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McCarthy: Green's Comments Happened Before She was Elected; Cheney Survives Vote to Remove Her from Leadership Role; Democrats Push Ahead with $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Proposal; Survey Shows Trust in COVID Vaccines is Rising; U.K. to Test Mixing of Different Vaccines in New Study; Yellen Calls Regulators' Meeting on Market Turmoil. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 04, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

SHAWN TURNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The Pentagon has some responsibility and make absolutely sure that they're watching for these things, and I think that's what Secretary Austin is doing. But you know, it's not terribly surprising because we're seeing this all across society and I think we'll continue to see it. So this is a good move on the part of the Secretary.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of the secretary, as a lieutenant colonel -- in 1995 he was -- he oversaw operations for the 82nd Airborne when there was a racially motivated double murder involving members of that unit. During his confirmation hearing Austin discussed what he learned from that incident and signaled that it would inform his approach. I want you to watch this and then we'll discuss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. LLOYD J. Austin III (RET.), DEFENSE SECRETARY: If leadership is not in touch with the people they're leading, these kinds of things can happen. And I don't think that this is a thing that you can put a Band-Aid on and fix and leave alone, I think that training needs to go on routinely because things change. The types of things you're looking for change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Jonas, is Austin the right person to handle rooting out extremism from the military?

TURNER: You know, he absolutely is. Secretary Austin is someone who because of that experience and because he came up through the ranks and served as an officer, first African-American secretary of defense, he does have a unique understanding of the challenges that we face here.

I think there's some very specific things that he needs to do, and I think he understands that. You know, I think he understands that he needs to be more intrusive. We need to be more intrusive into the lives of our service members. I think he understands we need to make absolutely sure that we are using the uniform code of military to prosecute people who are on active duty who engage in these activities. And I think he gets we need to fully understand the nature of the problem.

But you know, it's really important, Don, to also point out that the vast people in the military are not interested in this kind of activity. They want to serve this country and they want to do the right thing. Secretary Austin gets that. So he's striking the right balance between focusing on this problem and making absolutely sure that we don't disparage all of our military.

LEMON: Sir, we're out of time. Shawn, thank you so much, I appreciate it. I'll see you soon.

TURNER: Thanks Don.

LEMON: Thanks for watching everyone. Our coverage continues.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, a raucous day in Washington as stalwart Republican Liz Cheney survives an ouster attempt from her own party for voting to impeach President Trump last month. While at the same time House Republicans give conspiracy theorists Marjorie Taylor Greene a pass. The latest details on that.

Plus -- President Biden tells Democrats to go big and bold on a COVID- 19 relief package. And says he'll push ahead with or without bipartisan support.

And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants answers as she calls a meeting with regulators to discuss last week's Reddit driven GameStop frenzy.

Good to have you with us. Well a floor vote later today in the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to remove freshman Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments. Greene has become a flashpoint for Democrats because of her violent, far-right rhetoric and wild conspiracy theories prior to her election. Republicans met behind closed doors on Wednesday but declined to penalize her. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy explained why they gave Greene a pass.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: I denounce all of those comments that were brought up. And everybody -- and she came inside our conference and denounced them as well. She said she was wrong. She has reached out in other ways and forms and nothing that she said has been based upon since she's been a member of Congress. The voters -- the voters -- no, the voters decided she could come and serve.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Congresswoman Liz Cheney, on the other hand, got an earful from some of her fellow Republicans. They are furious she voted to impeach Donald Trump. But in a secret ballot she easily survived a move to take away her leadership role. Here is what she said afterwards.

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REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We real did have a terrific vote tonight, terrific time this evening laying out what we're going to do going forward as well as making clear that we're not going to be divided.

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[04:05:00]

CHURCH: But some Trump loyalists see it differently. Listen to Congressman Matt Gaetz who has already traveled to Cheney's home state of Wyoming to drum up support against her in the next mid-term elections.

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REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): So tonight the Republicans decided to keep Liz Cheney. Tomorrow the Democrats will boot Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committees. I think both decisions reinforce the power of Washington, and it only encourages me to try to go out in America and get people focused on the changes we need to make in both parties so that the voters are respected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And for more on the turmoil within the Republican Party, here's CNN's Ryan Nobles on Capitol Hill.

