Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom with Kate Bolduan 20240711

Vaccinating people fast enough to stay ahead of the new variant, though it is getting better. When that briefing begins, we will bring it to you. There is also a lot going on Behind The Scenes right now on capitol hill. It is about to spill out into public view. The Republican Party trying to figure out what to do with itself in this posttrump era. Who carries the mantle . Who do they stand with . Liz cheney, a lifelong republican, member of House Leadership who voted her conscience and explained very cleary to impeach donald trump and facing blowback. Or do they stand with Marjorie Taylor greene who is on video and online pushing wild, unfounded and antisemitic Conspiracy Theories. Sources telling cnn she has not given any indication that she wants to correct, reject and apologize for that. House republicans met late into the night last night about Marjorie Taylor greene and their future. This afternoon House Republicans will gather once again. The most immediate question is, do republican strip her of Community Assignments or continue to turn a blind eye . Theres no threading the needle when it comes to supporting the qanon Conspiracy Theories which she has supported. Lets go to cnns manu raju on the hill. Theres a lot going on Behind The Scenes, man, and you have great reporting. The contrast couldnt be more stark. On the day Brian Sicknick is honored in the capitol after being killed for defending the capitol during the insurrection, republicans are deciding about what to do about one of their own members who among other things pushed the big lie that led to the insurrection. Reporter dont forget that also on that day, january 6th, a majority of the House Republican congress voted to overturn the Election Results even after those pro trump rioters came into the capitol trying to prevent congress from certifying bidens victory. Nevertheless, theyre still trying to figure out their way forward and try to determine which way their party goes in the era post trump. Marjorie Taylor Greene is now at the center of that. Late last night they had a discussion among House Republicans about whether to strip her from the House Education Committee and on the house budget committee. This, of course, in the aftermath of new revelations about more of her Conspiracy Theories including suggesting that the Parkland Massacre that occurred at a high school in florida in 2018 was a staged event. Behind the scenes Kevin Mccarthy had a meeting with Marjorie Taylor greene last night. Im told from multiple sources, the discussion came up about whether she would apologize. She indicated she would not apologize or correct past remarks. There was a meeting with key republican members who make decisions about whether to strip individual members of committee assignments. They didnt make a decision there about whether or not to get her off those two committees. They discussed getting her off of one committee and keeping her off another. At this moment, were told that House Majority leader steny hoyer is having a call with Kevin Mccarthy to determine whether they can reach any sort of deal to avoid a vote on the full house floor to strip her from those committee assignments. Democrats are planning to make this an action of the house, to kick her off those committees if the republicans dont act first. Mccarthy is trying to see if any deal can be reached first. Hoyer just told our colleague, daniella diaz, hes calling him right this moment. Well see if they can reach any sort of accommodation. Hoyer, kate, did tell me yesterday he has some concerns about the precedent this would set. Despite what she said and the Conspiracy Theories and the lies she spewed, the concern about setting a precedent of the house removing someone for something they did before they took office, thats still a real concern among members. Well see if mccarthy and hoyer can get a deal. At the moment, still a big push to kick her off those committees. As you reported, shes given no indication she wants to apologize for those past remarks. Thats the one caveat on comments made before she was in office. Shes not rejecting them well in office. Thats an action in and of itself. Then, also, what are you hearing about what liz cheney is facing then, as she heads into what is going to be the same meeting with the rest of the House Republicans. Im told Behind The Scenes for days, shes been having conversations with laos republicans to true to shore up support. People who are concerned about her vote to im impeachment donald trump. Shes one of ten republicans to do just that. Shes come under the biggest amount of criticism because she serves the number three leadership spot. Some like congressman jim jordan of ohio are trying to get her out of that position. Jordan said he did not know if he had enough support to push her out of that spot. Shes been trying to explain to her colleagues privately why she voted the way she did and listen to their concerns. Im told from some members that theyre willing to defend her at the meeting the House Republican Congress Plans to have behind closed doors. The question, can she hang on to her postment cheney defenders believe she has the support to stay on. The Trump Defenders are coming after her hard. Thats all going to take place behind closed doors. Seems like the pure definition of what leadership is what is at question right now. Also just in, manu, you have new reporting on the fact that the democratic and Republican Leaders in the senate, they have finally reached a power sharing agreement. Yes, it may sound like it is in the weeds. It is quite important. What is going on . Reporter even though democrats took control of the house, the Senate Majority on january 20th, they actually have not been able to run the committees in the United States senate because, without new rules in place, they operate under the rules of the last congress when republicans held the majority. Manu, im going to jump in. We need to head to the white house. The White House Coronavirus Response Team are now beginning their briefing. Here is Jeffrey Zients. First, weve increased Vaccine Supplies to states, tribes and territories by over 20 . Second, we are providing visibility on supply on a rolling threeweek basis through governors and local leaders have the ability to plan and maximize the number of needles in arms. Third, we secured the equipment required to extract a sixdose from every pfizer vial of vaccine. Fourth, were purchasing an additional 200 million doses to ensure every american can get vaccinated. The data shows we are making progress. As you can see on our Vaccination Progress report, our sevenday average daily doses administered is, as you can see In The Dark Blue bar on the right, now averaging over 1. 