Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Congress Voting To Increase Stimulus Checks And Override Veto On Trump's Defense Bill; Vice President Pence Sued By Republicans; Biden Transition Encountering Obstruction From Defense Department; Interview With Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY); U.S. Tops 334,000 COVID Deaths With 19.2-Plus Million Cases As Fauci Warns Of "Surge Upon Surge" In Deadliest Month Of Pandemic; Investigators Looking At "Any And All Possible Motives" After Identifying Suspected Suicide Bomber In Nashville. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 28, 2020 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPER, CNN HOST: His niece, Heather Welch, said, "If you're spending time with your family today, I hope that you cherish it, but I also hope that you are safe and smart to protect yourself and others." And may his memory and the memories of all of those we've lost to this pandemic way too early, may it be a blessing. Our coverage on CNN continues right now.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Jim Acosta in THE SITUATION ROOM and we're following breaking news.

We're standing by for two key House votes amid new chaos created by President Trump. One vote on the president's demand to increase stimulus checks to $2,000 after his 11th hour signing of the pandemic relief bill. And another vote to override his veto of a defense spending bill that could see many Republicans breaking with the president who's using U.S. forces as pawns to achieve goals unrelated to the military.

Also breaking this hour, president-elect Joe Biden slamming the Trump administration for putting up what he calls roadblocks impairing the transition. He calls the actions, "nothing short of irresponsibility."

And there's breaking news on the pandemic front, the U.S. death toll topping 334,000 people as the country faces more than 19.2 million cases. And with a dramatic increase in travel over the holidays, Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning of what he calls a surge upon a surge in what's become the deadliest month yet in the pandemic.

But first let's get straight to the White House and CNN White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins. Kaitlan, it took months of chaos to pass this stimulus bill and President Trump has only added to that chaos. Kaitlan?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, and an indication of that is what's going to be happening with the stimulus checks, the ones that the president claims he held the bill up over because he wanted to raise them more.

And now we are told that the Treasury Department is scrambling to get those checks out because, of course, last week before the president threatened to derail this bill, the Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said that they believe those checks would start being sent to people starting this week, going into bank accounts as soon as this legislation was signed.

And now, of course, that's in question with that timeline given the president's delay. And so it does show you how the president was contesting this. He was pushing back on this bill and complaining about it for days, but Jim, all that amounted to is just slowing it down while ultimately changing nothing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It really is a disgrace.

COLLINS (voice-over): After blasting it for days, President Trump gave in and signed the pandemic relief bill overnight ending a drama that he created while getting nothing in return for his theatrics.

TRUMP: I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000.

COLLINS (voice-over): Trump threatened to derail the $900 billion bill in part over the size of stimulus checks surprising his own staff who had spent weeks negotiating it.

But he finally signed it at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Sunday night without getting what he demanded despite promising on the campaign trail to be a deal maker.

TRUMP: Great deals. We only make great deals. America first.

COLLINS (voice-over): Trump's signing delay caused two government unemployment programs to run dry guaranteeing a lapse in benefits for millions of Americans.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Because of Trump's shenanigans there was a one week delay.

COLLINS (voice-over): In addition to funding the government through September, the package provides billions for vaccine distribution, funding for schools and money for small businesses. Republicans are practically begging Trump to sign it.

REP. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): I understand he wants to be remembered for advocating for big checks, but the danger is he'll be remembered for chaos and misery and erratic behavior if he allows this to expire.

COLLINS (voice-over): Not all of the president's allies were relieved he gave in. Referencing his efforts to contest the election, a senior White House official asked CNN why should any of his supporters fight for him when he quit on trying to get them more than a measly $600? Others in the GOP were fearful his efforts could hurt the party ahead

of a critical senate runoff in Georgia where Republican candidates were already touting the bill.

SEN. DAVID PERDUE (R-GA): And I'm so proud to be able to bring that relief back to Georgia.

COLLINS (voice-over): Trump announced he'll hold a rally for David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler next week though some Republicans are bracing it to be more about his election loss than their race.

