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TX Gov. Signs Major Disaster Declaration, Awaiting Biden's Approval; Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is Interviewed about Texas; Biden to Announce $2 Billion for Global Vaccine Program Snubbed by Trump; Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) is Interviewed about Immigration Reform; W.H.: Weather Causing Delays In Vaccine Shipments And Deliveries; J&J Should Have Results From Its Two-Dose Vaccine Trial By The Second Half Of 2021; GOP's #2 House Leader Steve Scalise Visits Trump At Mar-A-Lago; NASA's "Perseverance" Rover Lands On Mars In Major Step Toward Search For Signs Of Life; N.Y. Gov Under Fire Amid Growing COVID Controversy. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 18, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Tragically he died last Friday. To his family and friends, our condolences. May his memory, be a blessing.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN. Our coverage on CNN continues right now.

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.

An unfolding weather disaster centered in Texas but now threatening to extend all the way to New England.

Just moments ago, the Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he signed a major disaster declaration that's awaiting approval by President Biden. He also said that power has now been restored to nearly 2 million homes. But tonight 325,000 remain in the dark for the fourth straight day as record cold temperatures stretch across the state.

Governor Abbott is now pledging to reform the state's Energy Agency. And I'm -- and he's saying and I'm quoting now, "Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred."

And more severe weather is on the way. A 100 million people are in the path of a major storm and winter weather alerts extend from the U.S. Southwest all the way up to the northeast. Let's get straight to Texas now. Right now our National Correspondent Ed Lavandera is in Dallas for us.

Ed, Governor Abbott has just signed a major disaster declaration. Tell us about that.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's going to be another long night here. But after four days of taking a political beating over this disaster in Texas. The governor says he accepts responsibility for the situation that ERCOT, the state power grid system, but not before once again laying into the executives at that agency saying that what has happened is unacceptable.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Texas is bracing for another dangerously frigid night.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): We are not yet out of this. We will not stop until normalcy is restored to your lives.

LAVANDERA: As another winter storm barrels in the White House has declared an emergency in Texas and Oklahoma.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ain't got no water. There's no heat. There's nothing.

LAVANDERA: Local officials are fed up and fearing the worst.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth is, is that right now we're just trying to keep people alive and safe for the next two days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We expect to see that death count rise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a mess. It is a mess.

LAVANDERA: While power is being restored through much of the state, some 13 point 5 million Texans are now facing water disruptions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our whole apartment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm out of candles. I'm here for a little bit of light. Can't charge batteries.

LAVANDERA: At grocery stores, there are long lines and empty shelves as food supply chains buckle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't find food. And when you do you have to stand on the line for five hours. This is ridiculous. Whoever's in charge of this, they need to run them off because that's not right.

LAVANDERA: Governor Greg Abbott has taken aim at ERCOT, the organization hired to manage more than 90 percent of the state's power grid.

ABBOTT: ERCOT failed on each of these measures that they said they had undertaken. Texans deserve answers about why the shortfalls occurred and how they're going to be corrected. And Texans will get those answers.

LAVANDERA: ERCOT CEO says it prevented a catastrophic power grid failure with no time to spare.

BILL MAGNESS, ERCOT CEO: That was seconds and minutes. Given the amount of generation that was coming off the system. LAVANDERA: Others are blaming Abbott and his states focus on a low- cost deregulated power supply largely independent of the National Grid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The choice is not a federal takeover, or people freezing in their homes. The choice is to and to require winterization of equipment like all 49 other states do.

LAVANDERA: One official left the crisis behind. Senator Ted Cruz was photographed boarding a flight to Cancun with his family. He says his daughters wanted to take a trip so, "Wanting to be a good dad. I flew down with them." And the senator added, "My team and I will continue using all our resources to keep Texans informed and safe."

Senator Cruz is scheduled to return in the coming hours.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LAVANDERA: And Wolf, there are still about 375 households across the state that are still without power. But power grid officials say that none of the outages at this hour is being caused by problems, that power generating plants across the state. It's all from damages of the power lines around the area. So that will take some time to repair.

And the governor this afternoon, Wolf, is also calling for the mandatory weatherization of power plants across the state. Too little too late for this week and it's something that the state legislature here has had a chance to do for years and years. But now, with the urgency of what's happened this week, it's become a popular thing to champion, Wolf.

[17:05:19]

BLITZER: Yes, it has. Ed Lavandera in Dallas for us. Ed, thank you very much for that report.

