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Erin Burnett Outfront
Fauci Says Working for Biden is "Liberating" Compared to Trump After Biden Unveils His "Wartime" Effort to Fight COVID; Biden's First Actions as President Undo Years of Trump Policies; McConnell Wants to Delay Trump's Impeachment Trial; Democrats do not Immediately Rule Out Idea; Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) Discusses About His Take About the Delay of the Trump Impeachment Trial. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired January 21, 2021 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: You can always tweet the show @CNNSITROOM.
Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next the breaking news, liberated. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he can now speak the truth about the pandemic as President Biden begins dismantling Trump's legacy on everything from the pandemic to the wall.
Plus, more breaking news, Mitch McConnell says he wants to delay the impeachment trial and tonight Democrats aren't flat out dismissing the idea why.
And more charges tonight in connection to the deadly insurrection at the Capitol as Biden's inauguration leaves QAnon conspiracy theorists in disbelief. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, liberating. That is how Dr. Anthony Fauci now officially President Joe Biden's Chief Medical Adviser describes working with the new administration compared to the last one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I take no pleasure at all in being in a situation of contradicting the President. So it was really something that you didn't feel that you could actually say something and there wouldn't be any repercussions about it.
The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what the evidence, what the science is and know that's it, let the science speak. It is somewhat of a liberating feeling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: A liberating feeling so much so that Fauci took on Biden on a critical point and we'll get to that in a moment. But the reality is in President Biden's first full day in office, the contrast was stark. This is how the new president is talking about the pandemic that has now killed more than 409,000 Americans. He projects will rise to more than half a million dead Americans next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our national strategy is comprehensive. It's based on science, not politics. It's based on truth, not denial and it's detailed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And this, of course, is what his predecessor once said about his COVID strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What metrics will you use to make that decision?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The metrics right here. That's my metrics. That's all I can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Biden is undoing four years of Trump and not only on the pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're building the wall. We're building the wall. We're building the wall. We're building the wall. Mexico is paying for the wall, by the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, we were paying, not Mexico. And tonight, the Department of Defense has stopped building the wall, thanks to one of Biden's first executive actions. Biden also making a clean break from what was one of Trumps biggest campaign promises.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have a great travel ban now for countries that are not countries where we don't want the people coming in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Gone. The travel ban, of course, code for Trump's ban on travelers from Muslim majority countries. That ban tonight gone, lifted after Biden's executive order. And Trump's policies on the environment one by one dismantled by executive order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Thus, as of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the non-binding Paris Accord.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Put in by executive order, removed by executive order. And then the Paris Climate Agreement. Remember this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The Keystone XL pipeline, the big one, I did that my first week in office, 48,000 jobs and that's now under construction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: With a stroke of a pen, Biden has now stopped the Keystone pipeline. But it's not just policies, Biden also cleaning house, letting go of some of Trump's controversial hires and appointees, including the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the White House Chief Usher.
Timothy Harleth was hired in 2017. He had managed rooms at Trump's Hotel in D.C. But now, of course, comes the hard part, relatively easy to undo by executive order what was done by executive order, governing much less so and already the talk of unity coming to a screeching halt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): On the Biden administration's very first day, it took several big steps in the wrong direction. This was not the day one the American workers deserved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT live at the White House tonight to begin our coverage. And Kaitlan, there has been a lot of talk lately about the long-standing relationship between Biden and McConnell and how that would mean they could work together, decades of doing so. But already McConnell indicating that he's angry. How is Biden preparing to handle this relationship?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a good question given, of course, that was one of his biggest campaign trail promises is that he was going to unify the country, cut some deals with Republicans, be able to work with him, citing those long- standing relationships that he has with people like Mitch McConnell.
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But, of course, we live in a very different Washington now. We saw the evidence of that over the last several months and so that's going to be one of the biggest tests that Joe Biden is facing now that he is actually president and he is in office. And he's going to have to move past just doing those executive actions that we've seen yesterday and today.
And today, we saw a lot of them mainly all focused on the pandemic at hand, because that's what the administration is saying is their biggest priority. And so they did not answer today whether or not they support, whether or not the President supports getting rid of the legislative filibuster. Of course, if they don't, that means the Democrats are going to need Republican support to get things passed like what Biden is proposing when it comes to this pandemic coronavirus relief bill.
And so that's one big question they're facing right now. We'll see how that plays out on Capitol Hill, because we do know there are some early conversations happening between the White House and lawmakers. And we'll see if those are successful because Biden even said today as he was unveiling these legislative or excuse me, these executive actions that he knows his time in office is going to be judged based on how he handles this one problem, dealing with the pandemic.
And he criticized the Trump administration today saying the federal government response so far had been abysmal and that's what left us in the position that the United States is in right now. But also, he vowed to change that, to ramp up production of vaccines and supplies and things that we need all across the country related to schools and travel.
