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Biden Calls Vaccine Rollout a Dismal Failure So Far; Senate Approves Waiver for Biden's Defense Secretary Nominee; Prosecutors Charge At Least 120 Defendants for Role in Capitol Attack; Interview With Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Aired 6-7p ET
Aired January 21, 2021 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:17]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
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.
We're following breaking news on what President Biden is calling a wartime response to COVID-19 on this, his first full day in office. He just signed new executive orders, including new mask mandates and quarantines for international travelers.
And he warned that the vaccine rollout on President Trump's watch, in his words, has been dismal.
Over at the White House, at a briefing just a little while ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci compared the pandemic strategy of the past and incoming administrations. He stressed that members of the Biden team are sticking to science and won't guess if they don't know the answer.
This as the COVID death toll here in the United States climbs above 409,000 and total cases near 25 million, exactly, exactly one year after the first infection was confirmed in this country.
Let's start our coverage this hour with our senior White House correspondent, Phil Mattingly.
And, Phil, the new administration is putting the pandemic clearly front and center. This is priority number one, with so many thousands of Americans dying every single day. We heard from President Biden. We heard from Dr. Fauci. We heard from the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki. Update our viewers.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This time is different.
If there is one way to frame what the White House from the top down is trying to make sure they convey to the American people, it's that there is a new administration in charge, there is a new focus on the pandemic and on the issue that has ravaged the country for more than a year. Whether it's on tangible executive action or just symbolic messaging, there is a singular focus. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me be very clear. Things are going to continue to get worse before they get better.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): On President Joe Biden's first full day in office, a singular focus, the fight against the pandemic.
BIDEN: We will get through this. We will defeat this pandemic.
MATTINGLY: The Biden administration unveiled a raft of executive actions designed to centralize the federal response and bolster its effectiveness.
BIDEN: To a nation waiting for action let me be the clearest on this point. Help is on the way.
MATTINGLY: One that includes new uses of the Defense Production Act to surge supplies, development of advanced therapeutics, data collection and the establishment of a pandemic testing board, as well as new actions to extend masking requirements during interstate travel on trains, planes, and buses, and a key symbolic focus, reestablishing trust in the federal government.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what the evidence, what the science is, and know that's it, let the science speak, it is somewhat of a liberating feeling.
MATTINGLY: But the problems facing the nascent administration are significant, sources say, with Jeff Zients, the White House COVID response coordinator, saying bluntly -- quote -- "What we're inheriting is so much worse than we could have imagined."
Biden echoing that point.
BIDEN: The rollout has been a dismal failure thus far.
MATTINGLY: But Dr. Anthony Fauci pushed back on the idea that the Biden team was left with nothing.
FAUCI: We are certainly not starting from scratch, because there is activity going on in the distribution.
MATTINGLY: Fauci did acknowledge a ramp-up, as Biden pledged an all- of-government approach.
BIDEN: We will move heaven and earth to get more people vaccinated for free and create more places for them to get vaccinated.
MATTINGLY: Even as he bristled at a question of whether the administration's goal of 100 million shots in 100 days was less than ambitious.
BIDEN: When I announced it, you all said it's not possible. Come on. Give me a break, man. MATTINGLY: Broadly, it's a change in direction that goes far beyond
just the pandemic, as Biden, through executive action, has moved to undo some of his predecessor's key initiatives.
BIDEN: There is no time to start like today.
MATTINGLY: Already moving to rejoin the Paris climate accord, while killing funding for the border wall, rescinding a travel ban on Muslim-majority countries, and revoking the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, even as a clear reality hangs over the new administration.
BIDEN: We're going to need legislation for a lot of the things we're going to do.
MATTINGLY: Biden officials already working behind the scenes to build support for his $1.9 trillion relief package, sources say, but first a need to confirm top appointees, with only one, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, confirmed so far, a number, one, that falls short of Biden's predecessors.
And looming over everything on Capitol Hill, the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): It will be soon. I don't think it will be long. But we must do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:05:00]
MATTINGLY: And as we wait to figure out the timeline of the impeachment trial, it is that legislative proposal that the administration is really starting to get behind in that effort to strike some kind of bipartisan deal.
Make no mistake about it, Wolf. The executive actions matter and they have an effect, but there is no fulsome approach or fulsome effort on relief either on the economic side or on the public health side, they say, without a large piece of legislation, that bipartisan work happening behind the scenes, legislative affairs team, top economic officials briefing rather regularly.
