Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI); Biden Receiving Classified Presidential Briefings; Moderna Says It Has Filed For FDA Authorization For Its COVID-19 Vaccine; Iran Vows Revenge For Assassinated Top Nuclear Scientists; Biden Taps Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen For Treasury Secretary. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 30, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Tonight, critical new steps forward for the Biden transition, the president-elect and the vice president-elect getting their first official daily intelligence briefings, which were delayed by President Trump's election denial.

Biden also unveiled a diverse economic team, with women in four top roles, as well as an all-female senior communications team, a first in White House history. As the new administration takes shape, Wisconsin just finalized Biden's victory there following a partial recount, only hours after Arizona certified Biden's win in that state.

Those are two more significant blows to President Trump's false claims of voter fraud and his refusal to concede defeat.

We're also following breaking news on the coronavirus crisis. The FDA has scheduled a meeting to discuss Moderna's application being filed today for emergency use authorization for its vaccine. And an Operation Warp Speed official now says 100 percent of Americans who want a vaccine will have gotten one by June.

Let's go to our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. he's covering the Biden transition in Wilmington, Delaware, for us.

Jeff, the president-elect is now getting the classified intel briefings he actually should have been receiving weeks ago.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, good evening. He is. And it's 51 days before president-elect Joe Biden takes office.

And he did get that presidential daily brief today for the first time in four years, since he served as vice president. Incidentally, that was something that was not on President Trump's schedule today. He also, of course, is entitled to get that PDB, as it's called, every day.

Wolf, all of this is coming as Mr. Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris also received her presidential daily briefing as well. Even as they shape out their economic team, they will be introduced here tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (voice-over): For the first time since winning the election, Joe Biden receiving the president's daily brief tonight, the one-of-a- kind collection of classified intelligence and security threats facing the U.S.

For Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris, who also received a briefing, it's the biggest milestone yet on their way to the White House. President Trump finally signed off on the move last week, despite repeatedly refusing to concede defeat.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're going to build an economy that leads the world.

ZELENY: It comes as Biden today continues filling out his Cabinet, surrounding himself with history-making picks.

Tonight, key members of the team charged with leading the nation's recovery, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who would be the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary, Cecilia Rouse, a Princeton economist and veteran of the Clinton and Obama administration, as the first woman of color to lead the Council of Economic Advisers, and Neera Tanden, the first woman of color and South Asian to run the Office of Management and Budget.

Biden also announcing his White House communications operation, and for the first time with women in each of the senior roles, Press Secretary Jen Psaki, communications director Kate Bedingfield, senior adviser and chief spokesperson for the vice president Symone Sanders. All are among the women leading the team.

Psaki, a veteran of the Obama administration, is already overseeing confirmation of Biden's nominees in the Senate, which for now is controlled by Republicans.

JEN PSAKI, BIDEN TRANSITION ADVISER: We don't need a fabricated crisis in the Senate. And I don't think that the American people are going to tolerate that if there's a refusal to move forward with qualified nominees.

ZELENY: One choice drawing early criticism from some progressives and conservatives is Tanden, who has run the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress. As a top aide to Hillary Clinton, she tangled with Bernie Sanders in 2016 and has blasted many Republicans.

The spokesman for Texas Senator John Cornyn saying: "Because of the disparaging comments about the Republican senators whose vote she will need, Tanden stands zero chance of being confirmed."

While there is only one president at a time, sharing the document known as the PDB with Biden underscores how Trump's time in power is drawing to a close. While hardly a stranger to classified briefings, today marked the first time Biden received one in nearly four years.

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: It could have something related to a recent terrorist threat or engagements with China or -- and Russia, maybe North Korea nuclear developments.

ZELENY: He received the briefing in his home outside Wilmington, where he spent the day out of sight, recovering from a weekend foot injury that aides say he received while playing with his dog Major.

His doctor says Biden will have a walking boot for several weeks to treat the hairline fracture.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:05:01]

ZELENY: Now, we will see the president-elect tomorrow in that walking boot as he introduces his economic team here in Wilmington.

But, Wolf, I'm told he is already focusing on other members of the Cabinet and other top advisers he has yet to name. CIA director, we're told, is one of the key positions he is looking at.

