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Biden Agenda In Jeopardy With Dems Fighting Among Themselves; Interview With Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) About The Infrastructure Bill Negotiations; CDC Issues Urgent Alert For Pregnant Women To Get Vaccinated; Senators Compare Facebook To Big Tobacco; Sen. Sinema Slams Inexcusable Infrastructure Vote Delay; Senator Blumenthal's Instagram Gaffe Goes Viral. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 02, 2021 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:34]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight, President Biden vowing to, quote, "get it done." But divisions in the Democratic Party leave his legacy in limbo.

And the anti-viral pill being hailed as a COVID game-changer. But experts say vaccines are still America's way out of the pandemic.

My body, my choice. Hundreds of rallies across the country as protesters make a stand for reproductive rights.

And Instagram under fire. Two high-profile influencers reveal their social media struggles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, and it is great to have you along with us on this Saturday evening.

And on this Saturday night in the nation's capital, the House is not in order. Various Democrats blaming one another for the collapse of an infrastructure deal this week. Infrastructure week yet again. It continues. Speaker Pelosi now wants it to be done by Halloween but her own previous deadline came and went just like kids going trick-or- treating, and tonight Democrats are back home empty handed.

House progressives and Senate moderates no closer to an agreement on that bill because they don't have a deal on the social safety net bill. The question now, will they find a way to come together to pass the Biden economic agenda? Every American could be impacted one way or the other whether they would get help or pay for it. The Biden legacy will be written in large part by what happens next.

And we're hearing from President Biden and other key Democrat this weekend. Arlette Saenz is among the reporters who spoke to the president today. But let's begin with Joe Johns on Capitol Hill.

So, Joe, we haven't seen much comment from moderate Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema in recent days until now. And she's not happy.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's for sure. And this -- the significant of this, Pamela, is that it really gives you a sense of the tension up on Capitol Hill at this point. It's not just Democrats and Republicans bickering which is something that happens all of the time. In this case, it is a moderate Democratic senator slamming progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives including the leadership for nixing a vote on President Biden's infrastructure bill.

Kyrsten Sinema in fact was one of the people who helped negotiate and put that bill together. And she put out this very harshly-worded statement aimed squarely at people of her own party. It reads in part, "Inexcusable, deeply disappointing over the course of this year Democratic leaders have made conflicting promises that could not all be kept and at times have pretended the differences in our own party did not exist."

So she definitely is not happy but the battle here is really about the price tag as well as the priorities on that big spending bill that progressive Democrats want to prop up the safety net, $3.5 trillion. Moderates say it's just too big and they're trying to pare it down. The House speaker Nancy Pelosi says the infrastructure bill, again President Biden's priority, has to be voted on by the end of the month which, as you said, sort of sets up the possibility of a Halloween showdown -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. It's not over until it's over.

And Arlette Saenz, I want to go to you. You actually asked the president a question today and he seemed to still think it's all going to get done. What's his thinking?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, President Biden expressed some cautious optimism that his priorities will get through Congress. But he also acknowledged some of the frustration within his own party as moderates and progressives still remain at a standoff. The president declined to put a time frame for when he wants to see these two measures passed, unlike Nancy Pelosi, who kind of put a Halloween deadline for that bipartisan infrastructure proposal.

But the president said that whether it's six days, six weeks or six months, that these items will get through Congress. But take a listen to how the president currently assessed things within the Democratic Party as he spoke to reporters earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everybody is frustrated. It's part of being in government. Being frustrated. And, look, one of the things I love about you guys, I watch you today, Biden vowed he's going to do this, Biden commits, Biden is going to work like hell to make sure we get both these passed.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

[19:05:07]

SAENZ: Now the president is spending the weekend at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, where he still making phone calls to lawmakers as he's trying to bring the two sides together on these measures, and I also asked the president whether he's been surprised and how difficult it has been to bring moderates and progressives into an agreement, and he told me that they would be at an agreement if they have two more votes.

That is a reference to Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Kyrsten Sinema, as Joe was talking about a bit earlier today. Those two senators have really been at the heart of these negotiations with leaders up on Capitol Hill as well as here at the White House as they are trying to bring those two moderates on board. But the White House certainly and Democratic leaders have a heavy lift ahead as they're trying to get those Democratic agenda items passed for this president -- Pamela.

