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Democrats Take Control Of U.S. House Today; Government Shutdown Talks Hit Stalemate; U.S. Ambassador Visits American Detained In Moscow; China Lands Rover On Far Side Of The Moon. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired January 03, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:18] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A new era on Capitol Hill and a new reality for the president. Democrats taking over the House today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: We're asking the president to open up government.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's too important a subject to walk away from.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president and the Democrats dug in with no deal to end the government shutdown.
BRIGGS: A milestone in space exploration. Just hours ago, a spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon.
ROMANS: An unusual warning from Netflix. Don't do what Sandra Bullock does. You could get hurt.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Oh, I'm Dave Briggs, and I'm so disappointed in the human race this morning. Can we back to the ice bucket challenge where we were trying to raise money and awareness for ALS?
ROMANS: Now people just want a viral clip.
BRIGGS: Now it's Tide Pods and --
ROMANS: They just want a viral clip.
BRIGGS: -- and Marons and blindfolds.
Good morning, everybody. Day 13 of the shutdown.
This morning, single-party rule in Washington comes to a historic end as Democrats take over the House. It's expected they'll choose Nancy Pelosi as their leader, making her the first woman ever to reclaim the speaker's gavel. Democrats will hold a wide margin in the House -- 235 to Republicans'
199. But their ability to actually pass legislation will be hamstrung by the GOP's 6-vote margin in the Senate and, of course, President Trump's veto pen in the Oval Office.
ROMANS: Even so, the president faces a brand new reality which actually started yesterday. He sat down with Democratic leaders in the Situation Room. He wanted to talk border security, they redirected the conversation to their plan to end the government shutdown now entering its 13th day.
More on the shutdown in a moment.
Now for the latest on the new balance of power, let's go to Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Dave, Thursday marks a new era for Washington, for Congress -- frankly, even for the White House as well. Democrats will take the majority in the House. Divided government, here we come.
And it's not just the fact that policy-wise or even politically, we're not totally sure what's going to happen over the course of the next two years, although gridlock seems likely. It's also who is actually coming to Washington.
If you take a look at what occurred back in the 2018 elections -- back in November -- the class of freshmen that are coming to D.C. have said that they're going to change D.C. You have progressive firebrands like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, who made very clear that they don't agree that Congress business as usual is something that they subscribed to.
In all, you have 40 women who are coming to Capitol Hill. More women serving in Congress than ever have before. On another side of that, 20 new veterans are coming to Congress as well.
You have a new group of African-Americans, a new group of the first two Muslim members of Congress -- female members of Congress to ever serve. Native American members of Congress.
Diversity is probably one of the biggest stories of this class. Diversity is one of the biggest stories of the 116th Congress.
Of course, the big questions aren't just necessarily the makeup of Congress, although it's important that it now reflects far more in the country than they currently serve, it's what's actually going to happen. And, Democrats have made clear they want to do two things.
They want to move policies forward that they agree with -- that they subscribed to, even if the president does not -- and they've also made clear they want to investigation the president. They want to conduct oversight the president, though they say from leadership on down, that they can do both things at once. That's going to be something you're going to have to keep a close eye on.
The White House has made very clear -- the president calls it "presidential harassment" -- that they're going to be keen to fight them every single step of the way. Well, we'll just have to keep a close eye out -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: And, Phil Mattingly, we know you will -- thanks.
As we mentioned, at the top of the Democrats' agenda, proposing a way out of the government shutdown, a proposal which would just so happen to reduce the president's leverage to demand funding for a border wall. But with both sides entrenched, their sit-down in the Sit Room led to nothing.
For more on that, CNN's Kaitlin Collins at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Dave, Washington is essentially at a stalemate today now that that meeting between the president and congressional leaders yesterday ended in a deadlock with no progress being made in the government no closer to being reopened than it was 12 days ago when it first partially shut down.
Now, in this meeting, which was held in the Situation Room because White House officials wanted to communicate just how serious they think they're calling the crisis on the border truly is, there was also already a lot of drama happening in that room.
Now, we're told by sources that as soon as the Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen started giving her briefing to those lawmakers that Nancy Pelosi interrupted and said the Democrats wanted to lay out their plan to reopen the government.
