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The Situation Room

Trump Says, Rudy Giuliani Has Tested Positive For Coronavirus; All Eyes On Georgia Ahead Of Tonight's Senate Runoff Debate; Trump, Obama Playing Key Roles In Georgia Senate Races; Stay-At-Home Orders Begin Tonight For Most Of California; Biden To Nominate Xavier Becerra For HHS Secretary; Interview With Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) About Biden Appointment For HHS Secretary; Georgia Senate Runoff Debate Between Candidates. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 06, 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 world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM.

In one hour, right at the top of the hour, two U.S. Senate candidates in Georgia will face off in a debate and the stakes will be enormous. It's a race with national implications as Democrats try to regain control of the U.S. Senate.

But also tonight, we're covering the coronavirus pandemic that is getting worse and worse by the day. Yesterday alone, the Johns Hopkins University reported 2,254 Americans lost their fight to the virus and more than 213,000 new infections were reported here in the United States.

Already in December, the U.S. has added more than 1 million new cases in just the first five days. And now President Trump says his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, has just tested positive for the coronavirus.

Let's go straight to the White House. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is on the scene for us. Jeremy, so far, we have this tweet from the president saying Giuliani tested positive. Tell our viewers what else you are hearing, what we're learning from sources in the administration.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it was just three hours ago that the president tweeted that Rudy Giuliani had indeed tested positive for the coronavirus and now a person familiar with the matter tells me that Giuliani was admitted to the hospital today here in Washington, D.C., at Georgetown University Hospital. That obviously suggests Mayor Giuliani's condition is fairly serious to require him to be admitted to the hospital. But we do not have further details on his condition as of yet.

Obviously, a significant development, Mayor Giuliani is 76 years old. That puts him in a higher risk category. We know that he is fond of his cigars, which certainly can't help in fighting an infectious disease that can attack the lungs. And, obviously, this comes after weeks, as you're seeing on your screen, of Mayor Giuliani disregarding public health guidelines, the basic public health guidelines that millions of Americans have learned to live with every day, including wearing a mask, social distancing. None of those are things you can see Giuliani is doing in this video from Atlanta where Mayor Giuliani was in the Georgia state capitol on Thursday.

During a break in the hearing, he was hugging folks. He was shaking hands, he was taking photos with folks close together without wearing any masks. And so, obviously, Wolf, you can -- folks can get coronavirus while taking precautions. But when you don't take precautions, when you engage in this reckless behavior, you obviously increase your risk for getting the virus and you also increase the risk that you can transmit the virus unknowingly, unwittingly to the people around you.

I mean, the contact tracing for this is going to be a mess given what you're seeing on your screen. Just three days ago, Mayor Giuliani in close contact with a number of folks outside of his usual orbit, outside of his household.

We know that Mayor Giuliani was in three states in the last week. He returned to Washington, D.C., on Friday. And this morning, we know that he appeared on a Fox News program, and yet we're learning later in the day, he was obviously admitted to the hospital suggesting his condition had significantly worsened, as we know can sometimes be the case with this virus, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it's a serious development indeed. As you point out, he's 76 years old and he has got some underlying health conditions. Jeremy, I know you're working with your sources. We're going to get back to you shortly.

But let's discuss what's going on -- hold on one moment, Jeremy, you've got some more information? Jeremy?

DIAMOND: That's it, Wolf. Just as I pointed out, Mayor Giuliani being admitted to the hospital today and suggesting that his condition has gotten more serious, but as of now, we don't have any additional details on his condition. But, presumably, the president decided to get ahead of this and tweet out that Mayor Giuliani had tested positive perhaps after learning that he was admitted to the hospital. Obviously, we don't know the time line as of yet and we're pressing our sources for more details.

BLITZER: And he's at Georgetown University Hospital here in the nation's capital right now. I know you're working with your sources, so stand by. We're going to get back to you.

I want to bring in Dr. Celine Gounder. She's on the advisory board of the Biden coronavirus transition team, and Dr. Ashish Jha, and the Dean of Brown University's School of Public Health.

Dr. Jha, as we've been noting, and you heard Rudy Giuliani, 76 years old, he's overweight, smokes a lot of cigars, he's been treated over the years with prostate cancer. Now, he's traveling around the country and there's all sorts of video of him shaking hands, hugging all sorts of people without masks. What's going on right now? What's the risk level as far as you can tell not only for Giuliani but for those who were in such close contact with him over the past few days?