Tonight, there's more severe weather on the way. CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is tracking it all for us.

Jennifer, this one will impact people far beyond Texas, right?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're exactly right. We have people from the Texas-Mexico border being impacted all the way up to northern New England. These systems are very far reaching.

We have the one that just went through Texas, Louisiana. That one's now entering the Northeast. And now we have this one right on its heels bringing more snow to places that have already seen several inches like San Antonio, more freezing rain to places that already look like ice rinks. And it's also bringing hard freeze warnings to places that have been below freezing for the last week or so.

Here is the current snow depth and you can see four to six inches across places in Texas, East Texas, the Hill Country you can see that bullseye right over Little Rock. Record cold has been real. Since February 1, we have seen more than 1000 record low minimums. More than 2500 record low maximums and the numbers will keep climbing as we go through the next couple of days.

Look at Dallas at 29 degrees. Like I mentioned, Dallas and San Antonio both have been below freezing since the middle of last week. Now as these cold pushes to the east Friday and Saturday, we are going to be in store for more possible record cold temperatures at least 60 or more.

But look at these high temperatures tomorrow. Finally get above freezing for places like Dallas. San Antonio will actually hit 48 degrees. So, a little light at the end of the tunnel. So that warm air will definitely be pushing in, Wolf. Of course, we'll see temperatures close to 70 degrees in Dallas, within the next five or six days.

BLITZER: That's encouraging. It looks like it's going to get better.

Our Meteorologist Jennifer Gray, thank you very, very much.

Let's get some more in all of this. Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas is joining us.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. I know these are been difficult days for everyone in Texas, including you. You've been out delivering groceries and water today. But we've also seen a lot of Houston residents lining up to simply get water from a park spigot. Just how bad is the situation, Congresswoman, right now?

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): Well, Wolf, it's very bad. We're standing at Texas Southern University here where the students are helping out water to the neighbors. We came from another site, over 200 cars were lined up for water and food. It's very bad.

And it's very bad because this state, the state government, the state agency, simply thought they could go (ph) home. It's unbelievable what we've experienced.

And the thing that hurt me the most, Wolf, is the loss of life that we've experienced. We are quite familiar with hurricanes. But we're not familiar with the idea of people dying from carbon monoxide, fires and losing the lives of grandmothers and children, definitely the experienced this week.

BLITZER: That's an awful situation. How long is it expected to take, Congresswoman, before everyone gets power, gets water restored? How widespread is the problem of pipes bursting, for example?

LEE: Major, because obviously, our homes are made for warm weather. But our electric grid should not be for warm weather it should be for all weather. And unfortunately, ERCOT, which has five members on the board that are not even from the state decided that Texas to do it alone. And they had isolated system that was not subject to federal regulation. And here we are with failed generators that did not provide energy. So, right now we are -- universities don't have power neighbor. Neighboring homes don't have power. But what's most tragic, and I'll just share with you is that people are losing so much. The pipes have bursting and they're taking out people's personal and belongings. Roofs -- ceilings are caving in on homes, in kitchens and bedrooms. So, it's a long journey.

They said that we might get power by Sunday. But actuality, I call for them to get power on today, because they have power coming in from something called the Southwest Power Administration. That is a Tulsa, excuse me, in Oklahoma and Arkansas combination.

Really those are the only two states that we have a real relationship within terms of the grid. The grid is only Texas and it failed us, and they failed us, and they failed the people. And so, we're pushing to say that we can't wait any longer. We need the power, no later than this weekend.

[17:10:01]

BLITZER: What do you need most, Congresswoman, most urgently to get through this? Are you getting enough state and federal support?

LEE: Well, I want to thank the Biden administration. We'll begin talking to them at the beginning of the week.

They told us about the southwest power grid. And as well, we know that they're prepared to give us some additional funding for our grid.

But the most important thing is I have asked the governor right now, because we have a state declared -- a presidential declared disaster, we need personal assistance from FEMA, we need the individual payments to these people who have lost everything whose homes have burned up, who's lost their family members who are living in cars. And so, we hope the governor will write that letter. We haven't heard that he has, because it has to come from the governor to ask the Biden administration to give out individual assistance.

The other thing is that we hope we can quickly pass the COVID package, 1.9 trillion, because there'll be some additional cash in their pockets.