And so those are going to be the biggest test facing them and they know that. Tomorrow we should know they are going to be looking at the economic aspect of all of this and what they're going to be doing as far as it comes to the state of the economy.
BURNETT: Right. And that, of course, is going to require a lot of Congress. All right. Kaitlan, thank you very much reporting from the White House. And let's go to Michael Smerconish, host of SMERCONISH and our own Nia-Malika Henderson.
OK, Michael, Biden and McConnell do have a long-standing relationship. Kaitlan there though saying, obviously vaccines are crucial here, but the economic part of this completely requires Congress. Biden's first full day McConnell says, "Biden took several steps in the wrong direction." So how much of this is just posturing or is Biden really going to have a tough time here, Michael?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: I think he is going to have a tough time. I have no doubt that they have a long-standing relationship, but they also have sharp policy differences. To hear Republicans today is to hear them say, wow, look at all that he's done through executive action. Is this what unity looks like?
Of course, the response from supporters of President Biden is to say, what choice does he have with the Senate deadlocked and 50-50. I would add, Erin, that I think one of the big factors is the lack of incentive for compromise. In fact, they are built in institutional forces now that encourage each side to placate their base by opposing whatever is coming out of the opposition. That's really the big issue, I think.
BURNETT: Right. And it's an interesting point too. When you put things in by executive order, they get removed by executive order. You need the power of legislation for something to be meaningful, so one thing creates the other.
Nia, the two parties are already attacking each other. Seven Democratic senators filing an ethics complaint today against senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for their role they say in inciting the riot on Capitol Hill. So now, Hawley has responded in a statement. He says, "Joe Biden and the Democrats talk about unity but are brazenly trying to silence dissent. This latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge." OK.
Obviously, they wanted to use the words there to make the point. Is this just all gridlock now?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Listen, it's going to be gridlock. You've got 2022 coming up. You've got 2024 coming up, as well, and you've got Mitch McConnell, someone who Biden has known for years and years. But Mitch McConnell wants to be the majority leader, again. He came into the last Democratic administration Obama saying that he wanted to make him a one-term president.
I'm sure he not only wants to make Biden a one-term president, he also wants to put his members in the best possible position to maintain their seats in the Senate and then to gain more seats and so he can gain the gavel back. So that's where we are at this one.
I think when thinking about this big package, $1.9 trillion dollars, how much of that can be accomplished through reconciliation where you just need a simple majority, I'm sure, that folks on the Hill and in the White House are looking at that possibility. You couldn't do the whole package that way, but there's certainly some you can do that way.
But, yes, this is partisan gridlock. There are real policy differences between where Democrats are and where Republicans are.
BURNETT: Yes.
HENDERSON: Listen, I think the nastiness is by and large gone, at least from the White House, so it's not as sort of nasty and bitter and in the gutter in the way that it was with Donald Trump, because Biden is just a different person.
BURNETT: Right.
HENDERSON: But still those differences remain.
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BURNETT: Michael, what's your feeling on what Biden did? I mean, as I said something put in by executive order can be removed by executive order. So this problem that we have had in this country in legislation has now built to a big point.
However, Biden made the choice to do 17 of these on the first day and that was a statement that I'm going to do these things. Was it the right statement or did he make a mistake?
SMERCONISH: He's got a base that he's got to placate. There are 80 million people who voted for him, put him in office and they want a return. They were promised initiatives that he wants to deliver and in the same way that Mitch McConnell needs to keep his caucus in line and pay attention to those media voices that I think have such command over the GOP, there are issues that President Biden needs to deal with, not the least of which is say, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has written an op-ed and there are things he's looking for.
So everybody's trying to herd cats at this moment and it's not easy. Hopefully, there'll be some compromise.
BURNETT: I am old enough to remember the debate in Charleston, South Carolina when the coronavirus came up for sort of the first time in a debate. And I'm also old enough to remember that on the eve of that primary, Bernie Sanders was by many perceived to be the nominee and then Joe Biden came from behind. So that night, Bernie Sanders, everyone was around him and I say this, Michael, to remind everybody of the power that he has and who he speaks for in the party.
In that op-ed that Michael references, Nia, Sen. Sanders writes, "No more business as usual. No more same old, same old." And then he lists the priorities that he wants, raises the taxes on the wealthy, on companies like Amazon, free college. This whole litany of things that the far left of that party want, but President Biden we all know is uncomfortable with much of that. Is he going to be able to manage that wing of the party?
HENDERSON: The reality is slim margins in the House for Democrats and the slimmest of slim margins in the Senate. They know this reality. So I am certain that they are recalibrating what they want - sort of their expectations, but certainly they're still going to push Biden. Push Biden in the way they want him to go and try to get the most progressive agenda they can.