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH (voice over): Yes. So, Wolf, thank you for having me on. First of all, obviously, we all wish Mayor Giuliani well and hope he turns this around recovers quickly.

[18:05:01]

There is obviously risk for him, as you suggested, he is in a high risk category. But beyond him, all the folks in close contact with him, have spent any meaningful amount of time with him, are at risk of contracting the infection. And this is going to be quite a challenge to identify who all those individuals and getting them to quarantine. That can be really, really important in the days ahead.

BLITZER (voice over): So, Dr. Gounder, what should all those people who were shaking hands with Giuliani, hugging Giuliani, going out and meeting so closely with him, what specifically do they need to do now to protect themselves and to potentially protect others?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, MEMBER, BIDEN TRANSITION CORONAVIRUS ADVISORY BOARD (voice over): Well, we actually have new guidance now on quarantines. So for people who have been exposed to somebody who is infectious, the CDC just released new guidance on how to quarantine. And so the advice would be stay home away from other people at least for the next seven days. At the end of seven days, if you test negative, you can exit your quarantine. If you don't get a test, you should wait ten days.

But that would be the advice I would give everybody who has been in contact with him over the last several days is, if you've been in contact with a former mayor, please go into quarantine yourself, and in seven days, get yourself tested.

BLITZER (voice over): We know that, Dr. Gounder, that when President Trump was admitted to Walter Reed, the medical center outside of Washington, D.C., in Bethesda, Maryland, he was given immediately this Regeneron monoclonal antibody cocktail, which seemed to have had a significant impact. Is that something you suspect Giuliani might be getting now under some sort of emergency treatment?

GOUNDER (voice over): It's certainly possible. The supply of the Regeneron monoclonal antibodies is quite limited. And so outside of clinical trials, the access is really not broadly there. So it really depends on whether somebody might be able to pull some strings for him perhaps on that but it's not guaranteed that he would have access to that.

BLITZER (on camera): Dr. Jha, what do you think he's going through right now over at Georgetown University Hospital here in Washington, D.C.? What are they doing right now? He was on television earlier this morning on Fox, then, all of a sudden, he tested positive. JHA (on camera): Yes. Wolf, this is a concerning timeline. Because, usually, when people test positive, they have a few days at home, they may not be feeling great before they're admitted. So the fact that he was admitted means he may have been feeling ill for some time. We don't know. And hard to speculate, but, obviously, it's a concerning development. And once people get hospitalized, it really does increase the likelihood that people are going to have bad outcomes. Again, we're all going to hope and wish that he turns around, but it is concerning.

BLITZER: Well, what kind of treatment do you think he should be getting? Do you think he should be getting this Regeneron monoclonal antibody cocktail, some other treatments that are out there as well?

JHA: There are two antibodies that are possible. There's the Lily one, the Regeneron. Governor Christi got the Lily antibodies. I certainly if those are possible, available, as Dr. Gounder said, those are in limited supply, that would be good. My sense is he's probably going to get Remdesivir, which is a treatment that we try to give early in the disease course. And then the only other therapy is Dexamethasone, which the president got. Well, that's really for people with more severe disease. We just don't know what's going on Mr. Giuliani right now.

BLITZER: And, Dr. Gounder, the fact that he is 76 years old, has some underlying health conditions, is overweight, those are serious ramifications as far as COVID-19 is concerned, right?

GOUNDER (on camera): Those all certainly predict worse disease. We really don't have a lot of information yet though. We don't know what his oxygen saturations were, whether he's requiring supplemental oxygen right now, what his chest X-ray or chest CT scan shows. So, those are all pieces of information in addition to the timeline that would really give us some sense of how sick he is and what medications might be indicated here.

BLITZER: Let's move on a little bit, Dr. Jha, because the numbers are clearly exploding in the United States right now, even though we're all very hopeful that the vaccines are going to be coming out very soon, will be safe and effective.

You look at the cases, more than 100,000 people -- more than 100,000 Americans are in hospitals right now being treated for COVID-19. Rudy Giuliani now is among that category. There are all sorts of new cases, almost 200,000 a day, 5 million in five days alone, and more than 2,000 Americans have died each day in recent days. It's getting worse and worse, isn't it?

JHA: It is. And we're starting in the last couple of days to see the effects of the Thanksgiving surge that we've all worried about. And I think this week, we're really going to see the full effect of that.

And the other thing that's starting to happen is hospitalizations are starting to increase more slowly, Wolf, because hospitals are getting full.