3 million shots per day for the period from january 27th through february 2nd. We are on track to meet the president s goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. Notably yesterday, the department of Veterans Affairs delivered its 1 millionth shot ensuring those who serve our country are among the first protected from this deadly virus. We are encouraged by this progress to increase supply, but we will continue to push for every opportunity to do more. At the president s directions, we have an allofgovernment effort to provide all americans with access to get more places to get vaccinated. The americans need more access to more places to get vaccinated. Today i want to update you on establishing and supporting Community Vaccination Centers Across the country. These centers are helping to provide new and more efficient places for people to get vaccinated. First, the federal government is expediting support to bolster Community Vaccination sites nationwide including in states like georgia, North Carolina and wisconsin. As of today, fema has provided more than 1. 7 billion to 27 states localities, tribes and territories. This covers critical steps in the vaccination process, including transportation and storage equipment. Supplies needed to administer vaccines and Safety Equipment like ppe and masks. Second, were deploying personnel to provide Technical Assistance to support Vaccination Sites nationwide and provide additional staff from the federal government. Fema has already assigned nearly 600 staff to this effort including experts in logistics, i. T. And registration, with over 350 of these staff deployed directly to the Vaccination Sites across the country. The federal government is now supporting thousands of National Guard members who are providing support to sites in 39 states including 800 trained vaccinators, and cdc is providing ontheground Technical Assistance in jurisdictions across the country. Third, we are building new Community Vaccination Centers Across the country. The Department Of Defense will dedicate substantial personnel and resources to help manage many of these new sites. The profile of these Vaccination Sites will vary by community need. Youll see big centers in stadium, sites in school gyms and community centers, mobile units in rural areas and outer boroughs, popup sites in other locations. Were working with state and local Health Departments to meet the communities they serve where they are in places they know with people they trust and will encourage all Vaccination Centers to collaborate with communitybased organizations and others who can help communities with the greatest need. Today im pleased to announce the federal government will partner with the state of california to launch two new Community Vaccination centers, one in east oakland and the second in the east side of los angeles. Two of the communities most hard hit by this pandemic. The east side of los angeles will have a large site on the campus of California State University los angeles. This is one of the most diverse public universities in the country, serving a large latino community. Were opening a new center at Oakland Coliseum adjacent to the communities of eastmont and help hurst who have some of the Lowest Health scores in the state. Both centers will be staffed primarily by a federal work force from agencies such as fema, dod, u. S. Department of agriculture and hhs. In all of this work, were advancing equity. Fema has partnered with Cdc To Launch Vaccination Sites that use processes and are located in places that promote equity, deploying cdcs social vulnerability index. These sites in california are just the beginning. We are working in partnership in states across the country to stand up new sites and well have more to say on that in the coming weeks. So, across the first two weeks weve activated a wholeofgovernment response. Weve increased Vaccine Supply and were ensuring that all americans in every community have more places to get vaccinated. Now let me turn to dr. Walensky for a state of the pandemic. Dr. Walensky. Thank you very much. Im delighted to be back with you today. I want to make sure we have time for questions, so i will be brief in my remarks. As i said monday, cases and Hospital Admissions continue to decrease. We now appear to be in a consistent downward trajectory for both of these important outcomes. Covid19 cases have declined steadily since hitting a peak on january 8th, dropping 13. 4 to an average of nearly 144,000 cases per day from january 26 to february 1st. Cases are now back to the level we were before thanksgiving. Similarly, new Hospital Admissions have continued to decline since they peaked on january 5th, decreasing 4. 