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Trump-Backed Government Funding Bill Fails in House; Trump Claims GA Election Interference Case 'Entirely Dead'. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired December 20, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, December 20. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[05:59:58]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see how we avoid a shutdown.
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HUNT: Shutdown stalemate. Republicans back to the drawing board after their plan to keep the government open fails.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The district attorney is totally compromised. The case has to be dropped.
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HUNT: D.A. disqualified. What will happen to Donald Trump's election case in Georgia without Fani Willis prosecuting?
And back in New York with a slew of new federal charges. Luigi Mangione waking up in a Brooklyn detention center this morning.
And later --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to be fighting on -- until we get what we reserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: On strike. Thousands of Amazon workers walk the picket line during the crucial holiday shopping rush.
All right, 6 a.m. on the East Coast. A live look at Los Angeles, where it is 3 a.m. this morning. Five days until Christmas. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you
with us.
The Republican speaker of the House, apparently, on Donald Trump's naughty list after a deal to keep the government open through the holidays and Trump's inauguration fell apart in spectacular fashion.
Thirty-eight Republicans and all but two Democrats voted against a continuing resolution to keep the government open until March. The deal included a demand from President-elect Trump: raise the debt ceiling. That is something that has always had to be bipartisan when Republicans are in charge, because conservatives usually flat-out refuse to vote for it.
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REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): It's -- this just stinks. That's why America doesn't trust government, and it's for good dadgum reason.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And you said, shut it down.
BURCHETT: That's what it takes to bring us to the table.
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): Not going to go vote for another debt ceiling increase without actual specifics on what the cuts will be. That's a nonstarter for me.
REP. BOB GOOD (R-VA): The debt limit must not be increased without commensurate spending cuts and fiscal reform.
REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): I've never voted to raise the debt ceiling. I mean, I love Donald Trump, but he didn't vote me into office. My district did.
I come from a district where they -- they call in overwhelmingly, wanting us to shut it down.
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HUNT: Those Republicans, as he acknowledged there, are now at odds with Trump, who wants to strip Democrats of the leverage that they'd have over his tax plan if the debt ceiling were still hanging over it.
The president-elect, posting just after 1 a.m. this morning, quote, "Congress must get rid of or extend out to perhaps 2029 the ridiculous debt ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is president."
But right now, the man most under pressure is Mike Johnson. After two very public failures, his reelection as House speaker in the next Congress, far from certain. Trump yesterday telling FOX News that Johnson needs to prove himself.
He said this: quote, "If the speaker acts decisively and tough and gets rid of all the traps being set by the Democrats, he will easily remain speaker," end quote.
But already, some Trump allies are openly talking about replacing Johnson when a new Congress is seated in two weeks.
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STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Clearly, Johnsons not up to the task; he's got to go. Right? He's got to go.
SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): I don't think the speaker is going to remain in power. It needs to be either Vivek Ramaswamy or it needs to be Elon Musk.
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HUNT: Speaker Elon Musk. Implausible, but not impossible. There is no requirement that the speaker be a member of the House.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: And that sound that you hear, that's Democrats chanting "Hell no!" in a closed-door meeting to decide how they were going to vote on the spending deal.
Even hypothetical Speaker Musk would have to work with them, because the Republican majority is said to be so slim in the early months of the year that any single Republican could derail legislation like the spending deal.
For now, Democrats are exploiting the chaos.
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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Everybody agreed, and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D-CT): President Musk said, Don't do it. Don't do it. Shut the government down.
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HUNT: All right. Joining us on our panel, Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political reporter for Axios; Jonah Goldberg, CNN political commentator, editor in chief of "The Dispatch"; Meghan Hays, former Biden White House director of message planning; and Matt Gorman, former senior adviser to Tim Scott's presidential campaign.
Welcome to all of you on this Friday before Christmas. All of these lawmakers had hoped to be on planes last night or this morning, already out of here with everything said and done. And Jonah, it has now been blown to smithereens.
It's a preview of what next year is going to be like, but I'm also not clear on how they get out of this jam.
JONAH GOLDBERG, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I don't really see how they avoid a shutdown at this point. I just don't -- It's strange to me.
[06:05:06]
Donald Trump was having something he's never had before, which is essentially a honeymoon. His net favorability was positive for the first time in his ten years in American politics. And to essentially -- I want to say he's squandering it, because we don't know how this is going to play out.
But to seriously risk squandering it before you're even inaugurated, bold move, Cotton. I just don't quite get it. You know?