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RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It took four hours, but the House Republican conference on Capitol Hill has ironed out at least some of their issues. They voted overwhelmingly to keep Liz Cheney as the third ranking member of the House leadership.

Now this was an important vote, and it tracks back to the impeachment vote where Cheney joined 9 other House Republicans in voting to impeach former President Trump. The former president still enjoys a lot of support from House Republicans and there were many angry that Cheney took that vote and they demanded for her to be removed from her post.

That led to this meeting which got heated at times where many members stood up and yelled and angrily complained about Cheney voting to impeach President Trump. But when the ballots were cast and they were all cast secretly, Cheney ended up holding on to her post comfortably, a vote margin of 145 to 60 to 1 member of Congress that voted present.

Now that wasn't the only problem that the House Republicans were dealing with. They're dealing with freshman Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and those past comments that she's made that have been very controversial. It's led to Democrats calling for her to be removed from the House Education Committee and House Budget Committee.

Now Republicans attempted to try and bridge some sort of compromise. Take her off the Education Committee, maybe put her on a different committee. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy could not strike a deal with the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. So Democrats are going to move forward. As a result, Republicans plan to do nothing to hold Greene accountable for her actions. That vote will take place on the House floor on Thursday. It is likely that even though she will have Republican support, that there will be enough Democratic votes to remove Greene from those committees.

Ryan Nobles, CNN on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, the investigation into the deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol continues to turn up evidence of pre-planning well ahead of the January 6th riot. Conspiracy charges have been filed against Nicholas Ochs and Nicholas DeCarlo, members of the far-right group of Trump supporters known as the Proud Boys. A federal indictment alleges they both planned and fundraised with the intention of blocking the electoral vote certification in Congress. And they are accused of scratching the words "murder the media" into a prominent door in the Capitol. Almost a dozen members of the Proud Boys have been charged so far in the insurrection.

Well five people died as a result of the violence. One of them Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery on Wednesday. His remains had laid in honor inside the Capitol Rotunda. President Biden and the first lady where among those who paid their respects.

Well President Biden has been reaching out to Congressional Republicans hoping to get bipartisan support for a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, but Republicans have shown little interest. They are offering to support much less. So Democrats are preparing to get it done without them. CNN's Kaitlan Collins explains.

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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Met for an hour-and-a-half with the president ...

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Senate Democrats' turn in the Oval Office.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I welcome them all home. This is their new home, for a while anyway.

COLLINS (voice-over): After President Biden met with the Republicans in those seats two days ago, he sounded hopeful about getting some of them on board with his coronavirus relief package, even as Democrats move forward without them.

BIDEN: Oh, we will get some Republican support. I think we will get some Republicans.

COLLINS: No congressional Republicans have signed on to Biden's plan so far, and Utah Senator Mitt Romney said it's unlikely any Republicans will support the plan if changes aren't made.

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): If it goes forward without any changes from what was originally proposed, I would predict that not a single Republican will support the $1.9 trillion plan.

COLLINS (voice-over): The president told House Democrats he won't slash the $1.9 trillion price tag anywhere near the $618 billion that Republicans have suggested.

BIDEN: I'm not going to start my administration by breaking a promise to the American people.

[04:10:00]

COLLINS (voice-over): Biden also said he won't scale back the $1,400 stimulus checks. But he said he was open to targeting them further.

BIDEN: Can't walk away from an additional $1,400 in direct checks we proposed, because people need it. And, frankly, they have been promised it. Maybe we can -- I think we can better target the number. I'm OK with that.

COLLINS (voice-over): Noting the slim majorities that Democrats have in Congress, Biden encouraged Democrats to remain united.

BIDEN: So, let's stick together.

COLLINS (voice-over): Democrats are barreling ahead with Biden's big proposal, as White House aides are knocking down suggestions from some Republicans that Biden was more willing to negotiate than his staff.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Our members who were in the meeting felt that the president seemed to be more interested in that than his staff did.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Absolutely not. I have seen some of those reports. Many of them are ludicrous. There is no one who is going to tell him what to do or hold him back from his commitment.

COLLINS: And on Wednesday the House passed that first step that's going to pave the way for Democrats to be able to pass this bill without any Republican support. It's passed in the House. Now it's going to be passed in the Senate. We expect them to take up later on this week. And as Joe Biden said, he still wants to get Republicans on board. He is encouraging his own party to move quickly.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: More than 450,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 according to Johns Hopkins University. And a new forecast from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that number could rise to 534,000 by the end of the month, even though almost 34 million vaccine doses have been administered. Top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. isn't moving fast enough.

