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Third COVID-19 Vaccine on Horizon; Biden Says, We Have to Act Now on COVID Relief; Manhunt Intensifying for Suspect Who Planted Bombs at DNC & RNC the Night Before Attack on Capitol. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 29, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We are also following new developments in the stalled negotiations over a desperately needed COVID relief package.

President Biden says the bill must be passed -- quote -- "no ifs, ands or buts," although he's not ruling out pushing it through without Republican support, this as we get long-awaited trial results from Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine. A single dose proved to be 66 percent effective against moderate and severe illness and 85 percent effective against severe disease.

Let's start our coverage this hour was CNN's Brian Todd. He's got the latest on the Capitol riot investigation and the urgent manhunt under way right now for that suspect seen in planting pipe bombs up on Capitol Hill.

Brian, first of all, what are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, some crucial new developments today in the investigation.

Newly released video shows the brutality of some attacks on police that day. And, as Wolf mentioned, there is new information the suspected pipe bomber.

We have to warn viewers this piece contains video which some may find disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Important new information tonight about the mysterious elusive suspect believed to have planted two pipe bombs near the Capitol.

The FBI now says the two bombs found near Democratic and Republican Party headquarters were placed the night before the attack on the Capitol between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. on January 5, and surveillance video obtained by "The Washington Post" captures what "The Post" says is the suspect moments before he placed a bomb near Republican headquarters that night.

JIM BUEERMANN, FORMER POLICE CHIEF, REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA: Those bombs were probably intended to distract the police from the Capitol to someplace else. There were probably a significant number of participants in this that knew what they were doing, pre-planned it, brought with them the equipment they needed to do what they were attempting to do.

TODD: The FBI also identified the suspect'S shoes as Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes in yellow, black and gray, with enhanced photos of the shoes along with pictures of the bombs.

A law enforcement official tells CNN the bombs were eight inches long, rigged to egg timers and filled with an explosive powder. An ATF official says bomb techs and robots were used to disable the explosives.

ASHAN BENEDICT, ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: They set up. It's all downrange. And so only bomb techs can go downrange with the robot. So, they set up in a way where eventually we will use the robot to actually do the disruption. So, I believe that is how this particular disruption happened.

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Absolutely grateful for your service.

TODD: Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill today, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin thanking National Guard troops helping guard the Capitol since the riot.

Tonight, police body cam video CNN obtained from the U.S. attorney's office shows brutal hand-to-hand combat between rioters and officers, rioters mercilessly beating officers, one grabbing an officer's baton.

This video was played at a hearing for alleged rioter Michael Foy of Michigan, who prosecutors say attacked an officer with a hockey stick.

It shows rioters on top of motionless people while Foy and another man assault police. At one point, a man is frantically yelling for help to save what appears to be an injured woman. One former police chief who examined the video with us says it's surprising that more people weren't killed that day.

BUEERMANN: If they're willing to assault the officers like they were, then you have to assume that they are likely to carry out maybe some of the same acts of violence against unarmed politicians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: And we have this just in.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jerry Nadler, has just sent a letter to the acting attorney general, urging the Justice Department to prosecute all the rioters who stormed the Capitol that day.

This comes amid reports that Justice officials had weighed whether to decline charges against some individuals. Prosecutors have pushed back on those reports, saying they're not ignoring anyone, and they continue to charge people -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I think there's going to be a lot, a lot more arrests.

All right, Brian, thank you very, very much.

Let's turn to some new political developments here in Washington, as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to tamp down a growing civil war within his own unruly caucus.

CNN's Ryan Nobles is up on Capitol Hill.

Ryan, it looks like Republican infighting, at least for now, is here to stay.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, there's no doubt that there is a Republican identity crisis here on Capitol Hill, and especially as the party attempts to navigate the post-Trump world.