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: What's been really interesting is Republicans have now pushed back against Trump a few times now.
You look at Matt Gaetz, attorney general. You see even some of these cabinet nominees that have had to withdraw are sort of un-tenuous. That's because congressional Republicans are pushing back in a way that they didn't the first term.
And, you know, one thing that Donald Trump should be careful about is that he is a lame-duck president. And you can become a lame duck very quickly.
HUNT: Matt Gorman, what is going on here and how does this end?
MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO TIM SCOTT'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Well, first of all, days like this make me very thankful I never worked on Capitol Hill.
But at this point, I don't see how there's not at least some semblance of a shutdown, maybe nominal at best at this point.
I mean, look, these things are fluid, right? Pressure and leverage are fluid. But right now, for there to be any leverage with Republicans, any pressure on the Senate or Democrats as a party, they have to pass something through the House. It has to happen. They have not been able to do that, obviously, last night. And until they do, the pressure is still on the Republicans to get something through the House chamber that they control.
Now, again, until that happens, we don't know. I think, look, the more Trump gets involved, the more likely for that to happen, right? I think the lighter touch with Trump, as we saw with Gaetz, as we saw
with the C.R., gives more license for Republicans with a lighter touch to not feel the pressure. Heavier pressure, harder to say no, certainly. And we see that with some of the nominees for the cabinet he's willing to fight for. That's what I'm watching for the next 12 hours.
HUNT: Meghan Hays, is there any risk for Democrats at this point in just sticking together and saying no and letting it shut down? I mean, do they risk any blame?
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: No. They had a deal. The Republicans are the ones who went back on the deal. So, I -- it's hard for me to have Democrats take blame here.
This is a good wake-up call for the Republicans that they are going to need Democrats, starting January 3, to pass anything through the House. The margin becomes even slimmer to two people next -- next Congress.
So, I just -- I don't understand how the Republicans are not checking this now and how they are going to get this through now. They had a deal. They reneged on it. This is part of negotiating. You have to give something to get it through. That is going to be the reality for them moving forward.
HUNT: So, to your point, Matt Gorman, this was Kevin Cramer on the Hill yesterday, talking with some of our colleagues about what Donald Trump should do next. Watch.
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REP. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I think one of the ways that this could get fixed fairly quickly would be if President Trump would come up to Washington tomorrow or spend the weekend here and talk to people face- to-face. Let's face it. I mean, he's -- you know, he's got a lot of sway and persuasion. He acts more like the sitting president than the sitting president. And if he'd come up, I think he could help move things along.
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HUNT: Plausible?
GORMAN: Look, I'll put it this way. One of the things I was struck by is Donald Trump is not president yet. Where is Joe Biden on this?
I think there's an MIA factor on Biden, too. Twelve years ago, it was him and McConnell, Biden and McConnell that really were the ones instrumental for not letting the debt limit be breached in -- back in the summer of 2011.
Where the heck is he right now?
HAYS: Negotiating a deal that they already had. They -- they are part of that deal. GORMAN: Biden? Biden hasn't said a word on this. He --
HAYS: He did yesterday.
GORMAN: He put out a statement. I'm sorry.
HUNT: But I will also say, why would he?
GORMAN: Why would he?
HUNT: Yes.
GORMAN: He's at risk right now.
HAYS: Of what?
GORMAN: Of a shutdown ending his presidency throughout this whole thing, if this thing goes.
HAYS: Donald Trump and the Republicans have already --
GORMAN: Donald Trump will have --
HAYS: -- so well that he's not in charge. Why would they get involved? They had a deal that the White House was involved in, making that deal with the Democrats, that the Republicans then agreed to and then threw out.
GORMAN: Salvage a deal. Where is Biden in this whole process?
HAYS: But this is where I think -- that you know about. This doesn't mean they weren't doing stuff behind the scenes, which is very well known that that's what they do. But this is what happens. Governing is harder than campaigning. And Donald Trump is learning that lesson.
GOLDBERG: So, to pick up on something that Alex was saying, there's a whole lot of mojo stealing going on here, right? Donald Trump isn't president, and he's stolen basically Joe Biden's mojo. He's acting like he's the center of political gravity.
Until this week, where for the first time in Trump's political career, somebody out-MAGA-ed him, somebody out-populist-energied him in the form of Donald Trump [SIC] -- in the form of Elon Musk.
HUNT: It was a remarkable moment.