Also, the president, himself, expected to get on the phone. As you know, Wolf, he has made very clear throughout the campaign, throughout his opening days in office, he believes he can strike a deal, even with Republicans who have made clear they're already opposed to the large price tag. We will see if it comes to fruition.
But make no mistake about it. That is the administration focus going forward, not just executive actions, but legislative action on Capitol Hill as well.
BLITZER: Yes, he clearly wants to work with Mitch McConnell and other Republicans. Let's see if that is doable.
Phil Mattingly at the White House for us, thanks very much.
I want to bring in our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash, our senior correspondent, Abby Phillip, and our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, first of all, give us your overall assessment of the new plan President Biden and his aides are laying out today, because there is a lot of specific detail there.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it's pretty comprehensive, Wolf.
We have been talking about this for so long. To hear some of these potential strategies to move this pandemic, to have a strategy to address this pandemic actually starting to be discussed like this, I think was pretty significant, 10 executive actions that were signed, but, as you point out, also, a lot of specifics.
FEMA saying we will have 100 community clinics in areas that are particularly hard-to-reach by the end of the month. The CDC sort of being tasked with making sure that pharmacies can also start to deliver vaccines, if they have enough resources and staffing and all that, by the beginning of next month, HHS being tasked with trying to recruit more vaccinators, people who can actually administer the vaccines, pulling people maybe from the military or retired health care professionals, whatever it may be.
There was a lot of detail there, Wolf. Also, we talk about masks quite a bit, but besides federal property, and federal workers being required to wear a mask, also interstate travel via trains and planes and buses, for example.
So, this is day one. Obviously, these things take a while to take effect. But it is all the notes that we have been talking about for some time now, Wolf, in terms of what will actually make a difference.
BLITZER: Yes. And, hopefully, it will make a difference.
Dana, I want to talk about also something we just heard from Dr. Fauci at that White House press briefing. He spoke very candidly about the differences between working during the Trump administration, as opposed to the new Biden administration, calling it liberating, his word, liberating.
What did you make of that very blunt, extraordinary statement?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was liberating to hear him be so candid, because, look, I mean, how many times have you interviewed Dr. Fauci, others as well, where you ask a question, and he actually said -- past tense, of course, now, when he was under President Trump -- he would actually say, it's not going to be helpful to give you that sound bite, which was his way of saying, I really want to answer your question, and you can kind of hear where I'm going with this, but I want to keep my job. It's probably better for everybody if I don't answer this. Those -- that's a tightrope he doesn't have to walk now. The tightrope that he has to walk now is the one that we want him to, which is, what is the science telling us? What it this virus really about? What are the variants really about? Will the vaccines address those variants and all the questions that Dr. Gupta has been asking for so long that we don't necessarily know answers to?
And he has a net now. He has people around him and supporting him who want the science to lead the way and not the politics. And that sounds like a bumper sticker. It sounds like it's just kind of rhetoric, but it's real. And it really matters.
BLITZER: Yes, you can see how painful it was for him to remain silent, at least in public, when President Trump used to talk about hydroxychloroquine as if it was some sort of miracle drug, when there was no scientific evidence to back that up.
And now he's much more open, much more liberating, in his word.
Abby, let me get your analysis on the contrast from the Trump administration we saw today, not only from Dr. Fauci, but also from President Biden himself. We saw a major shift, didn't we?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
And I think the biggest way to define this shift is, the Trump administration was very focused on wanting to get to certain outcomes, wanting to get to a vaccine, wanting to get to schools being open, wanting to get to the economy being open, but they were not very focused on the process, how you get there.
[18:10:07]
What are the steps that you have to take in order to make sure that those things can actually happen in a way that is sustainable? And so what you're seeing the Biden administration doing that is different is that they are very focused on the procedural parts of this, on all the elements that go into potentially getting to a final product, which is, hopefully for the country, an open economy, a vaccinated population, a virus that is under control.
There are questions, obviously, about whether their goals are ambitious enough, whether the steps that they're taking are sufficient. But I think the procedural aspect of this, the way in which they are actually paying attention to the nuts and bolts, makes a difference.
And for someone like Dr. Fauci, who also wants to get to those goals, it's particularly helpful, I think, to the scientists to have people who are saying, OK, what does the science tell us about how we can get there? And I think that is what you're hearing in Dr. Fauci calling this moment liberating for himself.
