Skip to main content

tv   CNN Newsroom  CNN  November 19, 2020 9:00am-10:00am PST

9:00 am
very hard. i been fighting to get food stamps. it's not easy. i have two kids with disabilities and i need to feed them. >> and that's why you're here today. >> yes. >> thank you. this is just one story, kate, of many stories of americans waiting in line in brooklyn, also around the country. kate? >> thank you for highlighting it, vanessa. thank you so much. thank you all so much for joining us. kate bolduan. dana bash picks up coverage now. hello to viewers in the united states and around the world. i am dana bash in washington with big developments this hour. georgia will soon finish its statewide audit of the 2020 election. that means the secretary of state there will certify the official results showing joe biden's victory in a state that hasn't gone for a democrat for president in nearly three decades. the president promises his lawyers, the current president, that is, will try to claim in a
9:01 am
press conference that they still can win, but that defies the facts. the facts are as follows. joe biden is the president-elect. the current president's stubborn denials are source of transition delay that totals 12 days. team biden is warning that every one of those days of lost time will force them to play unnecessary catchup that could cost lives, since it is putting the incoming administration behind on what matters most now, a way out of the pandemic. the numbers today are just awful. 170,000 plus new cases on wednesday. that's the second highest total of the entire crisis. the daily average of new cases is at a new high, 161,000 per day. more infections mean more people are sick and sadly more deaths. 1,848 americans lost their lives yesterday to the virus. that's the worst day since early may. the president's pandemic
9:02 am
management was already checkered, and his presence at briefings and in interviews were a constant source of disinformation. but now the president is absent, the man who mocked joe biden for hunkering down at home during the pandemic is now in his own bunker. today is the 12th day since the election with no public apeer s appearances on his schedule, and he plans to do traditional white house photo ops. have a turkey pardon, plans a christmas tree unveiling, but is leaving it to governors to tell people that their holidays can't go on as normal this year. >> stay with their immediate family, don't go outside your bubble. make sure that's a small number. single digits. please, god, that's behavior we need now, not just for next thursday, john, but for the next couple months. vaccines are coming but are not here yet. >> much more on the virus in a few minutes. first, we're going to georgia where we expect to see soon the
9:03 am
results of a hand recount that's been going on there. i want to get to amara walker. what is the secretary of state saying about the results? >> reporter: well, he has maintained that he is confident that the results of the hand recount are going to be basically the same as the original tally affirmed, the winner of the state which is indeed joe biden. any minute now, dana, we'll be seeing full results of the statewide audit. what we are expecting to see from the secretary of state office is essentially a breakdown, county by county, hand recount results versus original tally. what we already know is that 70% of the counties in georgia have report virtually seeing no discrepancies. there's a lot of attention on thousands of uncounted ballots that were found, about 5800 ballots discovered during the audit in four different
9:04 am
counties. here is what happened. in three of the counties, basically ballots were scanned onto a memory card, but the last step of uploading memory cards did not happen. that was apparently human error. and the state election officials are saying it is human error, not the computer's fault. there's no sign of widespread fraud. floyd county, there are 2500 votes not counted. state election officials are saying that was just gross incompetence. there was a box of ballots off to the side, no one ever saw it, opened the box. those ballots were never scanned. despite it all, georgia secretary of state is confident he has been saying the audit will not change the overall outcome. here he is talking to jake tapper yesterday. >> we have not seen widespread voter fraud. the president picked up some votes in a few of the counties that made some clerical errors. wasn't the machines. but at the end of the day, he started with 14,000, he is about
9:05 am
12,000 now. we are finishing up, waiting for a few more counties to get back to us, large counties. i don't believe at the end of the day it will change the total results. >> still think president-elect biden will be the winner of georgia? >> yes, i believe that's the right term. >> reporter: the secretary of state office is working under the assumption that president trump will request a recount, and he will have to do so by tuesday. dana? >> that's right. after the results in georgia are certified, he has a two day window to request a recount. thank you so much for that reporting. keep in touch, see if we get results of the audit during this hour. we expect it might happen. as for the president, he is waging an election fight across states, not just in georgia, but his campaign dropped one of the key lawsuits today. i want to get to kaitlan collins. tell us what happened in michigan today. >> reporter: well, dana, as we are seeing the president's legal
9:06 am