We're told tonight there are several of final contenders for that position, including Mike Morell, a former deputy acting director of the CIA, as well as David Cohen. Of course, he was a top official in the CIA and the Obama administration. Jeh Johnson, he was the homeland security secretary, as we know, in the Obama administration, Lisa Monaco, a senior adviser for counterterrorism under President Obama, and Sue Gordon, who was the principal deputy DNI director. That's the director of national intelligence.

So, those are some of the picks for CIA. Wolf, we're also getting a word there are three finalists for Pentagon, to lead the Pentagon at the Department of Defense. We're told that they are Michele Flournoy. She's a top Pentagon official from the Obama and Clinton administration of years gone by, also Jeh Johnson, as we just saw, and Lloyd Austin.

He's a retired four-star Army general who was the head of CENTCOM, the Central Command, under the Obama administration. He left in 2016, in private -- in the private sector right now.

So, those are just some of the names of the rest of the national security team that the president-elect is settling on. So, Wolf, by the end of this month, the end of December, which, of course, starts tomorrow, we're told most of these Cabinet picks will be announced.

BLITZER: Yes, very significant developments. Jeff, stand by. We're going to get back to you in just a moment.

I want to go to the White House right now. There are new blows to President Trump's brazenly false claims about the election.

Let's go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

Jim, Wisconsin, Arizona now delivering new shots of reality to a president who's in total denial.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.

President Trump is in a state of denial in his quest to overturn the election, though the states that matter, as you just said, Arizona has certified its results for president-elect Joe Biden. Wisconsin just finalized in the last hour or so its election results, also confirming a victory for Biden.

And election officials in Georgia, Republican election officials there, have rejected the bogus accusations floated by Mr. Trump and his legal team alleging fraud and the counting of ballots in that state. The outgoing president's hopes at this point to cling to power are fading fast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): With his time in office shrinking, President Trump is finding his dishonest attempt to hang on to the White House is running into a brick wall in the form of Republican election officials in places like Georgia who've had enough of the lies.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R), GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: There are those who are exploiting the emotions of many Trump supporters with fantastic claims, half-truths, misinformation, and, frankly, they are misleading the president as well, apparently.

ACOSTA: Georgia's GOP secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, and his top aides are all but pleading with Trump supporters to stop believing the false allegations of fraud coming from the president and his legal team.

GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA VOTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER: I can't even -- however many words I can use to say how crazy some of these things are. Nothing was shipped overseas. No votes were switched. We did a hand audit that proved no votes were switched.

ACOSTA: The president is trying to go over their heads, putting pressure on Georgia's Republican governor, tweeting: "Why won't Brian Kemp, the hapless governor of Georgia, use his emergency powers, which can be easily done, to overrule his obstinate secretary of state?

But Kemp's office said no, adding in a statement that: "Georgia's law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections. The secretary of state, who is an elected constitutional officer, has oversight over elections that cannot be overridden by executive order."

Another blow to Mr. Trump's quest, the hotly contested state of Arizona certified its results for president-elect Joe Biden, with that state's GOP governor looking on.

KATIE HOBBS, ARIZONA SECRETARY OF STATE: This election was conducted with transparency, accuracy and fairness, in accordance with Arizona's laws and elections procedures, despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary. ACOSTA: Even though he has no chance of overturning the 2020 results,

the president is still dumping disinformation on the public, with the help of Trump-friendly TV hosts.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This election was over. And then they did dumps. They call them dumps, big, massive dumps, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, and all over.

ACOSTA: But Mr. Trump's former director of cybersecurity, whose team helps safeguard the election, says the president simply cannot back up what he's saying.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS, FORMER DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: The proof is in the ballots. The recounts are consistent with the initial count. And, to me, that's further evidence, that's confirmation that the systems used in the 2020 election performed as expected.

ACOSTA: Some Republican lawmakers in Congress are hopeful the president can get over his loss and attend Biden's inauguration.

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): I hope the president is there on inaugural day, and continuing to work to see what we can do to have the president there and have Vice President Biden there, likely sworn in on that day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:10:05]

ACOSTA: And there is breaking news out of Wisconsin, as that state's governor, Tony Evers, has added the procedural step of now certifying the election results in that state, those results for the former Vice President Joe Biden, president-elect Joe Biden, to become the next president of the United States.