TRUMP: Because we're all, we're all victims. Everybody here, all these thousands of people here tonight.

COLLINS (voice-over): As he vacations in Palm Beach, the White House has insisted Trump is holding many meetings and calls though she was spotted by CNN cameras on the golf course again today. Given all his other efforts to overturn the election have failed, sources say Trump is now laser focused on causing a disruption January 6th when Congress meets to ratify Joe Biden's win.

[17:04:55]

The process is only procedural, but because it's overseen by the Vice President Mike Pence, Trump will be looking for loyalty from his top deputy. Hinting at a possible spectacle, the president tweeted, "See you in Washington, D.C. on January 6th. Don't miss it. Information to follow."

But even the president's allies are growing tired of his efforts. "The New York Post" editorial board which has been friendly to Trump his entire presidency is now urging him to "stop the insanity," writing "you had every right to investigate the election, but let's be clear, those efforts have found nothing."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (on camera): And now, Jim, Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert and some other members of his party have filed a lawsuit against the Vice President Mike Pence in another very, very far- fetched effort to try to overturn the results of the election because the role that he's going to play on January 6th is just a ceremonial one. He's not actually a deciding factor.

But in this lawsuit, they're trying to say that he can be. And so, of course, this lawsuit is not expected to go anywhere, but it is going to potentially put the vice president who we know has political ambitions in the next presidential cycle in a very potentially compromising position depending on what the he's going to do. And the president of course is expecting him to play a role in causing that disruption on January 6th, Jim.

ACOSTA: OK, CNN's Kaitlan Collins, thank you very much. Standby. Now to Capitol Hill and CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox. Lauren, the House, as you know, is about to hold two key votes including one aimed at increasing stimulus checks, something both President Trump and many Democrats say that they want. What is the latest at this hour?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, the vote has just begun in the House of Representatives on that $2,000 per person stimulus check vote. And this is going to be key to watch because the key question is whether or not Republicans support the president's effort en masse.

Essentially, they're going to need two thirds majority to actually get this out of the House of Representatives. So that's what we're going to be watching for. Both Republican aides and Democratic aides have told me over the last several hours that they are feeling more and more confident that the president is going to get that affirmative vote and that this will be headed to the U.S. Senate. What Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does with it next is anybody's guess, Jim.

ACOSTA: And Lauren, the other vote we're watching, will Congress override the president's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act? This also could put Republicans in a pickle.

FOX: Well, I think this vote is really crucial for the president because he has made it very clear that he was unhappy that they did not repeal Section 230 in unrelated provision in this piece of legislation. For 59 years and running, this has been a bipartisan bill on Capitol Hill.

And so the fact that it passed out of the House and Senate and then the president vetoed it, well, this is the first step in overriding that veto. Again, Republican and Democratic aides on Capitol Hill are telling me they're pretty confident that the president is going to be overridden tonight in this vote in the House of Representatives.

But it's going to be important to watch which Republicans are willing to cross the president, which Republicans are willing to vote for U.S. troop pay raises and other provisions that deal with Pentagon policy over the next several years? Which one are going to be able to decide if they support the president or if they support the Pentagon?

ACOSTA: That's right, Lauren. Some of these Republicans voted for the bill. Now. they may not vote to override the veto. All right, CNN's Lauren Fox, standby. A short time ago, President-elect Joe Biden unleashed some sharp criticisms of the Trump administration's cooperation in the transition.

Let's go to CNN political correspondent M.J. Lee in Wilmington, Delaware. M.J., President-elect Biden says the transition has not been smooth when it comes to key areas of national security especially when it comes to cooperating or getting cooperation from the outgoing administration. What did he say?

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That's right, Jim. Biden was first briefed by members of his national security and foreign policy agency review teams and then expressed real concern and frustration that basically these teams are not getting what they need.

Remember, this official transition process was already delayed because the GSA would not offer the official as ascertainment for a number of weeks so, they were not able to sort of get that process started right away and it was only sort of in late November that these meetings officially began between member of the federal agencies and member of the Biden agency review teams.