And that crisis expected to come to a head during a closed-door meeting here on Capitol Hill next week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (voice-over): Amid rising tensions, House Republicans are set to meet behind closed doors next Wednesday, members and aides telling CNN they expect the regular scheduled gathering could turn into a venting session over the impeachment vote two weeks ago that's divided the conference.

[18:05:07]

In the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, some GOP leaders signaled a break with the former president.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters.

NOBLES: Only to reverse course.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy flying to Florida for a face-to- face meeting with Trump Thursday and releasing a statement after highlighting the former president's hold on the party.

"Today, President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate in 2022," McCarthy said. "A Republican majority will listen to our fellow Americans and solve the challenges facing our nation."

Despite that show of unity, there are signs of division over Trump's role In the party moving forward.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): President Trump is going to keep fighting for this country with every breath that he has.

NOBLES: Trump loyalist Matt Gaetz traveling to Wyoming to call for the ouster of Liz Cheney, the third ranking House Republican who voted to impeach Trump. GAETZ: I'll confess to you this is my first time in Wyoming. I have

been here for about an hour. And I feel like I already know the place a lot better than your misguided Representative Liz Cheney.

NOBLES: That as newly elected House Republicans draft fresh scrutiny for past controversial statements.

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene scrubbing her social media pages after CNN uncovered posts indicating support for executing prominent Democratic leaders and video surfacing of her harassing Parkland shooting victim David Hogg.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You guys are being used, being used by the left, because you're young.

NOBLES: Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert taking to Twitter to criticize Hogg after he wrote that putting a fencing around the Capitol would not address the real threats of Greene and Boebert.

"David, please, we all saw how tough you were when questioned face to face. Give your keyboard arrest, child."

Democrats are calling for Greene to be expelled from Congress or removed from a key House committee, while, at the White House today, Press Secretary Jen Psaki said this when asked about Greene.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We don't want to elevate conspiracy theories further in the Briefing Room, so I'm going to speak -- I'm going to leave it at that.

NOBLES: But in Greene's district, voters offering their support, a sign of the pressure Republicans are facing when it comes to choosing a path forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She needs to continue to fight, and I'm behind her all the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: And Marjorie Taylor Greene's antics are spilling out and causing problems here on Capitol Hill.

Take a look at this video that Greene posted today on her Twitter feed from the day of the impeachment vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREENE: Criminals.

You know what? Yes, don't yell at people. Stop being a hypocrite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Now, that was a dust-up between Greene and freshman Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri that happened on the day of the impeachment vote in the tunnels between the Capitol and the House office building.

Now, Bush is saying that Greene confronted her and verbally assaulted her, so much so that Bush has asked for her office to be moved away from Greene's office in the Longworth House Office Building. I went over and looked at those two offices today. I can confirm that there were moving boxes out in front of Cori Bush's office.

Now, Greene pushing back saying that it was Bush that started this altercation. But, Wolf, it's just an indication of how this has become a big distraction for all the work that needs to be done here on Capitol Hill.

And Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, is attempting to address it, at least on some level. He tells us that he will meet with Marjorie Taylor Greene here on Capitol Hill sometime next week -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he's going to have his work cut out.

She's also promoted all these really disgusting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that, yes, blaming a Jewish conspiracy for the wildfires, for example, out in California. And it's really disgusting to hear, as we look back on all of those social media posts that she came up with, really totally, totally disgusting.

All right, Ryan, thank you very, very much.

Let's get some insight from our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, and former Ohio Governor John Kasich. He's a CNN senior commentator.

Governor, have you ever seen your party, the Republican Party, in such complete disarray?

JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm just -- I'm sick over this, Wolf, just listening to this report.

And they're going to have a conference to kind of talk this out. Yes, we used to have conferences about whether we were going to cut spending or whether we were going to cut taxes. And that would get to be volatile at times.

But this, this is just -- it's so far beyond the pale. And, frankly, the Republican -- the leaders in the Republican Party have got to stop promoting lies, because what they're doing is, they're feeding the beast.