challenges start to fall apart in court, they're getting crazier and seems more desperate by the moment. what you're seeing with this is that the campaign is dropping its lawsuit, saying the board has not certified the election results in wayne county, even though they have certified the election results in wayne county. the reason they're saying that is you saw the drama that played out earlier this week, there were two republican election officials in michigan who refused to certify results of the race, and that led to the president praising them for having great courage, but for people that voted in detroit and other areas in that county, there was a lot of backlash. eventually they reversed the moves, ended up certifying election results. now they're trying to rescind their votes, and they filed an affidavit saying as much, even though legally they can't rescind their votes to certify results. we're seeing drama play out in michigan where the trump campaign is lying and trying to say the results have not been certified, even though they have. and of course that comes on the
9:07 am
heels of them withdrawing the lawsuit on that basis. you're seeing that. we expect to get a press conference from the president's legal team which is now led by rudy giuliani and a few others any moment now. we'll see what it is they're going to try to do next. this comes after yesterday in wisconsin. they asked for a recount in two of those counties. i would expect them to start to make other allegations, of course. as amara was noting, this is coming as georgia is expected to announce the recount which election officials will affirm joe biden's win. it is basically the president still dragging this out, refusing to concede the race to joe biden, also continuing to try to delay certification of the votes. that's really the last ditch effort to delay this. >> absolutely. kaitlan, the senator from utah, mitt romney, one of the first to acknowledge that joe biden is the president-elect. and he was the last republican to have to concede the
9:08 am
presidency, that he wouldn't win in a race, that happened in 2012. he talked to david axelrod on his podcast this morning. listen to what he said. >> i'm more concerned about actions the president is taking that relate to, for instance, firing of chris krebs, for us to pull our troops out obviously puts remaining troops in some danger. the consequences of what's happening during the lame duck period i think are potentially more severe than the consequences with a late transition process. >> translate into less diplomatic speak. he is worried what the president is doing out of sight is really dangerous for the country right now. >> reporter: yeah, you're hearing that concern, hearing it from other republican officials as well who pushed back on the president's announcement they're withdrawing troops out of iraq and afghanistan.
9:09 am
that's something that came out this week that the president, press secretary, and acting pentagon secretary did not take questions on, we should note. you're seeing the president fire officials that are simply pushing back, contradicting lies that he is spreading about what happened in the election, when he talks about fraud, says it was stolen from him. also, we're being told by sources that the president has a lot else he wants to get done in the next two months. they're not expecting it to be quiet. we should note, we haven't seen a lot of the president, he is still making big decisions behind closed doors. there are questions on other people he may fire. a sign of this, dana, he cancelled a scheduled trip to mar-a-lago next week for thanksgiving where he has gone every year he has been in office to instead stay back here. this comes as i think one of the questions that mitt romney was talking about in the podcast was what is happening when it comes to the pandemic. and the president has seemed largely detached from it, though i should note, we were just told by the vice president's office
9:10 am
there's going to be a briefing today, press briefing with members of the white house coronavirus task force who are meeting today with the vice president, and that's the first of those we've had in months. not clear if the president, himself, though, is going to attend. >> i was just going to tell you that. of course you're so talented, you can read an email and talk on television at the same time. why am i not surprised. in all seriousness, that's big news and welcome news for people who are watching numbers spike, wondering where is the federal government, where is the task force, and we're actually going to see and hear from them today. that's a really big development. kaitlan, thank you so much for that. on this note, i want to bring in a member of the biden covid advisory board, dr. sell evceli gounder. what do you want to hear from
9:11 am
them? >> first of all, i'm relieved to hear they're not awal during all this. big picture, we're all on the same team as americans, we need to come together, work together. the sooner gsa can move forward with ascertainment and we can get in the same room with members of the current coronavirus task force, the better. because there's a lot of work to be done. >> that's an understatement. i want you to listen to what dr. anthony fauci said about impact of this delay in the transition process. >> there has not been any form of discussions with the biden people on this. that kind of thing makes it easier to just go from one to the other. so yes. i would wish we would be able to do that, that would be helpful. >> you are a member of the biden covid advisory board. do you see impact of this delay
9:12 am
from the inside? can you describe it? >> well, we're simply not able to have conversations with folks on the current white house coronavirus task force or in other agencies under this administration. and they really are, some of them are political appointees, some of them are career bureaucrats, scientists working in the trenches who have crucial information that we really need to be briefed on now. it is sort of like trying to jump from one moving train to another seamlessly. that's a serious indiana jones move we're being asked to make. >> that's really, really stark. you are a doctor at the top of your profession and it is a pretty small community and that includes people both on the biden task force like you and on the current administration's task force, the people actually doing the job. have you had back channel conversations with any of them?
