Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Johnson: Venezuela Operation "Is Not A Regime Change"; U.S. Overhauls Childhood Vaccine Schedule To Recommend Fewer Shots; Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) On House Democrats' Hearing To "Set The Record Straight" On January 6. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 06, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:20]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, new gunfire flaring up near Venezuela's Presidential Palace in Caracas. There are reports that this was somehow all a misunderstanding, but it points to the confusion in the country after the U.S. military operation that took out President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, says she is planning to return home as soon as possible. President Trump has said she lacks the respect to run the country. But she has nothing but praise, so far, for the president, telling Fox News the Nobel Peace Prize she won and that he lobbied for should go to him and that she may share it with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST, "THE SEAN HANNITY SHOW": Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize? Did that actually happen? I had read that somewhere and I wasn't sure if it was true.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Well, it hasn't happened yet but I would certainly love to be able to personally tell him that we believe -- the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people -- certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas, and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier.

Kim, I'm going to go to you first. Maria Machado -- you heard her there. She was asked twice by Sean Hannity about the peace prize. She reiterated what the U.S. believes that her opposition party won in a landslide and she will head back to the country as soon as possible.

But so far, Trump, she said, had not called her since Maduro's ouster. Instead, he says he's in charge for now.

Why wouldn't the president call the opposition who the United States has clearly said won the election a couple of years ago?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Because this action against Maduro was not about bringing democracy to Venezuela. It was about protecting the U.S. from drugs coming from Venezuela, from migrants coming from Venezuela, but keeping a system in power there that basically keeps the peace.

Trump doesn't want the country to fall into civil war and cause a refugee flight and basically, some sort of internecine warfare between the various competing factions for power. He wants to be able to extract resources from the country and that means Maria Machado is maybe a role for the -- she's got a role for the future. But for right now, that's not what Trump is interested in.

SIDNER: I want to let people hear what House Speaker Mike Johnson said after being asked about the transition in Venezuela -- who was in charge. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This is not a regime change. This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime. We have a way of persuasion because their oil exports, as you know, have been seized and I think that will -- that will bring the country to a new governance in very short order.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: "This is not a regime change," he said. This is to get the regime in place to change.

Alex, how does that work? How does the United States make that happen in a safe manner? Are they just going to try trust the members of the very regime that was behind Maduro?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, DIRECTOR, COUNTER TERRORISM PROGRAM, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: That certainly appears to be the case, at least in the interim. So as you noted in the video from Sean Hannity from last night, which is a show the president tends to watch, Machado came out and talked about, you know, offering the peace prize as sort of an amends to the president, as you mentioned, because he had sort of dismissed the opposition coming in.

[07:35:00]

And so that means that the U.S. is now going to rely on Venezuela's vice president, who by virtue of the fact that she was elected with Maduro in a fraudulent election, wasn't actually the elected leader but is in place now. So it doesn't reflect the will of the Venezuelan people.

But that's in stark contrast to the statement that's been made by the speaker because the president and members of the administration at least have followed up with that. This is supposed to be a transition to a new government, assuming it'll get to democratic elections in the future, which would absolutely be regime change. SIDNER: I do want to talk about something else that the president said as this is all going on -- as Maduro is now going through the court system, he seemed to have a lot to say, which we will get to later. But Trump isn't stopping at Venezuela it appears. He says the U.S. needs Greenland.

And Homeland Security adviser -- one of the closest advisers to President Trump who is also pointed out as someone who is going to help run Venezuela -- Stephen Miller -- is making the case bluntly for Greenland -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States. And that's a conversation that we're going to have as a country. That's a process we're going to have as a -- as a community of nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Kim, what happens here if the United States tries to take Greenland, which -- I mean, does that sound, first of all, outlandish to you?

DOZIER: It sounds like what they're talking about is not taking it militarily but basically bullying Denmark, Europe, and the people of Greenland into getting the country to be part of the U.S. in some manner, shape, or form.

It doesn't really make sense, especially when you hear from European leaders that -- they're like well, wait -- the U.S. already has a base there. Greenlanders talk about how the treaty that the U.S. has signed allows it basically to expand those bases and do whatever they want on the island for all intents and purposes.

So why try to make it a U.S. territory is baffling to European leaders -- disturbing. It sounds like the kind of logic that Putin has used to invade Ukraine, and it could lead to real action against the U.S. that jeopardizes the U.S.' access to a market of 700 million people. And so in Europe there's real worry and complete dismay.