And these folks who are trying to cling to something, some folks who are -- don't have jobs, or their kids are doing terribly, or they're really under fire, they're feeding these people a conspiracy theory that angers them and thinks that, if that we can somehow reverse the result of this election, somehow, everything will be great with them.

[18:10:15]

It will not be. And these QAnon supporters, I read a testimony of one today, a woman who finally realized that what she had been doing and what she had been reading and what he had been thinking was totally wrong.

So, the party's got to start putting some ideas out there and continuing to mislead people for purposes of gaining power or winning elections, it's a disgrace. It is a disgrace.

BLITZER: Gloria, we just learned that Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the House, is going to actually meet, sit down with Marjorie Taylor Greene next week.

Is there any reason to expect, based on what we know at this point, at least, that she will receive anything more than a slap on the wrist?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No, there isn't, sad to say.

What he should say to her when he meets with her is, you ought to leave the Congress. There is no place for this kind of behavior in the Congress. There is no place for these kinds of postings or likes of tweets that call for violence against members of Congress. There's no place for that in the country, much less in the halls of Congress.

And you need to treat your colleagues as colleagues, whether you disagree with them. But McCarthy has already dug his hole. You're already in or out with Donald Trump. Unfortunately, he's in right now. This is Donald Trump's legacy, what we're seeing among Republicans right now.

Don't forget, 140 House Republicans supported overturning the election when they supported the Texas lawsuit. So, this is the Republican Party right now. We can't expect McCarthy to do much other than, say, threaten her with loss of maybe a committee assignment.

Or maybe he will say, you know what, after talking that way to a survivor of Parkland, maybe you shouldn't sit on the Education Committee. Maybe he will start with that, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

BLITZER: What do you think, Governor? What do you think McCarthy should do to punish this woman?

KASICH: Oh, she should strip her committee away. I mean, they shouldn't have supported her in any way when she was running.

And now I think what they need to do is just isolate her, because just the comments she made about Parkland, and the people, the lives, the kids that were -- the students that were killed, and the parents and the grief, and it's -- well, it's unbelievable.

And so, Wolf, look, the party has got to get a grip. There have to be leaders who emerge who have to say, stop it, we did not win this election, this election is over, and pivot to offering some ideas and some hope to people who are just clinging to any conspiracy theory, thinking somehow their lives are going to be fixed, because they will not be. And at the same time, we have to focus on Capitol Hill, as Gloria is

alluding to, on some sort of reconciliation between the parties. And that means that the Republicans have to emerge. They have to reach across the aisle.

And I think, actually, we have to also remember that there are some incendiary remarks that come from the hard left, and those need to be toned down. Those need to be stopped, because all we're doing is, it's back and forth.

And when I hear the things that are going on down there, Wolf, you and I have been there for many years. You watched the Congress. I was in the Congress. It's just amazing.

Now, we will get our balance. This will happen. This will fade. And people, some, most, will come to their senses. But this is not an issue of the Republican Party. This is a concern that we should all have about America and these groups and what is happening, and we have got to get on top of this.

BLITZER: And we know, Gloria, that the former -- the former President Trump, he's not focusing in on Marjorie Taylor Greene at all. He does have Jewish grandchildren.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: He's not focusing in on her and her anti-Semitic comments that she's made in recent, recent years. He's focusing in on the number three House Republican, Liz Cheney, who voted her conscience and voted that he should be impeached.

BORGER: Right.

BLITZER: How messy could this get?

BORGER: Right. It's going to get very messy. It's outrageous.

I mean, you have Matt Gaetz going, taking his first trip to Wyoming, saying, I know more about you folks than Liz Cheney does, Liz Cheney, who voted her conscience. She didn't ask anybody to go along with her, who actually said that this election was not rigged, that it should not be overturned, and that she believed that the president cited an -- inspired an insurrection.

