it is top of the hour. i am brianna keilar. we are standing by for first clues from senate majority leader mitch mcconnell howl handle two tests of republican loyalty. will the gop led senate side with democrats and stand with president trump on increasing pandemic relief checks to $2,000. will they stand up to him by overriding his veto of $740

billion defense bill. with 22 days left in office, the president is lashing out at weak and tired republican leadership. more than 100 republicans sided with democrats in the house to override his defense bill veto last night. so far, though, he is keeping support of the georgia republican senators facing critical runoffs next week. senators david perdue, kelly loeffler today announced they'll now support sending americans $2,000 checks. from his golf club in south florida, the president is likely watching closely to see what senate mitch mcconnell will do. what are we expecting? >> reporter: that's right. all eyes on the u.s. senate at noon today. we expect majority leader mitch mcconnell could give the first indications of what he plans to do about the fact that the house overwhelmingly passed $2,000 stimulus checks. there are now five republican senators, including david perdue and kelly loeffler, both running

for re-election in state of georgia january 5th that say they now support the proposal. we know that josh hawley and lindsey graham support this proposal. what is mcconnell going to do? one of the hardest, most difficult parts of this for the majority leader is the fact there are still a large number of conservatives, fiscal conservatives in the conference who are lukewarm on the president's proposal, and putting something on the floor that divides your conference is never a great idea when you're the majority leader. we are watching at noon to see whether or not mcconnell gives any indication of where he goes from here. you can also expect that senator chuck schumer, top democrat, will try to get unanimous consent agreement to just pass this house bill on the floor for those $2,000 checks, whether or not he gets that of course is unlikely. any one senator could object, brianna. >> what are democrats planning to do?

you said republicans could object to this. but what are democrats trying to do to put the pressure on republicans when it comes to increasing the amount of relief checks? >> reporter: what can always happen the end of the year when there are a large number of items that majority leader mcconnell wants to get finished, any one senator could delay the process. that's what bernie sanders, an independent from vermont, is threatening to do. he is saying mcconnell, i want to make sure we're going to vote on the $2,000 checks, and if you aren't willing to put it on the floor, i'm going to make it harder to pass the national defense authorization act, override vote of the president's veto. that's going to be complicated, of course, because that could push the vote into the new year, new year's day to be exact. this is a time lawmakers want to be home with their family, don't want to be on capitol hill, but that's what sanders is threatening at this moment that would push the vote from tomorrow when mcconnell wanted

to have it into friday. >> congress in on a holiday, i do not think so. we'll see. lauren fox, thank you so much for that. for more on how president trump is reacting to all this, i want to go to cnn's indicakaitlan co in west palm beach. the republicans are in a stuff spot, the president is keeping the pressure up, sending out tweets, rather harsh tweets aimed at republican leadership. >> reporter: aimed directly at mitch mcconnell. they don't name him specifically but it is pretty clear who the president is talking about when he says republicans need new leadership, and is calling current leadership of the republican party weak and pathetic saying that of course excludes him in his tweets. a lot of it has to do with what we are seeing that lauren laid out on capitol hill, also has to do with the fact that more and more republicans, brianna, acknowledge reality, talk about the fact that joe biden won the presidency. i think that's what a lot of the president's frustration is, where he is acting out, talking

about $2,000 checks. his own team was part of the negotiations for the coronavirus relief bill that he finally signed sunday night after sitting on it several days. he never was involved in negotiations, demanding the $2,000 checks, and now he is, and he put his own party in this tough position of where the senate has to make a decision where they're going to approve the $2,000 checks that initially a lot of republicans were not behind, they weren't even happy with the $600 stimulus checks. now they have to make the decision to do that or defy the president. i think you're seeing the position it is putting people in with kelly loeffler and david perdue that have a runoff race ahead of them. they have to make a decision that pleases the president and also where they stay in line with the party and where mitch mcconnell wants things to go. people inside the white house are waiting to see how mcconnell will navigate this. they don't know what the president's next step will be, they're also watching to see what he's going to say when he gets on the senate floor any minute now. >> we are watching that as well,

