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American Morning

Senator Harry Reid Comments on Jeffords Departure

Aired May 25, 2001 - 09:13   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, more on the defection of Senator Jim Jeffords -- his decision to leave the Republican Party still reverberating across Capital Hill this morning. And one of the men credited with helping convince Jeffords to leave the GPO, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. The Democratic senator joining us from Capitol Hill this morning.

Senator, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

SEN. HARRY REID (D), NEVADA: Good morning. My pleasure.

KAGAN: Hearing, through many sources today, that you and Tom Daschle can take much of the credit for this defection. Do you agree with that assessment?

REID: Well, I don't know anything about that. I know that Jim Jeffords -- I served with him in the House and the Senate and we've been friends. And certainly anything I did was based upon that friendship.

KAGAN: The senator saying yesterday that he's been thinking about this for several weeks. Can you share any of the conversations that you had with Senator Jeffords in recent weeks?

REID: No, I don't feel comfortable doing that. Those conversations were private in nature. I certainly have no problem about Senator Jeffords talking about them, but I don't feel comfortable talking about something that I felt was very private.

KAGAN: We just heard John King mention that we had Mary Matalin on with us earlier today. And going to listen to a sound bite from what she had to say and then we're going to come back and talk to you.

REID: OK.

KAGAN: So let's listen in...

REID: OK.

KAGAN: ... to what Mary Matalin had to say earlier today here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARY MATALIN, COUNSELOR TO VICE PRESIDENT: I don't know that the White House could have paid any more attention to Senator Jeffords. There was meetings around the clock with Senator Jeffords negotiating during the budget and tax fights and much was given to him or offered to him by way of supporting his causes, which he rejected. I mean he comes from a liberal state. He has ambitions in that state. I'm not making any suggestions other than there's more to this than -- I don't know how much more time you could spend with a person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The suggestion being there, I think Mary Matalin is responding to the idea that it wasn't so much the Democrats that lured Senator Jeffords to leave the Republican Party as much as it was the Republicans that kind of repelled him out of his own party.

REID: I think most of what Mary said is true. I don't think there's anything more the Republicans could have done. They offered him the kitchen sink and the sink being filled with all kinds of things. This was a matter of principle. You know back here in Washington, I think things are done on principle every day but it's not often you see someone like Jim Jeffords taking a giant leap of principle. This was a matter of principle with him. He felt the Republican Party was no longer a party that he could be comfortably fit in and he decided to leave.

KAGAN: Our Kate Snow is reporting that perhaps the Democrats aren't done reaching out -- that there's also reaching out efforts right now going out to Senator John McCain and Senator Lincoln Chafee. Can you comment on that for us, sir?

REID: No. We're going to go ahead and take this new member of our caucus, we're going to organize very soon and look forward to setting an agenda for this country and also reaching out to the president. The president needs us very badly. We very badly need him. It's time we stop talking about bipartisanship and actually did something that's bipartisan.

KAGAN: Senator Reid, much is made of the egos and grand ambitions that many people have in the Senate and yet you, yourself, made a big sacrifice. As I understand it, you would have been next in line to be chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee but you've given up that so that Senator Jeffords can have that.

REID: Well, I haven't given it up yet, and I have the opportunity to serve on that committee. Also be the chairman of the Energy and Water subcommittee on appropriations, chairman of the Ethics Committee. I'm going to wait and see how this organization takes place. Jim Jeffords is a good man. He would be a great chairman of this committee. I love my committee, but if he decides that he wants this, I think he would do an outstanding job.

KAGAN: Can you give us an idea of what the Senate's going to look like from now through June 5 and when this change actually takes place? Is this going to be a scurry of activity on the part of the Republicans, do you think, to get as much done possible, like the confirmation of Ted Olson, yesterday, as solicitor general?

REID: I think they're going to move. Of course you know we could have stopped the nomination of Ted Olson. We could have done that. You know there was 47 or 48 votes against him. We have tried -- and you know, during the time that President Bush has been president, he's had some successes because we've been willing to let him have those successes. We want to -- him to reciprocate now with us. We feel that the time is here, that we do not need to be run over, but we need to be talked to and worked with. And by doing that, I think we can do some really good things for the country.

The period before June 5 will be a period of reorganization. And I don't intend -- I don't expect the Republicans to try to do anything that's untoward. They'll work with us. They have to.

KAGAN: Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. Thank you, sir, for giving us your time, and have a safe and happy holiday weekend.

REID: Thank you very much.

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