She spoke her conscience. And now what do they want to do? They want to throw her out of leadership. And while McCarthy has said -- originally, he said he wanted to keep her in leadership, now he says that he has concerns about her.

[18:15:12]

Well, what does that mean? And after he met with Donald Trump in Mar- a-Lago, who's now pledged to raise a lot of money for Republicans, so he can become speaker of the House in 2022? Let's see if he changes his tune on Liz Cheney.

BLITZER: If they do remove, Governor, Liz Cheney from the Republican leadership in the House, what would that say to you?

KASICH: Well, first of all, I'm not sure it will happen. I'm not sure that they would have the votes to do that.

It would show that it's just a total move towards Trumpism and all the things that come with it.

But I tell you this. I don't know Liz Cheney. I know her father. I will say this, from what I observe about her. She wouldn't go quietly. You don't think she -- see, what's going to happen at some point, Wolf, there are going to be Republicans who are going to emerge who are going to say, we have had enough, and they're not going to work with the rest of the conference.

I mean, that is what's going to happen. So, there will be more of a split. But that split, when they start standing up against some of their colleagues, what's going to happen is, that's going to breed some new life.

That's going to bring some change that will be positive, because all these people are not committed or convinced that all these theories are right that the election was stolen. There are a good number of Republicans who say, this is nonsense.

And, at some point, they will begin to stand up, even if it costs them votes. And you know what?

BORGER: And let me...

KASICH: If you're a leader, and you stand up, and you stand up strong, you will get reelected. I don't care what that district looks like.

I know Gloria has been trying to jump in here. Let me be quiet and Listen to her.

BLITZER: All right, go ahead.

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: No, I want to remind everyone that Liz Cheney is not a moderate Republican. She is a rock-ribbed conservative Republican, very conservative.

So, they want to throw her out of leadership for a vote of conscience, when, in fact, she is a more conservative Republican than Donald Trump ever was. Think about that.

KASICH: He wasn't a conservative.

BORGER: Right.

KASICH: And the Republican Party can't be recognized today as a conservative -- they have ignored the debt. They have imposed tariffs, which is -- Republicans are free trade. They have opposed letting people into this country legally, which immigration is an issue for us that we have always believed in. This is not the Republican Party that most of us recognize or grew up

with. This is a -- this is the Trump party, right, Gloria? This is not what Republicans do. They have lost their way.

BLITZER: Yes.

KASICH: But look at the compass, and maybe you can find your way back.

BLITZER: And Liz Cheney is now Trump's number one target out there.

KASICH: Just crazy.

BORGER: I agree.

BLITZER: All right, guys, thank you very, very much.

Meanwhile, the new trial results just emerging from Johnson & Johnson which show the company's vaccine is 66 percent effective at preventing moderate and severe illness, how useful it will be in the fight against the virus. It is 85 percent effective against severe disease.

We will speak to an expert on the FDA committee that has to rule on this trial.

Also, President Biden says a COVID relief bill must pass, no ifs, ands or buts. But will he be forced to push it through without any Republican support?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:44]

BLITZER: We're following major developments in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, after yet another day of more than 4,000 deaths here in the United States.

We just got some highly anticipated results from Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine trial.

CNN's Athena Jones has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The results really are very encouraging.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another COVID- 19 vaccine could soon be available in the United States. And while data short will not provide as much protection as other approved vaccines, experts hailed the new development.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I think it's a good sign.

JONES: Johnson & Johnson says its vaccine was 66 percent effective overall in a global phase three trial, 72 percent effective in the U.S., and 85 percent effective against severe disease. The drug is delivered in a single shot and does not have to be stored frozen, making distribution easier.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: There is real benefit to having a single-dose vaccine and one that can be transported a lot more easily. And, frankly, 85 percent protection against severe disease is really good.

JONES: In contrast, the Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna vaccines, known as mRNA vaccines, were shown to be about 95 percent effective, but with those drugs in short supply, doctors say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, if given the green light, would be a welcome addition to the country's pandemic toolbox.