kaitlan. we'll see what he says, we'll bring that to viewers as well. kaitlan collins live from florida for us. i want to discuss what happens next. scott jennings is a cnn political commentator, former senior communications adviser to senator mcconnell. scott, i am wondering what you're looking for when we see mitch mcconnell soon on the floor giving us a sense of the path forward. >> yeah, a couple of things. good to be with you, by the way. one, i think he will talk about the ndaa, congress and strong joerts in both parties care about that. looks like they're on track to override the president's veto. expect a lot of talk about that. number two, the senators haven't been together. actually would be surprised if mcconnell knows exactly where everyone is at this moment. i wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear much about the clear path forward but rather that he

will address the president's concerns but without a very specific path on how he plans to address them. then this afternoon and into tonight, i expect the senate republican conference to talk amongst themselves where everyone is and what the plan is moving forward. i would be shocked, frankly, if there's a clear path in this speech. one thing is true. mitch mcconnell has been a very solid governing partner for donald trump. when trump wanted to put something on the floor, mcconnell has always done it. but he's always done it in a way that tries to get the most republicans in his conference at the table and on board. so it will take mcconnell a few hours to pull that together i think. i would be surprised if he lays it out. >> let's pick this conversation up after we listen to mitch mcconnell on the senate floor. >> and be printed in the record. >> clerk will call the roll. >> mr. alexander.

>> scott, they're calling the roll. let's pick the conversation back up while we await comments from the senate majority leader. talk a little about what a tricky situation it must be for georgia republican senators who have military bases in georgia. at the same time, the senate is voting on overriding the president's veto of that bill. >> this bill is important for georgia, has a lot of military facilities, and frankly important for the country. the country in a bipartisan way, we talk about the parties being at each other's throats, but this is a bipartisan bill, they always passed the defense authorization bill, it is always bipartisan. they did a good bill here. i don't think it was smart for the president to veto it. it was almost certain it would be an override situation for him.

that leaves him looking weaker when the president gets an override vote like that. >> all right. let's pause, scott. pause and listen to mcconnell. >> yesterday, a bipartisan super majority of the house voted to reapprove the conference report of this must pass legislation. today, the senate will set up final vote for tomorrow, wednesday, for this chamber to follow suit. soon, this important legislation will be passed into law. president trump is rightly noted this year's defense bill does not contain every provision we republicans would have wanted. i am confident the democratic colleagues feel the same way. but that is the case every year. for 59 consecutive years and counting washington put our differences aside, found common ground, passed the annual defense bill. not once in six decades has congress let differences prevent it from completing this work for

national security and our men and women that wear the uniform. this year's ndaa will continue to modernize armed forces and authorize personnel, equipment, tools and training we need to reinforce the national defense strategy and to deter great power rivals like china and russia. it will cement our advantage on the seas, on land, in the air, in cyberspace, and in space. and the bill will help us continue to recruit, retain, support men and women that keep us safe. it provides a pay raise for the troops, improvements for military housing, child care, and more. so madam president, for brave men and women of the united states armed forces, failure is simply not an option. when it is our turn in congress to have their backs, failure is not an option either. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation one more time when we vote tomorrow.

now, on another matter, on sunday, president trump signed into law another historic bipartisan rescue package. it will provide major support to american families through what we hope will be the home stretch of our fight with the coronavirus. republicans, congressional democrats, and president trump's senior team had all worked together to pass hundreds of billions more urgent assistance to people that need it most. this new law will set up a targeted second round of paycheck protection to save jobs. it will renew and continue federal programs that helped laid off workers endure the crisis. it will send more cash to households. it will invest billions in vaccine distribution so the success of operation warp speed kills the pandemic as fast as possible, and much more. this bipartisan compromise was our shot getting help to working families on the urgent timeline that they need. once again, i want to applaud president trump for signing the bill and getting this much