1 to an average of approximately 11,400 admissions per day from january 25th to january 31st. While deaths have continued to increase, the pace appears to be slowing with the average number of deaths increasing 1 to slightly more than 3,100 deaths per day from january 26th to february 1st. The recent decline in hospitalizations gives us hope that the number of deaths should start to decrease in the coming weeks. Although we have seen declines in cases and admissions and a recent slowing of deaths, cases remain extraordinarily high, still twice as high as the peak number of cases over the summer. The continued proliferation of variants, variants that likely have increased transmissibility, that spread more easily, threatens to reverse these recent trends. Based on Contact Tracing of recent variant cases, not Wearing Masks and participating in inperson social gatherings have contributed to the variant spread. We must take Prevention Intervention seriously. Now is not the time to let our guard down. Keep taking steps to protect each other. Wear a mask, maintain social distancing, avoid travel, crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and please get vaccinated when it is your turn. This sunday, remember, whichever team youre rooting for and whichever commercial is your favorite, please watch the super bowl safely. Gathering only virtually or with the people you live with. The cdc recently posted guidance on how to safely enjoy the game. Thank you. Ill turn it over to dr. Fauci. Thank you very much, dr. Walensky. I want to make a couple of points related to questions and issues that have been brought up over the past couple of days to help clarify it. Ill be very brief. We have heard from studies emanating out of the astrazeneca platform that in the uk, theyre talking about the possibility, since their data seems to show this, that if you prolong the interval between the first and second dose in fact, even go with a single dose, you can get good results. And, in fact, the interval between the first and second dose can now be measured in months with, according to their own data, that is actually a favorable response. We certainly respect that the uk scientists and Health Officials are going by their data and letting their own data for their own platform dictate their policy. The question is asked often, then why dont we do the same thing with our candidates that are now being distributed to people in the United States. The response is simple. We, also, are going very much by the data and the science that has emanated out of very large clinical trials. As you all are aware, the moderna trial with 30,000 people, and the pfizer trial with 44,000 people indicate to us that maximum responses are given with a prime followed by a boost, 21 days with pfizer and 28 days with moderna. Now, we know sometimes out of circumstances beyond the control of people, that they may not make it at exactly the 21 day or 28 day. We know from the cdc, under those special circumstances, its okay if you get the second dose four to seeks weeks later. That doesnt mean we want to do it at six weeks later. It means under special circumstances, its better to delay that couple of weeks than not do it at all. But we feel strongly that we will go by the science which has dictated for us the optimal way to get the 94 to 95 response which is, in fact, durable for the period of time weve been following it. One other thing i want to mention. We live in a global community. Its encouraging to see that other countries are coming out with results from their own Vaccine Trial such as the russian trial that we heard about a day or two ago, the uk and european union, which are now putting vaccines into people according to the data that theyve accumulated, the chinese trials, et cetera. We in the United States, as i mentioned in a speech i gave a couple weeks ago to the World Health Organization executive board, we are back on the global scene. We reentered into our arrangement with the w. H. O. And we are part of kovac. I want to remind people this is a global effort. The more we get the virus controlled globally and we will be part of that process as part of the global community, the better off we will be. Ive said it many times, and ill close by saying it again, we have to be concerned about the mutants. Viruses will not mutate well if you dont give them the opportunity to replicate in a very large way. Namely, if you have an open Playing Field for the virus, they will replicate and they will mutate. The best way to prevent that is the implementation of the Public Health measures that dr. Walensky just mentioned, both them and abroad, as well as the implementation of the administration of vaccines as effectively and efficiently and quickly as we possibly can. Ill stop there and hand it back to jeff. Thank you dr. Fauci and dr. Walensky. Youve heard from our experts. I want to reiterate, we are at war with this virus. It is clearly a National Emergency and we are doing all we can, but it is critical that congress does its part as well. We need congress to quickly pass the American Rescue plan to provide the funding we need to continue to scale up our Vaccination Program as well as for more testing, more jean ohmic sequencing and emergency supplies. We must give families, schools, businesses, state and local leaders the support they need to fight the pandemic. This will not be easy. Vaccinating everyone in america is one of the greatest operational challenges we have ever faced. We will not stop working until this mission is complete. With that, lets take a few questions. For our first question well go to weijia jiang at cbs. Well go to the second question while we figure that out. Brenda goodman at webm zblnchts hello. Weijia, youre there. Sorry about that. Thank you for having this briefing and taking my questions. I have two, if you dont mind. The first one is about skepticism that remains around the vaccines which you guys have all acknowledged. Just about 20 minutes ago a new monmouth poll shows 50 of americans plan to get the vaccine when they can, but 24 say it is likely they will never get it if they can avoid it. My question is, are there any conditions under which youd recommend requiring a vaccine to access person places like federal properties, schools or to travel, if we fail to reach Herd Immunity after a certain point or if more variants continue to spread. Dr. Walensky, do you want to weigh in here . Thank you for that question. I think its important to recognize