SIDNER: Alex Plitsas and Kim Dozier, thank you to both of you for going through all of that with me. Appreciate it -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Today is the fifth anniversary of the storming of the U.S. Capitol. In 2022, Congress voted to honor the police officers who were attacked defending it that day -- to honor them with a plaque. But that plaque is not hanging this morning even though the law required it to be so by 2023. Instead, some Democrats have posted copies hanging outside their congressional offices.

The speaker's office told CNN that the law authorizing the plaque "is not implementable."

With us now, CNN political commentators SE Cupp and Karen Finney.

And Karen, I just wanted to ask you about sort of the symbolism of that. Congress voted to put a plaque up honoring police officers no less, and Speaker Johnson, at this point, still won't put it up.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER, 2016 HILLARY CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: It's really disgusting, John, I have to say. I mean, January 6 was such a pivotal moment in the history of this country and it's one that we should vow not to forget because --

And we -- as we learned from the deposition of Jack Smith, which was released by the House Republicans on December 31 -- apparently, they were trying -- it seems like they were trying to hide it -- you know, he had the goods on Donald Trump. And we know that the president was trying to overthrow an election.

And again, as you pointed out, D.C. police, members of the Capitol Hill police force -- they were -- they did their jobs that day in trying to protect our democracy, trying to protect the will of the people. And yet, you know, here is -- the -- all we're asking for -- all they're asking for is to have a plaque hung and that's -- you know, Donald Trump is so petty that he won't even allow that because that is how deep this runs in terms of his desire to, you know, hide the truth.

BERMAN: You know, SE, Politico -- Kyle Cheney had a really interesting piece this morning which talks about some of the lessons that Donald Trump perhaps took from January 6 and how it's having an impact even today in Venezuela and maybe with tariffs -- over the course of his entire second term in the White House.

Kyle wrote, "Trump learned in the final days of his first term that the Constitution is riddled with ambiguities, loopholes and untested limits. And in the years since, he learned it's nearly impossible to punish a president who decides to test them."

What do you think of that, SE?

[07:40:00]

SE CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he learned another thing. I mean, all of those things, for sure, but I think he learned another thing -- that if he has enough friends and patsies and cronies in positions of power even Congress won't do its job, right?

Even the checks and balances that are established in the separation of powers by the Constitution in this country will fall apart if enough things go wrong for democracy and right for him. And he's been testing that ever since -- not just January 6 but on election -- on his election day and afterwards.

And you're seeing Congress not do its job yet again. Congress should have gotten approval for this Venezuela toppling of Maduro.

FINNEY: Yes. CUPP: It should have been overseeing approvals for the drug boat busts as well. And they've completely abdicated their positions of power -- their duties here.

So a lot of things have gone right for Donald Trump that really should not have.

BERMAN: Yeah. And it's one of these situations with all presidents now that he knows that they know that they know that he knows that they're not going to go ahead --

FINNEY: Right.

CUPP: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- and grant this approval now. So presidents feel like they can do this.

FINNEY: Right.

BERMAN: And this is something -- there are some senators of both parties who decide -- who want to fix this long-term. They just never seem to do it at the right times or in time, you know, for a presidential action.

Let's talk about George Conway, of course, who is now a candidate for U.S. Congress here in the city of New York -- New York's 12th congressional district.

FINNEY: Yeah.

BERMAN: Right now, Jerry Nadler holds that.

So Karen -- and first of all, there are tons of people running for this seat and some of them are well-known.

FINNEY: Yeah.

BERMAN: But what do you think of that? A former Republican attorney, George Conway, made his name over the last several years by being incredibly anti-Trump. Is that enough to be a member of Congress?

FINNEY: Uh, you know -- well, I guess, welcome to the Democratic Party, I should say, first of all. I mean, who would have thought that here we -- here's where we would be and certainly, post-January 6 and post that first Trump administration. George Conway really made his name, as you point out.

Look, I think it's a compelling argument to say I know how they think. I know how to fight them. But it'll be interesting to see in terms of the dynamics, specifically in New York City. Is that what New Yorkers want or will he also have to, as the other candidates are, talk about things like how are you going to bring costs down. How are you going to hold the feets of the -- you know, the president's feet to the fire, you know? As SE was saying, I think the other -- there's another argument that I'm wondering about and I hope Democrat candidates will make, which is, you know, Republicans own this -- the mess. They own the fact that they have abdicated their responsibility and the fact that they have not held this president accountable. They own politically in an election. If they thought co-sign was happening in Venezuela, they own that. So is George Conway going to make that argument as well? It'll be interesting to see.

BERMAN: SE, you know a little something about New York City politics. There was a time when maybe SE Cupp could have been a New York City politician. I mean, what do you think George Conway will learn about running for office here?