needed assistance into the pipeline. during this process, the president highlighted three additional issues of national significance he would like to see congress tackle together. first, as he explained, the president would like further direct financial support for american households, second, growing willingness on both sides of the aisle to re-examine the special legal protections afforded to technology companies under section 230 of the communications december ensee act, including ways it benefits some of the most prosperous, most powerful big tech firms. the third subject since every american regardless of politics should feel the integrity of the democracy is beyond approach, exploring further ways to protect america's ballots while respecting the federal government limited role in standing behind state and local government who actually run elections. those are the three important subjects the president has

linked together. this week, the senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus. i move to proceed to calendar 480 s 3985. >> the clerk will report. >> motion to proceed to s 3985, build to reform policing practices, accountability and transparency. >> unanimous consent following leader remarks wednesday december 30th, time until 1:15 equally divided between proponents and opponents of the bill, opponent time controlled by senator paul or his designee. further, upon use or yielding back of time, senate vote on passage of the bill, the objections of the president to the contrary notwithstanding. finally it passed, motion to reconsider and leave on the table with no intervening action

or debate. >> is there objection? >> reserving the right to object. >> the democratic leader. >> thank you, madam president. now, the senate is here this week for a rare holiday session to address two major issues. the president's veto of the annual defense bill and the effort to send $2,000 survival checks to millions and millions of american families, something senate democrats strongly support. the senate should be in session to address both issues. there are only a few days left. we should not adjourn until the senate holds a vote on both measures, ndaa veto override and house bill to provide $2,000 checks for the american people. as we all know, the majority leader controls the schedule on the floor. so leader mcconnell holds the key to unlocking this dilemma.

the solution is a simple one. put both bills up for a simple up or down vote and then let the chips fall where they may. i believe both measures will pass, as they should. but leader mcconnell must allow the senate to vote on both pieces of legislation, the defense bill and the $2,000 checks, before we go home. we will start the process overriding the president's defense bill tomorrow. today at the end of my remarks, i will ask the senate's consent to take up the house passed bill to provide the american people immediate survival checks of $2,000 a person. throughout this pandemic working americans have taken it on the chin. right now, they're facing their hardest and their darkest days. tens of millions have lost their jobs. tens of millions are struggling

to put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads. in the wealthiest nation on earth, modern day lines stretch for miles down american highways. fastest way to get money into americans' pockets, send some of their tax dollars right back from where they came. $2,000 stimulus checks could mean the difference between american families having groceries for a few extra weeks or going hungry. the difference between paying the rent or being kicked out of your home you lived in for years. it could buy precious time for tens of millions of people as the vaccine thankfully makes its way across the country. of course, we could have taken up this issue weeks ago, in the covid bill congress just passed, democrats wanted generous direct payments to the american people.

speaker pelosi and i repeatedly asked our republican counterparts how much they could support. their answer, $600. it was a compromise many of us were not happy about. i came to the floor myself with the senator from vermont to ask that we double at least the size of those checks. a republican senator objected, $600 was the most republicans would support. well, my colleagues and my fellow americans, $600 is not enough, not enough for the mother in nashville, $4,000 behind on rent whose water was shut off earlier this month. not for the medical receptionist in macomb. $2100 behind on the rent. electricity shut off in september on her son's third day of virtual kindergarten. not for 12 million americans who

have fallen on average $6,000 behind on rent and utilities or the 26 million americans who have had trouble putting food on the table in the past five days. $600, no, that's not enough. so in a moment, i will move to have the senate take up the house bill to increase that number to $2,000, which i might add had broad bipartisan support. i don't want to hear we can't afford it. i don't want to hear that it would add too much to the deficit. senate republicans added nearly 2 trillion to the deficit to give corporations a massive tax cut. republicans fought to include a tax break for three martini lunches in the covid-19 bill. i don't want to hear it costs too much to help working families get a check when they're struggling to keep their jobs, pay their rent, feed their families, and live a halfway

normal and decent life. even in our deeply divided times, madam president, this issue has united americans from coast to coast and bridged the massive political divide in washington. vast majority of the public, republican and democrat, strongly support $2,000 checks. an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the house supports 2,000 checks. senate democrats strongly support $2,000 checks. even president trump supports $2,000 checks. there's one question left today, do senate republicans join with the rest of america in supporting $2,000 checks. some of my republican colleagues said they support the checks, but there's a major difference in saying you support $2,000 checks and fighting to put them into law. the house bill is the only way,