[18:10:05]

And it's just hard to find spaces for people. So that's actually another crisis situation. I'm very worried about what's going to happen over the next three to six weeks.

BLITZER: What also worries me, Dr. Gounder, and we got some video from last night, the president was down in Georgia, he was at a campaign rally. He spoke for about an hour-and-a-half. And I want to show you, there were hundreds, if not, thousands of people there, most of them were not wearing masks.

There really was no social distancing at all. And for some reason, the president of the United States, the organizers of this event, really didn't care much that these people potentially could be in the midst of some sort of super-spreader event.

Dr. Gounder, what did you think?

GOUNDER (voice over): Well, I think it's really surprising that these kinds of events are still being held. We know from previous such rallies over the course of the summer, when you looked at those counties where these rallies were held, that you did see an increase in cases following those rallies.

Unfortunately, being outside is not, by itself, enough. I really think about it as a minimum of two out of three, if not, three out of three of the following, which is wearing a mask, social distancing and ideally outdoors versus indoors. And so if you have a lot of people crowded together without masks, even if they're outside, that's still a very high-risk event.

BLITZER: And, Dr. Jha, you agree everyone in close contact over the past few days with Rudy Giuliani should now go into quarantine, right?

JHA: Absolutely. And part of will be sorting out the timeline for when he's been sick, but, absolutely, anybody who has been in contact over the last few days needs to be quarantined and probably needs to be tested at some point down the road.

BLITZER: Yes, they certainly should be in quarantine and they should be tested. All right, Dr. Gounder, Dr. Jha, thank you very, very much. We're going to stay on top of this story, much more coming up.

But there's other important news we're following in The Situation Room. Less than an hour from now, Georgia Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler debates her opponent Democratic opponent, Reverend Raphael Warnock live here on CNN. You'll see it live. They're battling for one of the state's two open Senate seats in a special election that could have a huge impact on the balance of power here in Washington, especially in the U.S. Senate and a huge impact on the incoming Biden presidency. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00] BLITZER: Right at the top of the hour, we're going to bring you a live debate here on CNN in a race where the stakes for the country are simply enormous. The Georgia Republican senator, Kelly Loeffler, will face her Democratic opponent, Reverend Raphael Warnock, as they battle for one of the state's two open Senate seats. If the Democrats flip both seats and shift the balance of power, it would be a huge win for the first two years of the Biden presidency.

Our Correspondent, Ryan Nobles, is joining us from Atlanta right now where they're gearing up for this debate. Ryan, so, set the scene for us. This is really critically important. What are we going to hear from these two candidates with very different views?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, Wolf. For the most part, this particular Senate runoff race and this particular race, in general, hasn't got as much attention as maybe some other political races across the country, that until the general election in November. And this became a runoff between just two candidates, Kelly Loeffler, the incumbent Republican senator, who hasn't been elected to that post but was appointed by the governor, Brian Kemp, and Democratic challenger, Reverend Raphael Warnock.

So, tonight will be the first opportunity for voters to get a good look at these two candidates in a forum where it is just the two of them one-on-one. They did debate during the general election but that was with a large range of candidates who are all involved in the general election process. This is the first time they have been head- to-head.

And we've seen both campaigns really hold their fire during the general election until they got to this stage where they would have a captive audience and give an opportunity for Georgians to get an assessment of both of these candidates in the race. So that will happen in a little less than an hour. You can watch the debate right here on CNN.

Now, this isn't the only runoff, Wolf. Of course, there are two runoffs happening in Georgia. One of the reasons the stakes are so high and Republicans need to win at least one of those seats if they plan on retaining the majority of the United States Senate.

And there was supposed to be another debate here tonight. But in that other race between David Perdue and Jon Ossoff, the Democratic challenger, Perdue being the Republican, Jon Ossoff chose to participate, David Perdue did not. So what Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Atlanta Press Club who is holding the debate did was put an empty lectern on stage and Jon Ossoff took questions from reporters for more than 30 minutes.

And he was very critical of David Perdue's decision to not participate in this debate tonight. In fact, he's been very critical of Perdue avoiding questions from reporters, in general. In fact, Perdue backed out of a debate at the late stages of the general election as well, this after a debate where there were many viral moments that Ossoff and his campaign took advantage of. And, Wolf, we should also point out that, in general, just as reporters and journalists have had a difficult time getting the Republicans, both Loeffler and Perdue, to answer our questions at all. My colleague, Kyung Lah, followed David Perdue around Georgia all this week, trying to get him to sit down with an interview for CNN and it just did not happen.