OFFIT: Were it me, were I not able to get the mRNA vaccine, and I only had the choice of getting Johnson & Johnson vaccine, I would take it in a second.

JONES: The big question is how well the vaccines protect against the more contagious COVID variants.

For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine:

DR. MARK MCCLELLAN, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: In this clinical trial, no patients who got the vaccine had to go to the hospital and none died, including across all these variants all across the world.

JONES: Those variants a growing concern, as an influential model shows they could worsen the virus' spread, adding, in a worst-case scenario, as many as 85,000 COVID deaths by May 1.

FAUCI: This is a wakeup call to all of us. We will continue to see the evolution of mutants. We will have to be nimble to be able to just -- adjust readily to make versions of the vaccine that actually are specifically directed towards whatever mutation is actually prevalent at any given time.

JONES: In the meantime, as the U.S. averages nearly 160,000 new daily COVID cases and 4,000 deaths were reported Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. priority is clear.

FAUCI: Vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible.

JONES: And that will take months.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: And to put all this in perspective, even as new daily COVID infections are on the decline nationwide, a report from the interagency White House COVID-19 team says 95 percent of the country lives in a county that is still considered a sustain hot spot.

That means a place with a high burden of COVID cases that's at risk of a strain on health care resources, so another sign this virus is far from being under control -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Athena, thank you very much.

Let's get some expert analysis from a member of the FDA vaccine's advisory committee, Dr. Paul Offit.

Dr. Offit, thank you so much for joining us. You're a real expert in this vaccine, in this field of vaccine research.

What should we take away from these results reported from Johnson & Johnson's vaccine trial?

[18:25:04]

OFFIT: I think it's a major advance. I mean, you have a vaccine which in the U.S. has been shown to prevent moderate to severe disease in a high level, 72 percent.

So, severe disease means that you -- that's where you go to the hospital or you go to the ICU or you die. Moderate disease means that's the kind of disease which requires medical attention. So, this is a major advance.

And I think that, in addition, actually, if you look at the fact that it is also highly effective at preventing severe disease with that South African variant, it's also very good news. And that it's refrigerator-stable, easily transported, that is really important for areas that have difficulty with some of these mRNA vaccines, where you have to ship and store at minus 70 degrees, which means dry ice.

And it's really hard to do that. So, I think this is a huge event. So, it's an important arrow, I think, in our quiver against this tragic disease.

BLITZER: And, as you say, you only need one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as opposed to two from the others that have been approved.

But what do you say to those folks who take a look at the numbers and compare the effectiveness of this Johnson & Johnson vaccine to Moderna and Pfizer's 95 percent effective rate, and they say, you know what, we want the best?

OFFIT: Well, the real difference is with regard to mild disease. This is still very highly effective against moderate to severe disease, and which keeps you out of the hospital and keeps you out of the morgue.

And that's really the main goal here is to save your life and to save the serious consequences of this disease. So, I think it's a little nitpicking.

Also, frankly, remember, these trials weren't done head to head. I mean, when Johnson & Johnson did their trial in Latin America, and they did their trial in South America, that wasn't true of the Moderna trial. The Moderna trial was just in the U.S.

So, there may be different populations in terms of their nutritional status, in terms of their other comorbidities. So, it's not directly a comparison. And you will learn about that, actually, once these vaccines are out there, and you can look at their effectiveness more head to head.

But this is an important vaccine, which now gives us more vaccines. Remember, the CDC two days ago said that 3.5 million Americans have received two doses of the vaccine. That's 1 percent of the population. We need to get about to 70 percent really to start having a major impact on this virus.

And this -- having vaccines like this makes it much easier for us to do that.

BLITZER: If -- this is a hypothetical question, Dr. Offit. You're the expert.

If a person should take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine initially, especially if that's all that's available to that individual, should that person think about receiving the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, let's say, a little bit later, a few months later, to get some additional protection?

