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Government Shutdown Looming; Parents Charged with Torture; Iowa Town's Mixed Reviews; Senate Votes on CR. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 19, 2018 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:04] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news. The White House tells CNN that President Trump will stay in Washington instead of going to his resort in Mar-a-Lago until a spending bill is passed. The clock is ticking towards the midnight deadline.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer voted no on Thursday night on the House short-term bill. He joins us now.

Good morning, congressman.

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MARYLAND: Hi. How are you?

CAMEROTA: I'm well.

From where you stand today, is there any way that the government does not shut down at midnight tonight?

HOYER: Well, I think that's obviously up to the Senate. But it seems there are sufficient Senate Democrats, including Lindsey Graham, a Republican, who believes that it's top to stop kicking the can down the road. It's time to stop dissembling, failing to agree, being hardline. We have two parties. Both parties are necessary to pass legislation. There needs to be compromise. And the Republicans have refused now for 136 days to come to some sort of compromise and agreement on what the funding levels of government are going to be. This is after all the funding resolutions.

CAMEROTA: Yes, well, listen, congressman, Republicans say that it's you Democrats that are putting the fate of dreamers, taking presence ahead of everything else. You're putting it ahead of the military, that you're putting it ahead of the CHIP program, that you're putting it ahead of the opioid epidemic and that you guys are the ones who are dug in.

HOYER: That's bologna. Absolute bologna. We voted -- 183 of us voted in September for a 90-day -- 96-day, actually, time in which to reach agreement. Now, the principle thing, no matter what the Republicans say is, this is a funding bill. We need to reach an agreement on what the funding levels are going to be. We are asking for the same agreement that Paul Ryan made with Senator Murray four years ago to be continued. That's all we're asking, what Paul Ryan, who's now the speaker, agreed to. He has refused to negotiate on that. Now, when I say refused to negotiate, he's talked, but they have not

come to an agreement with us on that. And if they don't need us, if they just want to say, no, tough, we're going to go our way and your way is out the window, that's fine. And last night they cobbled together enough votes to pass a bill which, by the way, does not deal with opioids. It doesn't deal with disaster relief for Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It doesn't deal with community health centers. Yes, it deals with CHIP for children, but guess where they go? Many of them go to community health centers and it did not deal with that. It did not deal with other health extenders.

So, when I say it's bologna, it's bologna because it's a talking point for them.

But the fact of the matter is, they now want another 30 days to frankly do nothing. We don't know what the -- agreements they're going to reach. They haven't offered anything as a compromise. So, frankly, we said enough. Let's get to a deal. Let's get to agreement. Let's get -- move forward.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

HOYER: We don't -- we don't want to shut down the government. Nobody in America thinks Democrats want to shut down government. We're proponents of government services to our people.

CAMEROTA: Yes, but if you shut down government tonight, how do you get to a compromise tomorrow? What's the plan?

HOYER: Sit down and have the Republicans agree to a compromise. They have been --

CAMEROTA: So do that today.

HOYER: They've been unwilling -- they -- we can do it today. We can do it in the next hour. All Paul Ryan has to do is call up Leader Pelosi and McConnell call up Schumer and come to an agreement. Lindsey Graham is voting against this -- he's a Republican. A friend of the president's. Plays golf with the president -- because he says he's tired of this chaos, this failure to agree. And, frankly, Lindsey Graham is one who has shown himself ready to sit down and come to rational, reasonable, productive agreements.

Unfortunately, the president has not done that. Paul Ryan has not done that. Mitch McConnell has not done that. That's where we're where we are now.

CAMEROTA: So, congressman, how about this crazy idea. What if the president -- we just reported that he's not going to Mar-a-Lago for a big party that he had planned. He's going to stay in Washington. What if he calls you all over again to that room where we watched the televised bipartisan talk that you all had last week and today you all haggle it out?

HOYER: Very frankly, the president called us down to the White House a week ago Tuesday. We thought we had an agreement, all 24 of us sitting around the table, that we were going to take care of DACA, protected individuals and dreamers. The president said, does everybody agree? Yes. Guess who changed his mind 24 hours later? The president of the United States.

