Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Democrats Push Forward on COVID-19 Relief Bill; What Age Group Is Spreading COVID-19?; House GOP to Decide Fate of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Liz Cheney. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 03, 2021 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Here we go. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

Let me just set the scene. Right now, we know that the House Rules Committee is currently discussing a motion to strip Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her two committee assignments. A vote on this motion is set for tomorrow.

Greene, as we have been reporting these last couple of days, she's really this known QAnon conspiracy theorist and supporter. She's under fire for both endorsing violence against her Democratic colleagues and chronically peddling dangerous conspiracy theories.

There is a chance we could be hearing from this woman herself during this meeting this hour. Obviously, we have got our eyes on that, and we will bring it to you as soon as we see her.

Meantime, another critical meeting for the GOP is about to get under way, all centered around the fate of both Congresswoman Greene, but also Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, two lawmakers with starkly different values. Cheney is battling to hold onto her leadership post after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump for inciting that deadly attack on the Capitol.

So, let's start on the Hill with CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Dean.

Jessica, a lot of moving parts for you today. So let's start with Congresswoman Greene.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had a call with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy specifically about her. It sounds like no common ground was found. So where does everything stand?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.

So, as a direct result of that call, you're talking about, Brooke, which happened just a little bit earlier today, Democrats decided to move ahead with their plan to act to remove Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments.

So, you talked about that House Rules meeting that's happening right now as we speak,. That's step one. Then they're going to take that to a full House vote as early as tomorrow. And that's a simple majority to remove her from all of her committee assignments.

So, that's what the Democrats could do. And after that meeting, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer saying that that's what he has chosen to do. He saw no reason to stop any forward motion that.

But what if Republicans act before then? That's the big question right now. What will House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy do? They met late into the night last night. He brought in members of the Steering Committee, which is the committee responsible for taking her off of her committee assignments, but no ultimate decision was made.

So he had hoped to broker a deal perhaps with Hoyer today, maybe remove her from one of our committees, and not the other, this House -- this Education and Labor Committee, and not maybe Budget. That didn't go over so well, obviously, because Hoyer said they're going to move forward.

So now all eyes are on Kevin McCarthy. What's he going to do? Will he move to strip her from these committees? And it's interesting. We're hearing from various members -- various Republican members of the House.

They're growing impatient with what they see as his indifference toward all this and his -- or, rather, his inability to act, one lawmaker giving us quite the quote, using, actually, quite the language to describe--

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Not quite sure how to do that on TV.

DEAN: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

DEAN: I will let you all read it at home for yourselves, but essentially making the point that they have got to deal with their own house, they have got to clean up the mess in their own house.

So, a lot of Republican members hoping that McCarthy will act, because, remember, Brooke, if this goes to a full vote tomorrow, all Republicans are going to have to go on the record on where they stand on this. And it only takes a simple majority. So it will be interesting to see kind of how that all plays out.

And it really dovetails back into what you were just talking about. Where is the Republican Party going forward as they look ahead to 2022? Are they going with Marjorie Taylor Greene? Are they going to -- are they going with Liz Cheney? Is there room somewhere in the middle?

Has Kevin McCarthy lost control of his caucus? Well, we're going to see what comes out of this other meeting later today among Republican House members -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: You have your work cut out for you today.

DEAN: Yes.

BALDWIN: Jessica Dean up there on the Hill.

We will stay in close contact with you.

And I want to stay on this precise topic. I have got CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash joining me and CNN political analyst Astead Herndon.

So, Astead, first to you.

I hear Jessica. Yes, of course, all eyes are on Kevin McCarthy. But it's not just Democrats who are frustrated with him. As she was just saying, Republican members are losing patience with his lack of action. They're nervous.

Oh, hang on one second, I'm being told to let's listen in to the House Rules Committee meeting. Let's listen to that.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

REP. JIM MCGOVERN (D-MA): -- about a Jewish space laser being the cause of wildfires in California. I mean, this is unbelievable.

The second reason is that the full Congress has never had to take this step. When something like this has happened in the past, leadership on both sides always did the right thing. That was the case with former Democratic Congressman Bill Jefferson and with former Republican Congressman Steve king.