OFFIT: It's possible.

Another option, by the way, is that Johnson & Johnson is currently doing a two-dose trial in the United States. They may find that second dose does essentially what the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines did, which would dramatically increase actually protection.

And there's no -- you don't have to go back to the beginning and start the series all over again. You could possibly get that second dose months later. And it's expected that that trial could be done by as early as April.

BLITZER: Well, that would really be encouraging as well.

Dr. Offit, as usual, thank you so much for joining us.

OFFIT: Thank you.

BLITZER: Just ahead, we're going to get more on the stalled coronavirus relief bill. Are Democrats planning on going it alone? I will ask Congressman Ro Khanna. There he is.

And, later, we will have the details on the manhunt for a suspect seen planting pipe bombs at the Republican and Democratic Party headquarters the night before the Capitol insurrection.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, President Biden is pledging to deliver nearly $2 trillion in coronavirus relief spending with or without Republican support. Our senior White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly is joining us right now.

Phil, the president was very blunt today.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it, Wolf. Look, President Biden has made clear he wants bipartisan support but not if that means sacrificing two most important elements, White House officials say, this package contains, both speed and scale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: The risk is not doing too much. The risk is not doing enough.

MATTINGLY (voice over): President Joe Biden ramping up the push for his cornerstone legislative priority.

BIDEN: People will be badly hurt if we don't pass this package.

MATTINGLY: His sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, one treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, amid a week of poor economic data, says is urgently needed.

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY: We need to act now and the benefits of acting now and acting big will far outweigh the costs.

MATTINGLY: But that decision to act big created unified resistance from the congressional GOP. Biden himself has been on the phone with Senate Republicans, calling Republican Senators Rob Portman and Susan Collins to pitch his plans, sources tell CNN. All as his team continues its own Capitol Hill lobbying blitz on the package.

BIDEN: I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it but the COVID relief has to pass.

MATTINGLY: And the White House making clear they will be taking their case outside of Washington, as well, in a COVID safe manner.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are having to take a number of creative steps to do that, whether that's direct television or local media or from the president, the vice president and others, we're doing that, whether it is engaging with governors and local elected officials to ensure that we're answering all of the questions they had.

MATTINGLY: All, as to this point, Biden's primary action is solely executive, 42 actions in his first nine days, a reflection of his push to undo much of his predecessor's work, even as he presses Congress to do their own.

[18:35:00]

PSAKIE: He is the first to tell you, as he said many times publicly, he is not going to take executive action alone. That's why he's put forward a number of packages that he is actively working with members of both parties to move forward on. (END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (on camera): In his opening days of office, cognizant of the pandemic, President Biden has rarely left the White House, but that changed this afternoon. President Biden making a trip to a familiar place, Walter Reed National Medical Center, where he visited several wounded soldiers, also a vaccine clinic.

Now, the president is very familiar with Walter Reed. Obviously, his son was treated there in the final weeks of his life when he died of brain cancer back in 2015. President Biden was treated when he had a brain aneurysm back in the 1980s when he was vice president. He also spent a number of holidays there, regular visits, expect White House officials say this to be a regular trip for him in the weeks and months ahead. Wolf?

BLITZER: So, personally important for him, which is good, very impressive, they do amazing work over at Walter Reed. All right, Phil, thank you very much for that report.

Let's discuss all the late-breaking developments with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.

On this COVID relief bill, first of all, you say one or two senators cannot be allowed to continue jam up an entire government, but Democrats are divided among themselves, as you know. How do you bridge the gap between, let's say, a progressive like you and someone more -- a more moderate Democrat like Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): President Biden was very strong today. I think the way we bridge the gap is getting behind President Biden's plan. This is not a progressive caucus bill. This is not Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren's bill. This is the bill that President Biden just ran on, won an overwhelming victory on that the American people want. So, let's pledge what he has a mandate for in passing.