And Biden today basically saying this has been a mixed bag. There are some parts of government where the cooperation has been full and we have received everything that we need. And then there are other parts of government where there has actually been obstruction. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: For some agencies our teams received exemplary cooperation from the career staff and those agencies. From others, most notably the Department of Defense, we encountered obstruction from the political leadership of that department.

And the truth is many of the agencies that are critical to our security have incurred enormous damage. Many of them have been hollowed out in personnel, capacity, and in morale.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:10:01]

LEE (on camera): You know, these transition concerns aside, this was also a pretty revealing foreign policy speech from the president- elect. You heard him there talking about agencies being hollowed out. He also talked about international alliances being weakened under President Trump and basically said, look, foreign policy is going to be one of the biggest and most important challenges and rebuilding foreign policy for himself and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

He also just said that the sort of go it alone approach he has seen from President Trump just simply doesn't work when you're trying to tackle global issues like climate change. So clearly another area where he's drawing a stark contrast between himself and a sitting president, Jim.

ACOSTA: M.J., we want to bring back CNN White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins and CNN congressional reporter Lauren Fox. Kaitlan, let me go to you first. We're watching for these big votes tonight in the House, but all of this chaos was inevitable, I suppose. Do we know whether the president is keeping tabs on this or is he more focused on his golf game?

COLLINS: Well, he is playing golf today again. Another day in a row where the president has continued to golf while down here in Palm Beach, but he has been keeping tabs on it because that is in part why he agreed to sign the legislation last night.

He wanted them to bring out the $2,000 stimulus checks agreement on the floor. But Jim, you know, what even his own aides are stumped about is this is something the president could have made clear he was not going to sign this bill without weeks ago, when his own treasury secretary was up on Capitol Hill negotiating this bill with the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and all the other efforts involved in that.

And this is something that surprised his own aides when he made that video threatening to derail this. And so, it's not a surprise for the president to threaten a bill after it's already been negotiated by his own team. He has done that many times before.

But I think what's different here and what Republicans realize is at stake is of course, potential future of the Senate and this is something so important to so many Americans because it could cause and it is going to cause for at least two of these programs a lapse in their benefits.

And so, that's where this juxtaposition that the president is in, as he wants to look like he's fighting for these $2,000 stimulus checks, but the question people are asking is, why he didn't do it sooner.

ACOSTA: Right. And Lauren, I'm going to ask you a question that you've probably never been asked before and I'm kidding when I say that. Are Republicans frustrated by the position that the president is putting them in?

FOX: Well, there is absolutely nothing, Jim, that Republican lawmakers hate more than going out and voting for a bill that they might have had personal issues with, maybe there was a provision they didn't support, maybe they thought the price tag was too high.

They go out and they vote for it under the guise that President Trump is actually going to sign it. And then there's that five-day dramatic question period where members didn't know whether or not the president was actually going to sign the bill.

Now, they are going to be asked once again to go up and support something the president is asking them for on this night. It is $2,000 stimulus checks. It's also a veto -- voting against a veto override in the House of Representatives of the NDAA. That is going to be tough for lawmakers.

ACOSTA: And M.J., President-elect Joe Biden has tried to project calm through some of this chaos, but today we heard some pretty forceful language going off on the outgoing administration, accusing the Trump team of obstructing the Biden team. How big of a shift is this do you think?

LEE: That's right. I think when it comes to the transition process, Biden has largely wanted to stay above the fray even when the GSA ascertainment process was delayed. You didn't often see Biden sort of making pointed attacks. It was almost as though he wanted to show that he was willing to give the Trump administration sort of the benefit of the doubt.

But it was very noteworthy that today we saw this kind of forceful language when it comes to the national security arena. You know, these transition processes usually happen in such a way to help the incoming administration be as prepared as possible so that once Inauguration Day happens, they can really hit the ground running. And clearly on matters of national security and foreign policy if

you're not getting all the information that you need, there are certain threats to the United States that you might not be as prepared for. So I think this speech was a really clear sign from the president-elect that the stakes are incredibly high when it comes to national security. And just the simple fact that we are getting closer and closer to Inauguration Day, Jim.