A new study suggests the AstraZeneca vaccine may reduce transmission of the virus but having another vaccine available to the U.S. may not improve things as a new Monmouth poll finds 1 in 4 Americans say they will avoid getting a COVID vaccine if possible. CNN's Nick Watt has the latest on the coronavirus in the U.S.

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JEFFREY ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We are at war with this virus.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But is this country vaccinating fast enough to keep ahead of the spread of coronavirus variants?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We're not, because the situation is, we still have a demand that far exceeds the supply.

WATT (voice-over): Before a return to normalcy, Dr. Fauci says at least 70 percent of the U.S. population must be fully vaccinated. Right now, that number is under 2 percent.

These shots reduce your risk of illness. But do COVID-19 vaccines also reduce the risk you could still harbor the virus and spread it to others? Early data suggests the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine does just that, reduces the risk of transmission.

RICHARD HORTON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE LANCET: Which is a stunning discovery if that's true.

WATT (voice-over): This vaccine not yet authorized in the U.S.

FAUCI: I haven't seen the data yet. That's not yet been peer reviewed. I mean, I certainly have every reason to believe the Brits.

WATT (voice-over): The CDC now projects another 85,000 Americans might die before the end of the month. The big fear, those more contagious variants.

DR. JAY VARMA, SENIOR ADVISER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR'S OFFICE: Plan on the assumption that there are a lot more cases of these variants than we know about.

WATT (voice-over): Why? Because only these six states have genetically sequenced more than 1 percent of their cases and that's how you find variants.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Based on contact tracing and recent -- of recent variant cases, not wearing masks and participating in in-person social gatherings have contributed to the variant spread.

WATT (voice-over): Vaccination and mitigation efforts should focus on the 20 to 49 age group, say researchers who found younger adults are the biggest spreaders of the virus. So planning a big indoor Super Bowl party this weekend, maybe don't.

FAUCI: As difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.

WATT: A big brewing issue here in the U.S. When will most kids get back into school?

The director of the CDC made one thing abundantly clear. She says, it is not a prerequisite. We do not need to vaccinate all teachers before kids can safely go back to school. She says there is increasing evidence to support that.

Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And I spoke earlier to infectious disease expert Ravina Kullar. I asked her about vaccination skepticism and how would she convince the 24 percent of Americans who say they want to avoid the vaccine shot.

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[04:15:00]

DR. RAVINA KULLAR, EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: I think it is, first of all, going to have to be as health care workers being the individuals which are getting vaccinated first. You know, what you're seeing is many public, which are vaccine hesitant, as well as health workers that are.

So if us health care workers serve as a good example to the public, showing that these vaccines are safe, there are rigorous trials that were done. It may have been done in a very short period of time but that is actually the power of science.

You know, these scientists they from worked day and night, really wanting to get these vaccines approved, getting the trials done. And it's having trust in these manufactures and showing that these are actually efficacious, these are safe vaccines that individuals should take.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Ravina Kullar talking to me earlier.

Well despite some skepticism in the U.S., confidence in vaccines is actually rising in other parts of the world. We will look at where vaccine shots will most likely be administered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [04:20:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Well we did mention earlier that about a quarter of Americans surveyed want to avoid getting the COVID vaccine. Still, public trust in the inoculations appear to be rising in many other countries. A survey from Imperial College in London, shows that 54 percent of people in 15 countries now say they would get a shot if one were offered to them. That's up from 41 percent back in November. The survey also found that respondents from the U.K. were the most willing to get a dose.

So far more than 10 million people in the U.K. have received their first vaccination and now the government is launching a study to determine if vaccine recipients can safely mix and match different types of doses.

Well after some early global skepticism, a doctor medical journal's editor says Russia's Sputnik-V COVID vaccine meets the same clinical trial and efficacy standards as other major vaccines. Phase III data published in Lancet show Sputnik was more than 91 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 infections. But Lancet editor, Richard Horton, advises more information is needed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HORTON: They absolutely met the same standards in terms of the quality of the trial and the reliability of the data about vaccine efficacy. I would say that there's one caveat though, and that is around the safety data. At the moment we don't have the full safety data for the Russian vaccine. They're still in the process of collecting that.

