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Federal Nutritional Assistance Program Enrollment Up 20 Percent, But More May Be Needed; Interview with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R- LA); Kansas City Chiefs' Barber Tests Positive for COVID-19. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 04, 2021 - 10:30   ET

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

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to John Harwood, he joins us this morning outside the White House.

I mean, Mitt Romney very clearly said you're not going to get any Republican votes unless you change the plan. Is this an accurate read, that it sounds like they will try to make the stimulus more targeted, but it doesn't seem like they're going to come way down from that $1.9 trillion number?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the point. Both of those things are true, Poppy. They are going to make changes in the plan, and it's highly likely that that number comes down from 1.9. For example, if they target those $1,400 stimulus checks more narrowly to reduce the income level at which people will get a partial check, that could shave, say, $200 billion off the cost of the plan, so 1.9 becomes 1.7.

Mitt Romney said no Republicans are going to vote for 1.9. Well, it's not likely Democrats are either, but the key question is -- or the key fact is that it's not going to come way down, it's not going to come anywhere near the level that Republicans like Romney have proposed. If it goes from 1.9 to 1.7 for example, will some Republicans vote for it in the Senate? Maybe. The point is that Joe Biden doesn't need those votes and he's not going to wait for them.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. I mean, it sets up interesting politics, right? Because they -- you know, Republicans will be in a position of voting against aid, right? Free money, you know, to America, which you know, politicians sometimes are loath to do. John Harwood at the White House, thanks very much.

Well, as Americans wait for more COVID relief, jobless numbers continue to grow, and more and more American families -- I mean, it's alarming, in America, in 2021, but more and more American families are just going hungry.

HARLOW: That's right, millions more now relying on food stamps. The government did boost spending for that program. There is new concern that even more is going to be needed. Our Vanessa Yurkevich joins us this morning. Good morning, Vanessa. I mean, a big concern is that a lot of these

jobs, even when the economy recovers, many of them will never come back. And those are families with kids.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And that's why the Department of Agriculture, which runs the food stamps or SNAP program, is looking closely at it to see whether or not they're providing enough money for families in need right.

We've spoken to people over the last 10 months, and we know that sometimes SNAP is simply not enough, and that is why you're seeing so many families, even on SNAP, having to turn to food banks just to put food on the table.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA BEDICO, SNAP RECIPIENT: It was, you know, life or death. We were either going to starve, or we were lucky enough to quality for SNAP benefits.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): It's that black-and-white for Veronica Bedico, unemployed with three children at home, the government's food stamps program is her lifeline.

BEDICO: See if we can get you to go all the way around.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Many families are facing hunger for the first time. The number of Americans on food stamps, or SNAP, has grown by more than 20 percent during the pandemic, and spending skyrocketed to $90 billion.

BEDICO: SNAP benefits came in, you know, perfectly to help me subsidize the meals that were going to increase because everybody was at home for every meal and every snack.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is just that, designed to boost food budgets for families who live below the poverty line. Historic unemployment forced the government to increase benefits by 15 percent in December.

STACY DEAN, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR FOOD, NUTRITION AND CONSUMER SERVICES, USDA: It is supposed to be enough, but many experts and more fundamentally the families who use it are worried that it just isn't enough. So we're actually taking a look at that now, to see if adjustments are needed to make it so that families can afford a basic diet with our benefits.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): That's why these Americans find themselves here, in this single food line at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Those on SNAP say they need more food.

KATHALEEN WALLA, SNAP RECIPIENT: I'm homeless, so I'm staying with my sister. So you know, it's hard to be able to go to market -- and she'll go to the market with me and stuff, but it's definitely not enough.

MANUEL ZARAGOZA, SNAP RECIPIENT: Not enough, but you know, I lost my job.

KENYA EDWARDS, SNAP RECIPIENT: I get like 200 bucks, and you know, I can make it stretch, but you know, once it's gone, it's gone.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): The L.A. Regional Food Bank serves 900,000 residents a month, one tenth of the L.A. population. In Georgia, one in seven adults and one in five children are now food-insecure. In New York, Public Health Solutions says SNAP sign-ups are up fivefold.

LISA DAVID, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PUBLIC HEALTH SOLUTIONS: This is a bit of a stopgap. It's better than nothing, it's great. But it's not helping people feel confident that they can put food on the table for their families every day.

BEDICO: I love you, too.

YURKEVICH (voice-over): Bedico doesn't know when she'll be back at work, a sign the recovery has a ways to go. President Biden's proposed relief plan hopes to extend the SNAP benefits increase through September.

[10:35:05]

BEDICO: I would like for the administration to remember that we're real people, and that we're not, you know, welfare queens that are just taking advantage of the system. I am a real person who had a real job, and now I need help so that I can provide for my children during this hard time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: Another program that the Department of Agriculture is paying special attention to is the WIC program, that's the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. We know during this entire pandemic, women, particularly women of color, single moms, have been very hard-hit.