But the pain is great. The lines are long. I don't know if you can see it, we're giving out water right now. People are in line for water and in line for food. And so, we need power, but we're going to need cleanup.

And the other thing that we're concerned about, and I want to thank the Houston Police Department, the Texas Southern University Police Department, law enforcement and the first responders, the fire department has been nonstop for emergency calls. But what we're going to need is well tech, we're beginning to knock on the doors of our seniors in these older homes across the city, just to determine hopefully that they are -- they managed to get through. Hopefully that we won't see any high number of those who pass that we know that we've had to take seniors out of their homes and take them to hospital. BLITZER: Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee, good luck to you. Good luck to everyone in Texas right now. We know what a horrible situation it is. Let's hope it gets better and gets better soon because lives are on the line. So much is on the line right now. Thank you so much for joining us.

LEE: Thank you. Thank you for caring. Thank you very much.

BLITZER: We certainly do care.

Up next, other White House unveils a sweeping new immigration bill even as it's trying to get its pandemic relief plan passed. We'll update you on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:03]

BLITZER: The breaking news we're following, President Biden preparing to unveil a major contribution to the global fight against the coronavirus. Our Senior White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly is joining us right now he's got details.

Phil, so tell us what the President is about to announce.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, President Biden tomorrow at a virtual meeting of G7 leaders will announce that the U.S. will contribute a total of $4 billion to a global vaccine initiative known as COVAX. What this initiative is in large part doing is to try and get money to provide vaccines to 90 to lower to middle income economies. Basically, try and surge vaccine opportunities, vaccine availability to economies who may not have the ability, the U.S. and other larger countries have, to actually obtain that -- those vaccines.

The initial sum will be $2 billion dollars with a second contribution of $2 billion to follow as global pledges come in. Essentially what they're trying to do with this initiative is trying to expand the global reach, to expand the global initiative, get other countries to also add their money in as well.

And the bottom line here, Wolf, is two things. One, this $4 billion was appropriated by Congress in December for this reason. However, the Trump administration made clear they did not plan to participate in this initiative. The Biden administration has reversed course and will now be sending funds there.

The other thing to keep in mind here, this money will not actually take away from domestic production or domestic distribution of the U.S. vaccine. The U.S. obviously has already obtained orders for 600 million doses. That is already in the can and coming by late summer.

So, what the purpose of this, according to senior administration officials, is to help other countries as new variants are spreading around the world. Essentially try and get as many shots as many arms across the globe as they can to try and stall what obviously has been an enormous problem for countries pretty much everywhere over the course of the last year, Wolf.

BLITZER: Global pandemic to be sure.

You know, Phil, the White House also unveiled a sweeping new immigration bill that would create a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants here in the United States. How difficult will it be though, to get this passed?

MATTINGLY: It's -- there are a lot of hurdles. And the White House officials I've spoken to acknowledge that fact. Democrats on Capitol Hill who sponsored the bill, introduced the bill this morning makes clear they know that's the case as well.

However, if this were signed into law, it would be the largest overhaul of U.S. immigration law in more than 30 years. And the cornerstone Wolf, as you mentioned, was an eight-year path to citizenship for those 11 million undocumented individuals in the country.

Also, a series of other proposals like surging funding for immigration judges, and a widespread overhaul of immigration law. But Wolf, the reality remains as it did in 2005, as it did in 2013, as it did throughout the course of the Trump administration, there is a very, very difficult pathway to finding 60 votes in the Senate and 218 votes in the House to actually get this passed.

What the Biden administration purpose is here in concert with the Democrats on the Hill who introduced this legislation is essentially to put something on the table. They know the bill that was introduced today, which lines up with President Biden's goals and kind of key elements of his plan announced on Inauguration Day is basically start the conversation, recognizing that this will be the final product that they hope they believe this could start negotiations.

However, there is an understanding here at the White House this will be a lengthy process, this likely will not be the next major legislative agenda item for them. But they want this to start the negotiations in the hopes that in the coming months, it will spark something, something that might lead to a bipartisan consensus that could finally after decades get immigration laws or an immigration overhaul signed into law, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, this kind of comprehensive immigration reform is so, so important to long, long overdue.

Phil Mattingly at the White House, thanks very much.

Well, let's get some reaction now from the House Majority Whip, Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Do you believe this is the most realistic path forward on comprehensive immigration reform, passing it in different pieces rather than one big bill? How do you see it?

