Transcripts For CNNW CNN Newsroom With Ana Cabrera 20200822

He claimed among other things the post office has said it doesnt need money. Here are the facts. Earlier this year the Postal Service board of governors did ask for 25 billion, the exact amount in this bill, to help offset the impact of covid19. The pandemic is also expected to lead to an increase in mailin ballots for the president ial election, something the president repeatedly claims will lead to widespread voter fraud, even though there is zero evidence of that. President trump also alleges the post office wont be able to handle the volume of ballots. But postmaster general louis dejoy, who testified before the senate this week, is pushing back. He says the usps is more than ready for the election. He also says he will hit pause on removing any more mailboxes or sorting machines until the election is over of t. Lets get right to capitol hill and cnns suzanne malveaux. The vote is finally under way. Tell us whats happening inside and what house leaders expect the final vote tally to look like. Reporter sure. It was a fierce debate that happened between largely democrats and republicans over this very issue. We expect that how this is unfolding is that there will be seven voting blocs or voting groups that will be called up to make sure theyre social distanced and those groups will be called up by alphabetical order, last name. With the proxy votes as well, it should take about an hour or so before we get those results. Ana, democrats very confident that they will see passage of this bill. It will largely be along party lines but they expect all the democrats to say yes to this bill and a handful of republicans, those being of course the cosponsors, Brian Fitzpatrick and jeff van drew, the democrat who turned republican after the president was impeached. And then three others to look out for, to watch for as they vote. That would be representatives john catco, peter king and tom reed, all of them republicans from new york. But for the most part we are seeing democrats who will say yes to this bill. The arguments could not be more clear. They could not be more of a divisive contrast between these parties. The democrats simply saying, hey, were taking our cues from President Trump. The Postal Service is a mess, the board of governors says we need 25 billion and things are slowing down. And republicans accusing the democrats, saying this is all a hoax. Listen. We all know the motto, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. No one foresaw that any american president would crowbar our mail system to sway an election. Dont mess with the usps, pass this good bill. My colleagues on the left are faking outrage over a madeup crisis to score points during an election. The United States Postal Service is under no greater stress than it was before the coronavirus pandemic and well before this election cycle. So, ana, we dont expect any compromise on this. Weve already heard that the veto threat from the president. Weve also heard from senator Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell they are certainly not calling the senate back from their recess to address this. But what we did hear, which was critical yesterday, from senator ron johnson is that hearing with the postmaster general was that perhaps there is some sort of Coronavirus Relief package later on down the road that might have some sort of aid for the Postal Service. They were able to come up with a figure of 10 billion last go around when the white house negotiators and Speaker Pelosi were working with them. Those negotiations fell apart so perhaps there is some solution in the future, but certainly not now. And were looking at the vote count and it looks like 24 republicans so far have voted with democrats on this. Thank you, suzanne malveaux. As we await the finish of that vote, cnn has learned that President Trump is in overdrive to produce a Republican National convention that outshines the dems. Joining us now is former rnc spokesman tim miller. He has worked on campaigns for everyone from john mccain to jeb bush and also with us mark mckinnon, cohost of showtimes the circus and former george w. Bush advisor. Tim, the president has said he doesnt want the prerecorded speeches. He told sean hannity he thinks thats boring. We just saw this week he was willing to hold events with few masks and no social distancing. Even though we are now in the middle of this pandemic, what do you think were going to see . Well, i think the president has had a pretty big problem over the past six months and its the fact that he gets bored very easily. Hes like an adhd child whos been spending his time complaining about Joe Scarborough and making up conspiracy theories and defending q t. What the nation is looking for is what joe biden has to offer. How are we going to fix this pandemic and fix this economy . So i think its a good sign for democrats that the president is concerned about the boringness of the convention. Honestly the best thing that trump could have is a Boring Convention where he talked about how he was going to fix the things that are ailing the economy, because thats whats dragging his numbers down, not the fact that people arent entertained by his wheelsoff tweets and having these weird populists guests show up and give speeches. Mark, trump advisers have told cnn they dont think the coronavirus will be a heavy focus of the event this week like it was during the democrats convention. Is that a mistake . Because what bigger issue is there right now . Well, there is no bigger issue. Greetings from your old hometown. This is a referendum on his