That's when Chuck Schumer proposed having the Senate and the House pass these bipartisan six bills to keep those government agencies funded and then negotiate over the next 30 days what they want to do for DHS funding for the long haul. But that's an idea that the White House is opposed to.
A White House official said that they asked these Democrats if we do agree to do that -- have the president sign those bills -- will you come up on your requirement for funding for only $1.3 billion in border security funding. We want to make that number higher. Democrats didn't signal that they were open to doing so and essentially, we are back to square one here.
[05:35:16] Now, talks have been delayed until Friday when the White House says they've invited those same lawmakers to come back to the White House and continue those negotiations. And in the words of one White House official, they said prepare for this to be a long shutdown because this could go on for a while -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Dig in. Kaitlin Collins there.
After meeting with the president, Democratic leaders told reporters they believe they gave Mr. Trump a chance to take yes for an answer. He did not do so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I said, Mr. President, give me one good reason why you should continue your shutdown of these -- of the eight cabinet departments while we are debating our differences on homeland security. He could not give a good answer.
PELOSI: We're asking the president to open up government. We are giving him a Republican path to do that. Why would he not do it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Earlier in the day at a cabinet meeting, the president stood his ground on funding for his border wall. He says he will not compromise on keeping Americans safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Would you accept anything less than that $2.5 billion on border security?
TRUMP: Not $2.5 billion, no. We're asking for $5.6 billion. And, you know, somebody said $2.5 billion. No -- look, this is national security we're talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: All right. Live in our Washington bureau this morning, "Politico" congressional reporter Rachael Bade. She is a political analyst here at CNN.
ROMANS: Hi, Rachael.
BRIGGS: Good to see you, my friend.
RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, POLITICO: Good morning.
BRIGGS: All right. So, Nancy Pelosi, the new speaker, speaking with Savannah Guthrie on the "TODAY SHOW" about will they give any money for the wall -- listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, ANCHOR, NBC "TODAY SHOW": Are you willing to come up and give him some of this money for the wall --
PELOSI: No. GUTHRIE: -- because apparently, that's the sticking point?
PELOSI: No, nothing for the wall. We're talking about border security.
GUTHRIE: Nothing for the wall but that means it's a non-starter.
PELOSI: Well, we can go through a whole back-and-forth -- no. How many more times can we say no? Nothing for the wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: No, nothing for the wall.
BADE: Yes.
BRIGGS: We're on day 13. The longest shutdown ever is 21 days. It looks like the president might get the best and longest shutdown ever.
Show me the off-ramp here. What does compromise look like?
ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: I don't know that there's going to be a compromise here.
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: I mean, think about past shutdowns. The party that made the demand rarely got anything, including Democrats last time when they asked for protections for the Dreamers. They didn't get it and they end up folding and they end up looking like fools.
I do think yesterday was not only both sides digging in but, actually, there was a step backward and that is because that clip you just played where the president said $2.5 billion? Oh, somebody's saying $2.5 billion. No, no, no, no, no. We want $5 billion.
Well, that somebody was Mike Pence, the vice president, who was trying to strike a deal with the Democrats. And what that means is that Trump, once again, is giving Democratic leaders -- and Republican leaders, by the way -- a reason not to trust the words of these people that he's sending to negotiate for him.
And so, if anything, we saw them take steps back. No progress whatsoever and I think we're going to be here for at least another week, if not longer.
ROMANS: But then you hear from Lindsey Graham -- and we're going to play this clip for you in a second. But when you listen to Nancy Pelosi and then Lindsey Graham, there's no place in between here. I mean, Lindsey Graham says it's like existential for the president to hold his ground -- listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: If he gives in now, that's the end of 2019 in terms of him being an effective president. That's probably the end of his presidency.
Donald Trump has made a promise to the American people he's going to secure our border. That's the end of us if we give in on this issue as Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And the Fox music even makes it sound --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- more dramatic.
Is it as weak as that?
BADE: You know, Lindsey Graham was out there just saying a couple of days ago that he thinks there could be some sort of deal where Democrats do get protections for Dreamers. There's always been this thought that a wall for the president for protections for Dreamers would be like the quintessential deal that both sides could get behind. But, of course, the president rejected that --
ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: -- less than a year and said I'm not willing to negotiate because his base doesn't want to protect Dreamers.