Lindsey Graham came down to the White House, said, look, we've reached agreement. We've worked hard. It's a give and take. We don't like some stuff. They don't like some stuff. And it was rejected out of hand.

[08:35:01] Now, Mr. McCarthy and I and the majority whip of the Senate, John Cornyn, and Dick Durbin and I are trying to see if we can move forward. But, frankly, we haven't moved forward yet.

So, yes, the president -- it's nice that he stays in Washington, but it's not where he physically is located that's the issue. It is that he, frankly, changes his mind from hour to hour as to what he's for. And it apparently depends upon which staffer talks to him at which time.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Steny Hoyer, we appreciate you coming on with us. We know you're going to have a very busy day. Obviously we'll be watching it very closely. Thanks for being here.

HOYER: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we have new details about what happened inside that house of horrors in California. The couple on your screen accused of torturing their own kids. We have a live report, next.

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CUOMO: All right, look, this is a terrible story, but we need to understand how this happened to this family in California and who might have known. These people, the Turpins, they are accused of just horrific acts against their own kids, 13 of them. Prosecutors say their kids were held captive, tortured. David and Louis Turpin, those are the parents, they're pleading not guilty to all charges.

[08:40:14] CNN's Stephanie Elam is live in Los Angeles with more.

You know that plea makes it much more likely that we learn a lot more through the prosecution if there is one of what happened.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And, you know, to answer part of that question as to why neighbors didn't see anything, we also learned that the entire family, all 15 people, Chris, slept during the day and were up during the night. So that was part of the reason they say people didn't know. Which goes along with what neighbors were saying to us, saying that they were very pale, that they never saw them during the day.

Take into mind -- take into account the fact that the 17-year-old girl that escaped through the window, she took one of her younger siblings with her, we understand now from the district attorney's office, and then turned -- that other sibling ran back, but she stayed on her plan. A plan that she had been working on with her siblings for two years to escape.

Get this, though. When police were talking to her, she didn't know what medicine was. When they talked to the other siblings, several didn't even know what a police officer was. The abuse so involved and getting more and more involved as they moved to California in 2010. So this is when the charges start for this family is when they moved to southern California, including tying up, padlocking children and keeping them there, not even allowing them to relieve themselves in the restroom. They have to do it there while they were in chains. They're saying they're suffering from cognitive impairment and nerve damage. And they were allowed to only take one shower a year with these beatings and the strangulations that they were dealing with.

We're told that the children are relieved and that they are also doing much better in the hospital. But, still, it's a long road ahead for all 13 of these children. Although, I can tell you, Alisyn, the reason why there's one less charge of torture is because they said the two- year-old, the youngest of the children, was actually being fed and was not getting the beatings like the other children.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. None of it makes any sense, Stephanie, and yet the human spirit of that one child to -- well, all of them to confer on how she was going to get out, it's just remarkable.

Stephanie, thank you very much for the update on this story.

So one year into the Trump presidency, a small Iowa town that helped elect President Trump is now recalculating.

CNN's Bill Weir explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Monticello, they still wind the clock tower by hand, and still mix politics into their coffee down at Darrell's.

WEIR (on camera): It is so great to sit at the table of knowledge in Monticello, Iowa.

WEIR (voice over): It's a tradition that goes back to Truman. But no president has ever tested the limits of Midwest politeness like number 45.

WEIR (on camera): So this county went for Obama and then swung over to Trump. Why?

MEL MANTEMACH, MONTICELLO, IOWA, RESIDENT: Trump pulled the wool over their eyes and they have most -- and his base has not recognized it yet.

WEIR: You think Virgil's been conned? You think Jerry's been bamboozled?

MANTEMACH: They're so engrained with the crotch-grabbing liar.

GERALD RETZLAFF, MONTICELLO, IOWA, RESIDENT: Trump wasn't my first choice either. However, he's doing a hell of a good job. And he's playing three-level chess versus everybody else playing checkers.