So, tonight, this is a key opportunity now for voters to see and measure up these candidates, Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock happening here on CNN at 7:00 P.M. And even if you don't live in Georgia, Wolf, this has nationwide implications, because, as we point out, this is part of what will determine which party controls the power in the United States Senate in the next Congress. Wolf?

BLITZER: Was Senator Perdue, Ryan, simply scared, afraid to debate Ossoff again, that he didn't think he was up to it? Was that what was going on right now, because it's pretty embarrassing for an incumbent senator to refuse to debate?

[18:20:03]

NOBLES: I mean, Wolf, you certainly have to ask that question, and the Perdue camp just did not give a specific reason for why. David Perdue was not going to participate in this debate tonight or the debate that he backed out of late in the general election. They just said that he chose not to participate.

And, in fact, I should point out that national Republicans put out, honestly, a laughable statement tonight where they accused Jon Ossoff of being in a forum where he wasn't asked any tough questions, as if somehow that this was staged just for Ossoff's benefit. That wasn't the case here tonight. He was forced to answer quite a few tough questions, but David Perdue was nowhere to be found.

So it seems somewhat puzzling that Republicans could suggest that when David Perdue did not even bother to show up. Wolf?

BLITZER: At stake in these two Senate races, as you know, Ryan, the fact whether Mitch McConnell will still be the Senate majority leader or Chuck Schumer, now the minority leader, will become the majority leader. Those stakes clearly are enormous. We'll watch this debate coming up. Ryan, don't go too far away. We're going to be getting back to you very soon.

The two Senate candidates in Georgia will soon face off in this critically important debate with huge national implications. We will have live coverage. You can watch it right here on CNN.

Meanwhile, President Trump was in Georgia campaigning for the Republicans last night, so will former President Obama hit the state next for the Democrats? I'll speak with former Obama Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00] BLITZER: We're following all the breaking news here in The Situation Room, including President Trump's attorney, the former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, currently hospitalized at Georgetown University Hospital here in Washington, D.C., with the coronavirus, all of this happening as we're seeing an awful surge of new cases and deaths here in the United States. We're covering all of that.

We're also covering other important information, including the incoming Biden administration. Will the president-elect be able to break through all the gridlock up on Capitol Hill? A lot will certainly depend on the two Senate run-off elections in Georgia on January 5th.

For an indication just how high the stakes are, just take a look at who is getting involved. Last night, President Trump rallied in Georgia. Meanwhile, former President Obama stars in an ad for one of the Democratic challengers.

The former senior adviser to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, is joining us right now. She's the author of the new book, Finding My Voice, My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward. Valerie, thanks so much for joining us.

As you know, the president-elect, Joe Biden, he's laid out some very robust policy goals. How much though will depend -- how much will those policies depend on Democrats winning these two Senate runoff seats and becoming the majority in the Senate? It's always better to be the majority in the Senate as opposed to being the minority.

VALERIE JARRETT, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, good evening, Wolf. I think this election is vitally important, and I would remind your viewership in Georgia, tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote. There are two tremendous candidates running on the Democratic ticket.

As you mentioned, President Obama is all in. He had a Get Out the Vote rally with them on Friday. He knows having experienced what happens when you are in control and when you are not that the president- elect's presidency, President-elect Biden's presidency, a lot of it hinges on this outcome of these two races.

And so it could not -- the stakes could not be any higher. Obviously, if we're not as successful in those races, President Biden will reach out and work with the Republicans wherever he can, but it will be a lot easier if we have the majority.

BLITZER: Yes, these two elections, these runoff elections, are so critical.

The former president, Obama, as you know, made a closing pitch in Georgia on the day before the presidential election. Now, he's doing virtual events now to try to help mobilize Democrats for these two runoffs. But will he be heading to Georgia once again to physically -- to go out there and campaign for these Democrats?

JARRETT: I don't have any news to break for you tonight, Wolf, but, as I said, this is a top priority for him, just watching this race closely. He's very supportive of the two Democrats who are running. And we'll see what happens in the days ahead.

BLITZER: A lot of us anticipate that maybe President-elect Biden will actually go to Georgia in the coming weeks and campaign for these Democrats as well. You wouldn't be surprised if he did, right?

JARRETT: I wouldn't be surprised but I certainly would love them to break their own news.