But at the end of the day, they know that they don't have 60 senators. They just don't have the majority. So they are going to have to really sort of right size their expectations around legislation and these sort of big-ticket progressive dream items. And in the meantime, I do think you have and Michael talked about this, you do have Joe Biden essentially showing where the Democratic Party's values are with some of these executive actions around climate, around immigration, around stopping the wall, around diversity.
Those things that are really important to the base. It's not legislation. It's EOs, but it is a substantial thing that he's doing there.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much.
HENDERSON: Thanks, Erin.
SMERCONISH: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, the breaking news, Mitch McConnell now wants to push Trump's impeachment trial in February, which, of course, is what will determine if the former president is ever allowed to run for office again. Democrats are now not shutting the door on the idea, so where is this headed if anywhere.
And the mayor of the nation's largest city says New York is running out of COVID vaccine.
And the top Republican in the house does a 180 on Trump's role in the Capitol riot? A total 180. How come?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe he provoked ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President bears responsibility ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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BURNETT: Breaking news, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is proposing to delay Trump's impeachment trial until sometime in February. Now, let's be clear. It's not actually his call because Democrats do hold that slim majority in the Senate and the Senate would be forced to start the trial the day after the House sends over the article of impeachment, so that is a Democratic call. Speaker Pelosi's calling. So far, she is being cryptic only saying it will happen soon.
But we know Democrats are reviewing McConnell's proposal right now and multiple Democratic aides tell our own Lauren Fox that it may not be a bad idea to wait. OUTFRONT now Manu Raju, who is now our Chief Congressional Correspondent.
So Manu, McConnell doesn't control the timing but his words do matter, because Dems need 17 Republicans to vote with them. So what is the game being played here and what's Pelosi going to do?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, McConnell's words, yes, they matter in the sense that they're Republicans. Democrats want Republicans to vote to convict Donald Trump. If they want Mitch McConnell to break ranks, they're going to want to keep Mitch McConnell happy because McConnell has indicated privately that he believes Donald Trump committed impeachable offenses. Privately he's also said he is undecided. He's made that clear publicly, too.
And also, some Republicans are saying very clearly that if Mitch McConnell were to vote to convict Donald Trump, perhaps, McConnell could lose his leadership position in the next Congress. So a lot is riding on the line with McConnell. McConnell is making clear that his conference wants a delay for two weeks to consider this impeachment trial probably sometime in mid February. He does need the consent of the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in order to do just that. And Schumer, we're told, is reviewing that proposal. One thing, Erin, is that they also want some commitments from Mitch
McConnell to move forward on some of Joe Biden's cabinet nominees. The Senate has been moving very slowly initially to fill out Joe Biden's cabinet. So there are some discussion about potentially moving some of Biden's cabinet nominees and then moving to an impeachment trial by mid February.
But Erin, you mentioned at the beginning, the question is will McConnell, will other Republicans break ranks join Democrats to convict Donald Trump. At the moment, McConnell though siding with Trump say they need time to prepare for this trial to determine whether or not he should be convicted on that charge of inciting an insurrection, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Manu, thank you. And I want to go now to the Democratic Senator from New Mexico, Ben Ray Lujan, who was also the former assistant speaker in the House under Speaker Pelosi. And Senator, I really appreciate your time. It's good to have you back, obviously, same person new title.
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So let me ask you where you stand on this. Are you OK with waiting until mid February?
SEN. BEN RAY LUJAN (D-NM): Well, Erin, as you just laid out and as we heard from Manu, the submission from Mr. McConnell to Majority Leader Schumer simply lays out the pre trial motions. There are no other details associated with what would be laid out and what Mr. McConnell is asking for in there. And as you said, we know that Mr. Schumer and his team are going to be reviewing that.
But look, it's going to be critically important that as those dates are determined by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and that the Senate continues to work to be able to get these confirmations through. I'll just remind everyone that just four years ago, a majority of those important confirmations were put forth for President Trump's National Security team and that's something that I hope my Senate Republican colleagues will see forth and that we're able to get these through tomorrow and through the weekend.
BURNETT: So it sounds like though, I mean, are you basically OK with a delay? I mean, what I'm saying is do you view a delay as a way for Republicans to not vote yes on this, to put the whole thing away or do you think that a delay is OK, that it's still you get your trial?
LUJAN: Look, there is going to be a trial. The question is when is that trial going to take place. And from my perspective, I agree with what has been laid out by Mitch McConnell's assessment, which is the people were fed lies that stormed the Capitol. And as Mr. McConnell laid out, that the President provoked to the crowd as well as other people in high power positions.
And so whether that trial takes place next week or it takes place into the beginning of February, I know there's going to be a trial. I'm certainly hopeful that this President is held accountable for the domestic terrorism attack that we saw in our nation's capitol.