the only way to deliver these stimulus checks before the end of session. will senate republicans fight for a vote on the house passed cash act or will they look some other way. will senate republicans stand against the house of representatives, the democratic majority in the senate, and president of their own party to prevent these $2,000 checks from going out the door. we're about to get the answers to these questions. so now, madam president, i ask consent to set the ndaa, no, sorry. madam president, where am i. would the senator modify his request to include a unanimous consent request that the, to

include unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of hr 9051, a bill received from the house to increase recovery rebate amounts to $2,000 per individual, that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. >> is there objection to the modification? >> i object. >> objection is heard. is there objection to the original request? the senator from vermont. >> thank you. reserving the right to object, we should all be very, very clear. working class of this country today faces more economic

desperation than at any time since the great depression of the 1930s and working families need help now. not next year but right now. last night, the house of representatives with a two-thirds majority 275-134 approved the payment going from $600 per adult to $2,000 per adult. the house did the right thing. i congratulate them and now it is time for the senate to step up to the plate and do what working families of this country overwhelmingly want us to do.

madam president, as a result of the pandemic tens of millions of americans have lost their jobs and their incomes. these families in the middle of the winter now face threat of eviction and put out on the streets. hunger at the highest level it has been for decades with moms and dads struggling to feed their kids and working families lining up mile after mile to get emergency food packages. we are even seeing an increase in grocery store shoplifting as desperate americans try to keep their families from going hungry. all of this taking place in the

wealthiest country in the history of the world. madam president, over the last number of years as i think everybody in america knows, congress has provided massive tax breaks for the very wealthiest people in our country which is one of the reasons why today we have more income and wealth inequality than anytime since the 1920s. in fact, in the midst of this terrible pandemic, inequality has grown worse with many in the billionaire class seeing their wealth increase by hundreds of billions of dollars while average americans struggle to put food on the table. congress is giving tax breaks to large corporations, some of the most profitable, largest corporations in america today pay zero in federal income

taxes. we have just passed the largest military budget in the history of our country. $740 billion, more than the next ten nations combined. by the way, there was almost no debate about the size of that huge budget. trump's veto dealt with other issues. meanwhile, over a half million americans are homeless, half our working families are struggling to survive paycheck to paycheck, and in the midst of the terrible, unprecedented pandemic, over 90 million americans are uninsured or underinsured in the midst of a pandemic and not sure if they can afford to go to a doctor. madam president, we are coming to the close of one of the most terrible and painful years in

american history. that's a tragic fact. over 330,000 people have died from covid-19 and as we speak we are seeing record breaking numbers of new cases at hospita, and hospitals overwhelmed with new admissions. during the last year, education and well-being of tens of thousands of young people from child care to graduate school has been disrupted. and the terrible emotional isolation that this pandemic has caused where people are unable to spend time with their family or friends has resulted in a huge increase in mental illness, drug addiction, and even suicide. madam president, as i mention, the house has done the right thing. by an overwhelming vote, democrats and republicans voted to increase that $600 direct

payment to $2,000. recent poll came out, 78% of the american people think that was the right decision. they're hurting. they want help. the leaders of our country, president trump, president-elect biden, minority leader chuck schumer, speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, are all in agreement. we have got to raise that direct payment to $2,000. so that is where we are right now in this historic moment. do we turn our backs on struggling working families or do we respond to their pain? madam president, would the senator modify his request that immediately following the vote on the veto override, the senate proceed to consideration of hr