9:13 am
>> i have not. i have not. we're really not supposed to be back channeling. we're supposed to be having formal conversations after ascertainment. obviously i have colleagues in academia i can speak to for p s opinions and input, but can't get information from inside the administration until the gsa moves forward with ascertainment. >> your colleague, rick bright, who worked in the trump white house and is now working with you said bluntly that people are going to die because of the transition being stalled now, everything you just described. do you share that opinion? >> i do because every day that you delay things like scaling up testing, that you delay all of the logistics of scaling up vaccine manufacturing and delivery and getting people vaccinated, every day of delay will translate into more deaths. >> i want to ask you about dr.
9:14 am
deborah birx, chief of the current white house coronavirus task force. there was a piece published in politico this week, headline was it is complicated. weighing whether or not to keep deborah birx once joe biden takes office, do you see her in the next administration? >> well, it is not really my decision or the decision of members -- >> if they had come to you and said the former vice president, president-elect came to you and said should she be on the team, what would your answer be? >> i think she holds crucial information. some of the information i'm talking about that we need that we cannot get without ascertainment. this is the kind of information, she understands some of the operational details. for example, supply chain details. where are ventilators. have they had the quality control, are they functional.
9:15 am
that was one of the problems we had earlier in the year, finding out many of the ventilators in the stockpile didn't work. where is our personal protective equipment and so on. she's central in terms of knowledge and expertise she holds. >> she is. thank you so much. dr. celine gounder, for your insight and everything you're doing, appreciate it. >> my pleasure. up next, could there be cracks in the wall around the white house. what cnn learned about trump officials that have quietly reached out to the biden transition team. ♪ sofi made it so easy to pay off my student loan debt. ♪ they were able to give me a personal loan so i could pay off all of my credit cards. i got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy. ♪ choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. ♪
9:16 am
is often unseen. because the pain you're feeling could be a sign of irreversible joint damage. every day you live with pain, swelling, and stiffness... you risk not being able to do the things you love. especially in these times, it's important to keep up with your rheumatologist. schedule an appointment today. for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for.
9:17 am
♪ usaa swipe, lift, spin, dry. slam, pan, still...fresh move, move, move, move aaaaand still fresh. degree. ultimate freshness activated when you move.
9:18 am
9:19 am
with january 20th inauguration day fast approaching, president trump is still stalling president-elect biden's transition process by refusing to concede the election. cnn has learned that some former and current trump administration officials are quietly reaching out to members of the
9:20 am
biden/harris team to offer assistance. a current administration official tells cnn the contact is, quote, nothing that would get us in trouble. just an offer to be of help. they know what we mean and what we can and can't do or say. joining me, national security correspondent vivian salama, and correspondent for "new york times," jonathan martin. hey, guys, thanks for joining me. vivian, start with you on your great reporting. talk about quiet outreach. how far can they really go giving information to the biden transition team they need to keep the country afloat, particularly when it comes to the pandemic? >> reporter: dana, this is an issue we have been talking about constantly. obviously there are legal constraints to how much the trump administration officials can say because we haven't had
9:21 am
ascertainment. until that happens, they can't access classified information. what officials are saying is we are two weeks in, there's so much that can be done meantime. they haven't gotten the green light. they reach out to counterparts. d.c., you see a lot of the same people, especially if you're a subject matter expert, you know people on the other side of the o aisle that will be working for the next administration. a lot of outreach taking place. this is a matter of national security, so much we can discuss that doesn't have to be classified. talking about personnel, budgets, policy issues that on the surface level they can talk about. so much can be discussed. meantime, while they're waiting for president trump to concede, give the green light to official transition, there's something they can be doing. that's what's starting to happen now, dana. >> people putting country over
9:22 am
party. it is important reporting. jonathan, you interviewed the newly reelected house minority leader kevin mccarthy and asked him doesn't biden cool the country's political temperatures at least at first. and he said it depends how it turns out. if you have 70% of republicans that thought he cheated, he is still going to have a hard time moving forward. jonathan, my question for you is at any point did he acknowledge even in some kind of code, the reason 70% of people think joe biden cheated is people like him are not calling him president-elect and conservative leaders, including the president are claiming that. >> this won't surprise you, no. shocker there.
