean, there still seems to be quite a bit of reluctance among Republican senators to really get on board with a big package. I mean, the most that we've seen is this group of ten senators who are even willing to deal, you know, to say that we're willing to put up some sort of a $600 billion very targeted package.

It's interesting, Brianna, and we all predicted that this was going to happen, right, that once Democrats got in control of the White House and of the Congress, that all of a sudden Republicans were going to rediscover their concern for deficit spending, right? So now all of a sudden they're all nervous and wringing their hands about the amount of money that's being spent.

You know, the one point I will make that Republicans seem to be making over and over again is that there are billions of dollars still left on the table right now from the previous aid package that haven't even been spent yet. So they're saying, you know, why don't we get all that money spent and get it out to the American people before we talk about another massive package. But that's really the minority view up here.

You know, there aren't a lot of Republicans that want to get involved in this process. But, again, as the point I made before, they don't need to be involve in this process in order for Democrat to pass it.

BORGER: And the stimulus.

KEILAR: Yes, and, Kaitlan -- sorry, go on, Gloria.

BORGER: No, I was going to say, look at the stimulus package that passed when Barack Obama became president. It was passed by a handful of votes. And, you know, Joe Biden, then-vice president, had to twist arms to get a few Republicans on board. I wouldn't be surprised if you had that same kind of situation here.

And as Jen Psaki said, look, the public doesn't care whether this is done by the budget process or whether you can get 60 votes. You know, her point was they just need the help.

KEILAR: And it was interesting also, Kaitlan, to hear Jen Psaki when she was asked if the lack of Donald Trump's noise on social media is helping bipartisan talks.

COLLINS: Yes. She said they do not miss him on Twitter. Of course, the president has -- the former president, I should say, was not even involved in these discussions, really, when he was still in office. Of course, the lack of him commenting and weighing in on Twitter on all things related to Biden's presidency, I think, has been sort of a relief to the White House. She wouldn't comment whether or not she thought what actions social media companies should take with regards to President Trump.

One thing we should note that's been of interest is, remember Sue Gordon, who is the former Deputy Intelligence Director, she used to brief President Trump in those intelligence briefings in the Oval Office.

[13:20:00]

And she put out a statement saying she believes he should have access to those post-presidency intelligence briefings, that presidents still enjoy once they leave office, she said that should be revoked. And that came from Sue Gordon, who worked in the Trump Administration, used to briefing on this.

And Jen Psaki was asked if a decision has been made on that. She said it's still under review the last time she talked to their intelligence officials, who they are going to leave this recommendation up to, and they have not made final a decision yet about whether President Trump can still get access to those intelligence briefings would keep him abreast of what's going on throughout the world.

KEILAR: That was really interesting, Gloria, because Jen Psaki said she had made this inquiry as well, and she was still awaiting the answer.

BORGER: Right. And it's clearly a hot topic among national security officials who, if Gordon is saying you shouldn't do this, as Kaitlan points out, and she was the one dealing with the former president every single day, you can imagine that her words are going to have a lot of weight.

KEILAR: Yes, Gloria, Kaitlan, Ryan, thank you so much to all of you here after the White House briefing.

And just in a Capitol Hill insurrectionist charged with assaulting an officer who had blacked out and collapsed. We'll have details next.

Plus, a CNN investigation reveals some of the people who attacked the capitol to overturn the election didn't even vote in the election. See what we found.

And one week before his impeachment trial begins, lawyers quit Donald Trump's legal team because he wants to keep pushing the big lie, that the election was stolen from him, a baseless claim.

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[13:25:00]

KEILAR: The race to vaccinate people becoming more urgent with new highly contagious variants spreading, but who is getting the shots and who is getting left out? We're getting some new information on that right now from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, and CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard is joining me now to discuss this.

What are you learning, Jacqueline, when it comes to the demographic breakdown of who is getting vaccinated by age, by gender and ethnicity?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: This demographic breakdown just came in from the CDC, Brianna, and what it tells us is that it looks like the people vaccinated so far are mostly women.

The study shows that among 13 million people who have received at least one dose of vaccine so far, 63 percent were women, 55 percent were ages 50 and older and 60.4 percent were white. What that tells me, there might still be some hesitancy within the black and brown communities when it comes to vaccines, and/or there could be an access issue as well.

So this is something to watch. These numbers are from December 14th through January 14th, so they are from just the initial rollout as more groups get prioritized to receive the vaccine, it will be interesting to see if these numbers change and how so.

KEILAR: And we're going to be following that disparity in some of the coverage we're doing in the hour next. What about nursing homes? What about long-term care facilities. How are they factoring into this?

HOWARD: This is another interesting report, Brianna. So what we know about skilled nursing facilities, this other CDC paper looks at more than 11,000 facilities, and among them, it's estimated a median of 77.8 percent of residents have received their vaccine so far, so that's good, but a median of 37.5 percent of staff members have received their first dose.

And these estimated median numbers, they are per facility, but this is something to watch if, you know, this gap in how many staff members have received the vaccines versus residents continue, there is a concern that as staff members go out into the community and come back into facilities, could they carry the virus with them. So, again, this is something to watch as the rollout continues.

KEILAR: It certainly is, and we know you'll be following it. Jacqueline, thank you so much.

Just ahead the coronavirus task force revealing a new at-home test. It has a 95 percent accuracy within 15 minutes. Find out the cost and when this is going to hit shelves.

Plus, the FBI says it was one of the first to reach the barricade outside the Capitol. This person was now -- he faces charges of attacking an officer. We'll have the video, next.

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