9051, that the bill be considered read a third time, and the senate vote on passage of the bill without intervening action or debate. further, that if passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. >> is there objection to the request for modification? >> i object. >> objection is heard. is there objection to the original? >> i object. >> objection is heard. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein up to two minutes each. >> madam president? >> the senator. >> madam president, this is a

historic moment. you can see how desperate people are. we can see how during this holiday season people are looking at the prospects in the words of tony fauci where the worst may be ahead of us for these families. the worst may yet to have been actually inflicted upon families, and our country, and yet the republicans are refusing to allow for a vote on giving each -- >> i want to bring in lauren fox, tracking all of this from capitol hill for us. we heard as perhaps we expected there the senate majority leader focus on the defense bill which he said on wednesday they'll be voting. he didn't say veto override, but that's what it is. he was urging his colleague ts

again support it. the big news is on stimulus checks. this is where disagreement is between democrats and republicans, increasing the amount of stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000. we saw action how to put the pressure on republicans over this. >> reporter: that's right. i want to back up to what mcconnell said on the floor. essentially he didn't give us any more clairity what he plans to do about $2,000 stimulus checks. you saw theatrics from senate democrats, chuck schumer asked for unanimous consent agreement, long expected this to fail, any one senator could object, you saw mcconnell do that to the $2,000 stimulus check bill. there was no clarity whether it will go up for stand-alone vote. you saw bernie sanders, independent from vermont, saying i object to you bringing up the

ndaa veto override vote tomorrow if you won't guarantee that there's going to be a vote on the stimulus checks. again, mcconnell said i am not making that guarantee. essentially objecting to bernie sanders' request on the floor. that's a lot of moving pieces. end of the day, what it means is we are still in limbo whether or not we're going to see a vote on the senate floor over the $2,000 stimulus checks. just a reminder, this is something president donald trump wants to see, something that over the last several hours we have seen kelly loeffler and david perdue, two republicans running for re-election in the state of georgia with runoff slated on tuesday of next week, that's what we're seeing now. we still don't know what the majority leader is going to do next. brianna? >> i want to bring scott jennings into the conversation, lauren. he is a long time strategic adviser to majority leader mitch mcconnell. so it was just as you said.

it is like you maybe knew something, scott, he wasn't going to be addressing specifically the checks. this is the elephant in the room now. explain to us as we don't know what mitch mcconnell is going to do exactly here but how is it that he would, and perhaps there's a clear answer to this, how would he buck the will of house republicans, of the president, of it appears american public opinion, of the republican senators who are in georgia who this has become the crux of the race there for them as they try to maintain republican control of the senate. how would mitch mcconnell push back against all that pressure to keep the stimulus check at $600 instead of 2000? >> well, it is not clear he will. i think what's in front of him today is trying to figure out where most people in the senate republican conference are. i think there are going to be votes in the republican

conference against raising the check amounts, and there are going to be votes for it. what's not clear is how many fall on which side. he also raised issues that the president raised which the white house considers important, section 230 issue and also voter fraud issue that the president cares about. he is not just wrestling with the $2,000 checks, he is wrestling with two ancillary issues and has to figure out where most people in his conference are. i didn't interpret today's speech as we're not doing anything, i interpreted as we're going to take this up, i have to get me ducks in a row before i can move to the floor on something. >> so he is buying time then? >> absolutely. these senators haven't been together. they need to talk amongst themselves, figure out how to tackle not just the $2,000 issue but the other issues the president raised. i think he was buying a little time. it was obvious from remarks he cares about getting ndaa signed into law, it is a pay raise for the troops and considers that among other issues vital an

important as well, but yeah, i think he needs a little time to see how the senate republican conference wants to proceed. i agree with you, having the president and house vote puts political pressure on senate republicans to move but it is not clear whether they're going to have the will inside the conference to move as a stand-alone matter or if it will be linked to other issues. that's what they'll be discussing as a group as they meet throughout the rest of the day. >> we talk about all these things, putting pressure on mitch mcconnell. house republicans voting in favor of the increase in the check, the georgia republicans. what we kpexpect americans wants well. i don't think anything puts pressure on congress like the pressure of working on a holiday. that's what democrats are trying to achieve here. this is certainly the goal of bernie sanders, to push some of this into new year's day. what do you think about that? >> i think they'll keep the