BLITZER: Let them break -- well, you're a diplomat. That's a good point. In the closing days of the 2020 race, as you know, a large part of President Obama's message was aimed at attacking President Trump. How has that message changed in Georgia now that President Trump actually lost Georgia? It's the first time a Democrat has won that state in a presidential contest for many, many years.

JARRETT: Well, I think it's important to send the message that the reason why President-elect Biden won the state is that he puts the interest of those in Georgia first. And he needs partners with him with whom he can work, because there are huge challenges that lie ahead. We're seeing it, and I appreciate, Wolf, you covering day after day after day, record deaths with the coronavirus. We know our economy is in shambles. We've lost millions of jobs.

We're waiting for Congress to take action to help those who are going to lose their benefits, small businesses that are struggling. We know that health care workers need more equipment. We know that we need to get our schools reopened. There is so much that we need Congress to step up to the plate and do.

[18:30:02]

And so it is important, and as I said, that President-elect Biden and his team have a Congress with whom they can work and the stakes could not be higher.

BLITZER: Yes. I assume he'll be down in Georgia at some point and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris probably as well.

All right, Valerie, thank you so much for joining us as usual.

JARRETT: You're welcome. Stay safe, Wolf.

BLITZER: You too.

We're keeping a very close eye on two stories this hour. First, two Senate races in Georgia could decide the direction of the U.S. Senate and the Biden presidency. Two of the candidates are facing off in under half an hour or so from now right at the top of the hour. We'll have live coverage here on CNN.

Plus, we're keeping an eye on the president's attorney currently hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus. We're talking about the former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He's at the hospital -- in the hospital right now in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, millions of people in California will be under new stay-at-home orders as the state sets more COVID-19 records. We'll have a live report when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:08]

BLITZER: Now to California where in just hours from now parts of the state, huge parts of the state, will go under new stay-at-home orders. The move will affect more than 33 million people, and it comes as hospitalizations and new cases in California are reaching an all-time high.

CNN's Paul Vercammen is on the ground in Los Angeles neighborhood of Sherman Oaks for us.

Paul, it's not just hospitalizations at record levels. The state is reporting the most single day cases ever today. What else can you tell us?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's just more despair, Wolf. 30,000 new cases in just one day here in California. And as you pointed out 10,600 hospitalizations. Just astounding numbers. And as these numbers have risen we are going into for 33 million Californians or so in just about six hours these new strict stay-at-home orders that forbid people from going to museums or hair salons, nail salons and the like. Many other businesses also mandating people wear masks.

Now, as a backdrop to all this, we've already seen in this patchwork of regulations in California, restaurants like this one, the Pineapple Saloon and Brill behind me closed down. The owner here went viral because she was just astounded by the fact that she couldn't reopen and that a movie set nearby was open for business. And we talked to her about the hardship of having to tell employees they don't have a job right before Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MARSDEN, OWNER, PINEAPPLE HILL SALOON AND GRILL: It's unbearable. I mean, you try to put on a good face. You try to say, don't worry, we're going to reopen. I'm going to make it happen. But to look at look at my staff, give them their last paycheck right before Christmas, and some of them are newer staff but have been shut down over and over, and their unemployment is running out, and they have kids and children. It's the most excruciating feeling.

SONNY ACEVES, EMPLOYEE, PINEAPPLE HILL SALOON AND GRILL: There's no option. There's no option for our entire industry. And it's not because we're trying to stay on unemployment and just, you know, sit on that. Mine is almost out and I have no idea -- I have no idea what I'm going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And members of the film and TV industry would like to point out, by the way, that they have extremely strict COVID-19 protocols including constant testing. They're following the rules. They were deemed an essential business and they celebrate the restaurants. They want them as well. They just don't want to see the film and TV industry sort of blamed for what happened here.

Reporting from Sherman Oaks, I'm Paul Vercammen. Back to you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Paul, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, it's debate night in Georgia for one of two key races that could decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. You'll be able to watch the debate right at the top of the hour right here on CNN.

And we're also following some other breaking news on who President- elect Biden has decided will become the next secretary of Health and Human Services. We have details. There you see him. When we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:42:54]

BLITZER: We're getting some breaking news right now in the Biden transition. The President-elect Joe Biden is poised to nominate new Health and Human Services secretary, a critical position as the incoming Biden administration prepares to fight the coronavirus pandemic which is getting worse and worse by the day.

CNN's Arlette Saenz has been covering the transition for us. She's joining us right now.