But both Biden's economic stimulus plan as well as the proposal from Republicans does allocate $3 billion to that WIC program, Jim and Poppy, at a time when we're expecting that need to continue to grow -- Jim and Poppy.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, when millions of Americans are going hungry, there's a problem, right? Thanks so much for bringing those stories here, I think it's important that people see them, Vanessa Yurkevich.

HARLOW: Thanks, Vanessa.

SCIUTTO: Thanks so much.

YURKEVICH: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy says his party has a very big tent. So does that tent have room for those who share lies and conspiracy theories, like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene? Apparently. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:43]

SCIUTTO: Well, hours from now, the full House will vote on whether to strip Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. Democrats are pushing for this after really just stunning comments that Greene made before she was elected, came to light.

A series of things. The QAnon supporter endorsed killing Democratic leaders; she called mass shootings, in which children died, a hoax; she harassed some survivors of those shootings; she even denied that terrorists attacked the Pentagon.

Now, the vote also follows House Republicans refusing to take their own action against Greene. Here's what the minority leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, said about it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): it's just an example, this Republican Party is a very big tent, everyone's invited in. And you look at the last election, we continue to grow. And in two years, we'll be the majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Well, joining me now is Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Thanks so much for taking the time together -- this morning.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So you said you agreed, prior to that vote last night, with Mitch McConnell. You agreed wholeheartedly that Marjorie Taylor Greene, that "her loony lies and conspiracy theories are a cancer for the Republican Party," those, McConnell's words, but you agreed with him.

I wonder, watching this vote last night, was it a mistake for House GOP leadership not to strip her of her committee assignments?

CASSIDY: You know, I didn't follow that vote. All I can say is, Ms. Greene discredits the conservative movement. Whenever -- we've got a need for a conservative movement. When the White House is cancelling 11,000 jobs for working Americans, we need conservatives to give the other case. She discredits that movement.

You're talking about lasers from outer space starting wildfires in California, and putting a little bit of an anti-Semitic twist on it? She discredits the conservative movement. And as far as I'm concerned, she's not in my tent.

SCIUTTO: Well, that's the point. You know that -- McCarthy's argument that the big tent can handle these views, right? I mean, as you say, those are deeply offensive views to have inside that tent: anti- Semitic, questioning 9/11, questioning -- and I'm sure you have too, I've met parents who lost children in those school shootings. For them to hear that kind of lie -- or denying the election, can the Republican big tent contain these views rightfully?

CASSIDY: You're going into kind of a philosophical question. I think what I've said is pretty clear. She gives conservativism a bad name at a time when our country needs conservative viewpoints more than ever. She discredits. And whether it's the false flag allegations of these mass shootings -- which is terrible -- or some of the other things, as far as I'm concerned, she discredits us and she should not be considered a part of us.

SCIUTTO: And should she lose her committee assignments then, as a result?

CASSIDY: You know, that's a House issue, so follow that House issue. I'm speaking about the conservative movement. I think I've been pretty firm.

SCIUTO: OK, understood.

Next week, you're going to sit as a juror in the second impeachment trial of the former president, Trump. You said you would like the president's defense team to focus specifically on charges by Democrats that his comments, his actions contributed to and incited that deadly attack on January 6th. I wonder, as you're sitting there, will you listen to the evidence and is your mind open?

CASSIDY: Of course.

(LAUGHTER)

Your very question kind of begs that I won't be. Absolutely. I'm a juror, jurors are supposed to go in with an open mind. And everybody wants to push you to making a decision, and if you don't, they read into that. I am there -- as I was a year ago -- explicitly to listen to what people say and to judge based upon the evidence presented.

SCIUTTO: OK. To your credit. I mean, I ask because you were one of the 45 Republican senators who voted, last week, that -- well, at least -- and again, I won't ask what you actually voted for, because Rand Paul's proposal was to say the whole trial is unconstitutional because the president's no longer in office.

One of your colleagues, Rob Portman, who also voted for that measure, said, well, it wasn't really to say it's unconstitutional, just to open debate on it. What did you actually vote for?

CASSIDY: There -- you laid it out correctly, what Rand did. But there was no debate before that -- before that vote. There was no analysis of the issue. We all walked in there -- the vote had been called two hours beforehand --

[10:45:06]

SCIUTTO: OK. CASSIDY: -- saying, OK, we have a vote to take based on our current understanding about the justice aspect and the politics aspect -- because there's two elements to this --

SCIUTTO: Right.

CASSIDY: -- to this trial. This is where I will vote now.

But you really have to discuss it fully. That has not occurred in that setting.

SCIUTTO: Understood. But so to be clear, you're saying when you sit down there as a juror next week, you're going to listen to the evidence and then vote your conscience?

CASSIDY: Correct.

SCIUTTO: OK.

Next topic, COVID relief. This of course, at the top of so many people's minds. We saw another nearly 800,000 people file for unemployment claims this week.

You were part of the 10 Republicans who sat down with the president to discuss whether there's any middle ground between you. As you know, the president's proposal, $1.9 trillion; you say that's too high, you're closer to $600 billion.

Now, President Biden is talking about narrowing those stimulus payments to a smaller group of people and incomes, which might get it down to $1.7 or so or below. Is that a figure you might be comfortable with? Is that close enough to something you would vote for?