9:23 am
i think it gets interesting when states start certifying. georgia has to certify by tomorrow, michigan and pennsylvania monday. what does the world look like, and what do governors and members of congress saying when their own states certify results. and results are the results that joe biden won. i think that will be the test in the next two weeks. does that give them any kind of peg to acknowledge what's reality. >> true. talking about kevin mccarthy, he is obviously hearing from republicans they don't believe it is reality. but the reason the republicans are hearing that is because they're paying attention to a conservative media and others who are telling them false information. that's a discussion for another day, but a very important one. >> yes. >> some republicans have called joe biden president-elect, they
9:24 am
are moving towards it, that was the point you made. i am thinking the certification dates are key. the question is why should they believe, republicans, that even if they say okay, we're done, that the president will go along with it. >> he might not. he might sort of keep indulging affection that he didn't lose the election. that's where it will get dicey for people like kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell if you have states certify results, if the electors in december obviously make clear that biden has won and the president, the outgoing president will not admit it, that's where it could get challenging. especially, dana, for mitch mcconnell. he needs president trump to be an ally in georgia to capture those two seats that are going to decide who controls the majority in the senate. mcconnell has to walk eggshells through january 5th when the georgia runoff is taking place
9:25 am
because he needs trump and trump voters more to the point in georgia to be energized for that runoff. >> it is all about georgia and it is all about power. vivian, you are covering national security, you cover political appointees who are now republicans, but also so many career diplomats and others who are trying to kind of navigate this the best way they can. what more are you hearing behind the scenes from them? >> reporter: certainly at the national security council, an extension of the white house, a lot of officials are going to be staying on. they have been serving robert o'brien, the current adviser, and will serve whoever joe biden chooses as national security adviser. there's a lot of confusion, suggestion that maybe they should stop doing certain work, policies will change under a joe biden presidency, but they keep getting push back from the
9:26 am
leadership, obviously president trump wanting to carry out what he can before he leaves office in january. so officials are constantly being told we do not have results yet and you have to keep working as though nothing happened. that's the official line. behind the scenes, though, officials including robert o'brien, i am told by sources and others acknowledge that joe biden will be the next president. so a lot of confusion and mixed messaging when it comes to policies and whether or not certain things should be carried out in haste or put on pause for now, dana. >> so much mixed messaging which maybe mattered less in earlier times. now we're talking about a basic, the peaceful and successful transition of power that is put on hold. vivian, jonathan, love to have your excellent reporting and hearing what you are seeing and writing in notebooks. thanks so much, guys. up next, breaking news from the cdc. new guidelines about thanksgiving travel you're going to want to watch. stay tuned. ♪
9:27 am
9:28 am
9:29 am
♪ ride... ♪ relax... now you're cloud surfing (record scratch) ♪ ride... ♪ relax...
9:30 am
♪ ride... tturning downhe temperature, dad. ow. thunk, lock the doors. locking doors. thunk, dim the lights. dimming lights. [ croaking ] goodnight, honey. goodnight. [ laughs ] that's my leg. aw! pft, pft. evolve your home security. get the peace of mind, safety and convenience of xfinity home. and don't forget to catch the croods, a new age in theaters thanksgiving. rated pg.