handling of the greatest crisis this country has faced in quite a while and thats what president ial leadership is supposed to be about. Hes going to make an argument that the economy is cant be shut down because of the virus. In fact im sure hes going to talk about joe bidens comment that he would shut it down if the scientists said so. So that will be the contrast hell try to make. Hes the guy. And on the economic numbers, the perceptions of his leadership are stronger than joe biden so thats where hes got a light is on the economy. But democrats really raised the bar as far as the convention goes. With the exception of some minor glitches, it was really a good show. I would hate to be the producers on the phone with donald trump the last couple of days paubeca im sure he is raising hell about what hes going to try to do and this whole notion of going live versus taped, first of all, the audience doesnt know. And second of all, it raises the possibilities that things could go wrong in a big way. Oh, gosh, we all know live tv anything can happen and obviously in this age of technology, especially with the coronavirus, it does open you up to mistakes and just bugs and glitches and all of that kind of thing. You mentioned the economic aspect of this situation. Joe biden recently sat down for an interview, a new interview since the convention, and he was asked how he would handle the pandemic. Heres what he told abc news. Listen to this. If youre sworn in come january and we have coronavirus and the flu combining, which many scientists have said is a real possibility, would you be prepared to shut this country down again . I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives. We cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administrations thinking to begin with. In order to keep the country running and moving and the economy growing and people employed, you have to fix the virus. You have to deal with the virus. So if the Scientists Say shut it down i would shut it down. I would listen to the scientists. I am sure the scientists and doctors are applauding that line. But, tim, on the flip side, the shutdown has caused a lot of economic pain. Do you think that was smart of biden to say politically . Well, look, i think whats caused a lot of economic pain is the fact that this administration had no plan for dealing with the virus. I mean the shutdowns happened everywhere, but in a lot of countries around the world, theyre starting to get back to work. Theyre starting to get things turned back around. People arent prisoners in their own home. So i laughed when you said that the trump fans the trump advisers dont want him to talk about the virus. No kidding. Hes got nothing good to say. He hasnt done anything about it. All hes done is golf and complain on twitter about how unfair it is that this has happened to him. Look, maybe biden could have made that point in a little bit more politically advantageous way, but his broader point which he said is we cant get people back to work until we deal with the virus is exactly right. Its what trump doesnt understand. On balance polls show people are more in bidens camp on that regard. Mark, i have to ask you about this tweet from the president today. It was a blatant lie. The democrats took the word god out of the pledge of allegiance at the democratic convention. At first i thought they made a mistake but it wasnt. It was done on purpose. Remember evangelical christians and all, this is where theyre coming from. Its done. Vote november 3rd. We checked the tape. Heres what we found. One nation, under god. One nation. One nation. One nation. One nation, under god. One nation. One nation. One nation, under god. One nation, under god. So there it was all four days. How do you even spin that, mark. Thats nobody believes that donald trump is more religious or has more faith than joe biden. And somebody compared speeches and joe biden mentions the word god five, ten times more than donald trump sdchlt does. Donald trump thinks the new testament is an edited version of the old one. But i would just say trump will use that as a political weapon, what he said to abc about shutting down the economy. I think theyre going to use that like a sledgehammer. The president has also accused biden, who is a devout catholic, of being against god. I want you to hear how biden has talked about his faith. I foundi the best way throug pain and loss and grief is to find purpose. As gods children, each of us have a purpose in our lives. Tim, as someone who has worked on multiple campaigns, what do you make of this strategy to attack biden on faith . Well, you want to play to your strengths. Heres the thing about joe biden. Joe biden talks about his faith naturally because its authentic, its real. Hes an irish catholic. Hes gone through a lot of pain in his life. Irish catholics, you know, do funerals better than anybody. And joe biden knows about and understands that in a deep way, understands faith and pain and sacrifice. And heres the thing with donald trump. This 2016 that he cut the deal with evangelicals over the judges, it was the best political deal hes made but you can see hes lost touch with what evangelicals actually wanting. Im political director for republicans against trump. We hear from voters a lot over the last three months that said when he gassed those protesters an went to hold up that bible for a photo op in front of the church across the street from the light house, when he did that, you saw that he was using these voters. He didnt believe it, he didnt read from the scripture, he cant speak about it naturally. For me this is a losing game