So that's just happening in the last several minutes. So we can add that to the list of states now finalizing these results for Joe Biden. And even as he's making these bogus claims about the election, the president still has plenty of enablers up on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, we should mention, was asked by reporters whether he considers Joe Biden to be the president-elect. McConnell did not answer those questions, even though, Wolf, that's a gimme. That's a softball question. Of course, Joe Biden is the president-elect. He will be president of the United States, no matter what they think up on Capitol Hill -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it's really, really, totally inappropriate for the Senate majority leader to accept reality.

Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

Let's bring back Jeff Zeleny, along with our political correspondent, Abby Phillip, and CNN political commentator Van Jones. Abby, so, the president yesterday was saying there are six states,

battleground states, that are up in the air right now, we don't know what's going on, we got to wait for them to determine officially what's going on.

Well, five of those states earlier, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, all officially certified that Biden won those states. And now out the governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, said Wisconsin officially certifies that Wisconsin was won by Biden.

Yet the president and his enablers, as Jim Acosta says, they refuse to accept reality.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Wolf, it's over. And, frankly, it's been over for some time now, at least a week-and-a-half at this point, when the results have been clear. It's been very clear that none of these legal challenges would work. And even listening to Roy Blunt saying over the weekend that likely Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20, it's not likely. Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20, because that's what the Constitution says will happen on that day.

So, the president is still holding on to this fantasy about legal challenges, about all kinds of conspiracy theories. But the reality is that the process is moving forward. It's moving forward at a normal pace. And, very soon, there will be no excuse, really, even for Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, to continue to hedge about the idea that Joe Biden is, in fact, the president-elect.

And they need to accept it, whether or not President Trump does.

BLITZER: Van, it's interesting, because Biden in the popular vote has won by more than six million votes over Trump and the Electoral College. What, it's 306 for Biden, 232 for the president. You need 270.

It's clear what's going on. Why won't they accept reality?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I have no idea.

But it's funny. While they're playing all these silly games, Biden is moving forward and doing stuff that I think should make every American proud. If you look at the people he's putting in positions, it's not just they're diverse and women, wherever. These are extraordinary people. These are people who have served in public life with distinction and honor.

They have got great ideas. They have got new proposals. They're getting down to work. And so it's really embarrassing to have this sort of old guard sitting around kind of being crybabies about something, while you have this whole new wave of people getting ready to serve America in such a powerful way.

So, the contrast, I mean, you could not -- if this were an ABC after- school special, you couldn't have more of a contrast between the pouty guy and the good sport who's moving forward, Joe Biden.

BLITZER: Jeff, you cover this transition for us. How are they reacting to this refusal by the president and these Republican leaders, including the Senate majority leader, to accept the fact that Biden will be the next president of the United States?

ZELENY: Wolf, they're simply moving forward. President-elect Joe Biden is simply making choices, filling out his Cabinet, and they're ignoring the silence that is coming in Washington.

Now, there's no question president-elect Joe Biden, when he was standing here in Wilmington giving his victory speech, talking about unity, talking about working across the aisle, he certainly would have hoped it would have been the Washington that he was used to, that he was familiar with, that he served in the Senate for so long, and then as vice president for eight years.

But he has gotten a good taste over the last month. And tomorrow will be weeks from Election Day. He's gotten a very good taste of the Washington he's walking into.

But, Wolf, as near as we can tell, he is keeping the temperature down, as he did throughout that sort of period of uncertainty when the GSA would not even ascertain him the winner. He didn't threaten legal action. He just went to work.

So, we're seeing them fill out their Cabinet and just simply ignoring the president. We do not see Joe Biden engaging with Donald Trump anymore.

[18:15:07]

So, I think that is something you will see as they go forward. They're instructed from the top down to focus on what they're doing on the transition, to not engage with the outgoing administration. And it is an outgoing administration. There are 51 days left until Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take office.

BLITZER: Abby, clearly, what the Biden team want to do is make the case that the outgoing president right now is the loser and is irrelevant.

PHILLIP: Yes, effectively.

And, as Jeff said, they have a big job to do, and they know that. This is not a time period where it's just about vanity and sort of -- it's not it's not entirely about just giving people positions. I mean, they have to get an actual government up and running.