BURNETT: As you mentioned, Sen. McConnell has been clear where he stands. He said Trump is to blame for the attack on the Capitol he said because of the lies that were fed people. He's been clear. He hasn't ruled out convicting him. But one senior GOP senator and Manu referenced, this is saying if McConnell voted to convict 'I don't know if he can stay as leader'.
Now, McConnell may be at a point in his life in his career where he doesn't care, but do you have any fear that his desire to wait is an indication that he's wavering?
LUJAN: Look, I believe that Mr. McConnell was very clear when he said that President Trump provoked what happened at the United States Capitol and that people in high power positions also provoked this crowd. We're seeing now in the House of Representatives that even Kevin McCarthy and others continue to attack Liz Cheney for standing strong and voting to impeach President Trump as well.
BURNETT: Yes.
LUJAN: I think that we're seeing a profile in courage here about protecting our democracy, defending our Republic and upholding the oath to our constitution to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
BURNETT: Seven of your Democratic colleagues in the Senate have file an ethics complaint and this is actually specifically about senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for their role in this complaint. It says in inciting the insurrection on Capitol Hill. Obviously, they challenged President Biden's victory right on the Senate floor and they were the leaders of that. But you did not join your colleagues in this letter, how come?
LUJAN: Look, I did not join the letter, I wasn't aware that the letter is being put together. Had I been asked to join, I would have evaluated it. But again, I think that everyone that had a role in inciting this crowd, these domestic terrorists in attacking our capital need to be held accountable. And what I appreciate about the sentiments and the questions that were laid out in this very short seven-page letter and I hope everyone out there gets a chance to read it, shows the concerns that need to be investigated not just by the Senate ethics committee, but by the House and the Senate and hold everyone accountable.
And the seriousness of this just is really on full display by the hundreds of convictions, well, not convictions yet, of charges ...
BURNETT: Charges.
LUJAN: ... that have been laid out by the FBI and people that have already been arrested.
BURNETT: All right. I appreciate your time, Senator. Thank you.
LUJAN: Thank you. BURNETT: And next, Dr. Anthony Fauci contradicting the Biden the
administration, which claims that it has to start from scratch when it comes to distributing the COVID vaccine.
Plus, a freshman Republican Congresswoman, she objected to the election results on the day of the Capitol insurrection, but now she's written a letter, she claims she wants to work with President Biden. Can she have it both ways? I'll ask her.
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BURNETT: Tonight, "We're going to have to build everything from scratch." That is what one source tells CNN about the Biden administration's vaccine rollout, claiming the Trump administration didn't leave behind a plan. Well, Dr. Anthony Fauci is responding to that claim tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We certainly are not starting from scratch, because there is activity going on in the distribution. We're coming in with fresh ideas, but also some ideas that were not bad ideas with the previous administration. You can't say it was absolutely not usable at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who advised the White House medical team under President George W. Bush and Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health.
So Dr. Reiner, nearly 38 million vaccine doses have been distributed and more than 17 million administered. But a source in the Biden administration says they have to build everything from scratch. You heard Dr. Fauci, he doesn't think that's fair. It doesn't sound like it is fair, does it to you?
JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, this administration outsourced everything in this pandemic. They outsource testing to the states. They outsourced decisions on school opening. They outsourced vaccine delivery now. So, yes, so this administration has to build this kind of infrastructure from scratch.
Their goal is a million vaccinations per day, but you know that's not enough. We're already doing that. We're already doing a million vaccinations per day and we're doing it with a two shot strategy, which pretty soon every day is going to be half-and-half new shots and second shots. So in fact, as we go forward, the number of new people being vaccinated is going to drop.
BURNETT: Yes.
[19:30:00] REINER: So we probably need to double this to about 2 million
vaccinations per day, so we need to be more ambitious. We're in a race.
BURNETT: Which is really interesting. I think it's important how you laid out the math there.
Dr. Jha, to this point, right, the Biden administration set this goal of 1 million a day. But the reality of it is that's pretty much where we are now, right? They're at 892,000 just this week per day, right? So, we're at a million almost. And you got the Johnson & Johnson weeks away possibly from its data, right? So, you're going to get more and more availability.
When President Biden was asked today, though whether he should set the bar higher as Dr. Reiner just said, here's what President Biden said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I announced it, you all said it's not possible. Come on, give me a break, man. Good start, 100 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, Dr. Jha, where do you think we should be? The goal does not seem to be aggressive enough, does it?
DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, so, first of all, I do think a million a day is not going to end up being good enough for everyone. I mean, we are racing against this variant that is starting to take off across the U.S. It is expected to become the dominant variant. This is the U.K. variant, by mid-March.