CASSIDY: It isn't -- it isn't how much money it is, it is what is the justification for how much money you spend. Now, I don't think it's right to take American taxpayer dollars and say we're going to spend this much, and then fill it up to reach that amount. No, you say we need this much here, that much there, and we add them together to achieve whatever number is needed.

Now, in the area of education, which was kind of what I was focused on, they're asking for $130 billion. They sent us justification. President Biden's staff let President Biden down. The information that they sent was almost like you said, OK, we've got to justify it, let's look on Google and find out how we do.

Because when you look at their links, the references, they're from like last year, before we knew there would be mass immunization by the beginning of next school year. In some cases, the dollar amounts they chose are higher than the reference which they cite. In one case $15 billion more is proposed relative to that which is said to be needed. And I could go down other lists.

So, again --

SCIUTTO: OK. CASSIDY: -- we don't just pick a number and fill it up, we establish

a need and add it up. That's what we've done; I've not yet seen that the president has done that, his team has not done that.

SCIUTTO: OK, you're referring to the answers the White House gave to you after you left that meeting for further information.

Let me just ask you, in the simplest terms, is there still an open negotiation?

CASSIDY: I sure hope so.

SCIUTTO: Are you still talking to the other side?

CASSIDY: I sure hope so. We're sending back a letter today that addresses our concerns. I hope there's an interplay. Now, there are reports that President Biden's staff does not care to negotiate. I'll go back to I think his staff is letting him down.

But I'll point out, multiple COVID relief packages were passed under President Trump with a Republican Senate, which were bipartisan. And all of a sudden it can't be done bipartisan, with a president who -- sincerely, I believe -- calls for unity and bipartisanship? I don't get that, that just doesn't make sense.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I get -- although point of order, the tax cuts in 2017 were passed via reconciliation, so I mean, it's not --

CASSIDY: Now, that's not COVID relief. Believe me.

SCIUTTO: Yes, I get it, not I get --

CASSIDY: If you want to talk --

SCIUTO: -- on COVID relief. To your point, you're right, those votes were bipartisan.

Senator, we always appreciate you having on the program, we hope we could keep up the conversation and we wish you the best of luck.

CASSIDY: Thank you, Jim.

HARLOW: That was a great interview, and clearly he's read a lot of the details there.

[10:48:39]

OK, Super Bowl scare: Could a haircut seriously keep some of the Kansas City Chiefs from playing in the big game? "Bleacher Report" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, you can't make this stuff up, a COVID scare for the Kansas City Chiefs as the players' barber reportedly finds out he tests positive like while he's cutting players' hair, and this is just days before the Super Bowl.

SCIUTTO: Goodness, that is close contact. Andy Scholes has this morning's "Bleacher Report." Andy, we've got a game, Sunday, right?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, yes, we've got a game still, Jim and Poppy. But can you imagine if a number of these players were not going to be available to play in the Super Bowl because they were trying to get a haircut? That's the scenario here that nearly happened.

According to multiple reports, a number of Kansas City Chiefs players were in line to get a haircut -- including Patrick Mahomes -- when they found out that the barber had tested positive for COVID. Chiefs' backup center Daniel Kilgore was in the chair when they found out. Both he and the barber were wearing masks, and Kilgore kind of poking fun at the whole thing, posting this picture on Twitter, saying, "#NewProfilePic."

Now, according to ESPN, since Kilgore was already deemed a close contact, the barber did in fact finish his haircut. Kilgore and receiver Demarcus Robinson, though, are on the COVID reserve list right now. Could still play on Sunday if they register five straight negative tests.

Now, usually both teams get to the host city by Monday, but there's nothing usual about this Super Bowl. The Chiefs, they're practicing at their home facility in Kansas City all week long, not going to fly to Tampa until Saturday afternoon. That's just a little over 24 hours before kickoff.

In the meantime, the Buccaneers, they're soaking up that Florida sunshine. They're the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium. And they kind of knew when they got Tom Brady that this was a real possibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON BRATE, TIGHT END, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Since we signed Tom in March, like, (INAUDIBLE) kind of joked around like, yes, Bucs are going to be in the Super Bowl at home. And here we are.

ROB GRONKOWSKI, TIGHT END, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: It's the first time ever happening in history. So you know, it's, like, mind-boggling, actually.

[10:55:06]

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: I'm happy I'm in my own bed, I'm happy I'm eating good stuff at home, I'm happy I had extra time to prepare, don't have to travel, pack (ph) my clothes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, and they're allowing 25,000 fans into the Super Bowl, guys, there in Tampa. And as you can imagine, lots of fans there in the city want to go watch their team play in the Super Bowl. That, combined with the limited capacity, the cheapest ticket to get in the stadium right now for Super Bowl LV is over $5,000.

SCIUTTO: Yowzers. Wow.

HARLOW: Yowza. Andy, thanks, we'll be watching.

And thanks to all of you for joining us today, we'll see you tomorrow morning. I'm Poppy Harlow.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. NEWSROOM with Kate Bolduan starts right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]