[15:05:05]

Both were stripped of their committees, at the direction of their of their party's leadership.

But when it comes to Congresswoman Greene, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is unwilling or unable to do the right thing. This is not a close call. Serving on a committee is not a right. It is a privilege.

When a member talks about school shootings being false flag operations, they should lose the privilege of serving on the Education and Labor Committee. Parkland was one of the deadliest school shootings in our nation's history. And Sandy Hook, 26 people were killed, including 20 children as young as 6 years old.

And we have all met with the parents of Parkland and Sandy Hook whose loved ones were killed in those shootings. I mean, it's been heartbreaking to see what these parents and these families have had to endure. We have all -- we have all met with them. We all know the pain and the anguish that they have had to deal with.

And when a person encourages -- when a person encourages talk about shooting a member in the head, they should lose the right to serve on any committee.

That shouldn't be a radical idea. The action that we are taking here today isn't about partisanship. It isn't -- it is not about canceling anybody with a different political belief. It is about accountability and about upholding the integrity and the decency of this institution.

Now, if this isn't the bottom line, I don't know where the hell the bottom line is. None of us get to decide for the voters who they send to Congress.

But as members of this body and as leaders of this country, it is our responsibility to set standards of conduct for those we serve with. That is especially important when somebody crosses the line into violence.

Removing Congressman Jefferson and Congressman King from committees was the right thing to do then. Removing Congresswoman Greene is the right thing to do now. And I regret that we are going to have to do it through the Rules Committee, rather than the party leadership level.

Nonetheless, we are going to do this. And let's be clear. This is not a debate about a difference in policy or even ideology. It is about what she said. It, quite frankly, diminishes not only her office, but this entire institution. And we must act.

There must be accountability. I don't think this is -- I hope, I hope very strongly that this is not going to be a partisan exercise. I hope and I so desire that this is going to be a bipartisan effort. That is my hope.

And what a refreshing statement that would be if Democrats and Republicans can come together in a bipartisan way to join with one voice on this issue.

So, before we hear our witnesses, let me turn to our ranking member, Mr. Cole, for any remarks he wishes to make.

BALDWIN: OK, so James McGovern, this is a Democratic congressman, Massachusetts. He's the chairman of the House Rules Committee.

And so you heard him really just lay it out, why clearly he feels like -- the quote I jotted down from him: "If that's not the bottom line, I don't know where the bottom line is."

Astead and Dana, come back.

And, Astead, I started with you, so let me just have you out of that.

Hearing him talk about the crazy stuff that Marjorie Taylor Greene has said about Jewish space lasers responsible for California wildfires, and referring to Parkland as a false flag, like, what the hell -- forgive me -- is she doing on the Education Committee?

This is what he's weighing and the other members of the House and especially the Rules Committee, Astead. What is at stake? And does all of this, hearing these various members, does this force Kevin McCarthy's hand to actually do something?

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think it's important to put her statements in context.

They are not only conspiracies. They are not only false or misinformation. They are bigoted. I mean, the core of these statements are ones that are rooted in anti-Semitic language, rooted in fears of white replacement, rooted in things that are really dangerous ideologies that have had violent histories and effects throughout our history.

And so that's where this is coming from. It's not just crazy. It's dangerous. And so I think that is the real pressure that you see from Washington. But there is a political calculus here too, which is an ugly truth that we may not want to admit, but has a real route in terms of pieces of the Republican base.

Marjorie Taylor Greene did not concoct this out of thin air. It's the same era of misinformation, the same mix of that and intolerance that we saw overtake the Capitol on January 6. And that is very Republicans are really weighing here.

[15:10:01]

A couple of days ago, we tried to call all the Georgia GOP members on the statewide level to say, are you going to speak up about this? Are you Going to come out and condemn her?

And what we got, particularly on background, was people saying, oh, I have to worry about my primary, oh, I will leave it to the voters, or -- that willingness to not step up and say something is part of a political calculus that is a reality among the Republican base that is saying that this stuff, while bigoted, or while intolerant, or while false, also has real salience among the party.

BALDWIN: I want to come back to the raw politics that you're pointing out in just a second, but just staying in the moment, Dana, because we could be hearing from Marjorie Taylor Greene.