9:31 am
again, breaking news this hour, the white house task force will brief from the white house this afternoon. this will be the first time they do that in more than six months. now we have a new advisory from the cdc, and that is don't travel. stay home for thanksgiving. this advisory comes as deaths
9:32 am
from covid-19 and the surge we are seeing are past 250,000 people. i want to bring in cnn health reporter jacqueline howard. tell us more about what the cdc is saying now. >> yes, dana. this announcement just came out a few minutes ago during a briefing call that the agency had with reporters and it was said, i'll quote, amidst this critical phase of the covid-19 pandemic, cdc is recommending against travel during the thanksgiving period. and honestly, it comes as not much of a surprise because if you look at past holidays, following fourth of july and memorial day, the country did see arise in cases following those holidays. there has been serious concern that could happen again following this thanksgiving. this recommendation was just mentioned during the briefing call and the agency updated its website with additional guidance
9:33 am
for families that are still trying to figure out their thanksgiving plans. >> yeah, and the fact is that they talk about the fact that people are going to be, if they do travel, bringing infection with them to small gatherings and not even knowing it, and i think you mentioned this, i think worth underscoring, even the person, the covid-19 incident manager that was briefing said he hasn't seen his parents who are older since january. i think that tells a lot. this is important. >> were you going to say something? i'm sorry. >> oh, that does tell a lot, and they made clear on that call that when you think about your plans, it is important to stay within your bubble, within your household. that means people you have been living with for the past two weeks. if someone hasn't been in your household the past two weeks, they do not fit in your bubble. >> jacqueline howard, thank you so much. that's really, really important
9:34 am
breaking news from the cdc, once again advising people not to travel for thanksgiving. one of the biggest travel days historically in nonpandemic times of the year. thanks, jacqueline. and up next, covid on capitol hill. more lawmakers are in quarantine. we're going to talk to a congressman about that and more looking ahead to 2021.
9:35 am
hello! hello is friendly... hello is open... it's welcoming... everything we want to be when helping people find a medicare plan. so if you're looking for yours, say hello to hellomedicare... ...a one stop shop for medicare plans, ...including a range of unitedhealthcare medicare advantage plans. plans that could give you $0 co-pays on all primary care, doctor visits, preventive dental care, and eye exams. with hellomedicare, you can learn, compare, even enroll - all in one place. no matter where you are in your search. give us a call. our licensed hellomedicare agents are here to help guide you to a plan that fits your needs. because we get it: finding the right medicare plan can be challenging. plans can differ by price... or benefits.
9:36 am
they can even differ by where you live. that's why we're here - to put it all together... ...and be your go-to place for all the latest information... ...laid out right in front of you, in a way that's easy to understand. it all starts with a few simple questions so we can get to know you better. questions like, "do you want to keep your doctor?" and "which benefits are important to you?" then, we'll match you with plans from the top names in medicare, including a range of unitedhealthcare medicare advantage plans. ...for a complete picture of your best options. next, we'll help you compare benefits and costs. and when you feel good about your selection... we'll sign you up. [done.and.done.] remember, the annual enrollment period is here... ...and it ends on december 7th. so whether you're looking to save money, or find better coverage... ...let's do this. let's go find your medicare plan. call us today and speak with one of our helpful
9:37 am
licensed hellomedicare agents. hellomedicare. say hello to an easier way to do medicare. hellomedicare. visibly fades the dark spots away. new neutrogena® rapid tone repair 20 percent pure vitamin c. a serum so powerful dark spots don't stand a chance. see what i mean? neutrogena® it's moving day. and are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her xfinity internet and tv services. it only takes about a minute. wait, a minute? but what have you been doing for the last two hours? delegating? oh, good one.
9:38 am
move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy. go online to transfer your services in about a minute. get started today. coronavirus cases are climbing among lawmakers on capitol hill. just yesterday two more members of the house announced they have
9:39 am
tested positive. that brings cnn's tally to 26 house members and eight senators that have so far tested positive or have been presumed positive. that includes two of the oldest members of congress, gop senator chuck grassley, third in line for the presidency, and republican representative from alaska, don young. both are 87 years old. joining me, democratic congresswoman from washington state. thank you so much for joining me. i want to start with the outbreak on capitol hill, underscoring the real risks that you as lawmakers face in congress as you continue to meet, fly around the country. what should you all do to better protect yourselves and your ability to do the work you're elected to do? >> honestly, dana, i think we have to improve our proxy voting systems and make it so people do not have to travel. we have taken good strides in
9:40 am
that direction. we do have proxy votes. as long as it is optional, i think there are a lot of members that feel under pressure to travel to d.c. and i think that's a challenge. you know, i have been very careful not traveling unless i really feel there's something i have to do on the house floor because i think i have to model for my constituents that we need to stay home right now, but at the same time i feel a lot of empathy for colleagues that are in tough districts, don't want to be in that position of having to make a choice. >> do you think it should be made for them, should be mandatory stay home and vote by proxy? >> if we could figure out the logistics for doing that, problem is house rules don't allow for that in every situation. that's the thing we have to move towards, figuring out how to fix that, because yes, it should be ideally mandated we get to stay home and follow the health guidance of our public health
9:41 am
officials and really try to model the behavior, but we do have problems in doing that in terms of how the votes occur. >> completely understandable. let's look ahead to next year and the new slimmer majority that you and fellow democrats are going to have. it is going to be the tightest in nearly two decades. i want you to listen to what house speaker nancy pelosi who was elected again by the caucus, she has to have that same vote on the house floor, once that happens in january, listen to what she said about all of this yesterday. >> the fact is to have fewer members but the white house, but the white house is a source of -- we are sad to lose the members we had, ready to go again. sometimes when there's a smaller number of people, see the urgency of listening to each other, respecting each other's voice because we all have to go down the path mostly together.