BROWN: Yes. To say the least. All right, Arlette Saenz, Joe Johns, thank you both.

And I want to bring in Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan. She's the deputy whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Well, Congresswoman, good to see you. First off, you told me Sunday it was going to be the week from hell. Was it even worse than you expected?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): No. It's good to see you. It's good to be with you on this Saturday night. It was the week that I thought that it might be. But I actually think, while everybody else is running around doom and gloom, I think what finally happened at the end of the week is it became clear exactly what the president wants, we know where we stand with the reality of two senators that are going to keeping things and are only going to agree to certain things, though we've got to keep them at the table and keep working with them.

But I do think that what you miss is that Democrats are unified that failure is not an option. And it's not. We have to deliver for the American people. I suspected we were going to see the kind of -- whatever the creativity of something last week. But I ended up, this is what legislating is.

People finally started talking to each other. They were exchanging ideas. You know where people stood, and for too long last week people weren't exactly sure where was the bottom line, what did the president want, what more are we going to be able to get done? Friday the president laid out --

BROWN: Is that problematic that it took until now to understand what the president really wanted and some of these key questions answered? I mean why wasn't it earlier that you had that?

DINGELL: I think the president was focused on two senators. He talked to the House. He talked to the full House this week. I think it's good that people have gone home, are getting some rest. It was a very intense week. And I don't think that the speaker is laying out this deadline.

The fact of the matter is we extended service transportation through the end of October and when that expires there are a lot of programs that a lot of people care about in every state that are going to have to get dealt with. So I think we all know what we have to get done now. We're united on failure is not an option and we'll do what it takes to get it done.

BROWN: So you say failure isn't an option. Congresswoman, but it's not just Senator Sinema who's coming out with a statement tonight saying that she is unhappy with all of this. I want to read part of your colleague Josh Gottheimer's statement late last night. And it says, "It's deeply regrettable that Speaker Pelosi breached her firm public commitment to members of Congress and the American people. We cannot let this small faction on the far left who employ Freedom Caucus tactics destroy the president's agenda."

I mean, this is the Democratic co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group, ripping the speaker and comparing your wing's tactics with those of hard-lined conservatives. How do you expect to get a deal with this kind of infighting to your party realistically?

DINGELL: OK, first of all, Pamela, I'm a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus. I belong -- there are several of us that belong to both.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: You are. And you're also in the Progressive Caucus. Yes. That is true.

DINGELL: That is correct. So I work with everybody. And I talk to everybody.

BROWN: You do.

DINGELL: And listen to the end of what Josh said which is we cannot let this hurt the president's program. We have not been this close to everybody in this country agrees that we have got to fix our roads and our bridges, and our infrastructure and get lead out of pipes and get internet into rural areas and urban areas.

Now everybody needs to take a deep breath, everybody is tired, there is a lot -- quite frankly probably not as much straight mutation as needed to be last week. We've had this great communication. Now let's get back to trying to figure this out and getting to what we could get an agreement with, which, by the way, is an incredible amount of resources going into things that this country needs. And people want to see us deliver on.

BROWN: So here's the reality, though. And we heard Congressman Jayapal say that she understands that they're going to have to go down on the $3.5 trillion number.

[19:10:03]

The question is what. And it raises a number of sacrifices that Democrats are going to have to look at to decide on what are they going to do, make cuts to homelessness, climate crisis, childcare? If you do have to cut substantially what programs would you pull back on first?

DINGELL: First of all, we're not going to negotiate in the media.

BROWN: I know you don't want to negotiate on air. But --

DINGELL: We're not going to. Everybody has got to realize that we've got to come to the table, look at what -- and the program, the president was very clear on Friday. Don't give me numbers. Don't talk to me about dollars. Tell me what programs matter the most. What do your constituents care about. This is going to be approached by, I know, the House Democrats, what are the programs that we've got to get done now.

And it's also been made clear by everybody that we could go back and look for, if there is more issues that have to be addressed. I don't think anybody has made the decision about how much is going to be in there or what the length of period if anything is going to be.

It's what do we need to do. What do people need us to deliver. Childcare is, you know, one issue that everybody knows it's critical. Three million women have left the work force for the simple lack of childcare and elderly care. We've got a lot of problems we've got to address.