CUPP: Listen, New York -- I was also a New York resident -- longtime. New York is liberal. It's not Portland liberal. If New Yorkers can elect a socialist to be mayor, they can elect a conservative to be a representative. And what New Yorkers want is a fighter. I think New Yorkers told us that a lot when they talked about Mamdani, and that was fighting for New York but also fighting against Donald Trump. That really appeals to New Yorkers right now.

And while I lament that issues are not front and center and policy isn't top of mind, someone like George Conway, who has really broadened his name I.D. by being a never-Trumper, by being so anti- Trump and principled in his conservatism, probably would endear him to a lot of New York City voters. So I give him -- I absolutely give him a shot at this.

BERMAN: SE Cupp, Karen Finney, great to see you today. Thanks so much -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning doctors and medical groups are now issuing new warnings about the Trump administration, specifically its latest overhaul to public health, once again targeting childhood vaccines.

Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services rolled out its new recommendations that most American children have fewer vaccinations, no longer recommending for most kids the vaccines against hepatitis B, hepatitis A, the flu, and a handful of others.

CNN's Meg Tirrell has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this chance to the U.S. vaccination schedule would take the number of diseases the U.S. broadly recommends childhood vaccination against from as many as 18 down to 11. Now, the U.S. will still broadly recommend vaccination against things like diphtheria, tetanus, whopping cough, measles, mumps, rubella, and a few other diseases. But what this does is sort of weaken the recommendation against diseases, including rotavirus and flu.

[07:45:05] And public health experts are very concerned about that because it could mean that vaccination rates against those diseases will fall and leave kids at unnecessary risk.

Now, the HHS says that insurance should still cover all of these vaccines regardless of the strength of the recommendation.

And this is a move that is part of the Trump administration's goal to move the U.S. more closely in line with other countries when it comes to vaccine policy.

And specifically here, this brings us closer to a country like Denmark. Now that's something that's been criticized heavily by outside public health experts as well because they point out Denmark is a very different country. It has a population of about six million people, which is about the size of the state of Wisconsin. It also has free universal health care, which is something that the United States doesn't have. And so the U.S. has a different set of risks and that's why experts say it had a different vaccine schedule.

Denmark's researchers, some of whom are also scratching their heads about this -- one of them told us that the U.S. and Denmark are two very different countries and public health is not one-size-fits-all -- pointing to the differences, particularly in childhood and prenatal care, between the two countries.

One researcher tells us, "Vaccines prevent infections that may have poor outcomes for children who do not have access to good health care."

So a lot of concerns among public health experts here. Even though insurance should still cover all of these vaccines they're worried about confusion in pediatricians' offices. And they are suggesting that for vaccine policy folks should look to outside groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics to get good advice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Meg Tirrell for that.

Two women rescued from a seaside cliff. How they were fine -- found. And monkey on the lam. A monkey goes wild in a pawn shop. The question is why did the monkey need the money?

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:50:55]

BOLDUAN: A hearing is about to get underway on Capitol Hill, all about these images you're looking at here. Taking another look at what happened on this day five years ago -- essentially, getting the original January 6 select committee back together again to "set the record straight" on the insurrection.

The top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, and the former chair of that January 6 committee, Bennie Thompson, will be leading the panel.

Here is Jeffries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): January 6, a horrific attack on the United States Capitol that was part of the MAGA extremist effort to halt the peaceful transfer of power. And these people in the administration -- they want to lecture the world about democracy when they're undermining the rule of law at home? We're going to document all of that for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And joining me is the other man who will be leading today's hearing, Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson. Thank you so much for being here, Congressman. I appreciate your time.

In your view, how do you describe the point of this hearing today?

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Well, thank you so much for having me.

What we want to do is to share with the people that what they saw with their own eyes really happened. It wasn't Antifa. It wasn't Black Lives Matter. It was people who were summoned to the United States Capitol by the president at that time, Donald Trump. Some of the expenses for the people who came were paid by the Trump administration and their various financial entities.

So there are a lot of things that we want to continue to highlight. The fact that so many of our brave law enforcement people were hurt on that day and five eventually died. So this is not something that you can make up. Even those -- this administration has done a job on conning the American people that what they saw with their own eyes didn't happen.

BOLDUAN: This is an unofficial hearing because, as everyone knows, Democrats are not in the majority -- do not have the majority and don't have the power then to conduct oversight because of it.

With the president and Republicans in Congress winning in 2024, the president, in large part -- in part, ran on pardoning January 6 rioters. Ran on changing the narrative around January 6, making no secret of it.