9:42 am
>> what's your reaction to that? >> well, i agree that i went to bed the night before the election thinking that job number one was to get donald trump out of the white house and elect joe biden with a mandate. that was my hope. we did that, dana. we got not only the electoral college in what donald trump called a landslide victory four years ago, over 300 electoral votes, we got joe biden popular vote, swinging back states like georgia and arizona and taking back states like pennsylvania and wisconsin. i think that's a huge victory for the country. second job was to maintain control of the house. of course, we wanted to expand our majority in the house. that didn't happen. but to be able to maintain control is huge. those two things i think are very, very, very important. and finally, we're still in contention for the senate.
9:43 am
a tough senate map. we still have a possibility, though i understand it is challenging, to win back the senate. i miss my colleagues that we're going to lose already. i wish that we hadn't lost them, but i think we have to focus on the victory that we had election night. >> you are the co-chair of the progressive caucus in the house. do you expect to have more negotiating power inside the democratic caucus on big issues? how will you flex your muscles there. >> well, we're proud that we'll be adding eight new members to the progressive caucus. we also passed a package of reforms i hope will make us more member driven, nimble, cohesive and powerful as a voting block. understand whenever you have a slim majority, a lot of people have power across the caucus. isn't just those of us on the progressive side, obviously are more moderate members do. frankly any group of small
9:44 am
members that bands together on anything can have a major impact on legislation. you know, my goal is to try to find things that are bold, progressive ideas that we can get the whole caucus to agree on, things like infrastructure package that's really expansive and focuses on roads and bridges but also schools, water, critical issue for our caucus is the right to water in the midst of a pandemic. also i hope we can take bold action on climate change in the infrastructure package. $15 minimum wage. that's something that was called radical far left idea, today, florida which went for donald trump in the presidential election also voted with a super majority of voters to pass a $15 minimum wage. those are things that effect lives and livelihoods of every american, whichever party you might be voting for. >> speaking for minimum wage, you initially supported bernie sanders for president in
9:45 am
primaries, he is making clear he wants to be labor secretary in a biden administration. good idea? >> i am supportive of senator sanders being labor secretary, there are other candidates, andy levin from the house. obviously i'm a big bernie sanders supporter. i think he would be an amazing labor secretary. >> congresswoman, thank you so much for joining me. appreciate it. >> thank you, dana. up next, joe biden weighs in on the georgia senate runoffs, what he calls brick walls. kids, what do you want for lunch? pizza. tacos. pizza! what about subway? it's a good call and everyone loves it. we raised our kids on it. so it stopped the bickering? (mocking tone) "mom, jj's copying me!" grow up. mom! knock it off! try the new subway buffalo chicken or bbq chicken. we use 11. eleven. why do an expense report from your phone when you can do it from a machine that jams?
9:46 am
i just emailed my wife's social security number to the entire company instead of hr, so... please come back. how hard is your business software working for you? with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in one easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com for a free demo. hon? first off, we love each other...
9:47 am
9:48 am
before we talk about tax-s-audrey's expecting... new? -twins! ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan.