I'm sure, across the federal government, you're seeing scientists feeling exactly the same way. BLITZER: Sanjay, the president, President Biden, is promising 100
million doses, shots, in 100 days. But we're already, I take it, vaccinating nearly a million people a day, on average, which would put us on track to hit that goal.
Should that goal be even higher?
GUPTA: Well, I think so, Wolf.
And, obviously, this was a point of contention, as Phil Mattingly just put in his report. I mean, President Biden sort of bristled when he was asked about that, saying, look, no one believed it was possible, and here we are now saying it can be done.
But you're right, Wolf. I mean, over the last 24 hours, there were a million doses that were administered. And that's happened once before as well. So, even without a significant sort of plan in place, we have intermittently hit that number.
So, if you start to bring on retail pharmacies, as President Biden talked about, and they have enough resources, because they -- it's a huge task, so you don't want to minimize the significance and the enormity of the task. But if they are brought on and have the resources, potentially, vaccinating 100 million people a month is what I'm hearing from people that I talk to in that world.
And then these community vaccine centers that we were talking about, 100 of them within the next month, possibly the National Guard helping administer large vaccine fairs -- and there's a lot of ifs. I mean, you have to obviously have the vaccine. It looks like the manufacturing can keep up. I think the news potentially that we may hear from Johnson & Johnson within the next week could be very encouraging.
I have been keeping very close tabs on that. If that is true, that will be a one-shot vaccine, 100 million doses of that earmarked for the United States. So there's all these things that, if they go right, I think we could far exceed that goal.
But we will see. We will see at this point. I think, if we want to get to herd immunity much more quickly, and vaccinate people more quickly to cut down on the amount of mutations, this has to go fast within the next several months, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, and there's -- they got to move quickly in terms of developing and manufacturing vaccine.
I have been hearing some reports, especially out of New York, that people have appointments to get a shot, and then they're told just before they're supposed to go, guess what, we ran out of supply, we will have to reschedule.
That's so heartbreaking, especially for people who are 75 and older, and they had been promised they were going to get a shot, and, all of a sudden, they're told not available.
All right, guys, thank you very, very much.
Just ahead: Will there be a delay in the Trump impeachment trial? We're learning about a new Republican push in the U.S. Senate to slow things down.
I will talk about that and more with the House Intelligence Committee chairman, Adam Schiff. He's standing by live.
We will discuss when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:17:13]
BLITZER: We have some breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now, the timing of the Trump impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate.
Let's go to our congressional correspondent, Ryan Nobles. He's standing by.
So, Ryan, update our viewers. What are you learning?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're learning is that the now minority leader of the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell, has offered a proposal to Democrats that would essentially delay the impeachment trial for President Trump until sometime in mid-February.
He is suggesting that President Trump he issued a summons at the end of January and then given a period of two weeks to respond to the summons and file his pretrial briefs now.
Now, if that were to occur, it would open up a window of time here on Capitol Hill where Democrats and Republicans could deal with the pressing legislative business at the beginning of the Biden administration, including the confirmation of his Cabinet picks.
Now, it's important to keep in mind that Mitch McConnell is not the person that controls this process anymore, Wolf. As the minority leader, he can only suggest that this be the way that everything take place, if it takes place. It really is in the hands of Speaker Pelosi as to when she hands those articles over and then to the new majority leader, Chuck Schumer, as to when that trial begins.
But McConnell's participation in this is very important, especially because there is only a 50/50 split between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. And, of course, Democrats are trying to convince at least 17 Republicans to join them in convicting President Trump.
Now, Democrats have already signaled that they would be open to this proposed timeline. In fact, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware was just on with you, Wolf, in the last hour and said that if they could cut some sort of a deal where the Biden confirmations of his Cabinet nominees were swiftly pushed through over the next two weeks, that he would be willing to push that into February. Now, Coons is the only Democrat that's weighed in on this right now.
So far, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has just said that he is reviewing that proposal and will talk about it later. But this is a very significant development, Wolf, and it is at least the first sign of open negotiating between the two sides as to what comes next for President Trump and his future.
BLITZER: Yes, Senator Coons, who is very close to President Biden -- they're both from Delaware, obviously -- he made it clear that he would be open, potentially, for this quid pro quo, confirm all the senior Cabinet officials, all the national security officials, sub- Cabinet, move quickly on that, and then maybe wait two or three weeks for the start of the Senate impeachment trial.