Do you believe that the president has been successful in rewriting history or clouding the memory of this day?

THOMPSON: Well, I think he added confusion to the situation. In my area of the country people say if you tell a lie enough some people begin to believe the lie. Donald Trump has continuously repeated the lie and that's what has happened.

But I think what we will do in setting the record straight today is say that even though a majority of the people were convicted, another majority of the people pled guilty. Those brave FBI persons who investigated and found the guilty people should not have been victimized by losing their jobs. All those things are so important. But as important is the fact that this president continues to promote what he knows in his own mind is not true.

So for the most part, we'll continue to say in so many words that January 6 happened. It was unfortunate. Fifteen hundred people were pardoned. And for the record, 33 of those individuals have already committed crimes since they were pardoned. So we look forward to what goes on.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. We saw that information released by House Democrats earlier today.

[07:55:00]

Democrats are running to win back the majority in this coming election. If this didn't help you win two years ago, why do you think focusing on this will help you win in 2026?

THOMPSON: Well, obviously, we'll continue to tell the truth. Again, the president is a master at convincing people that what they see didn't happen. But at this point we see, in many instances, people coming up saying you know, I just couldn't believe that the president still says what happened, and I voted for them. So there are a lot of people who are having voter's remorse at this point.

And we'll see what happens. I think what Democrats have to do is continue to tell the legitimate story of what occurred, and that's what we plan to do with our hearing today.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you in terms of the question around the election midterms. You are facing a primary challenge this time around from a former aide to Sen. Schumer and Sen. Warren.

Part of his reasoning for running against you in the primary -- and let me read part of this statement -- is "The same old playbook from the '90s isn't going to work anymore. We are dealing with big tech firms and social media and AI, and we need members of Congress who know how to navigate that terrain."

He's saying that you're past your time. You're serving your 17th term. You were first elected in 1993.

What do you say to people like Evan Turnage who say that it's time for members like yourself -- older members -- senior members to pass it to the younger generation?

THOMPSON: Well, you know, I have a record here in Congress. For the most part, I have 100 percent voting record on all the issues that matters to a district like mine, whether it's education, health care, the economy, or what have you. And I've been the sole person pushing back on what Donald Trump is doing now just to my district but to this country as a whole.

But, you know, in America, people -- they have choices. I will defend my opponent's right to run, and that's democracy. And I don't inherit this position; I run for it every two years, and I stand on my record.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Bennie Thompson, thank you so much for your time -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thanks, Kate.

On our radar for you this morning video showing two women being rescued off a cliff above a beach in Northern California. This is about 30 miles north of San Francisco. Highway patrol helicopter crews spotted them from the air as the sun started to set, and a paramedic was able to land near them and help move them to a safer area so they could be lifted out. They are both doing OK this morning.

And Cher is making headlines for criticizing actor and podcaster Dax Shepard. The 79-year-old Oscar and Grammy winner appeared on the new episode of Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" where he openly acknowledged the icon isn't exactly his biggest fan. This is what they had to say about his marriage to Kristen Bell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAX SHEPARD, HOST, "ARMCHAIR EXPERT WITH DAX SHEPARD": Who would be your dream partner for her because I know you think she could do better, and I don't disagree. Who would be your pick?

CHER, SINGER: I don't know. No -- but the truth is I trust her so you must have something that I don't see.

SHEPARD: Yeah, there you go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: There you go. Shepard did try to plead his case to Cher, saying, "I'll tell you the thing that you should like about me, I'm not threatened by her shining. The shinier she gets, the better."

And a pawn shop in Tennessee had an unexpected customer wreak havoc over the weekend. Chester, a Cinnamon Capuchin monkey, managed to break into the shop through a doggy door. The store's owner says the monkey basically went at everything, smashing some musical instruments, turning on all four sinks, opening packages, and just helping himself to some snacks. What's wrong with that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORETTA BRYANT, STORE OWNER: It was a disaster. He really hated computer keyboards. There was three computer keyboards just bashed. The keys were laying in the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I just -- whose monkey is this? Police say the monkey --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's Chester (PH).

SIDNER: They named him. The monkey may have been stolen, according to police, from a farm in Alabama. After several hours on the loose and making a complete mess of the place, he has been returned to his owner. That's where we got the name, John.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, gunfire in Venezuela's capital as President Trump insists he is in charge and tells anyone who will listen that he's after Venezuela's oil. And a key aide seems to set his sights on Greenland next.

Homeland Security versus Hilton. The government accuses the hotel chain of refusing to house ICE agents.