All right. Break the news for us, Arlette. Who has the president-elect picked?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, sources tell me and our colleague Jeff Zeleny that President-elect Joe Biden has landed on and is expected to nominate California attorney general Xavier Becerra to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Becerra is a former member of Congress, and he also has served as California's attorney general leading a lot of the legal efforts to try to protect the Affordable Care Act.

Becerra really emerged as a possible contender for this job just a few days ago. And he will inherit a very important task as Biden and his administration are trying to prepare their plans for tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Now Becerra's nomination, if he's confirmed, would also lend some more diversity to President-elect Biden's Cabinet. Thus far he has nominated four people of color and Becerra would now be the fifth once he makes that official. He is of Hispanic descent. And we have heard from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus just in the past week really pushing the Biden transition team to appoint more Latinos to his Cabinet.

And in fact Becerra had often been thought to be considered for the job of attorney general but Biden has decided to nominate him for that all-important DHS Cabinet position. Now Biden and his team have been crafting their plans for tackling the pandemic right after he won the general election. His team rolled out that coronavirus task force. We are expecting Biden to announce other members of his health team early this week.

One of those being Jeffrey Zients, who is expected to be the COVID coordinator for the White House.

[18:45:04]

So Biden, the president-elect, is really making it clear that he wants to make this pandemic a main focus of his -- early days of his administration and that includes nominating Becerra to be the HHS secretary.

BLITZER: And we're also hearing -- correct me if I'm wrong, Arlette -- Dr. Vivek Murthy, who is the surgeon general during the Obama administration, he's expected to come back and serve in the incoming Biden administration I think also as surgeon general, as a senior medical adviser to the president-elect. Is that right?

SAENZ: And Vivek Murthy has been advising Biden for quite a long time, going all the way back to the early days of this pandemic. And he is one of the leaders of Biden's Coronavirus Advisory Board right now, helping shape what their plans will be in the early days of the administration.

BLITZER: Yes. We know him well. A frequent guest here in THE SITUATION ROOM over these past many months.

Arlette, stand by. I'm going to get back to you soon.

Xavier Becerra was the first Latino on the House Ways and Means Committee when he served in the U.S. Congress. His nomination would certainly come after some, some Latino and black leaders have expressed initial disappointment in the president-elect's choices so far.

Let's discuss with a key member of the incoming Biden administration, Democratic Congressman Cedric Richmond of Louisiana. He's joining us. He's going to be a senior adviser to the new president, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us. So set the scene for us. Xavier Becerra, I assume you know him well. Secretary of Health and Human Services. I assume you welcome this nomination.

REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA), INCOMING SENIOR ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: Well, first, Wolf, let me just be completely honest with you. I can't confirm that it will be Xavier Becerra. I think everybody may be a little ahead of their skis, but I know Xavier Becerra. I know him to be a very smart, intelligent, thorough individual. I served with him. He's an honest person. And, you know, wherever he lands, whatever he does, he's going to be exceptional at it.

BLITZER: Yes, I know Xavier Becerra, too, when he was a congressman then the attorney general in California. Highly qualified, and as you well know a very, very nice guy as well. The president-elect is facing, as you know, Congressman, some pressure to ensure his picks reflect the diversity of our country. You've been advising on all of this. So what can you tell us?

RICHMOND: I can tell you this, look, the civil rights groups, all of the coalitions whether it's the Hispanic coalition, whether it's a coalition of women, whether it's our Asian American and Pacific Islander coalition, they are all pushing for a very diverse Cabinet and they want extreme numbers and they want to break records. And that's what they're supposed to do. And Joe Biden is supposed to do what he's supposed to do as president-elect.

And he's committed to, which is making sure he has the most diverse Cabinet in the history of the United States. And if you look at our appointments so far, he's living up to that, and I expect at the end of the day when we're finished our appointments all of those groups are going to be happy with our effort to meet those goals.

BLITZER: Yes. You're happy so far, is that right?

RICHMOND: I am. And look, I kind of probably know where we're going to end a little bit more than everybody else. But I will tell you with the vice president, he lives what he says. And so if you look at our campaign, our campaign was very diverse at the top in terms of African-Americans and other nationalities and ethnicities. And the administration and governing is going to be the exact same.

BLITZER: The president-elect has said he will ask Americans to wear masks for the first 100 days after he takes office. How does President-elect Biden communicate on health measures like masks, vaccines with so many, sadly, skeptics out there who may be reluctant? Clearly a lot of them don't want to wear masks, may even be reluctant to get a vaccine even if it's deemed safe and effective?