[17:20:01]

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Well, thank you very much for having me.

You know, Wolf, these kinds of things are very, very hard to do. But just because it's hard, doesn't mean we shouldn't undertake the effort. I really think we can do this.

I was Majority Whip, the last time I worked with Javier Vassar (ph). Javier (ph) and I thought sure that we were going to get something from the Senate. You may recall, the Senate gave a promise that he would do it. And that the last minute, both McCain and if my memory serves, Lindsey Graham, decided last minute they were not going to move on it. And so, we never got it.

This time, we are starting in the House. We are bringing all the folks together. Linda Sanchez is doing a remarkable job of cobbling together all the forces, the various committees, let them do what they think is best. Bring us one comprehensive bill.

I think we can get it through the House. So long as we have everybody involved in the process. That is what she's doing. And I really think we can do a bipartisan effort.

BLITZER: What do you think, obviously the top priority for President Biden is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, the emergency COVID relief plan right now. But will this immigration plan be President Biden's top priority if he wants to win Republican support?

CLYBURN: No, I don't think so. I think the top priority for Republican support will be the infrastructure bill. That would I think will be what we would call our recovery package or our stimulus package.

What we're doing now regarding COVID-19 is the rescue package, the $1.9 trillion. I think we need to do about a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill. There's we will have our roads, our bridges, our water, our sewage, broadband, the kinds of things ports and rails. The stuff we need to do to get the economy moving, putting people back to work, or we can create three or 400,000 jobs through a real stimulus infrastructure program.

So I think that we're going to do that. That would be a priority. But the committee's will still be working on immigration. And once we get people stimulated, the economy stimulated and people back to work, I think we can turn our attention to immigration. And by that time, they ought to have a piece of legislation that we can be favorable.

BLITZER: Well, as you know, better than I do, the House is hoping to pass President Biden's COVID relief bill by next week. But the progressive caucus in the House is seems to be making clear they want that $15 minimum wage included in this package not kicked down the road. If that stays in the bill, can President Biden still get it passed in the House?

CLYBURN: If it stays in the bill, he can get it passed. If it doesn't stay in the bill, it will not be him taking it out. He is putting out there. We know that's what he wants. It's what I want. But we cannot get around the parliamentarian.

And the parliamentarian is going to speak on this as to whether or not it can be in the bill. I'm hopeful we'll get a favorable ruling from the parliamentarian. And if we do, I think there are Republicans who would vote for a minimum wage bill.

We know the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, that is in a family of four or five or six. That's poverty wages. We shouldn't have a person working 40 hours a day --

BLITZER: Week.

CLYBURN: A week, I'm sorry, and then have to be still in poverty. We ought to have a livable wage.

We're not talking about doing the whole $15 by tomorrow morning. We're talking about gradually getting there but show some movement. So, I want it to happen. But we're going to go forward with the bill, even if the parliamentarian does not give us some favorable ruling.

BLITZER: Yes, that $7 25 cent hourly wage. The minimum wage right now. That's been in effect since 2009. Hasn't been raised since then. So, it's time for it to go up to be sure.

Congressman Clyburn, good luck to you. Thanks so much for joining us.

CLYBURN: Thank you very much for having me.

BLITZER: Just ahead, could a second shot of a single dose vaccine improve its efficacy against virus variants? We've got new information. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:29:13]

BLITZER: Some breaking news right now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signing a major disaster declaration as his state reels from severe winter weather that's impacting multiple states right now. The White House says the crisis is also causing major delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries. CNN's Alexandra Field has the latest from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hard won progress toward getting more shots in arms derailed by severe weather across the country. Storms crippling efforts to keep vaccines moving. The delays could last as long as two weeks.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIR. CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH & POLICY, UNIV. OF MINNESOTA: The challenge we have right now is that there's about 22 million Americans who have received their first dose waiting for their second dose.

[17:30:00] FIELD: Supplies are running drive from New York all the way to Idaho where only a limited number of Pfizer doses arrived this week, same goes for Washington State.

Major problems stemming from storms affecting the FedEx hub in Memphis and the UPS hub in Louisville. In Texas, a cold weather crisis creating an avalanche of problems.

JUDGE LINA HIDALGO, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: We even had a facility lose power, so we had to figure out a public health facility lose power. So, we had to figure out how to distribute and salvage those vaccines which we were able to do.