ACOSTA: Right. You can tell Joe Biden was frustrated today. And Kaitlan, the president reluctantly let the formal transition process begin, but Pentagon political appointees are creating these issues even on national security. Is part of this because that Trump is hoping to hobble the new administration or are some of these folks acting as if, you know, the president is going to remain in office somehow? Are there still some folks still operating under this delusion?

[17:15:00]

COLLINS: I think that they know the president isn't going to be in office past January 20th, but the problem with this is that they can't really say that or acknowledge it or prepare like that's going to happen because of the president's efforts and what he's doing and, you know, it's filtering down to everyone.

And so, the Pentagon has been trying to down-play this and say this isn't what's happening here, but clearly something is going on because you've seen the Biden team where before the Christmas holidays they were talking about what what's going on, saying that they did not agree to have any kind pause in the meetings, the transition meetings that are going on like the Pentagon had characterized it.

And I think that is a smaller part of this larger effort that you're seeing because Joe Biden said it's not just the Pentagon. It's also the Office of Management and Budget, which isn't really well-known to most households across the nation, but is incredibly important to what they're going to be doing the day that they get into office and what they're moving forward with their priorities.

And so, I do think this is an effort by the president to make this process not as least smooth as possible. And he's doing that from refusing to call Joe Biden, refusing to invite him to the White House. But also to these meetings that are actually incredibly critical given so much is going on in the world right now.

And so they're saying that nothing is going on, but clearly something is because the Biden team has repeatedly raised this. And you can see it really culminated in the president-elect's frustration today.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Lauren, we've learned just this afternoon that Congressman Louie Gohmert is suing Vice President Pence in this bizarre undemocratic push to overturn the election results. I haven't found anybody in Washington who is taking this lawsuit seriously, but how messy could this get?

FOX: Well, let's be very clear tonight, Jim, that this lawsuit is not going to change the outcome of the election in any way. Essentially, what Gohmert and other Republicans are asking for is they want that the vice president to play more than just a ceremonial role on January 6th.

And at the end of the day, he's not going to be able to. That's not the law. He can't overturn the electoral results of the election on January 6th. Now, there's going to be a fight on the floor over the election results. It's not going to result in a change of who actually won the election in 2020, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, it'll feel like a very much a 2020 moment at the beginning of 2021 I suppose. All right, thank you all for that.

The breaking news continues. Next, the House is now voting on increasing stimulus payments. We'll talk about that and more with Congresswoman Kathleen Rice. She's standing by to join us live. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

ACOSTA: Our breaking news, we're awaiting the results of a House vote on the Democratic request for a $2,000 direct payment to help Americans. Whether the coronavirus economic crisis, the House is also preparing to vote on a possible override of the president's veto of hundreds of billions of dollars in defense spending.

And New York Democratic Representative Kathleen Rice serves on the Homeland Security Committee. She joins us now. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. I guess simply what's at stake with these two votes tonight? Should we expect both of them to pass?

REP. KATHLEEN RICE (D-NY): Well, so first, Jim, thanks for having me. This first vote that we're considering now is a direct response to what Donald Trump said, which is more money needs to go to the American people.

By the way, we agreed with that, but we couldn't get Republicans to agree to anything more than $600 in direct payments. So my hope is that we are going to -- this is going to pass in the House. The big question is going to be whether or not Mitch McConnell picks it up in the Senate. So we'll have to wait and see.

ACOSTA: And congressional Republicans are the ones as you said, who are opposed to the $2,000 stimulus checks. Why can't President Trump get the levers that he needs to make sure these Republican members get behind this? Is he just out of mojo here as a lame duck president?

RICE: What I wish, Jim, is that he had let Mnuchin actually do the negotiations because I think we could have gotten to this place a lot earlier. I think, in fact, we should have. Look, I'm a lifelong New Yorker. I knew Donald Trump long before he became president. This kind of behavior is nothing new, nothing new. This is what we've seen for the past four years. But what is really disturbing to me is the fact that my colleagues in

the House and the Senate on the Republican side of the aisle don't have the backbone to stand up to this man at the 11th hour when he's about to walk out the door and say, you know what, enough is enough.