we have Vaccine Hesitancy here. We have to address it at its roots and understand while people are hesitant. I do believe the more people who get this vaccine, we now have over 32 million who have received at least one dose, the more people will realize and recognize it is being distributed and given safely and that the side effects really are minimal really with very rare risk of events that can be managed. What i will say with regard to requiring, i think we cant be in a place where were thinking about making requirements for vaccination until we have enough for the entire country to make sure that thats possible. I would say right now its premature to think about those requirements. Our goal right now is to vaccinate as many people as we can. Thank you so much. Let me see if dr. Fauci has anything to add there. I agree totally with what dr. Walensky said, particularly the last part, when youre talking about requirements which we do have for some vaccines. Richelle and i are both physicians who practice medicine. We dont do it in the hospital unless we get our influenza shot every year. Thats because we have plentiful vaccinations available. Its no time to talk about that now while we still have a great demand that outstrips the supply. Your second question. Thank you. This is about Vaccine Supply actually, just to get some clarification about something dr. Fauci said. On monday, that the u. S. Should administer all the doses it has without holding any back, and then ideally in three weeks, prioritize people getting second doses. I know that Vaccine Production has ramped up, but has it increased enough so you can give everyone their second dose and keep up the same pace for new vaccinations . As we talked about i believe yesterday, weve steadily increased the amount of vaccine that were sending to states. We are up over 20 now across the first two weeks, and important for states planning efforts, were giving a minimum of threeweek visibility into the next three weeks of shipments which is something we heard from governors and state and local leaders. We anticipate, as we work hard to monitor and help and assist the manufacturers that will continue to have supply increases. As you know, were also beginning the ramp up an initial phase with the pharmacies. I talked today about the Community Vaccination centers. Its just the beginning of establishing new Community Vaccination centers. We or confident theres going to be an increase in supply, and at the same time we have the systems in place so we can assure second doses will arrive at the thirdweek mark for pfizer and fourthweek mark for moderna. As you heard from the experts, its important people get their second doses and get their second doses on time. Next question is Brenda Goodman at webmd. Good morning. Can you hear me . Yes. Great. I wondered if we can get an update on vaccine prioritization. I know under the Previous Administration this was largely left up to states to decide, when they wanted to move to the next levels of priority. Were seeing a lot of states open this up for teachers. Its kind of created a patchwork. I wonder if the federal government will be working more closely with states to kind of get more vaccinations to teachers in particular so that schools can reopen in the fall. Dr. Walensky, do you want to start here . Thank you for that question. The Advisory Committee on immunization practices has created these this guidance for how we should be we should think about prioritizing among all Essential Workers and all of the population at large. Those have been taken under guidance from the states and the states are creating their own individual plans. Those plans have to sort of be in sync with how they are able to titrate really the supply versus the number of people who want it. We dont want to be too restrictive so they have queues of people. We also dont want too much supply on the state. We left that to the states in recognizing the priorities but also manage at their own local level. That said, i want to be very clear about schools which is, yes, teachers are in the 1b category, the category of Essential Workers. I also want to be clear theres increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that that Safe Reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated in order to reopen safely. So while we are implementing the criteria of the Advisory Committee and of the state and local guidances to get vaccination across these eligible communities, i would also say that Safe Reopening of schools is not that vaccination of teachers is not a prerequisite for Safe Reopening of schools. Let me just adhere, President Biden has been very clear that he wants schools to reopen and actually to stay open. That means that every school has the equipment and the resources to open safely, not just private schools or schools in wealthy areas, but all schools. Thats why we need the American Rescue plan passed now. It requires money to get schools better access to testing, enable smaller class sizes, ensure proper vent investigation, ensure everyone has ppe and schools are properly sanitized. It also includes muchneeded funds to support the learning, social and emotional needs of our kids when what has been an extremely, extremely difficult year. Again, congress has to do its part in order to make sure we can safely reopen schools and keep them open. All right. Next question is to Shannon Pettypiece from nbc. Hi, can you guys hear me . Yes. I wanted to you raised a lot of concern about these mutants. Given what we know about their transmissibility, should we be rethinking the social distancing guidelines . Should we be doublemasking, should we rethink Indoor Dining . Is six feet apart still enough . With these new mutations do we need to do anything differently . I understand you want everyone to continue following the guidelines now more than ever, but are you thinking about any new guidelines potentially . Dr. Fauci . The answer is we always evaluate guidelines in realtime depending