And the Biden administration really does know that and is aware of that, and they have been working on that even before the ascertainment process was started. So, it's both about ignoring the president, knowing, I think, that President Trump thrives on attention.

And at the moment, he seems to be yelling into the wind, or at least yelling into this cable news, FOX News, Newsmax abyss. And I think the Biden's campaign strategy and thinking about this is that, if you don't give that oxygen, it's not going to overtake you. They know they have a government to put together, and that's what they're working to do.

BLITZER: But, Van, how much will this continued refusal by the president to accept reality do damage to American democracy, because there are millions of Americans who are going to believe him?

JONES: Well, that's the worst part about it. It's like having termites.

Every time he's out there saying, I won, it's rigged, I won, it's rigged, I won, it's like you don't know how much damage is being done, how many people are thinking to themselves, I'm going to be governed by a socialist who stole the election, and therefore I'm not going to go along.

And you don't know until the floorboards break how bad the termite damage has been. And so we just don't know. What we do know for sure is that you have Republican officials who are certifying these elections. You have courts sometimes appointed with Republican- appointed judges, who I'm sure would love to be able to continue a Republican in the White House, and they're the ones who are certifying these elections and moving forward.

BLITZER: All right, Van, thank you. Abby, thanks. Jeff, guys, thanks to all of you.

Just ahead, will all Americans get relief from COVID-19 by summer? We're going to break down a new vaccination timetable that's just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:22:00]

BLITZER: This hour, we're learning more about president-elect Biden's potential choice to be the next CIA director, sources indicating that the agency's former acting Director Mike Morell remains the front- runner, but there are other candidates still very much in the mix.

We're joined now by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a member of the Homeland Security and Armed Services Committee.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. You also, before you joined Congress, became a member of Congress, you were a CIA analyst. What do you hope that the president-elect is weighing as he considers these various contenders to leave the CIA?

REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Yes, well, I think the intelligence community has really taken a beating over the past four years.

And so while we need someone who's hypercompetent and understands the role of speaking truth to power, we also need someone who's going to help the work force recover, who's going to say to the work force, we appreciate your work, and we want you to excel, and we're going to represent you in the Oval Office when we're with the president.

I think we're going to need some morale boosts for whoever it is who is picked as the director of the CIA.

BLITZER: And I got to ask you this question, Congresswoman, because your name has been mentioned as a possible contender for this or other positions.

Have you had any serious discussions with the Biden team about perhaps joining the incoming administration?

SLOTKIN: Yes, I know this is a favorite parlor game in Washington. And while it's always an honor to be -- have my name in the paper with lots of great folks, no one has asked me to be anything other than the representative of Michigan's Eighth District, which I love, so no.

BLITZER: And there's nothing wrong with being a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I got to tell you, as someone who's covered Washington for a long time.

As you know, the president-elect announced his economic team today, at least major members of his economic team, following the announcement of his all-female senior communications team in the incoming White House.

What do you make of these choices?

SLOTKIN: Well, I think I mean, honestly, he just brought in qualified people.

I think it's an interesting thing that it's an all-female team representing him and -- to the press, but it's also the most qualified team.

And then, on the economic side, what really gave me a sort of a good feeling was, these are folks who have experience from the last recession. They understood what worked, what didn't work, from stimulating the economy. And we need that now more than ever, because what people are asking me about is COVID relief.

That's what my constituents are calling every day, wanting to know when we're going to get to get a deal. And we need one desperately.

BLITZER: Well, what's the problem? I mean, it's -- people are waiting in lines for food. People are suffering right now. There should have been a deal weeks and weeks ago, and there wasn't a deal.

Who's responsible for this failure?

SLOTKIN: Well, listen, I think that there's blame to go around.

We were working on a negotiation in September and into October, and I had high hopes for that. But I think the election and the politics around the election and other things just got in the middle of it.

And I feel strongly. And when I talk to my peers, my Democratic peers, my Republican peers, we should not be going home for Christmas without a COVID deal, right? If the rest of the country is going to be so worried and so concerned and so just on edge about what's going to happen to their small business, unemployment, we shouldn't be going home and enjoying Christmas with our families until and unless we get a deal.

[18:25:17]

BLITZER: Yes, I think you're absolutely right, because this is so critical right now.