RICHMOND: Well, I think he's going to do it through, one, transparency and, two, he's going to lead by example. And unfortunately, Wolf, as we go through these holidays we're going to see more and more numbers of infections, we're going to see more deaths, unfortunately. And I think the president is going to rise to the moment, the president- elect that is, rise to the moment, to tell people exactly how we get through this, and we're going to get through this together.

So I think it's critically important to have a president that will be honest with the American people, show the American people the real facts and lead by example. And so that's what vaccination also. And we have Dr. Fauci that will be a big part of talking to the American people and then we'll have a president and a vice president that will lead by example.

BLITZER: If Dr. Fauci said to you, Congressman, it's safe and effective, get the vaccine, and the FDA approves it, I assume you'll do that. Is that right?

RICHMOND: Absolutely. I would and my family would. I think that this is important. Look, we've lost too many people to a pandemic that we really should had the opportunity to get out in front of. [18:50:03]

But let me tell you what else the vice president -- I know president- elect is worried about, the 12 million to 13 million people that are going to lose unemployment benefits at the end of this year. People are going to lose paid family leave. The eviction moratorium expiring, and people that may be out on the streets. He is very concerned about the American people and the effect that it's having on them healthwise and economically. So we will be laser focused on all things COVID and how to help this country bounce back from it.

BLITZER: Yes. So many, so many millions and millions of Americans, you correctly point out, they are suffering right now. Earlier today, Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia said that a proposal for another coronavirus economic stimulus package could come as early as this week, maybe even tomorrow.

You're still a member of the House of Representatives. What do you think? Is there going to be this $908 billion package that you would vote for, other Democrats and Republicans would vote for, and hopefully the president would sign it into law?

RICHMOND: Look, it is so needed in this country. State and local governments are in pain, families are in pain, and I just hope that the Senate can come together in a bipartisan manner and get something that can pass the Senate and the president can sign.

And look, in the House, we are very dug and we passed the HEROES Act months ago that would have provided relief for all American families but we ran into obstacles. So the Senate can do it in a bipartisan manner. We welcome them to the fight that we've been ready and Nancy Pelosi has led now for months. And so I just think that that is welcome news. But we're going to have to do more.

Whatever we do right now, we're going to have to do more in January to make sure that we invest in building back better in terms of, you know, making sure that the economy is bouncing back and families are bouncing back.

BLITZER: And you'll be in the new White House working on that issue, I assume, a lot.

As you know, Congressman, right at the top of the hour, in a few minutes, CNN will air a live debate for the Georgia Senate runoff featuring appointed incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and her opponent, Reverend Raphael Warnock. How much of President-elect Biden's agenda hinges potentially on Democrats capturing these two open Senate seats in Georgia because if the Democrats win these two seats, the Democrats will be the majority in the Senate. The Republicans will be in the majority. Mitch McConnell will be the minority leader, Chuck Schumer will be the majority leader.

RICHMOND: Well, look, I'll tell you this that if both Democratic candidates won, of course our life would be a little bit easier. But I would also tell you this, that nothing in Joe Biden or Kamala Harris' life has come easy to them. They've earned everything that they have and they've always done it with putting people first. So even if we don't win, I think that we're going to be able to accomplish a lot of our goals because of the hard work of both the president and vice president-elect because they know how to work across the aisles.

They're master legislators and they're going to govern with the people's interest first. So yes, it would be easier. But, look, nothing in our life has come easy. And we're preparing for life if it's not easy. But one thing we're going to do is fight like heck for the American people no matter who controls the United States Senate.

BLITZER: And congratulations to you, Congressman, on your new assignment, working in the incoming Biden White House. We'll stay obviously in very close touch with you as well. Appreciate you joining us very much. Thank you, stay safe out there.

RICHMOND: Thank you, Wolf.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're just minutes area now from a critical debate in a race for one of Georgia's two open Senate seats, Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler will face her Democratic challenger, the Reverend Raphael Warnock. We're going to bring that to you live right at the top of the hour. If the Democrats flip both seats and shift the balance of power in the Senate, it would have a huge win, a huge impact for the first two years of President-elect Biden's term in office.

Our national political reporter Maeve Reston is joining us. Our political correspondent Arlette Saenz is still with us. And CNN correspondent Ryan Nobles is joining us as well.