BURNETT: Wow.
JHA: We have a lot of work to do. I think a million a day that President Biden has laid out is good, it's fine, but I think we need to do better. And that's the challenge in front of us.
I think one of the issues that's going to preclude us from doing much better than that is whether we have enough vaccines supply or not. That's something we need a lot more visibility into. I do think the team that just left the White House did not provide very accurate helpful information about how much vaccine doses we had and a good plan for how to get them out to the American people.
BURNETT: And that has been the great confusion. Dr. Reiner, you say it's maddening of how difficult it is for people to figure out where and how and when to get a vaccine. I understand, obviously, this was being done at the state level.
Can suddenly -- in a perfect world, could you even do this from the federal level to fix this?
REINER: Well, first of all, the way our states are administering vaccine, the sort of speed with which they're getting the shots into arms varies greatly.
BURNETT: Yeah.
REINER: So a state like West Virginia has vaccinated almost 70 percent of -- has delivered almost 70 percent of the vaccine into arms whereas the state like Georgia has administered less than 30 percent.
So, a dynamic federal response would move vaccine to where it's going into arms quickly and move it away from the shelves of places where it's just sort of sitting. So, that kind of coordination.
We need a single website that a person in this country can log onto to register for a vaccine. Not, you know, county by county websites or state by state websites. We need to organize this the way the ACA is finally organized.
BURNETT: Dr. Jha, you know, you mentioned how the U.K. variant you said could be the dominant variant in the United States by mid-March. Obviously, that's very troubling because it's more transmissible although not more deadly.
But there is a second study this week raising concerns about whether the vaccines will be effective against the different variant, this one from South Africa. We heard this from health officials there the past couple months. They've been deeply concerned about this, that it may be much more resistant to vaccines.
So where do you stand on this, especially given that in this country, we're not really tracking the variants very well so we have no idea how prevalent that one could be.
JHA: Yes, Erin, first of all you laid it exactly right. We have to start tracking this stuff much more carefully. We have to be doing genomic surveillance in the way that the U.K. does, and parts of South Africa do, other countries do. We can do better on that.
Second is that the studies that have shown that South African variant may not be neutralized with antibodies from people who have been infected our gotten immune, have gotten immunized are really laboratory studies. We haven't seen that in people. I remain pretty hopeful that the vaccines will remain effective against that variant.
Certainly, looks like the vaccines are going to be effective against the U.K. variant. But, you know, we can't keep pushing our luck on this. We're going to be more variants the more outbreaks we have. The best strategy we can do is bring these infections down, get lots and lots of people vaccinated very, very quickly. That's how we're going to get past this.
And the current strategy the Trump administration is leaving President Biden of kind of a slow rollout is not going to work. That's why I think President Biden has to double down on getting people vaccinated.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you both very much. I think it's a really good point you make, right? The whole point about variants is it's not static. There could be ones we don't know about now that are getting traction that could dramatically change the situation.
Thank you both so much as always.
And I want to go now to the mayor of New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has warned that his city could run out of vaccines today, the very city where, of course, Mr. Mayor, both you and I are sitting tonight.
So, is New York City out of vaccines?
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: Erin, we're almost out. I'll tell you something -- I mean, we are now vaccinating at the highest rate we've been at ever, 45,000 people on Monday.
[19:35:06]
But we're running out of vaccine and we're not getting any assurance of major new shipments.
I could be opening a 24/7 vaccine site at Citi Field where the Mets play, at Yankee Stadium. I want to be in all five boroughs with major sites, and I can't open them because I'm not getting a major new supply.
This is the fundamental problem right now all over the country, but we're feeling it because as one of your guests said, the places that can do it fastest really need to get the ball quickly. We need the supply because we can get it into arms, but it's just not there for us.
BURNETT: OK. So, I understand that, but on the website today, the city website, it says you have had more than 1 million doses delivered to New York City, but only 539,000 have been administered. So that gap would seem to be not an issue of supply.
Could you explain exactly what's happening with those numbers?
DE BLASIO: Yeah, we've got a lot of appointments that are scheduled this week and next week that are going to use up everything we have, where there are separate programs under those numbers, for nursing homes run by the federal government.
The bottom line is supply is not even close to keeping up with demand. Last week, we did over 220,000 vaccinations. That's more people in New York City in one week than the entire population of Salt Lake City.
It's going faster and faster. There's just no supply to keep up with it.
BURNETT: OK. So, I understand then what you're saying, you're talking about, it's allocated.
OK. So, then, who -- who's -- who do you blame the most for not having the supply you need? Is it the federal government or the governor of New York? I mean, Governor Cuomo allocates, and he says, I'm going to allocate
to regions that are getting their vaccines out faster. And, obviously, looking at your gap, New York City's rate, he points out is lower than others in the region.