Do you think the fact that there was no deal in the last few weeks before the election hurt your fellow Democratic representatives, who wound up losing? You guys lost House seats, Democrats in the House of Representatives, people like Donna Shalala in Miami, Debbie Mucarsel- Powell, Max Rose in New York, people who really were desperately anxious for a deal?

Do you think the fact that Nancy Pelosi couldn't come up with an agreement with Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, and the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, that hurt your fellow Democrats in losing all these seats in the House?

SLOTKIN: Well, listen, I think, like I said, there's blame to go around.

And everyone should have locked themselves in a negotiating room until they got a deal. And I think, frankly, bigger than any one election, I think we really need to acknowledge that people are looking to see that their government can get something done, right?

That's Democrats, Republicans. They want to look to Washington and say, we're in the middle of a pandemic. Get something done. Get something done on the table. We did that in the spring. And I expect the same of my own leadership, of leadership in the Senate, and in the White House between now and Christmas.

BLITZER: Yes, pass a deal. Get the money out to the people who need it. They are desperate right now.

Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck.

SLOTKIN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Just ahead, there's breaking news on when you may be able to get a coronavirus vaccine, if -- if you want one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: There are lots of breaking news we're following this hour on the coronavirus pandemic, including major news on the vaccine front.

Let's go to CNN's Nick Watt. Nick, tell our viewers what you're learning.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some very, very good vaccine news, Wolf. Moderna has now submitted its potential vaccine to the FDA for emergency use authorization. And they're going to have a committee meet December 17th to discuss that application.

Also, we heard from an official with Operation Warp Speed, that's the federal vaccine program, and he says that by June, 100 percent of Americans that want a vaccine will have had the vaccine. That is by June. But let's see how many people actually want it. That's a whole other story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice over): Moderna's potential vaccine is, they say, 100 percent effective at preventing severe cases of COVID-19.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It will allow us to go back to basically a normal life. And that is really what we want this vaccine to do. We want it to prevent people from dying.

WATT: Today, that vaccine became the second submitted for FDA authorization. Next week, an FDA committee meets to assess Pfizer's offering. Does it work? Is it safe?

ALEX AZAR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: We could be looking at approval within days after that. Moderna is basically one week behind that. We could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people's arms before Christmas.

WATT: But a sign of our still very strange times, the Denver Broncos just played a wide receiver at quarterback. One regular Q.B. has COVID, three more in quarantine, all NFL practice suspended today and tomorrow.

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: We are nearing almost 200,000 infections a day. I expect we're going to cross that at some point soon.

WATT: Soon, maybe fueled by Thanksgiving, Sunday was the busiest air travel day since the pandemic began.

JHA: We won't really know the impact of that for at least another five to seven days, because that is just the dynamics of this virus.

WATT: So many people now tired, bored, sick of this.

MELISSA CHEN, STUDENT: Expecting people to stay at home for 14 days is quite excessive. I mean, understand the logic behind it.

WATT: Here is the logic, 15 members of this one Texan family all sick after one birthday party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, I'm in the hospital. I can't see my family.

WATT: More than 93,000 Americans in that same boat in the hospital, the highest that number has ever been. In November, alone, 4.25 million Americans were infected. That's equivalent to the entire populations of Montana, Vermont, Wyoming and New Mexico put together. 42 states are now above a key threshold. More than 5 percent of tests are coming back positive. This is what exponential spread of an uncontrolled virus looks like, the U.S. average daily death toll now approaching 1,500.

WILLIAM HASELTINE, CHAIR AND PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: We are in it and we're not at the end of it. I think by the end of this wave, we'll have many more Americans die than died in World War II.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (on camera): Now here in Los Angeles County today, they closed the playgrounds and told all of us to stay home as much as possible and we just heard from the governor of California. He says he is now considering some drastic measures, including perhaps a larger stay at home order. Why? Well, some projections show that California, if we carry on as we are, California might run out of ICU beds, Wolf, by Christmas Eve.

[18:35:06]

Back to you.

BLITZER: So heart breaking. All right, Nick Watt reporting for us from L.A., thanks, Nick.

Joining us now Dr. Richard Besser, the former acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Besser, thank you so much for joining us.

Let me get your reaction to these Moderna vaccine developments. These are major, very encouraging developments. The company now saying it has submitted its formal request for what is called emergency use authorization and we've also just learned the FDA has scheduled a meeting for December 17th to discuss that application. What do these developments mean for Americans who are obviously so eager to get vaccinated against this deadly virus?