on what the status is. I want to emphasize what you just said, that right now we dont have complete full compliance throughout the country of the fundamental Public Health measures that are necessary to prevent the spread. And i believe that, if we do, we will be adequately addressing the transmissibility of these particular mutants. The question keeps coming up, ill give you my opinion of this, which will be in accordance with dr. Walensky. We get asked all the time, should we will be double masking. The cdc makes recommendations based on data that they accumulate because its a sciencebased organization. Right now they are looking at wearing. In the meantime, as i often get asked, should you be wearing two masks or one mask. I say theres no recommendation. However, there are many people who take the common sense approach. If youre talking about a physical barrier, and as the cdc recommends, you want at least two layers within the mask as a physical barrier, and you feel maybe more of a physical barrier would be better, theres nothing wrong with people wearing two masks. I often myself wear two masks. Can we make a general recommendation that doesnt have scientific basis yet . No. But when the science comes along and tells us it is better or not, then youll see a Recommendation Being made by the cdc. Ill hand it over to dr. Walensky for any further comment. Thank you, dr. Fauci. I dont have a lot to add except that the cdc is actively looking at this question. What some of the data that has been emerging is as we found some of these variants in the Contact Tracing of them, were finding that people were not taking the primary measures of any masking or any distancing. I think thats really our best barrier against these variants, is to do the masking and the distancing. More data will be forthcoming from the cdc with regard to the value of double masking. Ill remind everybody that on his first day in office, President Biden signed an Executive Order requiring mask wearing in all federal buildings, all federal places and in public transportation, interstate travel. That is all part of a nationwide 100day mask challenge. The president is asking everybody to mask up for the next 100 days. The estimates are that that will save over 50,000 lives. Masking up is something all americans should be doing. All right. We have time for one more question. Next well go to nbs radio. Thank you for doing this and taking my question. I have two questions, if i may. The first one is, with the new brazilian covid variant and many countries in the latin american region not having severe Travel Restrictions in place, do you consider that the u. S. Should take further action including Travel Restrictions and have any travel requirements been defined for individuals from mexico into the United States at Land Ports Of Entry in the southern border . So, yes. The president has put in strict Travel Restrictions. If youre traveling from an international country, it requires a test, a negative test three days in advance, and then quarantining once you land in the u. S. The Travel Restrictions on certain countries including brazil are even stricter in terms of who is allowed to travel to the u. S. So Travel Restrictions internationally have been tightened quite a bit during this period of the pandemic. I dont know if you had a second question, too. I do have a second question and actually a quick followup. You mentioned quarantining after landing in the u. S. Is that quarantine going to be enforced . My second question is, as countries ramp up Vaccination Efforts and people get vaccinated in other parts of the world, do you see the need to request a negative test to travelers who have been inoculated, and what are your thoughts on the universal Travel Document for the vaccinated or vaccination passport being discussed internationally. Let me hand it over to dr. Walensky in terms of the cdc guidelines on quarantine and how theyre working with state and local officials to make sure the quarantines are enforced. Dr. Walensky. Thank you very much for that question. We are working hard with state and local officials to work towards increased compliance and work towards facilitating compliance to ensure those people landing here from International Settings can comply with the quarantine measures. Again, seven days of quarantine, as well as a test day three to five after landing. I want to thank everybody for joining todays briefing. The next briefing will be on friday. Thank you. Weve been listening to Jeffrey Zients, dr. Anthony fauci and dr. Richelle walensky, their update on the latest on the fight against the pandemic. What did you take away from todays briefing . Well, i do think that theres clearly concern about the e emergence of these new variants and what to do about it. I think we are still gathering information about these variants. Were still not sure how worried to be in terms of the Vaccine Effectiveness against the variants. I think the message that came across loud and clear, both dr. Fauci and dr. Walensky noted that we need to be doing a better job with the Public Health guidance thats been given for months now, which is the masking, the social distancing. These are some of the best tools we have to prevent the spread of the virus. Its going to take time to get everyone vaccinated. In the meantime, we really need to be doing those things because the more you allow the virus to spread, the more it will mutate and the more these variants will emerge. There was some good news and some good warning of what could be around the corner as well during this briefing. Dr. Walensky saying the trends are going in the right way. Cases are now case levels are now back to the level they were before thanksgiving, which is that made me really happy. It was really comforting to hear that, quite honestly dr. Gounder. You said yesterday you are more concerned about where we are right now than at any point in the pandemic, even since the beginning. Explain that. So not only have we seen these