BROWN: So just really quickly, I know you don't want to negotiate on air. But we've heard some of your --

DINGELL: And I won't.

BROWN: I know you will not but let me just ask you this. Because Congresswoman Chu said to me last hour, we've heard it from others, Congressman -- we just lose her, darn it. I was going to ask her Congressman Dingell who we really appreciate coming on about -- oh, she's back. OK. Having some technical difficulties there. So let me get right to it.

Congresswoman Chu said to me that she would open to maybe limiting the timeline for the financing for some of these categories like instead of 10 years of financing perhaps limiting it to five. Is that something that you would be open to?

DINGELL: I think everything is on the table. I think we're going to have to look at how we deliver and what are the programs that the American people need right now at this time in our history. That is what the discussion is going to be. It's going to be program based, and we need to -- like there was way too much speculation and way too much of pitting of everybody against each other which is one of the reasons I called it the week from hell.

I knew what it was going to be like and right now we've got to figure out because we do know failure is not an option. We have to deliver to the American people.

BROWN: And by the way, that line really got some pick up when you said it on my show last Sunday. But you did call it.

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, always great to have you on the show.

DINGELL: Thank you. Good to see you.

BROWN: Well, from coast to coast, thousands of people are rallying this weekend in support of abortion rights.

Huge crowds of mostly women but many men too marching on state capitols. They are demanding the government stop trying to take away the right to choose. The largest protest is happening in Washington. Demonstrators there took their anger all the way to the Supreme Court which allowed that Texas law to go into effect, the law that bans abortions after six weeks even in cases of rape and incest.

The justices are set to reconvene Monday and take up another restrictive abortion law, this one in Mississippi. Anti-abortion supporters hope that case will help overturn "Roe v. Wade" once and for all.

And coming up this hour, the National League Soccer league -- sorry, the National Women's, I should say, Soccer League in chaos tonight after the commissioner quits and weekend matches are canceled following sexual misconduct claims against a former coach.

Also ahead, Instagram under fire. Two influencers share their powerful stories about the dangers of social media. We're going to talk about that up next.

Plus we have Dr. Natalie Crawford, she is here to give us the information we all need to make smart decisions about COVID and our health and particularly fertility.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:22]

BROWN: Another dreadful barrier is broken in the COVID-19 pandemic, with the U.S. death toll now more than 700,000 people. Here is some visual perspective on that. One flag for each death in a blanket of light covering the National Mall here in Washington.

The 700,000 number equivalent to losing more than the entire population of Boston. In fact the U.S. has the highest death toll in the world. But new cases and hospitalizations are dropping. Suggesting that new deaths will also begin to decline. And even more encouraging, drugmakers Merck and Ridgeback say their new anti-viral pill cuts the risk of hospitalization and death by 50 percent for COVID patients. That is fueling new optimism among health experts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: And unlike monoclonal antibodies which are also quite effective, this drug is orally available. So we'll be able to prescribe this to folks. They'll take a five-day course and hopefully be able to stay home, not come in for an intravenous infusion, and keep folks out of the hospital so it's really very promising news.

Merck has promised the United States pretty soon about 1.7 million courses of this drug. They'll produce about 10 million courses over the next several months. And they're already producing the drug getting ready for EUA and potential approval.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, Dr. Reiner and the medical community as a whole all stressing that while the pill could be a game-changer, it's no substitute for vaccines that will prevent most of the serious illnesses and spread for that matter.

Since the earliest days of the pandemic, it has just been so confusing for many women and their child-bearing years, and men.

[19:20:06]

I mean, especially when vaccines became available under Emergency Use Authorization. Pregnant moms worried if it was safe for them and safe for their babies. Now the CDC wants to make it crystal clear. If you are pregnant, please get vaccinated.

And joining me now with more is fertility physician, Dr. Natalie Crawford.

Dr. Crawford, great to see you again. We always love having you as a guest on the show. The CDC director Rochelle Walensky says just 31 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. are vaccinated. What do you make of that number? Why is this such a concern?

DR. NATALIE CRAWFORD, FERTILITY PHYSICIAN: I think to put this in perspective, Pamela, what we know is across the U.S. about 75 percent of the population has received at least one dose. So this is staggeringly low for pregnant people. And I think it really is fear and fear of harming your baby, and I understand hesitation against things. However, the consequences are so different because your body is different in pregnancy.