senate in session as long as it takes to at a minimum override the veto on the ndaa. i do think mcconnell is committed to that, they won't leave until that work is done. you can tell how passionately he felt about it. there could be procedural movement on the floor to keep them there. democrats have some leverage here. obviously they have a house vote sitting there, bipartisan support for something they want to do. i don't think mcconnell would hesitate to keep the senate in, although i'm sure a lot of members would be agitated, that they would like to go home. one other political dynamic from last night's house vote was some of the president's biggest supporters in the house did not vote with him on the $2,000 checks. some of the most vocal maga people didn't vote with him. you wonder how that will translate inside the senate republican conference. he has vocal supporters inside the conference. are they going to stick with the president on $2,000, or buck the president on that. that's something mcconnell has

to sort out as he counts noses inside his conference. >> as he indeed will be doing. scott, thank you so much for being with us, helping us understand some of what's going on, joining us from kentucky. vaccinations are seriously behind schedule in the u.s., what has to be done, who needs to take the lead to get the country back on schedule next. tr car insurance so you only pay for what you need? really? i didn't-- aah! ok. i'm on vibrate. aaah! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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these days you need more than an education. so that's what we give you. introducing career services for life. learn more at phoenix.edu president-elect joe biden is expect expected to call out the speed of the vaccinations program. dr. anthony fauci made clear this morning we're not anywhere near where the administration predicted we would be.

>> we certainly are not at the numbers that we wanted to be at the end of december. you heard talking about 40 million doses for 20 million people. even if you undercount 2 million as an undercount, how much undercount could it be? we're below where we want to be. >> i am joined by dr. michael mena, epidemiologist in department of immunology at harvard school of health. thank you for being with us. this is a critical time to get your expertise. i wonder what you want to hear from joe biden and what you want to hear about what needs to be done to speed up vaccinations. >> certainly the biggest limitations that we're seeing are the infrastructure that needs to be put in place to get vaccines out to the communities. that's a massive overhaul and we should have been putting that infrastructure in place six, seven, eight months ago, the moment we started operation warp speed program.

that obviously has not come to fruition in the way that the current administration has touted, so we want to see from incoming administration a plan to put all of this together and also a plan to mitigate spread now for all of the millions of people who will not have early access to the vaccine. that's through different programs like rapid testing, giving people tests to use in their homes that can work to bridge the gap between now and when most americans will be able to get a vaccine. >> you tweeted this morning something that i want to ask about. you said we must slow spread particularly as we roll out vaccines. more transmission, more opportunities to squeeze virus through bottle next. what comes out the other side may evade immunity. what does that mean? evading immunity. >> we're very concerned and the world should be concerned, if

the virus -- we know it can mutate. if it mutates so the immune system no longer recognizes it as well, then the effectiveness of the vaccine can go down considerably. we have to be monitoring for that fores sequencing. we need to lower the risk of that happening. best way to do that is to reduce the number of opportunities, by reducing the amount of virus in the community. if we can slow the spread now, reduce the amount of virus that's out in the broader world, then the virus has many fewer opportunities to mutate and find its way around people's immune systems. >> so i want to ask you about this strain of coronavirus that we're seeing in the uk. i do remember an expert saying early on in the pandemic that viruses behave in such a way, they tend to become more transmissible and less deadly over time, but it appears at least we know this strain is

more transmissible, more contagious, and some health experts are assuming it is already in the u.s. now that we are hearing despite lockdown cases are rising in london as the strain is spreading, how concerned should we be about this? >> this particular strain seems to be transmitting, at least evidence that we have today, suggest it is transmitting much more readily. it is sweeping through the population and sort of replacing the other strains. the good thing is that on a case by case basis, it doesn't yet appear to be any worse in terms of severity. however, if it is transmitting more readily, that means more people will infected, and overall, the population level, more people will have severe disease, more people will die. we should certainly be trying to do everything we can to slow the viruses down. i would say this would be extremely naive to assume it is

not already in the states. this is reminiscent of back in february when we were assuming the virus wasn't yet in the u.s. of course it was. and this is a similar issue. we're just not looking for the strain in the right way, so we're kind of burying our heads in the sand. >> good point. and quickly before i let you go, do you think the vaccine still works on it? is the spike protein still a vulnerability in the new strain? >> absolutely. there's no evidence at the moment that the virus has mutated to evade the immunity derived from the vaccine. however, that's really why we need to be doing everything we can. the best tool we have now to stop that from happening in the future is testing. >> very good point. thank you so much for being with us. still ahead, new details what could become president-elect biden's first reversal of president trump. what we are learning about looming changes to the nuclear program next. balanced nutrition for strength and energy. whoo-hoo!