He was pretty blunt in the last hour on that.
Ryan Nobles reporting for us, thank you very much.
Let's discuss this and more with the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff.
Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.
What do you make of this formal proposal now by Mitch McConnell to delay the start of the impeachment trial in the Senate, let's say, until mid-February, maybe even late February?
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): Well, as most things that come from Mitch McConnell, it's what suits Mitch McConnell's interests best.
[18:20:05]
That doesn't mean that Senator Schumer would reject it or that the speaker would. Ultimately, it is the speaker's decision, which I would imagine she will make in consultation with Jamie Raskin and the team of managers, but also consulting with Senator Schumer about what is possible, what the timelines would be, what the conflicts would be.
So, this is Mitch McConnell's view of what is ideal. That doesn't make it a done deal by any means.
BLITZER: Senator Chris Coons, as you heard in the last hour -- he was here with me in THE SITUATION ROOM -- he said that Democrats might be actually -- might be open to this kind of delay if -- key word, if -- if Republicans worked to get Biden's Cabinet nominees confirmed quickly in the next two or three weeks.
Do you think it is appropriate for Democrats to essentially give Republicans an ultimatum like that when it comes to an article of impeachment?
SCHIFF: You know, it doesn't sound to me like it was an ultimatum. I didn't watch the interview with Chris, but, knowing Chris, that is not generally how he operates.
(CROSSTALK) BLITZER: He did say it was a quid pro quo. And I said it sounds like you're talking about a quid pro quo. The Republicans agree to confirm all these Cabinet positions. In exchange, the Democrats will agree to delay the start of the formal trial in the Senate.
SCHIFF: Well, look, my feeling is that this is a decision that ultimately the speaker is going to make.
She will make the decision based on what is in the best interests of justice, making sure that the House managers can make an orderly presentation of the case, and that we can deter any future president from the idea they can try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power through insurrection or other means and get a pass.
If a president is going to try to make themselves president for life, it's going to happen at the end of their term. And we don't want a precedent where that is suddenly something that can be swept under the rug or given anything less than the most serious consideration and conviction.
So, the speaker, I have every confidence, will make the right judgment on timing, just as she did in the last trial.
BLITZER: Yes, we will see what they decide to do, obviously very important.
You are the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. So far, the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, has been confirmed. She was nominated. She was confirmed overwhelmingly in the U.S. Senate yesterday. The FBI director, Christopher Wray, we're now told, will stay on his job. He is not about to go.
What will it take to rebuild trust in the intelligence community right now, rebuild morale in those agencies, whether the CIA, in the intelligence community, NSA, as well as in the FBI? Because there's been a lot of friction, as you know, over the past few years.
SCHIFF: Well, first of all, I think these are great choices by President Biden.
Avril is a tremendous talent, great experience, a lot of integrity. She knows how to speak truth to power. And she will go about rebuilding that agency. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership of people like Ric Grenell and John Ratcliffe, who politicized it, made it a partisan place, and bent intelligence work product to the president's will, rather than speak truth to power.
So, she is going to do a lot of rebuilding, and have to. Bill Burns, David Cohen great choices for the CIA to restore morale within that agency as well and protect that work force from any political meddling.
And, in terms of Director Wray, I give the director enormous credit. I'm glad the president is keeping him on. Everyone who served in the Biden (sic) administration had to walk a very difficult line. Most failed. Most ended up sacrificing their integrity, their professionalism, or all of the above.
Christopher Wray managed to maintain, I think, his professionalism and integrity at all times. And I think that you have to carry on. We should have the 10-year term for FBI directors that helps immunize them from political pressure.
BLITZER: Yes, he -- I have spoken to FBI agents. I have spoken to Justice Department officials. They praise him. They think he stood up to the president, refused to simply do whatever President Trump wanted him to do, and that he deserves a lot of credit for that.
Congressman Schiff, as usual, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck over there.
SCHIFF: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Just ahead: new warnings emerging right now of alarming shortages, shortages of COVID-19 vaccines, as a new source for the shots may be available soon.
And growing fears about the COVID variant that is here in the United States right now, as Dr. Fauci says it spreads about twice as easily as the original strain.
I will talk about that and more with President Biden's pick to become the next surgeon general of the United States.