She may pop in virtually to this House Rules Committee meeting. She thus far has been not at all apologetic. Dare I say she has been defiant.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BALDWIN: What could she possibly to save herself, to improve her situation?

BASH: That's such a good question, Brooke, because what I'm hearing from Republican leadership sources is that Kevin McCarthy has been trying to push her to be contrite, to apologize for the things that she has said and done in the past, but at least publicly, there is no evidence that she is even close to that.

She has been defiant. You're exactly right. On top of that, she's raising money off of this. BALDWIN: Yes.

BASH: And she's raising some big bucks off of this.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BASH: So, from her perspective, not only does she believe in the -- seem to believe in the bigoted things that she has, as Astead so aptly put it, never mind the conspiracies, but she sees it as a political benefit.

I mean, she just had at least a phone call, some form of meeting with former President Trump, where she felt that she got an attagirl and a go get them and don't ever give in and don't ever apologize from him.

So that is what Kevin McCarthy is dealing with here. And the other thing that he is facing is a Republican member -- and she's not alone in this -- who -- as one Republican source I talked to just before coming on with you reminded me that they show it as a badge of honor when they stand up to their own leadership.

They won't feel punished. They won't feel that they have done something wrong. They will feel they will feel -- they will be even more emboldened. It doesn't mean -- that's a separate question from whether or not the leadership should do what's right or wrong here. And the right thing to do, the way that Jim McGovern just laid it out, is to make it clear that this will not stand.

It's not about ideology. It's not about political philosophy. It is right and wrong.

BALDWIN: Couldn't agree more. Jessica Dean put it so well just at the top on the macro. It's like -- for these Republicans, it's are you team Marjorie Taylor Greene or are you team Liz Cheney? And what will this mean for the Republican Party moving forward?

I'm going to leave it here. Dana and Astead, excellent, excellent, as always.

And just a reminder to everyone, we're watching this hearing. We will keep an eye on it to see if the Georgia Republican congresswoman will actually speak up and maybe mea culpa? Will that be good enough? Let's watch.

Much more breaking news ahead, including the new study that says adults 20 to 49 are actually the biggest spreaders of coronavirus, that it may be actually more beneficial to vaccinate that group first. What we're learning about that.

Also, President Biden is urging Democrats to stick together and act fast, as they take another step toward passing a massive COVID relief bill. We have those details ahead.

And something north of 300 congressional aides and staffers are issuing this rare statement calling on the Senate to consider their trauma from the Capitol attack in next week's impeachment trial. Will the senators listen?

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:38]

BALDWIN: Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being here.

The White House COVID response team says the U.S. is on track to meet President Biden's goal of administering 100 million shots in 100 days. And that news comes as the CDC predicts more than half-a-million people could die from COVID by the end of the month.

There is growing concern about all those variants circulating across the country and who is spreading the virus. Young adults now considered super-spreaders. And at least three states have confirmed deaths linked to that U.K. variant.

Oh, and if you're wondering how to celebrate this weekend's Super Bowl, Dr. Anthony Fauci says you absolutely should stay at home alone, and he says maybe even double-mask.

Erica Hill is our CNN anchor, national correspondent. She has more of the headlines from New York, where indoor dining is about to kick back up again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are at war with this virus.

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That war is also a race against time.

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: We're getting a breather. And if this U.K. variant continues to spread as predicted here in the U.S., we are in for some very tough months ahead.

HILL: More vaccinations could help stop the spread, a boost in supply and access clear moves in the right direction.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: As we get into middle of February, into March and April, the number of doses that are going to be available are going to be greatly accelerated.

HILL: But with just 2 percent of the population fully vaccinated, the country still has a long way to go.

FAUCI: If you want our society to get back to normal, you have to get about 70 to 85 percent of the population vaccinated.

[15:20:05]

HILL: A new study in the U.K. finds AstraZeneca's vaccine, which is not yet authorized in the U.S., may also help stop transmission. That study has not been peer-reviewed.

DR. RICK BRIGHT, FORMER DIRECTOR, BIOMEDICAL ADVANCED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: This is encouraging, and it's not actually totally surprising. It is what we would expect for most of our vaccines.

HILL: Meantime, new findings on who is spreading the virus.