BLITZER: That's $1.9 trillion, this bill. Would you be willing, Congressman, to compromise at any parts of the proposal, if necessary, to get at least some bipartisan support?

KHANNA: We always are willing to compromise but this bill is exactly what the president campaigned on, what was on his website, it could cut child poverty in half, it would raise the minimum wage to $15, it would get people the $2,000 checks they need, it is a direct response to COVID relief. And he has said he is willing to negotiate and compromise, but the key is to get this done and get it done fast.

BLITZER: Let's talk about the tensions up on Capitol Hill right now, very high. Today, your Democratic colleague, Congresswoman Cori Bush, said and I'm quoting now, a mask-less Marjorie Taylor Greene and her staff berated me in a hallway, she targeted me and others on social media. I'm moving my office away from hers for my team's safety, end quote. How damaging is this level of mistrust that's emerging now, the fear that many Democratic colleagues actually have for some Republicans? KHANNA: Wolf, it is sad, and that conduct should not be acceptable in any workplace. I mean, who accepts a colleague coming and accosting you, yelling at you without a mask? There should be rules against that. And what's a sad thing is most Republicans that I interact with are not like that. I have lunch with them, we have coffee with them, we work together. There are a few of these people who have taken to social media, made threats and should then have zero tolerance, it's hurting actually the entire atmosphere of Congress.

BLITZER: Have you felt personally concerned for your own safety in recent days and weeks?

KHANNA: Wolf, I have not. And all of the Republicans I'm interacted with, it's been civil. And so I don't want to give the false impression here. I mean, there are a lot people who do still get along and take a responsibility seriously, but there are members I know who have felt threatened, some of the women of color in particular have felt vulnerable and death threats, and I think this is coming from a handful of members. I think both Speaker Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, the leadership should condemn unequivocally those members. This is not a partisan issue, it's about having a safe, tolerant workplace.

BLITZER: What do you think they should do as far as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is concerned?

KHANNA: They should hold hearings to expel her. I mean, let's look at what she has done. I mean, she has tweeted out about assassinating leaders, threats against President Obama threats against Hillary Clinton. She says she didn't do that while she was in Congress. Who does that? I mean, at what environment can you put that stuff out on social media and still have a job?

And she has really crossed the line. I do not take it lightly to be calling for something like that, but she has crossed the line in a way that is very disturbing.

BLITZER: Would you be satisfied if they simply remove her from the Education and Labor Committee and have her serve in Congress but without serving on any committees?

KHANNA: At least that would be a step. I mean, if they do that and if they say, you have got to go through metal detectors and you've got to wear a mask and you can't be assaulting or accosting colleagues, at least that would be a step. Right now, they have said, okay, they're going to have a discussion with her.

[18:40:01]

I mean, I think here is the point, Wolf. Members of Congress aren't that special. When most people go to work, they have to follow some rules and we ought to follow the same rules and have basic human respect for our colleagues.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. Congressman Ro Khanna of California, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Just ahead, the urgent manhunt underway right now for the suspect who planted pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:11]

BLITZER: Tonight, an intense manhunt is underway for a suspect seen planting pipe bombs at both the Republican and Democratic Party headquarters here in Washington the night before the capitol insurrection.

The former FBI deputy director McCabe is joining us.

This video obtained by "The Washington Post" appears to show a suspect planting a pipe bomb over at the RNC. With the information at hand right now, why hasn't this suspect from your perspective been apprehended yet?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Wolf, I think it's clear we have a full-on manhunt on our hands right now. The FBI does anyway. We hadn't heard much about this investigation over the last few days but I think the fact that they have steadily increased the reward that they're offering for information leading to the identification or capture of this individual, and the fact that they have confirmed some of the remarkable reporting from "The Washington Post" and the videos we have seen "The Post" put up in the last 24 hours, I think these are all indicators that the bureau is really going all out and trying to essentially crowd source the search for this bomber.