FIELD (voice-over): The slowdown in vaccinations at a time when many Americans are already at their most vulnerable.

OSTERHOLM: If you obviously are following what's happening with these viruses, particularly this U.K. variant we called B117, This very likely in the next five to 14 weeks is going to cause a major surge of cases in this country.

FIELD (voice-over): New reports show the vaccines that are currently available protect against new strains of the virus. But Senior White House COVID Adviser Andy Slavitt says, manufacturers are looking at ways to combat new variants that emerge by updating the vaccines or adding boosters. Johnson & Johnson, the maker of a single dose vaccine, which could receive FDA authorization soon is also looking at whether a second shot would improve efficacy.

Amid the race to vaccinate the country is posting its lowest numbers of new COVID cases in months. The average now just over 77,000 new cases a day, the lowest it's been since the end of October. Hospitalizations now as low as they've been since early November. Deaths are declining, but still averaging more than 2,000 a day. The lasting toll of a virus that leaves a permanent score on us all. The CDC now reports that in the first half of 2020, average American life expectancy fell by a year, the biggest decline since World War II.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: Here in Brooklyn, they're working with the supply that they do have, but they are prioritizing. They're only giving out shots at this site to people who are getting their second doses. That Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine should be approved soon, that would make more vaccines available to the public, but Johnson & Johnson is also saying they are doing a trial of their two-dose vaccine. They've already enrolled 21,000 people in that study. And, Wolf, we should have the results later in 2021.

BLITZER: All right, we'll see what happens Alexandra field in New York for us, thank you very much.

Let's get some more on all of these. Joining us now, the former CDC Acting Director, Dr. Richard Besser. Dr. Besser, thanks so much for joining us. This weather crisis comes as the country is in the middle of this, so widespread rollout of a time sensitive two-dose vaccine. So, what happens, Dr. Besser, when these shots can't get to where they are needed the most, especially on time?

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC: Yes, I mean, this is a challenge, Wolf. You know that you can't predict the weather. And when you've got things that are time sensitive, it's very -- it's critical. On the on the timing side, though, two months ago, CDC looked at the recommendations in terms of how tight you had to follow that dosing. So, for one vaccine, it's three weeks and one from vaccine it's four weeks.

What they said is you can go up to 42 days, so total of six weeks. So, although this is going to put a time crunch on that and get some people near that 42-day limit, hopefully the weather will add up and they'll be able to get vaccine to those people who are in that. But it will delay the number of people who are able to start vaccination at a time when everyone is so eager to get vaccinated.

BLITZER: Because a lot of people are waiting either three weeks or four weeks for their second dose. If they can't get it now, they're going to be nervous. Johnson & Johnson as you know, which develop this single dose coronavirus vaccine now says that by the second half of this year, we'll have data on whether a second Johnson & Johnson shot would actually improve efficacy against the new coronavirus variants that are out there from the U.K., South Africa and elsewhere. How important is this research?

BESSER: Well, it is important. As we've been seeing around the globe, there are new strains of this coronavirus that are emerging. And what we're seeing is that that vaccines aren't as effective as they are against the strain that was circulating here before. What we want to see, and they'll be looking at the data that J&J is submitting to the FDA is, does it hold up that they are extremely effective against severe disease, so hospitalization and death. We have to keep our eye on that prize so that we're not distracted by the idea that, well, someone could still get COVID and have some symptoms.

If it saves lives, if it keeps people out of the hospital and saves lives with one dose, that's terrific. If it is less effective against the newer strains, then looking to see other strategies. Two doses, booster doses, changes to vaccines. Those are all strategies that scientists are considering.

BLITZER: Let's hope it works. Obviously, so, so important. Dr. Besser, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

BESSER: Thanks, Wolf.

[17:35:02]

BLITZER: Coming up, a major breakthrough in space exploration. The most advanced Mars rover in NASA history has just touched down on the red planet. We'll have details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, the growing divide within the Republican Party is certainly on full display, amid a simmering feud between former President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. CNN has now learned that the number two Republican in the House, Congressman Steve Scalise, quietly paid a visit to the former President at his Mar-a-Lago resort this week.

Let's get some analysis from our Senior Political Correspondent Abby Philip and CNN Political Commentator Charlie Dent. Abby, first, the Republican leader in the House Kevin McCarthy, he visited the former President down in Palm Beach, now Congressman Steve Scalise makes the trip down there. Why are these lawmakers so intent on staying in good graces with Trump?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a real reflection of where they believe that the Republican base is right now.