[18:25:01]
Dr. Vivek Murthy is standing by live when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're following all the breaking news on the COVID-19 crisis here in the United States.
As President Biden is taking new action on his first full day in office, he is warning that the vaccine rollout so far has been, in his words, a dismal failure.
Let's go to CNN's Erica Hill. She's watching all of this for us.
Erica, so what more are you learning about the campaign to vaccinate Americans?
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are hearing more about it, right? And there are a lot of questions about just how quickly things can be ramped up.
We did learn today, Wolf, that, for just the second time, more than a million doses were administered in a day in the United States.
[18:30:05]
We're now up to 17.5 million doses administered. That's about 46 percent of the number, total number distributed. But there are still so many issues. As you know, here in New York, CNN has just learned that for some first responders, vaccines are actually put on hold because of supply issues. The FDNY telling CNN there is not enough vaccine on hand to make additional first dose appointments beyond Sunday. And it's not just New York having issues.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILL (voice over): This Alabama couple drove to Georgia for the vaccine.
CONNIE WALLACE, DROVE TO GEORGIA FOR COVID-19 VACCINE: They knew that we were coming from out of state and they said that that was fine.
HILL: New York City postponing 23,000 vaccine appointments this week, warning its supply will be exhausted by tomorrow.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): You will a constant pattern of basically running out, waiting for the next week's allocation, and then starting up again.
HILL: It's not just supply issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many of our seniors don't drive. Many of our seniors can't access these sites just because they don't know how to navigate these online applications.
HILL: The reality, even with 1 million shots a day, it would take more than a year to fully vaccinate every adult in the U.S.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We have to get those other vaccines up and as soon as possible.
HILL: Johnson & Johnson could apply for emergency use authorization in the next two weeks, and vaccine confidence is growing. According to a new CNN poll, two-thirds now say they'll try to get one up from 51 percent in October.
While they wait, Wisconsin and Alabama among the states extending mask mandates.
GOV. KAY IVEY (R-AL): Quite frankly, we've run out of ways to underscore the importance of taking this virus seriously.
HILL: Today marks one year since the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the U.S. Since then, the nation has logged well over 24 million, hospitalizations averaging more than 125,000 over the past week and more than 400,000 deaths. The CDC projecting another hundred thousand could be added by mid-February.
SHAROLYN HOFFMAN, FATHER AND STEPMOTHER DIED OF COVID-19: Take it into your heart that it's not just about you, not to be selfish.
HILL: There are some bright spots. The U.S. positivity rate below 10 percent for the first time since November, averaging cases in the past week down in 43 states, only Virginia seeing a rise. Though experts caution this sea of green may not last as new variants spread.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We have a virus that is more transmissible. You're going to get more cases. When you get more cases, you're going to get more hospitalizations. And when you get more hospitalizations, you are ultimately going to get more deaths.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL (on camera): And in terms of these more transmissible variants, Dr. Fauci saying today that the one first identified in the U.K., which we know is here in the U.S. is about twice as transmissible amid questions about vaccine efficacy with these new strains. Dr. Fauci said today that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should still work against the strains identified in the U.K. and in South Africa, Wolf.
BLITZER: Erica Hill reporting for us, Erica, thanks very much.
Let's get so more on all of this from President Biden's nominee to become the next U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy. This is his first interview since President Biden took office. And, Dr. Murthy, thank you so much for joining us and thank you for doing this again because you were the surgeon general during the Obama administration. Now you're coming back to do it again and we are grateful to you for your service to our country. This is such a critically important job especially right now, given the thousands and thousands of people who are dying every single day.
As you know, Dr. Murthy, President Biden has now set this goal of administering 100 million shots in the first 100 days of his administration. But as you already know, the U.S. is already giving about a million shots per day on average, so why not set a more ambitious goal? We can do better than that, can't we?
DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL NOMINEE: Well, thanks, Wolf. It is really good to be with you. And as you said, President Biden did say that his goal is to deliver a hundred million shots. And while that might seem, you know, easy to do in some respects if you look at perhaps the numbers in the last 24 hours, it's worth remembering there are a lot of ways that things could go wrong here. We have had to make sure that the supply is adequate. We've got to build more channels so that people can get the vaccine. We've got to address the hesitancy that is still far too common because in part of misinformation about this vaccine that has spread quickly.