There is not going to be a second President Trump term. It's about time that we put our, you know, adult coats on and walk onto the floor in both the House and the Senate and do the right thing for the American people. Enough is enough.

I don't want to hear about Republicans talking about how frustrated there are with the president saying one thing one minute in a tweet and something else in another. That's ridiculous. The frustration. They know how to address that frustration.

They can go on the floor and they can vote for this $2,000 direct payment, cash money right into the American people's hands who desperately, desperately need it. And then right after that they can vote to override the president's veto on The National Defense Authorization Act.

Now, Jim, the importance right there is we just suffered the greatest cyber intrusion this country has ever, ever suffered, has ever had happen to it at the hands of Russia. And with this NDAA bill that the president vetoed, vetoed claiming that he's a big military guy, that bill would have strengthened CISA, which we all know is the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration agency known as CISA.

And it would have created a national cybersecurity directive. We need that now more than ever. So I am putting a challenge out to my Republican colleagues. Vote -- now, by the way, the NDAA passed on both the Senate floor and House floor by a veto-proof majority.

[17:24:57]

We just need every single Republican who voted for it the first time to vote to override this veto. And it will be done and they will -- who cares if President Trump says that's a defeat. These Republicans have got to stand up and understand that Trump is done, but they have to be here for another two years or six years depending on where they serve in the House or Senate, and they need to do their job.

ACOSTA: All right, Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, we know you have some votes to get to but we appreciate you coming on. Thanks for being here for us. We appreciate it.

Still ahead, will Americans holiday activities produce a surge on top of the current surge in coronavirus cases and deaths?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:59]

ACOSTA: We're following multiple breaking stories including the growing U.S. pandemic death toll. As of this hour, more than 334,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19. And the number of confirmed cases now tops 19.2 million. CNN's Nick Watt is in Los Angeles with more. Nick, the U.S. is seeing what's now the deadliest month yet of this pandemic.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim. And here in Southern California, we expect to hear tomorrow whether our stay at home order is going to be extended, it almost definitely will. Because for that order to be lifted, ICU capacity is going to rise above 15 percent. And right now, it's at 0 percent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice-over): Sunday was the busiest air travel day this pandemic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've gone to Utah in the past to ski, so it's a good idea. We're trying to get out of the house.

WATT (voice-over): The search for normalcy will be fatal for some.

DR. JEROME ADAMS, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: We're very concerned and we always feel a little bit of a bump after holidays and sometimes a large bump.

WATT (voice-over): December is already the deadliest month of the pandemic, more than 65,000 lives lost. And --

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: As we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse.

WATT (voice-over): More than one in 1,000 Americans are already dead, killed by COVID-19. Up in Canada, by the way, that number is around one in 2,500. Six states now with record numbers of COVID patients in the hospital.

DR. KIMBERLY SHRINER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, HUNTINGTON HOSPITAL: We have a limited number of ventilators. We have a limited number of ICU beds.

WATT (voice-over): And California is now suffering the highest rate of new cases per capita in the country. Now, remember that Seattle area nursing home?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aren't you guys cover his legs up?

WATT (voice-over): The nation's first hotspot? Today, residents and staff are getting vaccinated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That feels good.

WATT (voice-over): Just over 2 million Americans have now had their first dose.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE COMMISSIONED CORPS: The 2 million number is probably an underestimate. WATT (voice-over): But the goal was to vaccinate 20 million people by year's end.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: Well, the pace is slower than what was stated that's probably unrealistic at this point.

WATT (voice-over): Novavax is now starting phase 3 trials of its vaccine in the U.S. and Mexico. Oxford AstraZeneca could receive approval for its vaccine in the U.K. within days. But the current Rocky vaccine rollout proves a painful point. These elixirs will take time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Now, the bold projections on the vaccine rollout, are kind of reminiscent about the bold projections on the testing that we got earlier in the spring, you know, big promises that just weren't quite met. But listen, this is an unprecedented historic massive rollout. And there are going to be hiccups. Jim?