[17:40:04]

And if you are Kevin McCarthy or Steve Scalise, so really many Republicans in the House of Representatives, you are reliant on that base for your political survival. Remember, they are up for reelection in two years, every two years, they have to go to the voters. And so, I do think that there -- they are saying very clearly here that they don't think that there's a path forward without basically bowing to Trump and signaling to his base that he is still someone with a lot of power, and that that's not going to change anytime soon. They're not like people in the Senate who can wait four or six years for their time to come up before voters, they have to do it much, much sooner than that.

BLITZER: Charlie, you're a former Republican Congressman, you know, Steve Scalise, you work with Steve Scalise, what's your reaction to learning he went down to Palm Beach to meet with the former President?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, it's very clear to me that Steve Scalise and Kevin McCarthy have kind of put themselves in a bit of a box, they so badly want to get back in the majority, they feel they need the President to do so. But I would argue by embracing Trump and Trumpism as strongly as they have, they're making it more difficult to win back seats in the suburbs in these marginal in swing districts. And they only need to win four or five seats.

But I think they're, you know, the closer they get to Trump, the harder it is, I think, for them to reclaim some of those swing districts they need to capture the majority. And I also think too that, you know, part if we go back to the Marjorie Taylor Greene issue, they didn't go after Marjorie Taylor Greene, they didn't punish her because they were afraid that would alienate members of, say, the Freedom Caucus, who would then not vote for Kevin McCarthy for speaker, should they get the majority? This is what happened in the -- was like what happened in 2015, when those members withheld their votes. And I think that's part of this calculation.

BLITZER: You make a good point. The Democrats only have a five-seat majority in the House of Representatives right now. So, it's very, very tight. Abby, House Republican leaders cozy up to Trump, Senate Republican leaders, in contrast, seem to be taking a different approach. Why is that?

PHILLIPS: Well, some of them have to have a long view. But also, I mean, take a look at the Senate members who, for example, voted for impeachment. So many of them are not actually running for reelection, they're retiring, they're leaving their seats. And so, they were freed up to criticize Trump. If you're Mitch McConnell, also, you're thinking about what you need to do beyond these districts that are drawn to be incredibly ruby red, where you are definitely going to have to be running actual general election campaigns against Democrats.

And McConnell is making a very clear calculation that he believes that Trump is not the way forward. And it's for all the reasons I think, that Charlie just described, which is that, you know, the suburban problem for the Republican Party is one that will be very much felt by the Senate candidates who are going up for reelection in two years and in four years, and McConnell is making a clear statement that he thinks that Trump is disastrous for that. He has some reason to believe that because they lost two seats just a few weeks ago in Georgia.

BLITZER: Abby Phillip, Charlie Dent, guys, thank you very much.

There's more breaking news coming up. NASA's Perseverance rover has just landed on Mars to search for signs of past life. Plus, he was an early hero of the pandemic, so why is the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo now coming under increasing attack?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:55]

BLITZER: We just witnessed a truly incredible achievement for science and space exploration, Perseverance. NASA's most technologically advanced Mars rover in history, just touchdown on the red planet after a harrowing descent through the Martian atmosphere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Touchdown confirmed, Perseverance is safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking he signs of past life. At this point that the (INAUDIBLE) had flown away to (INAUDIBLE), Perseverance is continuing to transmit (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, let's bring in our CNN Aviation Analyst Miles O'Brien. Miles, this was amazing to see just how big of an accomplishment is this landing.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Wolf, if it was by far the most complex landing that NASA has ever tried on the red planet, very rugged terrain. And historically, there's always a tug of war between the scientists that want to go to the rugged terrain because that's where the interesting rocks are. And the engineers who would prefer to pick a veritable parking lot where it's easy to land, but they pulled it off using some additional technology this go round. Wolf, they are five for five attempts at landing rovers on Mars since 1997, is truly remarkable. And I should remind everybody out there this actually is rocket science.

BLITZER: It certainly is. This rover called Perseverance, Miles, will be looking for signs of past life on Mars. Tell us about that.

MILES: Well, we're looking for the ancient remnants of what was a warm, shallow sea in that location, this just row (ph) crater. The hope is when we look at rocks that age on this planet, there are a bunch of them in Australia, as a matter of fact, when we look at them, there's telltale signs of biological organic life. And if Perseverance happens upon similar patterns that will get those scientists pretty excited.