for donald trump because hes playing from a position of weakness, where biden is playing from strength. It worked for him in 2016 so hes going back to the same playbook, but were in a different environment now. Do you really think evangelical voters will turn away from him . You only need to peel off 5 . If you look at the 2016 vote versus hillary, about 15 of evangelicals voted for trump and said they didnt like him. If you can peel off half of those voters and get them to write in somebody or if you can get a third of them to vote for joe biden, this election is over. Donald trump is going to lose North Carolina and hes going to lose florida. And so yeah, i think thats absolutely realistic for joe biden. Not to win a majority, but to win enough to flip this election, absolutely. You both once worked with the late senator john mccain, and we saw the dnc cindy mccain narrating a video about the friendship between mccain and biden. Heres a look. And when millions of americans were faced with losing their health insurance, it was joes friend who saved obamacare by crossing the aisle. Mccain cast his vote with a thumbs down. John and i have been given awards about bipartisanship. We dont understand why you should get an award for bipartisanship. Thank you for your example of how to remain the same good guy that you were when you first got here. I just wanted to ask both of you, did you think that was effective in terms of outreach to republicans . Mark, you first. I think its very effective. And not just in terms of the outreach to republicans, but overall its a unity message. Its a message about working together and reminding people about a time when people like john mccain and joe biden worked together to get things done. Thats what people are hungry for and thats the bell they were ringing. Tim, your thoughts . Yeah, id say, look, this week actually is the anniversary of john mccains death and his birthday. Across from the convention youre going to see more counterprogramming from the democrats and a group like us, Republican Voters against trump, to talk about john mccains legacy and how much of a contrast it is with biden. And i think that, look, if you look at the videos on our website from real republican, some of them who voted for trump last time who are flipping this time, many of them mentioned john mccain. Many of them mentioned the fact that they are looking for that decency, bipartisanship as mark said. So yes, i think that this is working for at least a percentage of these voters. Okay, tim miller and mark mckinnon, thanks to both of you. Mark, im so glad to see you looking strong and healthy after that horrific bike accident i know you had. Thank you. Thank you both for being here. It only took one week for covid19 outbreaks to hit universities and colleges in at least 19 states. At least one dean attributing it to, quote, incredibly reckless behavior. Well take you live to one of the colleges experiencing an outbreak right now. Stay with us, youre live in the cnn newsroom. I cant wiat to share at ts big 5g news. shouting through the glass at t has nationwide 5g . Yup and thats faster . Faster, yea but is it reliable . Ah huh and secure you should consider making a big deal about it bigger . I said bigger oh, bigbigger deal bigger than what im doing . Its not complicated. A 5g Network Needs a 5g device. Now everyone including existing customers can get a free Samsung Galaxy note20 after tradein. Who stood up. Who stood strong. Who demanded to be seen. To be heard. To be counted. Learning about her courage and grit. Can inspire you to pass it on. To the women who are next. Find your familys connection to this moment in history. At ancestry. As College Students head back to campus coronavirus outbreaks at universities in 19 states are prompting leaders to take action. Just today we learned that Syracuse University has suspended 23 students after they convened on the campus quad wednesday night. The universitys dean calling the event incredibly reckless behavior. In another large gathering of students, this time at penn state, has asked the schools president asking those flouting the rules, do you want to be the one responsible for sending everyone home . Scenes of crowded bars near the university of alabamas campus has sparked calls from the mayor. Police issued violations and arrested four others for violating regulations. Natasha chen joins us. We saw some developments out of fau today. Fill us in. Reporter right, ana. The fau athletic spokesperson told us that they suspended football practice temporarily when three of their players tested positive for covid19. That temporary pause is at least until monday when they can test the players again and review those results. These are the first positive test cases they have had since the beginning of preseason practice, according to this spokesperson who talked to us, and thats been since august 5th. So they typically, he said, test all the athletes every week. Again, the first three positive test cases since august 5th. That being said, now is when all of the rest of the student body has been moving on to campus into the dorms because classes begin monday, and there on that campus a lot of the classes are going to be virtual. Some of them, like labs, are still done in person, but even those rooms have reduced capacity with a number of students who can be in there. There are strict requirements with Wearing Masks as well as social distancing. Even so, the examples that you listed at other schools, people are thinking about the fact that they cant control other peoples behavior 100 of the time. Heres one freshman we talked to