ACOSTA: OK. CNN's Nick Watt, thank you for that.

Let's get more on all of these with Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA Vaccines Advisory Committee. Dr. Offit, thanks for joining us. More people traveled by plane yesterday than at any point in the pandemic since March 15th is a surge on top of a surge now inevitable.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Yes. I mean, models have predicted that between 200,000 and 250, 000 more people will die between now and April. We know that's going to be true. We just don't know their names.

But assume it could be you, assume it could be somebody you come in contact with, so do your duty as a citizen, wear a mask and social distance. I just think we're numbed by the statistic. I think that 250,000 number is numbing, it's that old Stalin quote, that awful Stalin quote, which is one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic. We just sort of can't by the fact that it might happen to you or a member of your family, even though that is invariably going to be true for many of us.

ACOSTA: It's a horrible number, no question. And Dr. Fauci agrees with President-elect Joe Biden that the worst is still yet to come. How do you make people understand that this is a very serious situation that we're in right now when we're so many months into this crisis? Or is it as you're saying just few moments ago, that people are just numb to it, and they can't get over this hump to take this more seriously.

OFFIT: I don't know what it will take to make us take this seriously. I mean, you know, at least 20 million people have been infected, you know, tens of thousands have died. I don't know what it's going to take. I mean, I know people who have died of this. I'm sure most people in this country knows somebody who at least knows somebody who died of this and yet still, we just won't take it seriously.

I don't get it. I mean, I think at some level, it's a country that was founded on the basis of individual rights and freedoms. And somehow, we think we have freedoms that we don't have, like the freedom to catch and transmitted potentially fatal infection. That's not a freedom.

[17:35:05]

You have to wear a mask, you have to social distance and I just -- obviously the administration, the Trump administration has been a poor model of that kind of behavior. With the next administration, that's going to be different, but we shouldn't have to wait for that.

ACOSTA: And, Doctor, I have to ask you about this because Nick Watt was just talking about this in his piece and it is just so vitally important. When you look at this huge gap between vaccines delivered versus vaccines actually put into arms, Nick was talking about speed bumps and so on and comparing it to how there were problems with the testing rollout that we saw at the beginning of this pandemic. How worried are you at this point that we may be seeing the same thing happen again, that these doses are not going to get out and in a way that is going to get this population inoculated?

OFFIT: Well, you're right. I mean, there's a critical difference between vaccines and vaccination. We need to vaccinate. We -- you know, we're still, at roughly 2 million doses administered, we're still less than 1 percent of the population, we're going to have to get to 70 percent I think if we're going to stop the spread of this virus.

But I really do believe we can do this. I mean, I've watched our hospital, Children's Hospital o Philadelphia, we've been very efficient about getting this vaccine out there. And one good thing is, I can't tell you how happy people are in our hospital.

There's like a sudden lightening of the mood in our hospital. People feel like finally help us arrive. But in the meantime, we need to know that you're not helpless, and that you can do things to stop the spread of this virus. I just wish we were better at it.

ACOSTA: Yes. Certainly, we need to be better at. All right, Dr. Paul Offit, thank you very much for joining us. We appreciate it.

And breaking news coming up next, new developments in that huge Christmas explosion in Nashville, including chilling new video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:19]

ACOSTA: This afternoon President-elect Joe Biden thanked emergency workers who responded to the Christmas explosion that heavily damaged part of downtown Nashville. Aside from a White House statement Friday morning thanking first responder, President Trump has yet to comment publicly on the suspected suicide bombing. And CNN Shimon Prokupecz is following the investigation. Shimon, what more are you learning at this hour?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So investigators continue to work through this looking for that motive. Now we have a neighbor, a neighbor of the bomber who tell CNN that in his last conversation with the bomber a week ago on Monday, the bomber said to him, I'm going to be so famous. Nashville will never forget me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Tonight, days after the explosion that rocked downtown Nashville, investigators are still trying to determine the motive of 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner. This dramatic video showing the RV exploding, shattering windows damaging more than 40 storefronts and injuring at least eight people. None of them seriously.