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president-elect joe biden is considering making cuts to the nuclear modernization program, according to two transition officials and outside adviser to the incoming administration. they say proposed changes would put more emphasis on arms control versus trump strategy of enhancing the nuclear arsenal. vivian salama broke this story.

what's behind the move? >> reporter: first of all, if anyone was with us earlier in the hour, they see how contentious an issue defense spending can be, so much so you see republicans willing to push back on the president's own veto of the defense spending bill. president-elect joe biden when he comes to office is going to have an uphill battle with regard to potentially making cuts to the nuclear strategy that was currently in place. biden and his advisers assert that the program is grown so bloated, it started under obama, but there was aggressive push under the trump administration to develop various new nuclear programs, including a land based ballistic missile. a lot of them saying these are unnecessary expenditures. you can still keep the country safe from nuclear warfare. on one hand, they say trim the fat, look for places to cut,

reallocate funds to other things like conventional weapons and other programs as well, like, for example, helping the public with aid and other things during the economic downturn, not being provocative in terms of developing the weapons, do as we do, not as we say. >> this is a critical time. this could come as this very important nuclear treaty with russia is set to expire. >> that's right. 16 days after biden takes office, brianna, this critical nuclear treaty with russia is set to expire. sources tell me the biden team will look to make a quick extension to that. obviously this is such an important issue, one if we're making cuts to the nuclear program, officials want to know we're still safe. there's threats all over the world. a lot of people concerned if we make cuts to the nuclear program, we're more vulnerable. biden administration is focusing on arms control, not on

developing nuclear weapons. >> vivian, thank you so much. great story you broke. thank you for bringing it to us. president-elect joe biden is frustrated with trump political appointees he says are obstructing the presidential transition as he prepares to take office in 22 days. >> we encountered road blocks on political leadership, department of defense, office of management and budget. right now we just aren't getting all t all the information we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. it's nothing short in my view of irresponsibility. >> biden is raising concerns about the need for a clear picture of the u.s. defense posture around the world as he prepares to become commander in chief. joe johns is in wilmington, delaware. tell us how the trump administration is responding to

accusations. >> reporter: brianna, they're pushing back hard. they say what biden said essentially is not true, they say there have been 167 meetings with the biden team, exchanged a lot of paper, and in fact they say there have been a situation where the vast majority though of the meetings that are supposed to occur in the future are going to occur after january 1st. so that slows down the process. when you look at the other things that happened at dod, a number of people have been fired by the president. we had slow ascertainment. took so long for gsa to declare biden the winner of the election. it all adds up to standard confusion we have seen throughout the trump administration and there's also huge concern that's going to end up as a slow start for joe biden and his administration which is

something neither biden nor the country really can deal with at this time, brianna. >> joe, i know you covered a number of transitions. have you ever seen anything like this? >> reporter: no, i have not. fact of the matter is, if you look at history, they say the last time there was a attention like this was all the way back to herbert hoover, which is a long time ago. >> certainly is. i haven't seen anything like it. joe johns, thank you so much. live from wilmington, delaware. up next, will republicans break with the president on direct stimulus payments or is a coalition growing to support his demand for $2,000 checks? brooke baldwin continues our coverage after a quick break. new year, new bedroom save up to 15% on a cozy casper mattress

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you're watching cnn this tuesday. brooke baldwin here in new york. thank you for being with me. we begin today with this message last hour from senate majority leader mitch mcconnell to the president. you can't always get what you want. mcconnell promises a vote tomorrow on a defense spending bill, tells members to override the president's veto. but we still don't know how or whether he will call a vote and how much a new round of stimulus checks will put in your bank accounts. 2,000 versus $600 debate is prompting strange alliances. david perdue,