And so what President Biden is doing is he is taking an even keel approach to this and taking into account everything that could go right, also what could go wrong. And he is making a measured decision about what target we should aim for. But make no mistake his goal is to not only meet that but it's to exceed that, but we have got to pull out the stops.
[18:35:05]
This is an emergency, Wolf. This is a true public health emergency. We've lost over 400,000 people to this virus and that means we have got to do every single thing in our power, leave no stone unturned to make sure people get this vaccine and that they can stay safe.
BLITZER: Yes, thousands of people are dying every single day, over 4500 died just yesterday, according to John Hopkins University. This is a crisis.
At the current rate, Dr. Murthy, it would take more than, what, a year for 75 percent of American adults to be fully vaccinated. I am an optimist. I think we can do a lot better if FEMA, the military, everyone is mobilized to focus in and deal with this crisis. Do you agree?
MURTHY: Well, I certainly think that there is more that we could do, Wolf, and we need to do more. Because you're right, we cannot take a year in order to get to the critical levels of vaccination that we need in this country. We have to get there sooner.
And so that is why even before he was sworn in, then President-elect Biden had shared with the nation a plan that he had developed in collaboration with his advisers to accelerate the vaccine deployment. And that involved actually getting the federal government involved in setting up community vaccination centers in partnership with states and local communities involved with work activating pharmacies around the country to be able to deliver the vaccine to people in their own neighborhoods and it also involved building our workforce of vaccinators. Because we hear often from both local and state leaders that they are worried about the workforce, so we may not have enough people to actually deliver the vaccine to meet the demand.
And we've got to do all of this while still building public trust and getting information out there so people know the truth about the vaccine. There is still far too much misinformation floating out there. But if we do all this together, I believe we can accelerate the rate at which people are getting the vaccine and that is exactly what you heard the president talk about today.
BLITZER: And what is so encouraging is that President Biden is making it abundantly clear to everyone this is priority number one for the United States right now dealing with this COVID pandemic.
Sources with direct knowledge of the Biden administration's coronavirus workforce are telling us, Dr. Murthy, that they were shocked to find what they described as a complete lack of vaccine distribution strategy that they inherited from the Trump administration. Dr. Fauci though said today that we're not necessarily completely starting from scratch. There is a program out there. It could be done a lot better, he says, but they are not starting from scratch. What do you think?
MURTHY: Well, Wolf, I think for sure there are many people inside government, career civil servants in particular, who have been working very hard over this last year to try to put together plans for distributing this vaccine.
And what we've seen though is that, number one, we've got to do a lot more to really deliver the vaccine because we're hearing feedback frequently from states and local communities that they need more resources. They need more sort of lead time, if you will, on knowing what their vaccine allocations are. They need more support in setting up community vaccination events and in helping recruit the workforce to deliver those vaccines. Those are all places we need to really lean in and help.
And so the goal is really to build on what has been done but to bring the full force of not just the federal government but our partnerships with local and state entities to bear, to ultimately deliver this vaccine quickly.
Ultimately, though, Wolf, if we're going to do this, there has got to be a few core themes (ph), I think, that guide us in our response. We have got to lead with science. We've got to communicate honestly and transparently with the public and, ultimately, we have to deliver results. If we do that, we can turn this pandemic around.
BLITZER: And President Biden so far is not mincing any words. He said today, in his words, things are going to continue to get worse before they get better. Maybe another hundred thousand Americans are going to die from this COVID pandemic within the next month alone, in the next few weeks. How much worse, Dr. Murthy, do you expect things to get? When will the American people finally start to see some significant improvement?
MURTHY: Well, it is a great question, Wolf. And, frankly, it's what all of us are worried about as we sit in our homes and look at our lives and wonder when it is going to be safe for us and our families again. And the truth is how quickly this turns around depends on the actions that not just the government takes but that each of us take in our day-to-day lives.
As critical as it is to get vaccinated and we want people to get vaccinated, it is also really essential that we observe the public health practices that help prevent the spread of this virus. We are still seeing hundreds of thousands of people infected each day. We are still losing between 3,000 to 4,000 people a day.
[18:40:01]
And so that means that we've got to continue to wear our masks. We've got to avoid indoor gatherings and with people outside of our household. We have got to keep distance with others when we go out in particular for groceries or for other purposes. We've got to take these measures because it is how we stay safe until enough of us can get vaccinated to prevent this virus from spreading.