GOLDBERG: And it's never happened before. And Trump was playing catch- up to, you know, his guy.
And I think that the last is that it's really important to emphasize that Musk and Trump have different policy agendas here.
Musk is about, you know -- with all of his weirdness and not grasping how the system works, is talking about restraining spending, restraining debt. And Trump wants to get rid of the debt ceiling so that he can pay for
the tax cuts and for the wall and all of that stuff without ever worrying about any limits on his spending.
[06:10:07]
Those two things are not reconcilable over time, and given that Musk has all this mojo now, it's -- it's going to be weird.
THOMPSON: Yes. Competing power centers, competing social media platforms. I'm, like, following X and following Truth Social. They can't make, you know --
HUNT: If you want to read the Democrats, you've got to go to Bluesky now.
THOMPSON: Yes, yes. You've got to like -- It, honestly, really is reflection of America.
But you know, to Matt's point, I mean, President Biden and not just on this deal, but has been largely -- you know, has really retreated and taken a back seat the last several months.
And there is a risk, even though we know the details. To your point, the details was there was a deal and there's not. Do voters not really realize that? And they just say, well, Joe Biden is still president. Why is the government shut down?
HUNT: Right. I mean, that's -- that's the big question in my mind is, OK --
THOMPSON: I mean, there's a risk. That's all I'm saying, because it does seem like there is this ambient sense that Donald Trump is already in charge, despite the fact that Joe Biden is still president.
So, does that not necessarily lead voters to blame Trump?
GOLDBERG: How many "F's" left does Joe Biden have to give? He's going home to Delaware. You know, it's not like he's running for anything ever again. I don't know, it's -- it's weird.
HUNT: I think that you put it rather succinctly. Yes.
All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, when he was a candidate, Joe Biden repeatedly said that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy. Now he says it's, quote, "not my concern." Michael Smerconish will be here to discuss.
Plus, Speaker Elon Musk, Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell weighs in on the push to replace Mike Johnson.
And Fani Willis disqualified from prosecuting Donald Trump's racketeering case in Georgia. Where does that case go from here?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FANI WILLIS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.
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TRUMP: Corrupt Fani Willis hired her lover, Nathan Wade.
She paid her boyfriend, a lawyer who had no experience as a lawyer and no experience doing what -- almost $1 million. And then they decided to go on beautiful Norwegian Cruise Lines trips all over the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Nine months after making those claims, President-elect Trump has apparently succeeded in undermining the fourth and final criminal case still being prosecuted against him.
A Georgia court of appeals disqualifying Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis on Thursday, citing a significant appearance of impropriety in Trump's election interference case, a case that can still move forward with a different new special prosecutor.
Willis's prosecution was upended earlier this year when her affair with her handpicked special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, became public. She immediately denied benefitting financially from bringing him on.
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WILLIS: I don't need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. And so, there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I always give him his money back. I don't need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who's ever foot my bills completely is my daddy.
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HUNT: Willis will fight to stay on the case, her team asking Georgia's Supreme Court to review the appeal's decision. But Trump believes the matter is closed, telling FOX News digital, quote, "It should not be allowed to go any further. She has been disqualified, and her boyfriend has been disqualified. And they stole funds and went on trips.
Meghan Hays, how was this handled, in your view?
HAYS: I mean, a disaster, right? Like, this is where you let your personal feelings, and your personal wants take over your professional. And it just blew up the whole thing for no reason.
She had a -- she has a good case. And then she let her personal feelings for this guy get in the way. And it just is a disaster.
Like, it -- I don't understand how you are professional, and this is what ends up happening. And then you become sort of a joke. And then she acted so indignant. It's just kind of embarrassing.
HUNT: But Jonah, this is one of these things where, I mean, when it was all playing out, the events in Georgia and the phone call that was taped and the votes that Donald Trump was looking for, there is something remarkable to the reality that it's unlikely that there will ever be accountability for that.
GOLDBERG: Yes. I mean, there'll be some historic accountability, which that and three bucks will get you something at Starbucks.
But, yes, I mean, this is one of the reasons why we can't have nice things. Donald Trump is extremely lucky in the nature and character and competence of his enemies. Either they're good people who way overreach, or they're incompetent people who don't know what they're doing or some mixture there -- of the above.
And part of the problem is you get this cascade of norm violations. Donald Trump violates norms. He does bad things. And then people think that they can do bad things or cut corners in order to get him.