Ryan, you're just outside tonight's debate venue over there. So once again, set the scene, what can we expect?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, there's no doubt that this is a critical matchup between these two candidates here tonight. In part because it is the first time that we've seen these two candidates face to face in a forum throughout this entire election. Yes, Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock have been running against each other for more than a month. But during the general -- or I should say, more than a year. But during the general election, it was a crowded field of candidates.

Here in Georgia, a number of candidates are able to run during the general election and if one of those candidates doesn't reach the 50 percent threshold, it is then the two top candidates that go into this runoff race which we are now in the middle of which is going to take place on January 5th.

[18:55:07]

So as a result, we saw both campaigns hold back a little bit in their attacks on either candidate. Not necessarily bringing out all their opposition research, or really zeroing in on those big attacks on either side, waiting until we got until this stage of the race. And we expect the gloves to really come off tonight in this debate. We expect both Warnock to go after Loeffler and Loeffler to go after

Warnock as well. You know, coming out with some of these attacks that they believe will be key to Georgia voters.

And as you mentioned, Wolf, there's so much at stake here. We expect Kelly Loeffler to really build the case about the Republicans needing to hold on to the United States Senate to be the last bastion of power in Washington for Republicans given the fact that Democrats will eventually hold the White House and will still hold on to the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Raphael Warnock is expected to attack Kelly Loeffler's personal background and the fact that she had some very key and questionable stock trades that took place early on in the coronavirus pandemic which she and her personal wealth benefitted from in a big way.

So we expect a lot of attacks from both sides and the stakes as mentioned, Wolf, very big in this race here tonight. Now just for the voters here in Georgia, but for Americans across the country -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. The stakes for all of America, enormous right now.

Maeve, the GOP obviously is worried about President Trump's impact in this race. I want you to listen to the president at his Georgia rally last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you don't get out and vote, they're going to win. Now you know a lot of people -- friends of mine say, let's not vote. We're not going to vote because we're angry about the presidential election. And they're friends of mine. They're people that are great people. They're real friends. And more than just two. There are numerous people. And it's almost like a protest. But if you do that, the radical left wins. OK?

It was sort of an instinct of mine. You know, you're angry because so many votes were stolen. It was taken away. And you say, well, we're not going to do it. We can't do that. We have to actually do just the opposite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, Maeve, so how do voters make sense of what we just heard?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: I mean, it's really difficult, Wolf. And in that clip that you played, certainly President Trump got that message across last night and read the lines from the teleprompter that Loeffler and Perdue want to use in their ads. But just talking to GOP strategists in Georgia this weekend, they continue to be really worried about the way in which President Trump has attacked the system there as being fraudulent which we of course know is not true.

And in that moment at the rally last night when he brought them up on stage to speak for a minute about their agenda, the crowd interrupted saying stop the steal and fight for Trump. So that is clearly still where voters are and it's been very hard for Loeffler, for example, to get voters to focus on those message issues that she's trying to drive, for example, trying to create questions about what Reverend Warnock would do on police reform.

That's going to be something we're going to hear from her tonight. And so it's made a very complicated situation in Georgia and they're just going to try to keep hammering the message that control of the Senate is incredibly important to Republicans, you know, on issues from court packing and the Supreme Court to, you know, life -- prolife issues and we'll hear her talk about that tonight.

But also talking to strategists, they said the most important thing that she needs to do is really project authenticity and a sense of who she is. They say that, you know, in focus groups a lot of times voters have said that she comes off as too scripted and so that's something that I would be looking for in the debate coming up in just a few moments -- Wolf.

BLITZER: It's going to be lively, there's no doubt about that.

Arlette, and just to remind our viewers quickly how crucial these two Senate seats are for the president-elect and the vice president-elect, their agenda.

SAENZ: Well, President-elect Biden and his transition team are certainly watching these Georgia Senate runoffs very closely as it will determine what kind of Senate Biden will be dealing with when he takes office. And President Obama just a few days ago put it very bluntly saying that these runoffs will determine the course of Biden's presidency.

Over the course of the summer, Biden rolled out a number of bold items in his agenda, like immigration and tax reform and expanding and protecting the Affordable Care Act which could all be complicated if Republicans are holding on to the majority come January.

Biden has said that he anticipates Republicans will put up roadblocks to some of his agenda. But ultimately, Biden has also said that he thinks there are areas that he can work with Republicans on like infrastructure. But these Georgia Senate runoffs, a win there for the Democrats will certainly make Biden's path to getting his agenda accomplished much easier.

BLITZER: All right. Stand by.