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: Yes, Wolf. You know, the country is really divided on that. There are those of us who are eager to get vaccinated with a safe and effective vaccine as soon as it is approved. And then there are large portions of society that are skeptical, that are worried.

The next couple of weeks when these meetings are held, the meetings of the FDA and their advisory committee, are critically important in terms of trust. And without trust we could have effective vaccines which large portions of the population don't want to get, and that would be a tragedy.

What I'm going to be looking at here is transparency. Is the FDA sharing the data so that we can look at it and feel as comfortable, as the companies do, that these vaccines are safe and effective? And is the advisory committee, which I trust greatly, are they allowed to do their work? Do they feel comfortable that the vaccine is safe, effective and can be managed -- manufactured at a scale in a way that is safe? That is really important in terms of what I'm going to recommend to my patients.

BLITZER: A few practical questions that our viewers are asking. There's going to be two, maybe three safe and effective vaccines eventually approved by the FDA. Will Americans be able to choose which ones they get?

BESSER: I think that it is probably not likely early on. Later on it may be the case. As a pediatrician, when I vaccinate a child against whooping cough, there are many different products that I have to choose from. Most patients have -- don't have an idea and don't have a preference.

Here, it may turn out that some of the vaccines have different characteristics. So, if you look at the flu vaccines that are given every year, there's a higher dose vaccine that's better for elderly adults. So that's given the other vaccines that are preferred for younger children. That may end up being the case here with one of these vaccines but we'll have to see how that plays out and what the advisory committee to the CDC ends up recommending in terms of who gets what vaccine.

BLITZER: Yes. Even if you have a little side effect of a sore arm, let say, that is a lot better than getting COVID-19. Dr. Besser, thanks for everything you're doing, thanks so much for joining us.

BESSER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, Iran is vowing to retaliate for the assassination of their chief nuclear scientist. We have new information coming in.

Plus, we'll take a closer look at President-elect Biden's pick to lead the treasury department as the U.S. economy reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: We're following dramatic new details in the assassination of Iran's chief nuclear scientist. Iranian officials say he was shot by a remote-controlled machine gun operating from a car that later exploded. And during an elaborate military funeral today, Iran's supreme leader ordered officials to identify and punish those responsible.

Want to discuss with the former House Intelligence Committee Chairman and CNN National Security Commentator Mike Rogers. He's going to join us. He's got new information for us. We'll discuss right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:01] BLITZER: We're back with dramatic new information on the assassination of Iran's chief nuclear scientist.

The former House Intelligence Committee chairman and CNN national security commentator, Mike Rogers, is joining us.

Mike, thanks so much for joining us.

Do you expect first of all Iran to retaliate for this assassination or possibly hold off knowing they'll soon be dealing with a new Biden administration?

MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: I'm going to guess there is at least operations under way where they're planning some kind of retaliatory effort because it was so public I think they're going to --

BLITZER: You think they will do something along those lines.

About two years ago, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned this Iranian nuclear scientist by name. Watch this, Mike. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: A key part of the plan was to form new organizations to continue the work. This is how Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of Project Amad, put it, remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, Israel isn't publicly taking responsibility. They're really not commenting on this assassination. But clearly, this man was on their radar, right?

ROGERS: Oh, clearly. It is really important to remember everybody is pointing exactly at Israel but there are Arab League partners also very concerned about this scientist so, you know, I'm (AUDIO GAP) exactly who did it. There's other players in the Middle East right now that believe Iran getting a nuclear weapon is an existential threat and therefore, you know, they're going to be pretty aggressive. So, there's lots of suspects that could be responsible for this, Wolf.

BLITZER: So, are you suggesting you don't believe it's necessarily Israel? Because everybody seems to have concluded that it was Israel.

ROGERS: Well, I mean, clearly, Israel has the capability and they certainly have proven in the past that they will take this type of kinetic exercises and use that kind of technique if they believe that it prevents what they believe is an existential threat to the state of Israel.

[18:50:09]

BLITZER: Where do you think, Mike, where does this where does this leave President-elect Biden's plan? Because he wanted to rejoin, re- establish the Iran nuclear deal, which President Trump ripped up.