So, is he the one not giving you the supply?
DE BLASIO: No, look, Erin, New York City is the rate we're going. We're planning on 300,000 vaccinations this week alone. We will use up everything we have in no time. So that's not the question here.
The problem is the federal government in the previous administration didn't use the Defense Production Act, didn't really force the hand of the entire pharmaceutical industry, and all the supply chain to make this a true national priority of maximum involvement from the military.
And one more thing: they saddled us with rules that stopped us from using those second doses. Right now, they're sitting -- we have second doses sitting in reserve waiting weeks until they can be used. Those should be freed up right now to go into the arms of senior citizens who are living in fear.
BURNETT: Yeah.
DE BLASIO: Let's turn those second doses into first doses right now, and then backfill with more supply in the coming weeks.
BURNETT: OK. So, you're not frustrated at all with the governor of New York when he -- when he says your rate is so much lower than anywhere else in the state? You're saying this is a federal issue.
DE BLASIO: It's -- unquestionably, the number one problem is federal. And what I say is it's clear from the sheer strength of our effort now. We do 45,000 people on Monday. That number is growing.
New York City is going to run through everything we have in a matter of days. We need re-supply. That's the clearest statement it could be to the state, to the federal government, to the manufacturers. Get the vaccine where it can be put into arms urgently. That's what we're doing.
BURNETT: Yeah. So, let me just ask you, the NYPD and FDNY, we are learning that they've stopped or they're about to stop vaccinations for anyone who still needs to get a first dose because of the supply issues.
Can you confirm that? Is there anything you can do so that these first responders can get their vaccines?
DE BLASIO: I mean, Erin, it's first responders, it's seniors. You know, some of our major hospitals have shut down their appointments and said they can't schedule anymore. This is happening across the city and the state now.
And what I want to do, of course, is restart all of that immediately. We can put people into new appointments in a matter of days. But we can't do it unless there is some major new supply.
Look, the Biden administration, I'm praying in the next few days when they really get all the facts, whether they really get visibility in the whole situation, they come back and they say, hey, if New York City and other places are able to move quickly, we're going to ship some supply to where the hot hand is, right?
I mean, that's what I'm hoping we'll hear. But we obviously need a much bigger solution. How can we say teachers, cops, firefighters, senior citizens, you just have to wait? That doesn't make sense to me and we need a national solution.
BURNETT: All right. Mayor de Blasio, thank you very much.
DE BLASIO: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, he said that Trump bears responsibility for the attack on the Capitol, quite poignantly actually in a speech on the floor. Tonight, though, a total change of heart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I don't believe he provoked it, if you listen to what he said at the rally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And new details at this hour about a hunt for this man seen hitting a police officer with a hockey stick in the capitol riot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:43:34]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Biden will invite congressional leaders to the White House to discuss his legislative agenda as early as tomorrow. Now, this is according to an administration official.
One of the people expected to be there is House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who shamelessly contradicted himself when it comes to President Trump's role in fomenting the capitol riot. Here is what he said today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: I don't believe he provoked it, if you listen to what he said at the rally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Here is what he said last Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. So perhaps this total about face is not surprising given McCarthy's vocal role in his fight against the election's legitimacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: And President Trump won this election, so everyone who is listening, do not be quiet. Do not be -- do not be silent about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York. She is a House assistant whip and one of 17 freshman House Republicans who wrote a letter to President Biden about working together.
I appreciate your time, Congresswoman.
So, let's start with that letter. What made you write the letter to President Biden about working together?
REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): Well, one of my colleagues who is in the freshman class, Beth Van Duyne, circulated a letter, and she asked the freshmen if they'd be willing to sign on to this letter to show that we are willing to work together across party lines.
[19:45:03]
As you know, we are facing an incredible pandemic, crisis right now in this country. We have had a lot of partisanship during the campaigns. And I think that now that the president has been sworn in and we are here at the Capitol, we need to get to work to really address the main issues that our nation is facing, and that means overcoming the pandemic. We need to accelerate the vaccine distribution as you had my mayor, Bill de Blasio, say, we have to make sure that we get that vaccination to the people who want it.
And we've got to be able to open this economy. I mean, that is something I've been pushing for for sometime. We have to make sure we have a balanced approach right now. We don't have that at all.
We need to make sure we get this economy back on track, particularly where I'm from in New York, and restore the American jobs lost. I think there's other areas where we can work together -- transportation, investing in our aging infrastructure which -- those are all areas I think we can find common ground.
BURNETT: Yes, and obviously, I'm in New York, infrastructure is such a crucial issue.
So I understand what you're saying now, he's been sworn in. But, you know, I don't know how many people are familiar with where you were on the election results. But, Congresswoman, of course, you did object to the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania as Congress was certifying them on the day of the deadly insurrection.