You have decreased immune system, your lung capacity is lower, there's extra strain on your heart and your kidneys, and what we are seeing right now is that the Delta infection is deadly. Pregnant people compared to non-pregnant age-related peers with COVID have a 70 percent increased chance of dying, and double the chance of being admitted to the ICU and intubated. And there are fetal consequences such as pre-term birth, NICU admission, fetal death and still birth. And these things are things we want to avoid.

We truly, truly are asking pregnant patients to please talk to their doctors about this and the CDC's urgent guideline is just stressing how important this is at this time for all of those pregnant people out there.

BROWN: So I just want to be really crystal clear with our viewers who are watching given the fact we've been having this conversation for months, and then you look at numbers, right? Bottom line, if you are trying to get pregnant, what is more risky, taking the vaccine or getting COVID?

CRAWFORD: Getting COVID, hands down. What we know is we look at risk versus benefit and the vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective. It does not harm your future fertility. It does not decrease the chance of implantation. We do not see different accessories with IVF and there is not a higher risk of miscarriage.

And so we know that COVID is deadly and so we are really, really using this evidence now. We've been talking about this for months like you said but now we have more and more evidence just supporting these claims that this vaccine is safe and we're really urging you to get it because this is important.

BROWN: So what kind of success do you have when you talk to your vaccine-resistant patients about getting the shot?

CRAWFORD: You know, my fertility practice, fortunately we're a small boutique package. We really believe in evidence and I think the approach is to meet patients where they are and to be honest and be open to have a hard discussion. I know physicians are burned out from COVID but I'm also pleading with my colleagues out there to have the conversation and ask patients why are you hesitant, what are you afraid of.

That way we can reassure them. And I'll tell my patients you're trusting me and you're trusting the science to do IVF or do fertility treatments, you're trusting me to help you get to this next step, and I need you to trust me on this. But I'm looking out for your best interest and I've had really good success and I hope that my colleagues out there are as well.

BROWN: And you've been really open looking at your Instagram about your own journey with, you know, infertility so you have this from two different perspectives, right, your personal journey, also as a doctor. And I wonder what it has been like for you to hear about these unvaccinated pregnant women dying from COVID.

CRAWFORD: You know, it is terrifying. And I do remember being that person who lost pregnancies and wondered if it would ever happen and blaming myself and looking at everything I was doing. So I told patients, I understand your hesitancy. Like you want to do the right thing and this is why getting vaccinated is the safest choice. But I think it just makes it more personal when somebody sits on the other side of the table and they've been through it.

And it's heartbreaking. Especially for our fertility patients who go through so much to get to that pregnancy. For all the pregnant moms out there to hear about them not ever meeting their baby, not surviving, all of the dads who are being left alone, or babies losing both parents, this is horrifying.

You know, for the general public to know a maternal death is like a once in a career thing for most OB-GYNs and my peers are talking about losing multiple pregnant people in a week. And there's never been such a high loss of life.

BROWN: Oh, my goodness. That is just horrifying.

[19:25:02]

Dr. Crawford, and the thing is, it's not just the woman, it's the baby. I mean, so much it lost. All right, well, thank you, thank you so much for coming on. We're going to continue to have you on to talk about this really important topic because I think that it's clearly top of mind for a lot of people and clearly when you look at all these recent deaths among pregnant women, this is just something we continue to get the message out. Thank you so much.

CRAWFORD: Thank you, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, senators are comparing Facebook to big tobacco. They grilled the company this week about how much it knows about Instagram's impact on the mental health of young girls. We're going to have more on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The only signal of true bipartisanship on Capitol Hill this week, it wasn't on infrastructure. It definitely wasn't the budget. It was Facebook. The Senate Commerce Committee grilled the company's head of Global Head of Safety.

[19:30:01]

Just weeks after "The Wall Street Journal's" investigative series in to how much Facebook reportedly knows about Instagram's negative impact on the mental health and body image of teen girls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Facebook has taken Big Tobacco's playbook. It has hidden its own research on addiction.

SEN. ED MARKEY (D-MA): Instagram, is that first childhood cigarette.

SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): We do not trust you with influencing our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Facebook's Antigone Davis pushed back saying the research actually found that more teen girls who were suffering find Instagram helpful than not, and that they could introduce new features to help teens.

She also pushed back on calling the research a bombshell, but the senators weren't having it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTIGONE DAVIS, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL HEAD OF SAFETY, FACEBOOK: And we are looking to find ways to really release more of this research. I want to be clear that this research is not a bombshell. It's not causal research. It's in fact just rational research that is used for product --

BLUMENTHAL: Well, I beg to differ with you, Ms. Davis. This research is a bombshell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, that Senate Committee will also hear from the whistleblower that sparked it all on Tuesday. Instagram has since paused its plans to launch a product for children under the age of 13.

Joining me now are two sisters who are both social media influencers. Carly and Chloe Weinstein both have large followings on TikTok so they can offer a great perspective on the influence of social media sites like Instagram.

Carly, "The Journal" reports Facebook's own research shows 32 percent of teen girls say they feel bad about their bodies and that Instagram made them feel worse. In the past, you have struggled with what you call disordered eating. And now you post about self-love, positivity, and confidence. I'm curious, though, did what you saw on social media play a role in your disordered eating?

CARLY WEINSTEIN, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: Yes, well, first of all, thank you for having us. I feel like it definitely played a role in my disordered eating. When I was younger, obviously, it wasn't as prominent because I'm 24.

But I think even subconsciously, you're scrolling, and so these things are constantly filtering through your brain, and even if you don't exactly follow those accounts, you're still seeing things every single day that can affect how you think of yourself.

BROWN: Just really quickly, I want to follow up with you and then go to your sister, but what do you say to Facebook, when they say actually, the research is showing that Instagram is helping teen girls. It's not hurting them, it's actually helping them. What do you say to that? Do you see -- have you seen any evidence of that yourself?

CARLY WEINSTEIN: Well, I think it's both. I think there's a ton of negative content out there that I've had to unfollow myself because it was negatively impacting me, and then of course, there's also accounts like mine who are trying to influence young girls to take care of themselves in a healthy way and to love their bodies, but there is going to be a mix no matter what.

BROWN: So let's go to you, Chloe. I'd love to hear your perspective on this. I'm sure you obviously also frequently scroll through Instagram. How has Instagram impacted how you view your body?

CHLOE WEINSTEIN, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: Well, I think social media and Instagram in general negatively impacts people around my age. And, you know, people are only posting their perfect moments and those perfect versions of themselves, which isn't actually a reality.

But as a young girl who has grown up with Instagram, scrolling, like seeing everybody post those perfect moments, obviously, is going to impact me and how the way I see myself and feel about myself. You know, seeing those perfect selfies that people post or bikini pictures, I definitely tend to compare myself to others sometimes, which you know, I'm trying to shy away from, but it definitely can get really hard to do so.

BROWN: So I'm curious on that note, because it really is everyone's highlight reel and you both have these profiles with pictures and videos and so forth. As you reflect on it, and Chloe, I'll start with you and then go to you, Carly -- have there been times when you posted pictures on your profiles where you looked happy, where you were in a beautiful setting, but really inside you weren't really feeling that way, even though on the outside it looked that way in the picture or the video?

Go ahead, Chloe.

CHLOE WEINSTEIN: Yes. I think that, I, even myself, tend to post those perfect moments and try to show all the happy moments but definitely, I suffer from anxiety. I suffer from it every single day, and obviously, it is hard for me to live every day with that. But I do post those good moments. So yes.

BROWN: Yes. when you're -- you post those moments even when you're maybe not feeling it, but it looks like it. To someone else looking, maybe they would say, oh wow, she has got it all going.

What about you, Carly? I know now you're kind of in this different phase as someone who was all about like respecting your body and being positive. But have there been times as you reflect on this where maybe you were also posting pictures, you know, where things looked perfect and so forth? I know I've been guilty of it myself, when really inside that wasn't you, but there is sort of this pressure to post and to keep this narrative going.

[19:35:27]

CARLY WEINSTEIN: Yes, I mean, especially for me, like I always say recovery from disordered eating or eating disorder is a process and it's not linear, and so, I have bad days, just like everybody else and it is definitely hard to post on those bad days. But I also want to show people that I'm human, and that everyone has bad days, no matter if you're the most body positive influencer in the world, or you show -- you're a model. We all have those bad moments.