GARY FISHER, MONTICELLO, IOWA, RESIDENT: The ones that support him are either greedy or bigots or they just don't see it yet. If the vote were taken today, I think it would be different.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it wouldn't be for the Electoral College, he wouldn't have won.

WEIR: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (humming).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you sing, too?

RENEE ADAMS, HOG FARMER: We run 800 acres of corn and beans, and then we do bail some hay. Our kids actually buy their own 4-H animals. They do the chores for them.

WEIR: That will teach you, right?

ADAMS: That teaches you, yes. Yes.

WEIR (voice over): Out at the Adams farm --

WEIR (on camera): Did you all vote for President Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ADAMS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WEIR (voice over): And the family of Republicans show little voters' remorse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's doing a decent job. I think, you know, I think we need to give him a chance.

ADAMS: He went to the American Farm Bureau Federation meeting. You know, I haven't seen that from other presidents.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Throughout our history, farmers have always, always, always led the way.

WEIR (on camera): Those words played really well around here, but his actions could end up hurting these folks. His nominee for chief scientist at the Department of Agriculture wasn't a scientist and then got tangled in the Mueller investigation. He scrapped an Obama rule that would have protected small family farms against big corporate meat packers, and he is threatening to tear up the trade agreement that keeps a lot of these farms alive.

ADAMS: Now, with, NAFTA, that's another story. You know, that does scare us pretty bad.

WEIR: You guys would go bankrupt?

ADAMS: We would go bankrupt, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure he has a plan, you know, if he does pull out, I don't know what the plan is.

WEIR: Somebody was telling me this town needs to be called the Pittsburgh of the prairie because there are so many factories.

[08:45:05] CINDY BAGGE, PRESIDENT, OAK STREET MANUFACTURING: Yes.

WEIR (voice over): And there are worries at Oak Street Manufacturing, a mom and pop maker of restaurant furnishings.

BAGGE: We're hopeful as far as the tax reform. We're positive about that. We have grave concerns about his actions verbally.

WEIR (on camera): Like what?

BAGGE: Some of the -- some of the statements that he makes. There's just -- there's just a lot of disrespect for a large number of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a Republican, he was worried about his grandchildren paying the national debt. It doesn't seem to make a damn bit of difference anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll have to have another Obama come and clean it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then we can double our debt again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he got into the prosperity you're having now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Yes. We'll give him all the credit for the stock market going up, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you should, because he dug you out of the hole.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You bet. You betcha.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took eight years to do it, but (INAUDIBLE) --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get your head out of your butt, man.

WEIR (on camera): Is there a safe word when things get too heated?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's a good time to cut your rose bushes? WEIR: And that's the safe word?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You kind of do it one day real hard and I was worried. So I -- that's the safe word.

WEIR (voice over): So, one year into Trump, a state he won by almost ten points, is producing a bumper crop of worry, even among those who love him most.

Bill Weir, CNN, Monticello, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: The table of knowledge. A good story, as always, from Bill Weir.

The clock is ticking. We are literally counting down to when the government shuts down. Can Republicans who are in control get Democrats to work with them? Minnesota's newest senator, Tina smith, joins us next.

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[08:51:00]CAMEROTA: The Senate will be back in session in about two hours. Can they come up with the 60 votes needed by midnight to keep the government open.

Joining us now is Democratic Senator Tina Smith, who has been in office for two weeks.

Good morning, senator.

This is a fine welcome to Washington predicament for you.

SEN. TINA SMITH (D), MINNESOTA: Good morning. Yes. It's a beautiful morning, though.

CAMEROTA: I like your optimism.

How will -- how will you vote today?

SMITH: Well, you know, I can't vote for this so-called continuing resolution. And I am only a little more than two weeks into this job and I must admit I'm already a little bit frustrated. But I remember my high school civics lesson. And, you know, this is basically what the Democrats in the Senate are saying, which is that, you know, our great country cannot be run a month at a time. These short-term budget fixes don't really fix anything, and we need to get to the negotiating table and come to an agreement on issues that I think in most part we already have agreement on.