In the U.S., that dubious honor goes to younger adults, researchers in London estimating 20-to-49-year-olds account for more than 75 percent of new transmissions through mid-August. So should that group have vaccine priority?

DR. UCHE BLACKSTOCK, ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY: Absolutely not. What we need to do is get the vaccines in the arms the people who are at higher -- highest risk for doing poorly if they're infected.

HILL: As more areas loosen restrictions on activities like indoor dining:

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): We believe that we can make this expansion without leading to undue stress or further stress on our health care system.

HILL: One thing experts and officials are not encouraging, Super Bowl parties.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Please watch the Super Bowl safely, gathering only virtually or with the people you live with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: And just a note. Here in New York City, the mass vaccination site behind me at the Javits Center back online as of this morning, and we finally have a date for Yankee Stadium, Brooke.

It will open on Friday, 15,000 appointments available initially. Those are only for Bronx residents, though. That's because the Bronx has the highest positivity of all five boroughs. Governor Cuomo also announcing today that 35 pop-up community vaccination sites will be coming online. They will be able to process some 25,000 vaccines throughout the week.

More will be added. And those will be at places like churches, cultural centers, public housing areas, and also community centers -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: You mentioned the dubious honor, though, to young people in spreading this thing.

I want to start with my next guest on that.

Erica, thank you for all of that.

Dr. Megan Ranney is our CNN medical analyst and emergency physician at brown university. She is the co-founder of the group GetUsPPE.org. So, Dr. Ranney, good to see you.

I want to start with this new piece out today about young people in this new study, that adults ages 20 to 49 are the biggest spreaders of COVID. The study says we should be focusing on vaccinating those people first. My question is, why are we not? And how might this inform how some future vaccinations may be targeted?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, so this news really surprises none of us that work in medicine or public health.

This is what we have been seeing for the last six months or so since we started to reopen. We saw those hot spots in college towns. We saw across the fall young adults and parents who are going out and socializing and spreading it among each other.

And I can tell you, Brooke, in my E.R., elderly patient after elderly patient has caught it from one of their children who was out going to a bar, socializing, caught it at work and then brought it home to their parents.

Now, as to vaccines, it gets to this really deep question. We don't have enough vaccines. Do we prioritize those who are at highest risk of being hospitalized and dying? Or do we prioritize those who are spreading it?

And for now in the United States, we have chosen to prioritize the first group, the people who are going to get really sick and die, the people whose lives are going to be forever changed, and the people that, honestly, are overwhelming the health care system.

As soon as we have enough vaccine to get to those folks, then the next group should be those 20-to-49-year-olds who are spreading it.

BALDWIN: We wait for that. We thank you, of course, for all your work in the E.R. What a time to be a doctor.

Dr. Megan Ranney, thank you very much.

I want to continue on our breaking news this afternoon. President Biden continues to push for a COVID relief bill. His message to fellow Democrats today is to stick together.

Plus, as Democrats prepare to vote on this motion to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, we will talk to Democratic Congressman Jason Crow. He was at the Capitol the day of the insurrection.

What does he think should happen to her? Let's ask.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:54]

BALDWIN: Two days ago, President Biden reached out to Senate Republicans in a bid to work out a bipartisan COVID-19 relief deal. And, today, he talked with Senate Democrats, urging them to -- quote -- "stick together."

And he said -- quote -- "We need to act fast" when it comes to his $1.9 trillion relief package.

Manu Raju is our chief congressional correspondent, who's up on all of this.

And, Manu, where is the most emphasis right now? Is it on unity or is it on speed?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's on speed, the -- and unity among Democrats, not necessarily unity in Congress, because Republicans are not in favor of the approach that the White House, along with the Democrats in Congress, are taking.

And Joe Biden on this conference call with House Democrats today made very clear he was not going to go anywhere near that $600 billion level that a group of Senate Republicans have proposed as a compromise. He's told members -- quote -- "That is not in the cards," according to audio that we obtained of that House Democratic Caucus call.

Now, also on that audio that I obtained, he talks about the importance of unity among Democrats. He said he has seen midterm elections for presidents in the past, and those have gone awry for presidents.

He said, We need to stick together, because we fall or we rise if we're on the same page.