So how do you square saying you want to work with President Biden when you were questioning the legitimacy of the election on January 6th?
MALLIOTAKIS: Well, I went into that floor discussion with an open mind, you know. I didn't personally sign any objections, but I said I was going to listen to what was brought and discussed on the floor. Certainly, constituents of mine had expressed concerns about irregularities. There were concerns about absentee ballots being mailed to individuals who didn't request them. Some individuals going to vote and their names were already accounted for in terms of somebody who had voted.
And so, I think that there are tens of millions of Americans out there who had concerns and wanted to have hearings on this issue. And I joined colleagues of mine earlier in December asking for Nancy Pelosi, our speaker, to host hearings, to just at least listen to what these concerns are so the American people can get some type of clarity once and for all --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: It's one thing -- but I do -- but I do just want to ask you, because it's one thing to say, of course, that there could be irregularities, and there always are and they should be investigated. It's another to object to the results of an election where there was no mass fraud. The attorney general has said that in state after state. This has been thrown out in court. There has been no evidence of any such thing presented anywhere at any time.
So how do you bring the desire to make sure everything is done and every vote that counts -- that should count counts, with actually objecting to the results of an election in states that aren't even yours?
MALLIOTAKIS: Well, again, these states were objected to by members within the House and I listened and I decided to vote along against the certification because I did believe in those two particular states -- by the way, states that violated their state constitutions and the U.S. Constitution. They changed rules without the proper approval of the state legislature. There had been court cases in those states that had not been heard.
In fact, the case in Arizona was never heard due to a time issue because there was a deadline for certification.
I think the American people deserve that. They deserve to hear what could be presented, and also let's keep in mind the state of Arizona, you know, just in the last decade alone, they had 20 convictions for election fraud. And so I think, look --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Twenty convictions out of tens and tens and tens of millions of votes. I think -- I think the question here is, again, trying to make sure everything is fair and actually questioning the entire democratic process are two extremely different things that were completely conflated and we all saw the results of that last week.
On the day after the riot, Congresswoman, you did a television interview. I want to play a sound bite for anyone who didn't happen to see it. Here you are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALLIOTAKIS: I have serious concerns about what has occurred in those states. You know, the states' rights do not supersede law and the Constitution, and there are a number of irregularities, there are a number of changes made that many people believe led to fraud. There are witnesses. There is evidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: As you know, there was no evidence of mass fraud or any evidence to put forward to that fact.
MALLIOTAKIS: You can't say there's no evidence. We haven't had a hearing. There were cases that were filed and there wasn't an actual hearing on any of it because --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: There were multiple cases in those states all of which were thrown out.
MALLIOTAKIS: Look, it doesn't matter to me if it was one vote, ten votes, 10,000 votes. The American people need to know one vote fraudulent is one too many. And, by the way, those two states without the electoral votes, President Biden would still be president today. And so, it wouldn't change the outcome of the election.
[19:50:03]
And that was never my intention.
By the way, Democrats since 1989 have challenged the electoral votes of every single Republican president. So I see that there's a double standard here when it comes to that process that we have on the House floor and our ability to certify and our requirement to certify or not certify.
But look, I think that this is where we are right now. We --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: I'm just wondering, I'm just wondering, do you -- do you -- when you look back and are honest with yourself, do you feel you sort of bought into a narrative here that we all know was completely false. The president's out there saying 5,000 dead people voted in Georgia. Two dead people voted in Georgia.
But it was rhetoric like that got people like you on board. Do you feel you were duped? MALLIOTAKIS: I think that there are -- there is an issue that there
are tens of millions of Americans who are concerned about whether there are safeguards in our election process.
BURNETT: They're concerned because of lies like that. They're concerned because of lies like that. That is a lie.
They heard that. If I heard that and believed it, I might be concerned, too. But it's not true.
MALLIOTAKIS: That's why we have to have -- that is why we should be having a hearing into the process to see what safeguards are needed. Where were these prior convictions that took place in various states? How do we make the system better? How do we restore the faith of the American people when they go to vote, their vote does count and it matters?
That is what this is all about. If we could have a public hearing and a discussion and debate on the House floor instead of attacking people personally, I think we'd actually get somewhere.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Again, I just want to make sure that you are clear, there was no widespread fraud. There is no question about what happened in this election. That is very different than saying we want to make sure that every vote counts that should count and every vote that shouldn't shouldn't. Those are -- those are two very different things to talk about.
MALLIOTAKIS: Absolutely, and I've never -- I've never said anything about widespread fraud. I've said that there have been certain irregularities that need to be looked at closer, and that the American people deserve to know if that took place in this election and it appears that it did in certain states.