ROGERS: Yeah, listen, I think the Middle East that President-elect Biden will inherit on January 20th is very different than it was four years ago. So think about what's happened in a short period of time. So I think it would be a mistake for them thinking we're just going to go back four years and we're going to take -- start where we left off.

The playing field has changed. The pieces on the board have changed. So you have five countries now recognizing Israel's right to exist and two of those were just added this year. That's pretty substantial. That's different.

Our Arab League partners didn't like the Iran deal. Now they have a good relationship with the Trump administration. I would not -- I would not run into this let's rewind the tape for four years. I'm hoping they use this as an opportunity to re-engage Iran. And even they believe that there are some problems with the Iran deal.

This is their chance to I think kind of make clear where they thought mistakes were made and that they can fix and then continue to build on the success of Arab nations recognizing Israel's right to exist.

I think they could build on both of those relationships. But again, it's really been kind of a frustrating thing for me watching every administration, Republican to Democrat, Democrat to Republican, say, well, whatever the other folks did in foreign policy, we're going to just turn it off. I think that's a mistake.

I think they need to find the things they can agree with, find the things that they can build on and re-engage that part of the world in a way that just hasn't been done before. And I think they could be successful if they take that tack.

BLITZER: It's a sensitive moment indeed. We'll see what happens. Mike Rogers, thank you so much for joining us.

Meanwhile, President-elect Biden is set to make Janet Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, the first woman to lead the U.S. Treasury Department. If confirmed, she'll face a monumental challenge as the U.S. tries to recover from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

CNN's Tom Foreman is taking a look into her long career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANET YELLEN, FORMER FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: I can say emphatically that partisan politics plays no role in our decisions about the appropriate stance of monetary policy.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hard-nosed, clear-eyed, Janet Yellen's nomination has triggered a flurry of praise from the right for her intellect, foresight and independence and from the left where she is called smart, tough and principled.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: She doesn't have a crystal ball but what she does have is a keen understanding of how markets and the economy work.

FOREMAN: Her resume, which includes Brown, Yale, Harvard and the London school of economics, spurred President Obama to put her in charge of the Federal Reserve in 2014, keeping watch on the nation's banks, promoting economic stability.

YELLEN: I'm honored and humbled by the faith that you've placed in me.

FOREMAN: By the time her four-year term came to a close, however, Donald Trump was in office. He once said Yellen should be ashamed of her work and has openly criticized the Fed ever since.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Federal Reserve raised the rates too fast and too soon.

FOREMAN: Yellen never blinked.

YELLEN: Obviously the president has a right to comment on the Fed, but I would worry that if it continues or intensifies that it could undermine confidence in the Fed and the market's confidence in the Fed's judgment.

FOREMAN: Since the 1700s, when Alexander Hamilton served as the first treasury secretary, they've all been male, including Trump's man Steve Muchin, who has a deep pedigree and business and has staunchly refused to hand over the president's tax returns.

STEVEN MNUCHIN, TREASURY SECRETARY: I've had no conversations ever with the president or anyone in the White House about delivering the president's tax returns to Congress.

FOREMAN: Yellen by comparison is known for her balanced approach to business and consumer concerns, for imposing stiff sanctions on Wells Fargo over widespread consumer abuses.

And her take on the pandemic economy was clear even last spring.

YELLEN: We're going to be looking at a decline in GDP of the least 30 percent, and I've seen far higher numbers. So, this is a huge, unprecedented, devastating hit, and my hope is that we will get back to business as usual as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): Appreciation for the suffering of regular folks, respect for the needs of business, right now, those are the twin engines fueling this rare show of agreement in this deeply divided town -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Tom Foreman reporting for us. Thank you very much.

[18:55:00]

More news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Finally, tonight, we honor some of the men and women we have lost in the coronavirus pandemic.

Roberta Davis of Georgia was 50 years old. Her sister says she was the heart of their family including a daughter and five grandchildren. She had just started baking themed cakes and had many, many orders coming in before she became ill.

Pavel Beker of Florida was 86. Born in Yugoslavia, he moved to the United States with his wife and daughter more than 50 years ago. His grandson says he was a tailor who became a successful business owner once he arrived here in America.

May they rest in peace, and may their memories be a blessing.

Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.

[19:00:00]