BROWN: We all do. It is absolutely true. Life is not perfect for anyone, and if you're out there, and life is perfect, let me know, because I'd love to hear what your secret is.

So then there's this big question, right, of what can be done? And I want to ask you two, given your prominent roles as influencers. I'll start with you, Carly. What should Facebook do to change the climate you find for young women and girls on Instagram?

CARLY WEINSTEIN: I mean, I think that a lot of it is not as much in their control as it is like, if you're 13, I mean, aside from the age thing, which obviously ages are so important, like if you're younger than 13, you definitely should not be on these platforms.

But if you're even like older than that, I really suggest just unfollowing accounts that make you feel bad about yourself. I also have heard of people talking about maybe posting if there's a filter, like having some type of tag that shows that you're using a filter or that you're using an app, but I'm not sure how successful that actually would be given the fact that people aren't going to want to admit if they're using certain filters or edits. So, yes.

BROWN: Right. Yes, there has been a lot of talk about the filters and edits. Really quickly, Chloe, I want to get your thoughts on this. What do you think should be done to make it a better environment for young women?

CHLOE WEINSTEIN: I agree with what Carly said. I feel like it's more what we ourselves can do for the platform. Like she said, unfollowing those accounts that are making you feel bad about yourself and also following more accounts that will help you feel better about yourself, like body positivity accounts.

Yes, and for creators like me to post more authentic content, I know that I myself want to start posting more authentic content, and I think that that will help others want to post more authentic content as well.

BROWN: When you say that, just really quickly, what do you mean by more authentic content?

CHLOE WEINSTEIN: You know, like less filters, more just like everyday daily life, not posting those perfect moments, not spending an hour to get that perfect picture, just a quick picture that you can post and just be authentic with yourself and with your followers.

BROWN: I think that's great. Thank you so much, Carly and Chloe Weinstein, really so interesting to hear your perspective, and we all really appreciate it.

This is such an important issue, and you're welcome back on the show anytime to discuss this.

CARLY WEINSTEIN: Thank you.

CHLOE WEINSTEIN: Thank you so much.

BROWN: And we do want to note, as we wrap up this segment, if you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, call 1-800-273-8255 to reach the National Suicide Prevention line. It provides free and confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week for people in crisis or distress.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:35] BROWN: Infrastructure negotiations are underway on Capitol Hill tonight and all eyes are watching the two hold out Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Earlier, Senator Sinema expressed some harsh words for House Democrats calling their decision to delay a vote on a bipartisan infrastructure bill quote, "inexcusable and deeply disappointing." That delay of course came earlier this week after progressives vowed to kill the bill without action on their larger infrastructure plan, a plan that Senator Sinema and Manchin continue to oppose.

Tonight CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has a closer look at Senator's Sinema's journey into the spotlight and how the acentric former Green Party activist now holds the key to the Biden agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Arizona freshman Senator Kyrsten Sinema emerging as the key player holding the fate of the President's agenda in her hands, meeting with the President and his team multiple times over the last week.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They had a constructive meeting agreed that we are at a pivotal moment, need to continue to work to finalize the path forward.

SERFATY (voice over): With time now running short, the pressure is mounting for her to reveal exactly what she is willing to accept.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Literally one senator, one senator, Kyrsten Sinema is holding up the will of the entire Democratic Party. The President keeps begging her, tell us what you want.

SERFATY (voice over): But so far, she has kept that very close to her vest.

QUESTION: What do you say to progressives frustrated that they don't know where you are?

[19:45:10]

SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): I'm in the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY (voice over): A pattern that Sinema has relied on, on Capitol Hill, choosing to operate largely behind the scenes over public posturing as she navigates her outsized power as one of the two key moderate Democrats in the Senate.

But it wasn't always this way.

SINEMA: It is merely a distraction.

SERFATY (voice over): Cinema first started out far left of center as a Green Party activist, entering politics in Arizona as a Ralph Nader supporter, organizing anti-war protests after the September 11th attacks, which drew attacks years later, when she ran for Senate.

ANNOUNCER (voice over): Kyrsten Sinema was protesting us in a pink tutu.

SERFATY (voice over): In Arizona, as a state legislator, she fought for LGBTQ rights and against Arizona's controversial immigration law.

