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CNN Live Sunday

Republican Lawmakers Face New Ball Game in Senate

Aired May 27, 2001 - 16:05   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: When lawmakers return from the holiday weekend, the Senate will have a much different feel following last week's defection of Senator Jim Jeffords from the Republican Party. He became an independent. Even though the Republicans are losing control of Senate, they did manage to pass a major tax cut yesterday, along with the help of some moderate Democrats.

And for a look at the new power structure and what it means for you, we're joined live by CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett. Hi, Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello, Donna. You know, even under the best circumstances, most presidents have precious little time to savor big legislative victories. The president tried to celebrate one here at the White House, the biggest tax cut, an across-the-board tax cut, the largest one American taxpayers have seen since 1981.

But even as he was celebrating that major legislative victory, he and his aides were calculating and recalibrating the life that they are going to face legislatively when Congress comes back from its Memorial Day recess. It's going to be a new reality, one with Democrats at the top of the Senate food chain.

Tom Daschle, from South Dakota, will be the new Democratic majority leader of the Senate, and today, he also made it clear that he is calculating what life will be like with him as the leader of the Democrats and the leader of the Senate, and laid out his battle plan against the Bush White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D-SD), MINORITY LEADER: We've got a lot of good battles we think we may be able to win on education, on a patient's bill of rights, on minimum wage, prescription drug benefits; those are the fights we're going to be waging in the future, and I'm excited about the prospect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: Those are the fights we are going to be waging. The White House seized upon those words, saying that it really wasn't that interested in fighting with the Democrats. The chief of staff for the president, Andrew Card, said that president will take a different tack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW CARD, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: It sounds to me like he doesn't have an agenda other than an agenda of no. The president has a positive agenda for America. The tax relief plan is a positive statement to America. The education reform package will be a positive statement to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: As for that education agenda, the White House expects to receive a bipartisan education reform bill here at the White House for the president to sign by the middle of June. But after that, all bets are off. The White House will still try to pursue different policy on defense, energy and on trade, but they know they're going to encounter stiff Democratic resistance on all those fronts, not to mention the ones Senator Daschle outlined -- Donna.

KELLEY: Major Garrett at the White House, thanks very much.

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