It is a technique that we really started with some notable acclaim right after -- during the Boston bombing and then used again in things like the Las Vegas, in response to the Las Vegas shooter. Things look that. It is the high-tech social media version of going to the public for help locating and identifying someone.

BLITZER: I'm just curious, Andrew, if somebody is watching us right now or watching this video that's been released and knows who this suspect is and remains silent, doesn't notify the FBI, could they be potentially in some sort of legal trouble, as well?

MCCABE: Well, they certainly would be committing a horrible ethical transgression and I can't overstate if there's anyone listening to this broadcast right now and thinks they have any information about this person, they really have an obligation to bring that to the attention of the FBI.

As far as legal jeopardy goes, I think it's unlikely if you have information you think might be relevant and don't pass it along. However, if you had foreknowledge of this attempted attack, if you think you may have aided or assisted this person in any way, there could be criminal liability down the road for you. But, you know, the most important thing right now is that we find out who did this and make sure it doesn't happen again.

BLITZER: If somebody is suspicious, they should contact the FBI. The bombs that were packed we understand with explosive powder -- they didn't go off. Police were able to safely detonate them. What sort of clues does that provide?

MCCABE: So those bombs are now a cornucopia of potential evidence for investigators. Those bombs have been taken back I'm sure to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, and they will be completely disassembled and evaluated literally microscopically for any sort of trace elements that the bomber may have left behind, be it fingerprints or hair and fibers, genetic material. They're also a great source of information about the components themselves. So, once you identify those components, could be the steel pipe, could be the egg timer, could be the materials used to hold it together, you trace it back to where it could be sold and start to sort through the hundreds or thousands of purchases that could ultimately lead you to the individual that procured all these components.

So it's a methodical and tedious process but it's one that we have used to great effect in the past.

BLITZER: And I suspect this suspect will be apprehended probably sooner rather than later. Andrew McCabe, thanks so much for joining us.

MCCABE: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Just ahead, we're going to have a closer look inside the January 6th insurrection up on Capitol Hill and insurrection that shook the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:54:01]

BLITZER: We are following intensifying manhunt underway for the suspect that planted pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican Party headquarters just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. The FBI now says they were planted the night before the January 6 insurrection. As we learn more about the investigation into what happened, join me tomorrow night, 11:00 p.m. eastern for an in depth look at the historic events surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been told by capitol police the capitol is in lockdown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They broke the glass. Get down. Get down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gunshots ring out, rioters start trying to ram the doors down. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are watching an attempt at sedition. We are

watching an attempt at a bloodless coup in the United States.

[18:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a bonfire of the insanities we are watching in the nation's capitol and it all flows from Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His initial reaction was not horror which was almost everybody else's reaction. His initial reaction was to watch the show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard multiple conversations loudly and publicly find the president, hang the vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The CNN special report, "The Trump Insurrection, 24 Hours That Shook America" airs tomorrow night, 11:00 p.m. eastern.

We'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:17]

BLITZER: Finally, tonight, want to say thanks and good-bye to Rick Davis, our long time CNN colleague, good friend, great guy. Rick is a CNN original. He was with CNN on its first day on June 1, 1980 and has been here ever since. He's helped all of us become better journalists and personally helped me become a CNN anchor back in 1995.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: From Washington, this is "INSIDE POLITICS WEEKEND" with Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Thanks for joining us for a roundup of what's happening inside politics this week. The events, the issues, the battles and the bites.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That was my first day as an anchor here at CNN. He was in charge of the show. You don't think I aged since then, do you? I didn't know much about anchoring, but he was there for me and it clearly worked out.

For the last 22 years, he has been in charge of CNN news standards and practices and we're all so grateful. I speak for all of the thousands of current and former CNN employees when I say thanks, Rick, for always being there for us. We will miss you.

But after 40 years at CNN, we know you will enjoy your well-deserved retirement.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.