But I do wonder if perhaps the president learns a lesson from this shutdown. If he's not going to get anything from this, maybe he realizes that taking the advice of these far-right leaders is not the way to go and that he should have taken that wall for DACA deal and perhaps they reopen those talks.
I'm skeptical right now. I mean, I think there's too much toxic energy going around right now in Washington, but possibly. We'll see.
BRIGGS: Lindsey Graham, though, in 2015, called Trump's immigration plan "gibberish, nonsensical, and it would kill the Republican Party." He is evolving --
ROMANS: That's true.
BRIGGS: -- shall we say.
So let's talk about once we get past this shutdown if -- what governing looks like under divided government and Nancy Pelosi's speakership. And there seems to be some respect from the president towards the new speaker -- listen.
[05:40:08] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: She works very hard and she's worked long and hard. I give her a great deal of credit for what she's done and what she's accomplished.
I like her. Can you believe it? I like Nancy Pelosi. I mean, she's tough and she's smart, but she deserves to be speaker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: In your article this morning, you have Mark Meadows saying that he respects Pelosi and considers here a worthy adversary.
I should point out, Nancy Pelosi said of the president, "He has a disrespect for the dignity and worth of a person." So that might color that relationship.
If they can work together what will it be on? What can they accomplish?
BADE: So both sides right now -- should they continue to have this sort of working relationship that they have now and should the shutdown not totally sour that relationship before it bears fruit -- they're looking at things like infrastructure -- a massive infrastructure package.
ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: Potentially, prescription drug prices -- trying to lower those. These are two areas that the president sort of steps out in line with his party. He actually sides with Democrats on these issues, and so they do want to work together.
But there is a very narrow window here and with the shutdown dragging out and Mueller's report due out in a couple of weeks -- who knows, a couple of months -- they really only have a few months to get something passed because once that Mueller report comes out, oversight is going to just kick into high gear if it doesn't before then.
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: And that's going to spoil any chance of bipartisanship between both sides.
ROMANS: Rachael, I want to show you this picture. You've probably seen it in "Vanity Fair." It's sort of this imposing picture of the new watchdogs.
BRIGGS: Yes, speaking of oversight.
ROMANS: And this is -- yes -- and this is -- these are the power players --
BADE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- in D.C. and these are the people who now the president must deal with in a very different way than he has before.
He had all the levers of power for the past two years. He does not anymore.
What's the risk, I guess, of overplaying the oversight hand, right, because the president says that they're just trying to attack him and the presidency? He could play that to his benefit heading into 2020.
BADE: Yes, he's calling it "presidential harassment." Expect to hear that phrase all day.
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: Democratic leaders are very conscious of this. They know that there is absolutely a risk of going too far. Republicans did that when President Obama was in the White House. And, Trump's base loves him and so, you know, going too far, there could be a backlash if they -- if they pick off too much.
And I think that there's going to be a storyline to follow this year between the Democratic leadership in the House and their eager chairman who, frankly, would want to request the president's tax returns today if it were up to them.
But again, this is something we're just going to continue to watch going forward.
ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: I think this month, the first storyline is going to be them bringing in Matt Whitaker. You saw Jerry Nadler --
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: -- threaten to subpoena Whitaker just yesterday. And they want to hear from him first to protect the Mueller investigation.
BRIGGS: Can you have oversight and compromise in this new year? That would be hard to imagine --
BADE: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- but it will be a fun time on Capitol Hill.
Rachael, good to see you -- thanks.
BADE: Good to see you, too.
ROMANS: All right, 42 minutes past the hour.
One country goes where no other has gone before. Next, the winner of the race to the far side of the moon.
BRIGGS: Plus, the brawl at the burger joint. You won't believe what caused this fast-food fight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:47:00] ROMANS: The State Department revealing that U.S. ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman visited Paul Whelan, the American detained in Moscow on espionage charges. Huntsman subsequently spoke with Whelan's family by phone.