What we do know is that there are no serious adverse events from this vaccine, but we don't know enough about the minor and moderate adverse effects. So with that one proviso, I would say that this vaccine should eventually get the green light for use. And indeed, many countries have already placed orders for the vaccine. Countries in Latin America, across the Middle East, and even in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More than 15 countries have approved use of the Russian vaccine, which has already been given to more than 2 million people around the world.

And CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now live from Paris. Good to see you, Melissa. Talk to us about vaccination efforts across Europe because there had been a lot of problems in the early stages. How's it looking now?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. A lot of problems in simply getting vaccine supplies to the European member states. And of course that remains the case. So what we know is that in the wake of the row with AstraZeneca where we saw temperatures rise between the European Union and the pharma group last week. We know that although AstraZeneca promised extra doses to the European Union, the EU is looking to diversify its vaccines, to look at what other supplies it could get to compensate for those AstraZeneca ones that it will not be receiving.

And this of course, because in some parts of Europe vaccination campaigns have simply had to grind to a halt. And that's extremely worrying, of course, for Europeans. Now we know that the European Medicines Agency is looking at other vaccines, Johnson & Johnson one, are even now being considered by the European medicines agency. We understand that the Sputnik vaccine makers have got in touch with the EMA and told them that it is under production. But that there is no formal beginning to that process of considering whether the European Medicines Agency will allow the marketing of the Sputnik vaccine here in Europe.

But clearly, very keen, officials of the European Union, to get their hands on not only the extra vaccine doses of the ones that have already approved, but really to ensure that the European Medicines Agency is moving as quickly as it can on approving some of those other vaccines given those vaccine shortages.

All the more so now, Rosemary, that we know that a number of countries, Belgium is the latest, but France and Germany also have seen their medicines agency once the EMA had approved the AstraZeneca one, saying that in fact for them there was not sufficient evidence to recommend its marketing within those countries. So France, Germany and Belgium for people who are over 65. So another thorn in the side of European leaders trying to get their populations vaccinated as quickly as they can -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Melissa Bell joining us live from Paris. Many thanks.

To Wall Street now where things are finally starting to get back to normal after a week of chaotic Reddit inspired turbulence. Now U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a meeting of top regulators to address the volatility concerns. The meeting is expected to take place this week with regulators from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve and the New York Fed attending.

For more, let's turn now to CNN's John Defterios. He joins us live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you John. So a lot of attention of course focused on this meeting which could take place as early as today. But how risky could it be trying to regulate day traders?

[04:25:00]

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes, it is unchartered territory, if you will, Rosemary. This is a case where financial regulators are trying to keep pace with big tech if you will. And think about it, a month ago you and I would never have had this conversation with Reddit and the WallStreetBets or Robinhood as a trading platform. It's all new and sort of getting the ire of the regulators, like Janet Yellen, the Treasury Security working with the SEC and others, and putting it under the magnifying glass looking at a couple of things here. Volatility and perhaps even manipulation. So if you just take one stock, which is GameStop, it was trading at

less than $5 a month ago, well below that in fact. It went up to nearly $500. Today it's trading at about $92 at the Wall Street close. So all this volatility means people are making money on the way up and down and some are getting absolutely crushed. And why, is the big question here?

So that'll be an observation of Reddit, Robinhood the trading platform. But this has nothing to do with fundamentals but the use of social media. So I find it very interesting that Robinhood, which is that trading platform that had to raise $3 billion to cover all of the trades that were taking place, is going to traditional media this weekend with the Superbowl. It's going to spend $5.5 million as an ad to depict itself as a trading platform of the common man and woman today. Very much like the Shakespeare work, right, prey on the wealthy and give to the poor.

Because of the criticism of halting trade for a few days here, it wants to show that it supports this concept of a wide open trading field representing parents and students and hard workers who just want to get involved on Wall Street at the same time. The juxtaposition, New York Stock Exchange from the 19th century and a 21st century trading with Reddit and Robinhood now getting the ire of the regulators in Washington.

CHURCH: See what happens with that. John Defterios many thanks. Joining us live from Abu Dhabi.

One woman who bought into the QAnon conspiracy is warning Republicans that they should disavow extremist ideas, including those of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they're not going to call her out on it, then everyone else believing that there's got to be some sort of truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Coming up -- we'll have more from the QAnon believer who realized that she had been fed lies.

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