[17:50:06]

They'll do some drilling, do some photo taking, they'll do some science on board Perseverance. But this is the first step in a very complex, long sought sample return mission. Perseverance will leave about 20 samples on the surface of Mars, a future mission of retriever rover will come and get it in future years, bring it back to Earth. And maybe then, at long last, we'll finally have an answer on the question of whether there was life on Mars.

BLITZER: Will this put us any closer to actually sending humans to Mars?

MILES: It's all intertwined, Wolf. First of all, there's the technical accomplishment of getting this big device -- about the size of an SUV onto the surface, that's a big challenge. But on top of that, you know, part of the reason to send human beings is that an astronaut with a pickaxe and a magnifying glass can do an awful lot more science in a fraction of the time. The Perseverance can do its job as good as it is. So, we'll see where this leads.

BLITZER: Miles O'Brien as usual, thanks very, very much.

There's other important news we're following, the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is coming under increasing fire amid a growing controversy over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Not that long after many actually saw him as a hero of the crisis. CNN's Brian Todd is working the story for us. Brian, Governor Cuomo is facing new allegations of a cover up and a threatening behavior.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right on both counts, Wolf. Governor Cuomo now facing the possibility of increased scrutiny from the federal government over his handling of the pandemic. But what it's really boiled down to at this point is a classic New York political melee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Tonight, Andrew Cuomo's latest political battle has gotten intensely personal with new accusations of intimidation against the New York Governor. MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: That's classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls. You know, the bullying is nothing new. The threats, the belittling, the man that someone changed their statement right that moment many, many times. I've heard that and I know a lot of other people in this state have heard that.

TODD (voice-over): The comments to MSNBC by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who's had a long-standing contentious relationship with Governor Cuomo refer to a call Cuomo made recently to New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim. Kim, who's criticized Cuomo over a controversy involving nursing home deaths from COVID, says Cuomo threatened to destroy his career.

RON KIM (D), NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: Berating, yelling and threatening that I have to issue a statement to that invalidated of what I heard. He asked me to lie to cover up for his staff. And this was done in front of my family. Now, he calls me, and my wife was next right next to me. I was, you know, right about to bathe my kids. And it really just put, you know, my family and my wife into shock and trauma.

TODD (voice-over): Cuomo's office tells CNN Kim is lying about the conversation, that there was never a threat to destroy anyone. Cuomo and his aides say Kim's accusations stem from their history.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I've had a -- my office, more than me, has had a long and hostile relationship with Assemblyman Ron Kim.

TODD (voice-over): This New York style political brawl stems from backlash Cuomo was getting over his handling of the pandemic. A law enforcement official tells CNN the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn and the FBI are looking at the handling of data surrounding COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities in New York. This comes after a top aide to Governor Cuomo admitted to state lawmakers that his administration delayed the release of that nursing home information because they were concerned the Trump administration would turn it into a political football.

It's not clear whether federal investigators are looking at Cuomo himself. Cuomo's office says it is cooperating with the Justice Department, and Cuomo addressed the crisis this week.

CUOMO: These decisions are not political decisions. They're all made on the best information the medical professionals have at the time.

TODD (voice-over): A far cry from those dark early days of America's battle with coronavirus, when Cuomo was looked on as a true national leader. At a time, few others were. One analyst says Cuomo still enjoys high favorability ratings for his handling of the pandemic. But --

JON CAMPBELL, NEW YORK STATE TEAM EDITOR, USA TODAY NETWORK: This is certainly among the biggest crisis, political crises that the Governor has faced since he's come into office, if not the biggest. And, you know, the difference here is the attention that he's getting. (END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Asked by CNN to comment on his remark on Mayor Bill de Blasio's remark that he is a bully, Governor Cuomo's office did not respond specifically to that but did send us an e-mail saying that Assemblyman Ron Kim is, quote, unscrupulous. Meanwhile, some New York lawmakers are looking to strip Governor Cuomo of his expanded emergency powers, and in Washington some Republican senators are calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the nursing home controversy. Wolf?

[17:55:11]

BLITZER: All right, Brian, thank you very much. Brian Todd reporting.

There's more breaking news we're following. The Texas Governor signs a major disaster declaration as the state reels from severe winter weather that's triggered power and water crisis. And tonight, there's another storm on the way.

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