Huntsman's visit represents a surprisingly swift escalation of the U.S. government efforts on Whelan's behalf.
Let's bring in CNN's Nathan Hodge. He is live in Moscow with the very latest.
And, you know, our defense and military folks are saying -- or State Department folks are saying this looks like it's a message to Putin about how serious the United States is about these charges.
NATHAN HODGE, CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Christine, it's certainly not an ordinary consular visit to have Ambassador Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, visiting Lefortovo prison where Paul Whelan has been detained -- being held by Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB.
What we know now is the FSB told us early this week that they had detained Whelan on suspicion of being involved in espionage, saying that they caught him in the act. But his family says that he was there simply on a personal visit. That he was there to attend a wedding in Moscow.
He's visited Russia in the past. He even maintains -- has friends in Russia that he keeps through social media accounts. He has an account on Vkontakte, a Russian version of Facebook if you will.
And his brother says that he was simply here on a personal visit. And here's what his brother, David Whelan, told CNN yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID WHELAN, BROTHER OF DETAINED AMERICAN PAUL WHELAN: I don't believe Paul's a spy. I don't believe that there are charges that would support him being a spy.
Paul has traveled a lot for personal reasons and for business and I think Russia was one of the many locations that he went to. He has friends that he's gathered over the years on social media and some of them are Russian, and so he's visited them while he's been in Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HODGE: Whelan's detention in Moscow has created intense speculation in Washington about what the Kremlin's real endgame is here, including people in the national security community who are wondering whether or not there is interest in a kind of a tit for tat with Russia -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, thank you so much for that in Moscow this morning for us.
BRIGGS: China has become the first nation on earth to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. State television announcing last night that the Chang'e 4 lunar mission landed a rover near the moon's South Pole.
For the latest, let's join Matt Rivers live in Beijing. Matt, good morning. MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave.
If you were looking for a new race then you might have one between the United States and China because this is, no question about it, a major accomplishment for China's space program. They are the first country on earth to successfully soft land a lunar rover on the far side of the moon -- the side of the moon that never actually faces earth. It's a difficult task but they have managed to pull it off.
They're going to conduct a number of experiments over the course of the mission -- everything from seeing which plants might be able to grow in certain specialized containers to exploring for resources in both the North and South Poles of the moon. So there's a long to-do list there for this lunar rover but China says it is up to the task.
[05:50:07] It's also going to listen to the sounds of deep space, which China says it can do better on the far side of the moon because there's not magnetic -- electromagnetic interference from earth.
Really, what all this amounts to, though, is scientific achievement for China and also a signal to the rest of the world that China wants to take a lead in exploring space -- not only the moon but Mars, moving forward -- Dave.
BRIGGS: A trade war and a space race at the same time. Good stuff, Matt Rivers -- thank you.
Meanwhile back here, a ban on plastic straws. Yes, plastic straws triggering a brawl at a McDonald's in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Take a look as an eyewitness says 40-year-old Daniel Taylor became irate when there were no straws available at the condiment station. So he grabbed employee Yasmine James by the apron. She was having none of it.
Yasmine was not hurt. Police arrested Taylor, who they say is homeless, on two charges of simple battery.
ROMANS: Wow, that's something -- plastic straws.
Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Markets around the world are lower after Apple's surprise warning on Chinese iPhone sales.
In Asia, you've got losses -- small losses there for Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. And then, European markets following suit. About one percent losses there in Paris and Germany.
For futures in the U.S. -- ouch -- another 1 1/2 percent decline at the open, at least, here. You know, stocks started 2019 with a bit of resiliency.
I mean, the Dow, it closed 19 points higher Wednesday, recovering from an early decline of 399 points. Now, that early decline was sparked by fears about just what we're talking about here -- China's slowing economy. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closed up slightly.
And then after the bell, Apple stock fell more than seven percent when the CEO, Tim Cook, gave a surprise iPhone sales warning saying that iPhone sales could take a big hit from China's slowdown. And a lot of folks on Wall Street are worried Apple will not be the only company that will be telling us that slowing demand from China is a problem.
All right. Chipotle has tweaked its menu to fit with trendy diet plans. The Mexican food chain has started offering lifestyle bowls, a new collection of meals that fit into Paleo, Keto, and Whole 30 diets. All three of the diets follow strict rules and are growing in popularity.