BLITZER: Really, really critically important advice. And what is encouraging is right now from the president on down, they're wearing masks. They're showing the American public you got to do this. You know, you can't pretend it doesn't exist.
We also heard Dr. Fauci speak quite freely earlier today, Dr. Murthy, about the differences he's already noticing in the Biden administration compared to the Trump administration. Listen to this explanation he offered. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: I take no pleasure at all in being in a situation of contradicting the president, so it was really something that you didn't feel that you could actually say something and there wouldn't be any repercussions about it. The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what evidence, what the science is, and know that's it, let the science speak, it is somewhat of a liberating feeling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So what's your reaction, Dr. Murthy, the very blunt statement that we just heard from Dr. Fauci that he feels liberated in this new administration compared to what he had to deal within the Trump administration?
MURTHY: Well, Wolf, what I can tell you is that, unfortunately, we all know that the COVID response over the past year has become far more partisan, far more politicized than what we want and certainly than what we could tolerate and that's led to a response, I think, that frankly could have been stronger. But this is our opportunity to really lead with science, to put partisan politics behind us. And to recognize that what rescues us from pandemics is the science and following expertise and doing that together, Republicans, independents, Democrats, moving together as one and helping our nation heal.
BLITZER: Dr. Murthy, thank you so much for joining us and thanks again for volunteering to serve in our government and our new government right now as you did during the Obama administration, surgeon general of the United States. You are the surgeon general designate. Once you are confirmed by the Senate, it is a critically important job especially right now. Dr. Murthy, thanks so much for joining us.
MURTHY: Thank you so much, Wolf. Great to see you again.
BLITZER: Thank you.
There is more breaking news just ahead. We have details of a key new arrest in the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:47:18]
BLITZER: Breaking news: the House and the Senate have now approved a waiver for retired General Lloyd Austin to serve as President Biden's secretary of defense. If confirmed -- it looks like he will be confirmed -- he would be the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.
Joining us now, the former defense secretary, former Republican Senator William Cohen.
Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. I know you advocated for a waiver for General Austin. I assume you
know General Austin. He spent 40 years in the U.S. military.
What do you say to those senators who are worried this potentially could erode the principle of civilian control of the U.S. military?
FMR. SEN. WILLIAM COHEN (R-ME): I think you have to look at the person who's been nominated -- his character, quality, ethics, and relationship with the president of the United States.
As you've indicated earlier, we are under attack. There is a war going on. And so the president felt it very important that he have someone he can trust who has diplomatic skills to be sure, but organizational skills. I think the general play, or the secretary will play a very important role in the organizational distribution of the vaccines as soon as they can be produced.
So I think under those circumstances I would look at the man, I'd look at the moment, and say, yes. There is a rule about not having out of service seven years. Sometimes you have to waive it particularly when you are attacked by an enemy and we're attacked by an enemy now.
So as a war time president, we need to have a wartime secretary of defense and capability. And the president is now trying to organize all hands on deck using every aspect of the government to combat this virus that's killing us 4,500 a day.
BLITZER: Yeah, I'm glad they're activating FEMA, and they got to activate the U.S. military to get the job done and save thousands and thousands of lives.
It does put this -- this approval of the waiver by the House and Senate -- it does put General Austin a step closer to confirmation. So far, though, only one of President Biden's cabinet nominees has been confirmed by the Senate. We're talking about the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines.
Could these confirmation hold-ups become -- from your perspective as a former defense secretary -- a national security issue?
COHEN: Absolutely. I think part of the delay is due to the fear factor. The former president really instilled a lot of fear in the part of members of Congress in the House and Senate and was watching them very closely as to who was going to say this election is over. It was legitimate. It was not fraudulent. And we're going to recognize Joe Biden as the president of the United States.
The first thing the president did, he attacked Vice President Pence. He attacked the minority leader in the House, Mr. McCarthy, and he attacked Mitch McConnell.
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And so I think everybody was watching that holding back and as a result of holding back, I think that the whole process has been slowed down somewhat. But now that we have President Joe Biden, we can accelerate that process and look at the people he's put in this administration, everyone of them top rate, high class, really capable, well-seasoned.
So we've got a president who's been in positions of power for a long time. We need him now more than ever.
And, by the way, just one final note -- Amanda Gorman, she lit up the skies for me. She is a young girl who was able to tell the history of this country with poetry and passion and truth and patriotism. And I think she spoke for so many millions of Americans saying who we are and what we are supposed to be about and who we need to be.
