CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

[15:28:55]

BALDWIN: Now back to our breaking news.

CNN can now project that Joe Biden has won the state of Georgia, turning the Peach State blue for the first time since Bill Clinton did in 1992.

So, that brings the president-elect's Electoral College haul to 306, which happens to be the exact same number that President Trump won in 2016. And let's all remember when he referred to it as a shellacking at 306, so a shellacking for president-elect Joe Biden there as well.

CNN can also project that President Trump is set to win North Carolina's 15 electoral votes. So, that brings President Trump's count to 232.

With me now, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from the state of New York.

So, Senator Gillibrand, it's nice to see you again.

Welcome.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): Hi. How are you doing?

BALDWIN: I'm -- how are you doing? Let's start with you.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: With regard to--

GILLIBRAND: That was a relative question. It's a relative question.

BALDWIN: You know, it's been a week. It's been a year.

Your party managed to turn Georgia blue for the first time in 28 years. Your thoughts on that?

GILLIBRAND: It's really exciting.

And it's terrific momentum to go into these run-off elections in January.

If we want to actually win back the U.S. Senate, which is one of the goals we've had all year long, we can do it through Georgia.

And that means making sure that all the great work that Stacey Abrams put in is continued. And so that means getting out the vote, making sure everyone knows when to vote, how to vote, and make sure that those votes actually do turn out.

So I'm optimistic. With that momentum, it's helpful.

BALDWIN: How do you do that with that momentum into this pandemic winter, in Georgia, knowing darn well that those Republicans are going to put up a fight?

GILLIBRAND: Well, they always do. But what we showed in this last election is that our voters turned out.

And they just turned out in record numbers all across the country to win states like Pennsylvania and Michigan and Wisconsin and Georgia is meaningful. To win a state like Arizona really matters.

And so, what we did across the country was really make sure people understood how important their voice was and how important their vote was.

And we can continue to do that in Georgia since it's now the make-or- break state for the U.S. Senate.

BALDWIN: It is, indeed. Beginning of January, we'll know. I want to ask you about this. CNN has learned just this afternoon that the CIA director Gina Haspel

has been iced out of an intelligence meeting that was supposed to take place at the White House today.

We know just in the last couple days, we've been reporting on how the president has fired folks at DOD.

My question to you is just what are the consequences of -- the thought is perhaps the CIA director might be the next on the chopping block. What are the ramifications of all of this?

GILLIBRAND: Well, it just creates instability. And we want a clean, simple, efficient transition.

And when President Trump is scurrying to replace members of his cabinet, members of his senior leadership team for whatever political purposes he has between now and the end of the year, it just creates instability.

And it sends the wrong message to the world that we are in disarray.

I do believe, though, that Republicans are beginning to speak out. People like James Lankford, who have said we need to start the transition now and that, in fact, we have to certify this election so that, in fact, Joe Biden can get access to intelligence briefings, so he can get access to the resources that the transition's supposed to be supplying.

And that he could begin to vet the 4,000 future employees he's going to need in the federal government.

BALDWIN: I do want to get you on stimulus talks here. I'm curious, Senator Gillibrand -- of course, your party still wants this big package, upwards of $2 trillion. Senate Republicans still don't have much of an appetite for that amount of spending.

Are you all going to finally come together and get something done for the American people or are the millions of Americans who are suffering in for a long-term stalemate?

GILLIBRAND: Well, I hope so. Because New York State is in grave need. We need money for our cities and our state, we need money for health care and food stamps and housing. We need unemployment insurance to be renewed. We need to have more health care workers on the front lines.

These are all things that need to be in the next stimulus package.

We also need relief from the SALT changes, the state and local taxes that President Trump unwound, and no one can take deductions. So those are the changes that are desperately needed in New York.

But I would actually assume the same worries are happening in Kentucky and other places in this country.

So, I'm continually baffled why Mitch McConnell is so reluctant to move this country forward by providing the urgent relief that families are desperate for.

BALDWIN: But I have to push back --

GILLIBRAND: Families have been out of work for a long time.

BALDWIN: I have to push back on you. Because I hear you on the Mitch McConnell, but at the same time, speaker Pelosi had $1.8 trillion on the table from Mnuchin before the election and they could have cut a deal. But it was Speaker Pelosi who wasn't really willing to go there.

Isn't something better than nothing? Again, millions are suffering.

GILLIBRAND: Some things are better than nothing, but it depends what the things are.

What Mitch McConnell did is he created a poison pill in the last package. There have been lots of Democrats that would have loved to get money to small businesses and to unemployment insurance and to health care but he put in a poison pill specifically to say that corporations would be exempt from liability.

And you remember the stories, Brooke. We saw it.

When meat packing plants had people working shoulder to shoulder with no personal protective equipment where COVID spread through these meat packing plants like wildfire. We can't have that.

The epidemic is spiking now. It's spiking all across New York, all across the country. And the truth is, is that we have to protect our families.

And we can't have another 250,000 people dying of COVID because we are unwilling to put the right policies in place. And so, Mitch hasn't been playing fair about this at all.

So, even though you might want to criticize the speaker or the White House, Mitch wouldn't put any of it on the floor, none of it.

[15:35:00]

And the only package he would look at is one that had a poison pill that no one was willing to vote for. Because to give blanket liability to every bad employer in the country that puts people shoulder to shoulder without PPE, that's just morally wrong.

And I think Democrats --

BALDWIN: I understand --

GILLIBRAND: -- rightfully, rightfully --

BALDWIN: I understand.

GILLIBRAND -- withheld their vote.

BALDWIN: And I know you're in touch with your constituents here in New York and people are looking to you all for solutions and for some sort of agreement --

GILLIBRAND: Well, we're hoping we can --

BALDWIN: -- and let's hope we can get there.

GILLIBRAND: -- compromise now.

BALDWIN: I know. I know.

GILLIBRAND: Yes, we're hoping that -- this is the season, it's the season of Thanksgiving. People are in desperate need. So maybe this is a season where goodwill will prevail.

BALDWIN: Let's hope so. Senator Gillibrand, thank you so much for your time. Nice to have you on.

GILL: God bless.

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