The move is part of Chipotle's reinvention as it works to recover from a series of health scares. Last year, Chipotle closed 2,000 locations to retrain staff on food safety.
Tesla slashing car prices in the U.S. by two grand to help offset a cut in a federal tax credit. Tesla triggered that tax credit phase- out over the summer when it became the first carmaker in the country to sell more than 200,000 plug-in vehicles.
Tesla reported strong production in sales for the completed fourth quarter. Total sales were up eight percent and Model 3 sales were even up more than that, 13 percent -- more than 63,000 vehicles.
Now, the price cut might be good news for Tesla buyers. It was not good news for investors. Tesla's stock fell eight percent on the news.
Tesla said it sold a total of 245,000 -- 240 cars in 2018, nearly as many cars as it sold every year before last year combined. There's worry, though. Going forward, will sales --
BRIGGS: He still wants to hit that $35,000 mark --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- right? That was the goal with that one.
OK, ahead, a basketball player takes a big hit and somehow shakes it off.
ROMANS: And why Netflix is telling people don't try this at home.
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[05:56:42] ROMANS: Daryl Dragon, the Captain of the 1970s music duo Captain & Tennille, has died. Dragon and his then-wife Toni Tennille had some big hits in the 70s, none bigger than the Grammy-winning song "Love Will Keep Us Together."
Dragon died Wednesday at a hospital in Arizona. Daryl Dragon was 76 years old.
BRIGGS: Actor and comedian Bob Einstein has died. The two-time Emmy winner had a recurring role as Marty Funkhouser on HBO's "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIAM" sparring with Larry David.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB EINSTEIN, ACTOR, HBO "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIAM": I'm an orphan.
LARRY DAVID, ACTOR, HBO "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIAM": Orphan?
EINSTEIN: Yes, an orphan.
DAVID: You look too old to be an orphan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Einstein was also known for his character, the hapless daredevil Super Dave Osborne.
He was 76 and had recently been diagnosed with cancer.
ROMANS: Legendary wrestling interviewer and announcer Mean Gene Okerlund has died. He held his own beside some of wrestling's biggest personalities like Hulk Hogan and the Iron Sheik and Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. He was 76 years old.
BRIGGS: Take a look at this epic block by North Central College hoop star Blaise Meredith. After racing the length of the court he elevates and hits his head right into the bottom of the backboard. It looked worse than it actually was.
Meredith did reject the layup attempt by Augustana's Chrishawn Orange. He shook off the cobwebs a few minutes later and return to the game. Shocking he was not concussed.
ROMANS: All right. Netflix is pleading with viewers to stop imitating Sandra Bullock in the hit movie "Bird Box."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA BULLOCK, ACTRESS, NETFLIX "BIRD BOX": If you hear something in the woods, you tell me. If you hear something in the water, you tell me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Bullock's blind box challenges in the movie's post- apocalyptic world have given rise to a real world Internet craze. Viewers blindfolding themselves hoping to go viral and then, of course, hurting themselves. There are videos all over the place of blindfolded people staggering through their homes, stumbling around outdoors.
Netflix released a warning that reads -- they say they can't believe they had to say this. "Please do not hurt yourselves with this bird box challenge." Dave, you say this some kind of an apocalyptic sign about the human race.
BRIGGS: Yes, we really are devolving as a human race, although 2018 included the Tide Pod challenge so you could argue this is progress?
ROMANS: Darwinian? I'm not sure. I mean, I don't know.
Thanks for joining us.
BRIGGS: We can do better, people.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: We can do better.
I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump is going to have, for the first time, somebody who says no to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a game changer having the subpoena power and the ability to investigate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a good sign for voters. It will get more women involved in the conversation.
TRUMP: It could be a long time or it could be quickly. This is national security we're talking about.
PELOSI: How many more times can we say no, nothing for the wall?
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: The Senate will not waste its time considering a Democratic bill which cannot pass this chamber and which the president will not sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, January third, 6:00 here in New York.
It's not just NEW DAY, it's a new day, it's a new year, it's a new Congress.