CAMEROTA: I understand. But how does shutting down the government help? Is it easier to get to the negotiating table if the government shuts down?

SMITH: Well, look, we have Republicans in charge of the House and the Senate and the White House. And if this happens, and I hope that it doesn't, it would be the first time that one party is in charge of everything and the government gets shut down.

But I think it's important to realize that the only person who seems to want a government shutdown is the president. He's the only one who's saying that he thinks that would be a good thing. And we just have to be better than that. We have to rise above that. And we have to get together and get this figured out.

And that's what the Democrats were saying last night on the Senate floor, let's negotiate and let's get this figured out.

CAMEROTA: Listen, if the government shuts down, I know that you're saying there's only one person who seems to want it. However, Democrats, this is not a risk-free endeavor and calculus for Democrats. In fact, new polling by Quinnipiac shows that Democrats would actually get the blame in Congress. I mean granted it's a very slim margin, 34 percent of Americans say they'd blame Democrats to 32 who say they'd blame Republicans. Twenty-one percent say they'd blame the president. But the point is, the blame would be spread around.

SMITH: When our Americans send us to Washington, D.C., they send us here to solve problems and get things done. And that's what we have to do. There is no reason that we can't come to an agreement.

When we have bipartisan agreement that we need to do something about the opioid crisis in this country, we need to do something about people who are here because they were brought here as young children, the DACA issue. We need to do something about national -- the problems we have with disaster relief all over the country. That's what we were sent here to solve. Those are the problems that we're supposed to be working on. And there's no reason why we can't get it done.

CAMEROTA: We just had Congressman Chris Stewart on, Republican, last hour. I know he's in the House. You're in the Senate. However, he said, Democrats -- if Democrats could just give them a couple more weeks, you guys could hammer out everything that you're talking about, but nothing can happen if it closes down tonight at midnight. I mean obviously you'll all keep talking. But just vote on this for the next month and then you can try to work on all of those things you're talking about. What do you think of that argument?

SMITH: Well, how many times have we heard, just one more month, just one more short-term budget fix and we'll be able to come together and we'll be able to get this figured out. I mean that's like the definition of insanity, to continue to do the same thing over and over again and hope for a different outcome.

What we've said last night is, if you agree, Republicans, to come to the table and, you know, let's work together on these issues that we agree on together, you know, let's take another three or four days if that's what it -- if that's what it's required to get it resolved.

CAMEROTA: Yes. And what did they say?

SMITH: They said no to that. But they have a big problem, right? They are in charge of the House and the Senate and apparently they don't have enough votes, even amongst their own party, to pass this short- term budget fix. So let's come together and get it figured out. That's what people sent us here in Washington to do.

[08:55:10] CAMEROTA: But when you say that, what does that mean? That you, Democrats in the Senate, are asking for an even shorter term extension of like four days to try to get it to the table, I mean, or are you going to be able to come to the table before midnight tonight?

SMITH: Well, listen, you know, I have worked at the state level. I've worked in city government. Local governments, businesses all over this country figure out how to come together and put together a budget. And I don't think we should expect anything less of the United States Congress. So I think it's completely doable because we agree these are bipartisan issues that we agree on.

CAMEROTA: I know. But, I mean, when you say it's completely doable, you mean in the next 15 hours and four minutes?

SMITH: Well, I think if we could agree to come to the table, then we -- if the Republicans could agree to sit down and negotiate with the Democrats, which is what they need to do, then I think that we could resolve this in a few days.

CAMEROTA: All right. Senator Tina Smith, we appreciate you being here. We will be watching with rapt attention how this all unfolds.

SMITH: Thank you. And I'm glad I still have my innate optimism.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Yes. Don't let them beat that out of you yet. Thank you. Thank you very much for being here.

SMITH: Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: Time for CNN "NEWSROOM" with Poppy Harlow and John Berman. They'll pick up after this break. Have a great weekend.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:00:11] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good Friday morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman.

So if the president is canceling a