And that -- and that is all we're asking for, and I think that's very fair. And that would just ease the minds of tens of millions of Americans who feel the election wasn't fair. So, let's just -- I think that that's something worthwhile to be looking at and spending time in.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: Just one final point on this, those tens of millions of Americans think that it wasn't fair because Donald Trump told them that, and that voice of Donald Trump was amplified by other people in power, OK? Because the reason they believe it wasn't fair is because someone told them it wasn't fair and it was fair. So what I'm asking you, do you feel that you got duped and played a little bit in this?
MALLIOTAKIS: Well, look, I think that, like many Americans, that people have concerns about individuals who are not citizens voting or people getting absentee ballots they didn't request, people going -- making their way to the booth in the wrong district and voting. You know, these are things that do happen, and you know, I think we
can agree on that, that there are these irregularities. I think it's how do we crack down and how do we safeguard our election system to make sure that it is -- it is one of integrity.
And again, I think widespread fraud say totally different thing. What I'm talking about is that there are irregularities we need to crack down on and that is why I'm cosponsoring the Save Democracy Act which would require voter ID to vote, which would prevent states from automatically sending you an absentee ballot that you didn't request, to crack down on some of these harvesting tactics.
You know, these are things that I think many Americans agree and support, and I think we should have a proper hearing and discussion on it. And then it's just one thing we could be doing in a bipartisan fashion.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Congresswoman, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
MALLIOTAKIS: Nice to talk to you. Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, they were promised mass arrests and the military regime during Biden's inauguration, but it didn't happen. So, what do QAnon supporters have to say now?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to reevaluate everything the way my life was going to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:35]
BURNETT: Tonight, more charges announced after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. A man in Michigan arrested after this video showed him hitting police with a hockey stick. The leader of far right Proud Boys group also arrested in Florida and it comes as members of another extremist group, QAnon are in disarray as their conspiracy theories have been unraveling.
Alex Marquardt is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two weeks since the insurrection at the Capitol, the arrests and charges are mounting by the day. Around 120 people have been charged and federal investigators have said there could be hundreds more.
Among the new arrests is a leader of the far right Proud Boys, Joseph Randle Biggs, arrested and accused of helping organize some of the violence. The FBI says he posted on Parler that followers should be blending in. The FBI believes Biggs and others wore earpieces to communicate, using walkie-talkie-like devices.
New Yorker Patrick McCaughey denied bail after being accused of assaulting D.C. Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who was crushed in the doorway, bloodied and crying for help.
Hodges told CNN that one attacker was so violent, he was practically foaming at the mouth.
DANIEL HODGES, WASHINGTON DC METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER: The absolute zealotry of these people, how they would, they 100 percent believe that what they were doing was right and that they were the patriots and that no one would get in their way.
MARQUARDT: Another New Yorker, Samuel Fischer, who was arrested this week, is alleged in court documents to have written on Facebook the day after the riots, it was awesome. People died, but it was F'ing great if you ask me.
Rioters were armed with all kinds of weapons, including, according to federal prosecutors, a hockey stick in the case of a Michigan man, Michael Foy, who was seen in this video at the capitol with the stick and allegedly attacked police officers with it.
The FBI arrested Californian Jorge Riley, who was a member of the state's Republican assembly and posted at length on Facebook admitting to being a rioter.
JORGE RILEY, ACTIVIST: We pushed our way into Nancy Pelosi's office. We just kept going further and further. I got pepper-sprayed three times. Officers were very nice to us.
MARQUARDT: There were repeated mentions of the insurrection during the inauguration, which took place in the exact spot the rioting started. Among those watching, Joe Biden become president with disappointment were QAnon followers who had been duped into thinking that Trump would declare martial law and not let it happen.
We were promised arrests, exposures, military regime, classified documents, wrote one follower. Where is it?
Another spoke to CNN's Donie O'Sullivan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in shock and I had to reevaluate everything the way my life was going to be now because it's so different than my expectations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: So, Alex, thankfully there was no violence during Biden's inauguration. I mean, it was fortified like a war zone. There was, though, unrest in Portland. Left wing protesters there damaging the state's Democratic Party building last night.
What are you hearing about that? MARQUARDT: Yeah, there were two main events there. Fifteen people arrested, Erin, there's one at the state party headquarters of the Democratic Party, around 100, 150 people marched over there, according to police. They broke windows. They sprayed graffiti, including anarchy symbol. They lit dumpsters on fire.
And then there's a second group, similar sized crowd, 150 people walking to ICE offices. There, according to police, they're carrying pepper ball guns, weapons similar to tasers, shields and rocks. They were dispersed by federal agents.
Now, we understand from the county's district attorney that four people have been charged all with rioting along with other charges -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Alex, thank you very much.
And thanks very much as always to all of you.
See you back here tomorrow night.
It's time now for Anderson.