9:49 am
9:50 am
the stakes couldn't be higher in georgia where two senate runoff races will determine the balance of power in the senate, and in turn, how much joe biden may be able to accomplish while in office. the president-elect is clearly trying to energize democratic voters in georgia with blunt talk about struggles he would face if republicans maintain their senate majority. >> we're going to run into brick walls in the senate unless we're able to turn around georgia, pick up those two seats, even then it is going to be hard. i believe, and i know the place, i believe we can ultimately bring it together. >> going to go straight to our
9:51 am
senior congressional correspondent manu raju. manu, this is what it is all about, the whole ball game. this is why republicans are so scared frankly of making the president angry because they don't want to do anything that will jeopardize those two senate seats. what are you hearing? you walk the halls, talk to republican lawmakers all day every day, what are they telling you? >> that's the big fear. there's also a realization that no matter who controls the chamber in the next congress that getting legislation through is going to be incredibly difficult, particularly significant legislation. as you know from covering this body so many years, they need to get 60 votes to overcome any filibuster to get legislation through. if the democrats' best bet is 50/50 senate, they need ten republicans to break ranks on major items. that will be hard. they're not going to be able to change filibuster rules that progressives and people want because there's opposition among
9:52 am
several democratic senators to doing just that. so regardless of how the elections come out, joe biden's path to get big things done is going to be difficult and there will be major issues they have to deal with. already covid relief being stalled in this congress, likelihood that will get punted to the next congress. a possibility they may have to deal with big government funding bill early next year if no deal by mid december. so there are all of these major items. one thing of concern for both sides, whoever is in charge sets the agenda and priorities, nominees in particular will be harder for biden to get cabinet nominees confirmed if republicans are in control and supreme court nominee, lower court nominees, a big concern. big legislation, as you know, very difficult no matter what happens in a narrowly divided congress for the new year. >> real quick, are you seeing and sensing more cracks in the republican wall on capitol hill as we get closer to
9:53 am
certification in a lot of states? >> there's just a divide now. some say let's begin the transition, pat toomey, pennsylvania republican senator said to move forward. trump allies like kevin kramer believe transition should go ahead. ted cruz and others aligned with him say let's have the court process play out, then worry about the transition. republicans are divided. they see writing on the wall where this is headed. very few of them willing to say joe biden is the president-elect. dana? >> unbelievable, yet totally believable. manu, the best. thanks for that reporting. up next, bars and restaurants are open, but schools are closed. questions about new york city's latest shutdowns. stay with us. when i was in high school, this was the theater i came to quite often. the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. it's not just a work environment.
9:54 am
everyone here is family. if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today. ♪
9:55 am
9:56 am
you know a lot of folks and tthink of a potato, today. even an idaho potato as a side dish. but does this look like a side dish to you? ...or this? ...or these? does a side dish have a dog like this? ...or a truck like this? or a good-looking, charismatic, spokesfarmer like me? i think we both know the answer to that. always look for the grown in idaho seal. side dish?
9:57 am
yoat nature's way, that startsn with quality ingredients. like our sambucus - made from elderberries grown and picked at their prime. choose the way to quality immune support, choose nature's way sambucus.
9:58 am
new york city public schools are the latest casualty of the covid-19 cases. mayor de blasio said they reached the 3% positivity rate threshold, meaning there are enough new positive cases to trigger what they describe as abundance of caution closing the city's public schools. today, students in the nation's largest school district are back home, and once again will be learning remotely. i want to go to cnn's polo sandoval who is following this. to be clear, new york city schools are closed. bars and restaurants are open.
9:59 am
that's the same deal here in d.c. i should say. how did the mayor there explain that decision? >> reporter: dana, that's what has parents in new york clearly and understandably upset. asking themselves how is it possible their children can no longer attend in person school, but they can dine indoors now. we'll get to that in a second. the mayor is warning parents this would be happening, especially since they committed to the 3% threshold, once daily infection rate reached 3%, it would trigger closure of schools. not necessarily that the schools are dangerous when it comes to potential infection, it is mainly that they want to keep them safe. as for future closures like gyms and indoor dining, the mayor said this morning that may be coming soon. >> a lot of people's frustration emanated from the fact they thought there was another disparity. looked at schools closing. people say what about
10:00 am
restaurants. the governor made clear yesterday that it's just a matter of time before indoor dining will close. >> reporter: as for when schools will reopen, dana, could be possibly the week after thanksgiving, but that's still up in the air. >> sure is. polo sand val, thank you so much for the reporting. brianna keilar picks up coverage right now. hi there, i am brianna keilar. i want to welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. we are expecting big news any moment, the results of that by hand election audit in georgia. officials are expecting no significant change in vote total, just affirmation that joe biden won the state. this is the first time a democrat won georgia in nearly three decades. in michigan, two voters dropped pro-trump lawsuit there, challenging the biden win in michigan. the trump team also dropping their lawsuit in michigan today, 'r