So Joe Biden has put together an incredible team. That inaugural was a new beginning, a rebirth of what we feel we need to present to the American people and to the world. It was a great day yesterday.
BLITZER: Yeah, it was a beautiful, beautiful poem. Twenty-two years old, a really amazing young woman.
William Cohen, thanks so much for joining us.
COHEN: My pleasure. Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: There is more breaking news we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM. The investigation into the deadly capitol insurrection is now ramping up. Federal prosecutors have charged at least 120 defendants for their role in the riot.
CNN's Brian Todd has got late breaking developments for us.
Brian, what are you learning?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we have information tonight on new arrests being made. Prosecutors also giving some chilling new detail on how the rioters attacked police and the weapons they used to attack them. We do have to warn viewers this piece contains video which some viewers may find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Distressing video from the capitol breach on January 6th. A man wildly swings a hockey stick, prosecutors say, at police officers. The man, Michael Foy of Westland, Michigan, arrested today, facing federal charges, including assaulting an officer.
The dragnet has brought in the man assaulting D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges seen in this video being crushed and screaming for help. That suspect, Patrick McCaughey of Connecticut, has been denied bail.
Federal prosecutors have charged about 120 individuals who allegedly took part in the riot. One of them, Joseph Biggs of Florida, is a member of the pro Trump extremist group, the Proud Boys. Biggs is believed by law enforcement to have urged followers to, quote, blend in with what they would wear on January 6th. Believed to have worn an ear piece and carried a walkie-talkie like device during the riot. DARYL JOHNSON, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SENIOR DOMESTIC TERRORISM ANALYST: It definitely looks like an orchestrated, planned act. Some of these people may have been incited to participate because of the president's incitement moments before they stormed the Capitol. Definitely there was an element that came prepared and was looking to do nefarious things.
TODD: New video obtained by CNN shows members of the far-right militia group called the Oath Keepers moving in a line to the front in a mob storming the capitol. Prosecutors say they moved in an organized and practiced fashion to force their way to the front of the crowd. One person in the group facing charges is identified by prosecutors as Jessica Marie Watkins, who prosecutors say is an Oath Keeper and leader of an Ohio militia.
Watkins has admitted being there, but denies causing any destruction. Experts say the Oath Keepers are known for their ability to recruit members of the military and law enforcement.
MICHAEL GERMAN, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Many of the people within these violent white supremacist and militant groups were trained by the United States army, right. That's the kind of training and experience that foreign terrorist groups don't have, would drool over.
TODD: Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated there may not be evidence yet that Republican members of Congress aided and abetted the rioters by giving them tours of the Capitol before the siege, which some Republicans have denied. But Pelosi did say she believes some Republican House members embraced the rioters' mind-set.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): There is no question that there were members in this body who gave aid and comfort to those with the idea that they were embracing a lie.
TODD: Tonight, social media posts from rioters, police body cam footage and testimony from law enforcement officers is painting a more complete and brutal picture of the violence on January 6th -- of hand to hand combat between police and rioters, of officers being beaten and attacked with objects like an American flag and a fire extinguisher.
Today, D.C. officials said the city remains under threat even after the inauguration.
DR. CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, DIRECTOR, D.C. HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Let's be clear. The threat of right wing extremism is here, right? And we saw it on January 6th. And it will continue to be a persistent and real threat to the District of Columbia and to, and to our region as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: And we have this just in.
[18:55:01] CNN reporting that federal investigators leading the investigation into the January 6th attack have briefed interim Biden administration officials at the Justice Department on the manhunt for suspects. Officials charging about 120 people so far with federal charges. They are looking, Wolf, at bringing possibly more serious charges like sedition and conspiracy.
BLITZER: Which carry lengthy prison terms if convicted.
Brian Todd, thank you very, very much.
And we'll have more news right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Finally tonight, we share more stories of people who died from the coronavirus.
Brandy Leger of New Mexico was 41. She loved cooking, tending to her plants and her family. Her fiance Gary describes her as loving, caring, and kind-hearted and a wonderful mother to her two children.
Theodore Lumpkin, Jr., of California was 100 years old. He was one of the last surviving members of the famed Tuskegee airmen who served in World War II. He went on to become a real estate agent and volunteer in the air force reserves.
May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.
I'm Wolf Blitzer here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much for watching.
You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer. You can always tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
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