New CNN video from the scene shows the destruction. FBI agents and ATF agents sifting through mountains of debris in the street. Fire alarms still sounding within buildings.

DAVID RAUSCH, DIRECTOR, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: He was not on our radar. He was not someone that was identified as a person of interest for the bureau. And so, we were not familiar with this individual until this incident.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Warner was killed in the blast. Investigators identify him by matching DNA collected at the scene with gloves and a hat found in a vehicle Warner owned. According to authorities, the RV's Vehicle Identification Number recovered from the scene was a key piece of evidence that led them to identify Warner.

Authority search Warner's home over the weekend. Warner was a computer consultant and said he plan to retire this month, one of his clients told CNN. Neighbor described them as a hermit who sort of kept to himself. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Warner's mother has been cooperating with investigators. Warner's father was once employed by AT&T and the agency is looking into whether that may be relevant to the motive. AT&T is the parent company of CNN.

The RV has been parked outside of an AT&T building in the early hours of Christmas morning. Authorities say when it began to play the song downtown by Petula Clark, and broadcasting an audio message that a bomb would detonate in a matter of minutes. Police initially responded to the scene because of reports of gunfire, but quickly sprang into action and evacuated residents after hearing the RV's message.

OFC. JAMES WELLS, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE: I just see orange, and then I hear loud boom. And as I'm stumbling, because it rocked me that hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And Jim, today we got our first look at the scene, the blast site where this RV exploding, and certainly the pictures from that street, from that area are remarkable. You can see the destruction in all of the buildings, cars that were just melted down, paint melted off of the cars. FBI agents and ATF agents and local officials have been going through debris looking for evidence. All of this is in an effort to identify what kind of explosive was used here.

ACOSTA: Just a nightmare of seeing there. Shimon Prokupecz, thank you very much.

And we're joined now by the Mayor of Nashville, John Cooper. Mayor Cooper, thanks so much for joining us. What stands out to you as investigators learn more about the suspected suicide bomber? It seems the details are coming in slowly at this point.

MAYOR JOHN COOPER (D), NASHVILLE, TN: Well, thank you for having me on. I think that investigation is actually had a lot of momentum. I mean, we're just a day or two afterwards, and we know it's Anthony Warner. We don't know what the motivation is. But we're pretty confident the FBI and the ATF will be able to speak to motivation in time.

We're grateful that there wasn't more loss. I mean, to have few casualties with the explosion of that size is amazing. It's a gift. It's a little bit of a Christmas miracle in a way, but natural come back stronger than ever.

ACOSTA: And you said that we may know more in time from investigators about a motive behind this. Are you aware that they may be closing in on revealing that motivation to the public? Tell us more --

[17:45:03]

COOPER: No, no, I don't -- I'm not getting ahead of the investigation. I'm just saying you have several hundred very talented investigators here in Nashville. And they've got experience and they're doing a great job and look at the progress that was made since Friday morning. I mean, a massive, large explosion, and here we are on Monday, and we know who did it. And we just don't know why that adds to the mystery. But with this number of talented people, I think they're going to get to the bottom of it.

ACOSTA: And President-elect Biden made remarks about this attack today, thanking the first responders. As you know, President Trump has not made any public comments about this. As of this morning, you said you hadn't spoken with the President. Have you heard directly from him yet? And what do you make of this silence about this?

COOPER: Well, I did speak with our Senator Blackburn today, who did tell me that she talked directly to the President about it. And certainly, wanted to support Nashville's recovery, which is an important thing we need to move on and get to rebuilding.

ACOSTA: Should he be calling you though?

COOPER: So, I think she has been in contact with the President.

ACOSTA: Well, it's nice that he called out to Marsha Blackburn, a member of his own party, but don't you think he should be reaching out to the mayor of the city where this happened?

COOPER: Well, he's welcome to. I know Senator Blackburn is very close to him, so that's completely understandable. And I think he's also talked to our Governor, Bill Lee.

ACOSTA: But nothing to you?