SINEMA: They passed an unconstitutional immigration bill that does nothing to solve our state's problems.

SERFATY (voice over): Her politics began to shift as she sought higher office.

After winning her first congressional campaign in 2012, she joined the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of centrist House Democrats.

SINEMA: The American public doesn't care much about Republican or Democrat, they just want solutions.

SERFATY (voice over): And with her assent to the U.S. Senate, she attempted to take over the late Senator John McCain's mantle of Maverick.

SINEMA: It was Senator McCain's example lighting the way, and with the trust of the people of Arizona shaping my service, I recommit to ignoring political games.

SERFATY (voice over): Her maiden speech on the Senate floor foreshadowing how far she has come from her leftist roots, opposing abolishing the filibuster and voting against raising the minimum wage, bucking her party in the model of McCain.

Sinema came from humble beginnings. She grew up in Arizona poor, her family at one point living in an abandoned gas station,

SINEMA: Thanks to friends and family, my parents' church and sometimes the government, I made it through.

SERFATY (voice over): She was raised Mormon, but after graduating from Brigham Young University, she left the church.

QUESTION: Do you believe in God?

SINEMA: You know, I'm not a member of any faith community, and I think that faith is a deeply personal issue that individuals should deal with in their private lives.

SERFATY (voice over): At 19 years old, she was briefly married, divorced within a few years.

SINEMA: Could we get a spouse? Just kidding. Just kidding.

SERFATY (voice over): She broke barriers coming to Congress as the first out bisexual member, but it's never part of her identity that she's dwelled on. At 45 years old, she is a marathoner and triathlete. Her unique and edgy style from this eff-off ring to her colorful wigs to this dangerous creature shirt she wore to preside over the Senate floor.

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): You're breaking the internet.

SINEMA: Good.

SERFATY (voice over): Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[19:52:21]

BROWN: Well, the Senate hearing with a Facebook executive earlier this week has once again landed a Member of Congress in the internet's Hall of Infamy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLUMENTHAL: Will you commit to ending Finsta?

DAVIS: Tinder again, let me explain. We don't actually -- we don't actually do Finsta. What this refers to is young people setting up accounts where they want -- may want to have more privacy.

BLUMENTHAL: Finsta is one of your products or services. We're not talking about Google or Apple. It's Facebook correct.

DAVIS: Finsta slang for a type of account --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, that clip quickly went viral. Senator Blumenthal did talk about Finsta's earlier in the hearing it making that confusion even more confusing. But to his credit, he was able to poke a little fun at himself afterward on Twitter with a meme of Steve Buscemi trying to be a high school student on an episode of "30 Rock" saying, "How do you do, fellow kids?"

Blumenthal certainly isn't the first lawmaker to light the internet on fire during these tech hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORRIN HATCH, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: How do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?

MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: Senator, we run ads.

STEVE KING, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: I have a seven-year-old granddaughter who picked up her phone before the election, and she was playing a little game, a kind of a game a kid would play and up on there pops a picture of her grandfather, and I'm not going to say into their record, what kind of language was used around that picture of her grandfather, but I'd asked you how does that show up on a seven year olds iPhone who is playing a kid's game?

SUNDAR PICHAI, CEO, GOOGLE: Congressman, iPhone is made by a different company, and so you know, I mean --

KING: It might have been an Android. I was just -- it was a hand me down of some kind.

REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): I use your apparatus often or your search engine, and I don't understand all of the different ways that you can turn off the locations, there are so many different things. Have you considered having an online school that people could go to with a Google rep and you could kind of log in and kind of ask questions?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Oh man. Well, we should note that Congress isn't the only branch of government that struggle with tech terminology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know the website?

JOE BIDEN (D), THEN VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I'm embarrassed. Do you know the website number?

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hear there's rumors on the internets. Now, I have filters on internets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And let's not forget the king of all explainers of the internets, the late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska back in 2006.

[19:55:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED STEVENS, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: The internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well that of course became a punch line for Jon Stewart and other comedians. It's all fun and games, of course until you're the one Googling how to add a filter on TikTok as Ferris Bueller puts it, life moves pretty fast.

And up next, what to know about that little pill being called a game changer in the fight against COVID-19.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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