And then Donald Trump is very effective at pointing that out, and it makes the whole system look bad and feeds this populist discontent about distrust in institutions. It's a terrible cycle.
HUNT: Well, and, Matt, this case did give that mug shot that we were just showing of Trump became almost a badge of honor. I mean, people were wearing it around at the convention.
GORMAN: Oh, yes. No, it became a meme, and they raised a ton of money off it.
GOLDBERG: You have that tattoo, don't you?
GORMAN: I do. You don't want to see that, though. It's a family program.
But no, it's -- Look, I think in just talking hypothetically, left, right or center, if you're going after the president of the United States criminally, you need to have every "I" dotted and "T" crossed.
And the -- just the team of just dolts that they -- that they left on this case who acted so ridiculously undermine the case in of itself. Like, regardless of what it is.
And, you know, and again, as Meghan pointed out, this indignity, I think I don't know whether Fani actually believed what she was saying or she was trying to kind of have this viral moment that maybe the left would kind of latch onto when she was testifying at that -- at that hearing.
[06:20:05]
Everything she did just backfired spectacularly, ending up in this moment. And there's no one to blame but her and her team.
THOMPSON: And to your point, you know, you know, "I's" dotted and "T's" crossed. She was trying to make herself into a national figure.
GORMAN: Oh, yes.
THOMPSON: At the time she was sitting with interview -- for interviews with journalists. She sat for a book by Michael Isikoff. Like she -- you know, she was very active in trying to make herself and make this nationalized. She was welcoming the scrutiny. And if you're going to do that, then you shouldn't be -- you know.
HUNT: Yes. The phrase that someone who was important around here for a long, long time was, "You've got to play error-free ball. Just not an option otherwise."
All right. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, President Biden's final push to keep his electric vehicle agenda alive after President- elect Trump takes office.
Plus, thousands of Amazon workers on strike. The retail giant says it won't affect your packages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC'S "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Thousands of Amazon workers went on strike. It's not good, but everyone who waited too long to order a gift is like, sweet. There's my excuse.
"Freaking Amazon. You believe this? And I was going to surprise you."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[06:24:21]
HUNT: Twenty-four minutes past the hour. Five things you have to see this morning.
For a second day, thousands of Amazon workers on the picket line. They are lobbying for safer working conditions, better benefits and higher wages.
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SAMANTHA THOMAS, AMAZON WORKER: We are the face of Amazon. We wear the uniform. We drive the trucks. When we pull up to your House, you say, "Oh, that's Amazon," not "That's Samantha" or "That's this." We're Amazon. We should be recognized as such.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Amazon says the busy holiday shopping season will not be impacted.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (EXPLOSION)
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HUNT: Whoa. An old power plant in Ohio now history. An implosion bringing down two smokestacks and three buildings. It's making way for a park and a new neighborhood.
Not the nutcracker show one family was hoping for this holiday season. A thief caught on camera, walking off with a family's nutcracker decoration, straight from their front porch.
Guys, this is -- this behavior is just like -- it's -- it's just ridiculous and unacceptable.
Houston police are trying to crack the case.
All right. Santa skipping the chimney, shooting straight down the side of a Colorado children's hospital. The Aurora police department's SWAT team was getting in some training, and they brought Santa to help.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eaton County 911.
JILL PLEMMONS, WIFE GAVE BIRTH IN DRIVEWAY: Please hurry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's going on?
PLEMMONS: I'm delivering a baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: This mom's birth plan did not include staying in her driveway, but births rarely go as planned.
When the new dad arrived home from work, he found his wife halfway through the delivery on the phone, with the help of a 911 dispatcher.
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J. PLEMMONS: My adrenaline, obviously, all of our adrenaline was going.
BRENDEN PLEMMONS, WIFE GAVE BIRTH IN DRIVEWAY: Still kind of processing all of it. I think everything just happened so quick. I didn't even have a chance -- you know, didn't even have an option whether to do it or not. You know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: An ambulance arrived on scene just as their baby girl was born. Both mom and beautiful baby Amelia are doing well.
This is a story close to my heart, having been there myself.
GORMAN: You did do that, Yes.
HUNT: Now, thankfully, my husband was home at the time, and he was the one on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, not me. So, props to her for handling it all by herself. I am really glad I wasn't in that position.
All right. Still ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, the government ticking toward a shutdown. Coming up, we're going to speak with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell about what's needed to make a deal fast.
Plus, show of force. Suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione's unusual journey to New York to face new charges.
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