new variants emerge out of the uk, out of south africa, out of brazil, that are more contagious, so they spread more easily from persontoperson. That means youre going to have more infections, more hospitalizations, moth deaths. The cdc predicted the uk variant which is more contagious will likely be the dominant strain here in the United States by march. So what is happening in the uk with their overwhelmed hospitals now is a preview of whats to come. While things have slowed down here since the holidays which clearly the holidays and people getting together had a huge impact on transmission, things have slowed down a little bit. But were getting a breather. If this uk variant continues to spread as predicted here in the u. S. , we are in for some very tough months ahead. One thing that gets right to that is new research out about who has been driving the spread of the virus that people need to Pay Attention to. Its not kids. Its adults. The threequarters of the virus spread in the u. S. Were from adults ages 20 to 49. People behind the study say the efforts to control the spread including Vaccination Efforts should really start taking this into account. What do you think . I think its young adults. Thats clearly what the data shows. Young adults who unfortunately might think that theyre invul invulnerable, that they wont be the ones to end up in the Hospital Sick with covid. They are at lower risk, lets be realistic about it. They are at lower risk, so they might be taking risks. That means theyre also spreading the virus in the community and getting others sick. I think this speaks to the idea of needing an allofgovernment response, where you recognize what are the needs of these younger adults. For them it might be economic issues, putting food on the table or making rent, so theyre taking risks in the community that might be driving transmission. So we need to address their needs so that they can comply with the Public Health guidance. While the vaccine effort continues to try to ramp up, its not nearly where it needs to be, thats for sure. Doctor, great to see you. Thank you for coming in. President biden is meeting with Senate Democrats right now at the white house. 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Thats why we offer some of the lowest Tuition Rates in the nation, and havent raised tuition in nearly a decade. So no matter where you want to go, snhu can help you get there. Visit snhu. Edu today. When did you see the sign . When i needed to jumpstart sales. Build attendance for an event. Help people find their way. Fastsigns designed new directional signage, and got them back on track. Get started at fastsigns. Com right now President Bidens 1. 9 Trillion Covid relief package is front and center. Hes melting with Democratic Senators at the white house as we speak. We should be getting some video from the oval office shortly. We will watch that play out together when it does come in. This meeting comes just after the president met with republican senators in the oval two days ago. Are they any closer to a bipartisan deal or are democrats going to be moving ahead on their own. Cnns Jeremy Diamond is live from the white house. What are you hearing about this . Reporter look, the words were hearing from President Biden and from the white house right now are big, bold, urgent. These are not the kinds of words that are conducive, necessarily, to a bipartisan approach here. What were seeing is they are beginning to move forward with this package and theyre going to do it with republicans or without republicans. It does appear that will be the framework for what is going to move in congress in the coming weeks. President biden today, two days after sitting down with those ten republicans inside the oval office, today hes sitting down with democrats. We know he phoned in earlier this morning to the weekly House Democratic caucus call. He spoke with them about the rooif relief bill. Yesterday he was talking with Senate Democrats on their weekly call. Today well see President Biden as he is right now sitting in the oval office with Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer and other leading democrats involved in the key committees required to pass this bill using that budget reconciliation process. President biden and his allies are making very clear they would like to see republicans come on board and support this plan, but theyre also making clear theyre not willing to give up on many of the fundamentals inside this 1. 9 trillion bill and that 600 billion proposal put forward by those ten republicans just isnt going to cut it for the president or his team. Eventually those two ideas are going to come into conflict. Were starting to see that now. The president earlier today was meeting with senator chris coons and senator tom carper. I asked senator carper after his meeting, is there one republican senator who you can name right now who would vote for a package anywhere approaching 1. 9 trillion. He said its early in the process, we will see. Again, none of those republicans so far have indicated theyre willing to stomach a package of that size. Kate. Also not clear how early in the process it is at this point with how much of an emergency to getting that funding the white house is laying it out to be. We heard that from the Coronavirus Briefing from Jeffrey Zients on that very issue. We are standing by to bring you the video of the senators in the oval office with the president. In the meantime, House Republicans also face a key moment today having nothing to do with policy, but everything to do with the future direction of the party. Will they side with conscience or Conspiracy Theories . Thats next. [ding] power e trade gives you an awardwinning app with 24 7 support when you need it the most. Dont get mad. Get e trade and start trading today. keeping your oysters growing while keeping your Business Growing has you swamped. you need to hire i need indeed indeed you do. 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