COOPER: Well, not so far. But we -- he didn't need to call me, he just -- we need him to support a federal help for rebuilding. We need to make these businesses whole. After COVID has really strangled them, unfortunately, for them to be blown up and put out of business, at least for a little while, is especially unfair. And, again, like tornado relief, we need a little bit of blast relief here in Nashville.

ACOSTA: All right. And we hope you get that as soon as possible. Mayor John Cooper, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Hope you get back to normal very soon.

COOPER: Thank you.

ACOSTA: And breaking news next, new details about when individual stimulus checks may be going out and what the pandemic relief bill means to millions of struggling Americans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:51:45]

ACOSTA: And there's more breaking news we're following, CNN has learned that individual $600 coronavirus relief checks are expected to go out this week, although that timing could slide and the money can't come soon enough for millions of struggling Americans. CNN's Brian Todd is working that part of the story for us. Brian, share with our viewers what this stimulus bill means for individuals because it is going to help some people indeed this holiday season.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, Jim, you know, the people who need these benefits are indeed going to get a lot less money this time around than they did in the last stimulus package. And there are going to be delays in the payments. But this is still going to bring much needed relief for millions of Americans.

TODD (voice-over): For Meghan Meyer, the stimulus checks and new unemployment benefits can't come soon enough. The single mother of two has been unemployed since the spring.

MEGHAN MEYER, SINGLE MOM, UNEMPLOYED SINCE MARCH: For Christmas, I had to count on people, different agencies, non-profits to help me be able to afford Christmas for my kids. I've had a non-profit agency that paid my rent so that I can just -- we can be afloat.

TODD (voice-over): Meghan and millions of other struggling Americans will soon get one-time payments of $600 each following President Trump's late signing of the stimulus bill. That $600 is for individuals earning $75,000 a year or less. Married couples earning $150,000 a year or less who filed jointly get twice that amount. Families with children under 17 will get $600 per child. People earning $99,000 a year or more get nothing.

The payments could increase from $600 each if Congress and the President agree to bigger payments for this stimulus bill. But for now, when can people expect to at least get that $600 payment?

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: It could take another week for people to start getting payments. Now, the fortunate thing is because they already have some things in place from the last stimulus payment of 1,200, they can quickly get out payments to people who have information for direct deposit.

TODD (voice-over): Still, some may have to wait several weeks to get their stimulus checks. For the millions of Americans collecting unemployment benefits due to the pandemic, the federal payments they'll get will restart and last through March 14th. This time, the federal payment for each unemployed person is $300 a week, half of what it was in the last stimulus bill.

That federal payment is in addition to the state unemployment benefits many are already getting. But because the President waited until Sunday to sign the bill, many unemployed Americans may get 10 weeks of payments instead of 11.

MICHELE EVERMORE, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT LAW PROJECT: It's not clear if benefits will be payable for this week. There's a theory that maybe benefits can be payable this week. We're just not sure yet.

TODD (voice-over): What about people facing eviction like Lathyia Andrews in northern Ohio, unemployed since May, who's not been able to pay her rent for three months?

LATHYIA ANDREWS, UNEMPLOYED, FACING EVICTION: It made me want to cry, because I'm like, I don't know where that's going to come from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?

TODD (voice-over): The new stimulus bill extends a moratorium on evictions, but only through the end of January.

SINGLETARY: Right as we head into the heart of the winter, we can't be putting people out of their homes, particularly when they have children. And we already know that a lot of kids are doing their schoolwork at home. So how will they do that? This is really a dire situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[17:55:08]

TODD: Michelle Singletary and other experts say it's likely that America will need another stimulus package in 2021. Singletary suggests that possibly focusing a future relief package just on food and housing security, even doing things like making direct payments to landlords who are also hurting right now. Jim, they're gonna have to get creative with some of the stuff in the months ahead.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, Brian Todd, on all those people who are hurting out there tonight, thank you so much for that, Brian. We appreciate it.

Breaking news next, the House is voting on increasing stimulus checks to $2,000, it's one of two critical votes that we're watching tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)