who hopes to become a doctor one day about her considerations in coming to campus. It does take that one person to ruin it for the rest so i do have my worries sometimes, but then i take my steps to kind of step away and then i know my building, they take their steps. They always check you. They make sure no extra guests. Everybody is in their dorms, so we kind of try to work together. Yes. Both she and another freshman i talked to said that when they moved in, everything was done on a staggered schedule and so the dorm as eerily quiet. It was a controlled timeline so not that many people would be in the space at a given moment. They also told me out of all their classes theyre about to begin, only one of them for each of those students is actually facetoface. But of course weve already seen at other universities clusters of covid cases pop up where students do have facetoface instruction. One of the students parents told us, she said you cant really hide from this. All you can do is best protect yourself from being infected and not contributing to the problem, ana. Okay, natasha chen reporting. Thank you. For insight on covids effect on colleges and more, dr. Peter hotez joins us now, dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of medicine. Doctor, another university hitting the pause button, notre dame after 300 positive covid cases on campus. Thats despite all the students being tested prior to returning to campus, with over 99 testing covidfree. So if they thought everyone was coming back clear of the virus, how did this outbreak happen . Yeah, this is tough, ana. I think one of the major reasons were seeing this,everyoneis blaming the students for their behavior. I tend to be a little less harsh with the students and really want to emphasize the importance of the fact that we have widespread transmission of covid19 in many parts of the country, including the southern part of the United States and the midwest. Youre bringing in students from all of those parts of the country to a central location, Like University of notre dame and university of North Carolina. When you have that screaming level of transmission going on, its pretty easy to overwhelm the system. So even if youre putting in place a system of testing, just doing the Contact Tracing i could see could easily overwhelm universities. The problem is, again, this gets back to the fundamental flaw thats happened in the United States, which is the white house did not undertake a good faith effort to reduce transmission during the summer of 2020 and allowed all of this widespread transmission. Now were seeing the consequences of it. It may not be possible to open up campuses for inperson classes and for dormitory housing. Thats the unfortunate reality. Its difficult to catch up it sounds like. The Trump Administration did declare teachers essential workers this week. I want you to listen to Vice President pence on this. To keep our economy rolling, to keep our Health Care Economy rolling, to keep food on the table, we recognize that there were essential workers in america mr. Vice president what it does is it prioritizes supplies and ppe and testing so we want our teachers to know were going to continue to prioritize their health, their safety, the safety of our schools. Dr. Hotez, do you think that declaration was necessary . You know, if i had the opportunity to speak to the Vice President , i have a lot of respect for him, i would say mr. Vice president , the problem is, sir, you did not hold up your end of the bargain as head of the White House Coronavirus task force. You knew what the consequences of allowing this screaming level of transmission across the country, especially in the southern parts of the United States and the midwest and in california, and you did not undertake a National Strategy to bring this down. Now is not the time to be putting this on the backs of the teachers and tell them, well, now you figure it out, which is essentially what hes saying and doing. So its this lack of recognition what National Treasures our teachers are, not taking ownership of the fact that it was his responsibility as head of the Coronavirus Task force to bring down transmission. He didnt make it happen. And now hes mad that teachers dont want to go back to the classroom just to protect themselves and their families and their students. And its outrageous and i find it unacceptable. Without providing any evidence, today the president accused the u. S. Food and Drug Administration of deliberately delaying Coronavirus Vaccine trials, pushing any possible vaccine until after the election. In this tweet he tagged dr. Steven hahn, the man he picked to head the agency. I know you read this tweet. Whats your response . Well, its outrageous and its offensive. Look, our group is developing a vaccine for covid19 at texas childrens hospital, Baylor College of medicine. Were scaling up production now. But im also working day and night until the other operation warp speed vaccines. I wake up at 4 00 in the morning, 5 00 in the morning to be on teleconferences with colleagues. The whole Scientific Community is rallying to get these vaccines advanced through clinical trials. Working very closely with the nih, our nih active working group for vaccines has been really giving a lot of thought to this. Everyone is rolling up their sleeves, working as hard as they can, and then the president pulls this kind of stunt. Its offensive and i wont accept it. The reality is this, things are not going as quickly as wed like partly because the phase one trials told us something very important, that for most of these early operation warp speed vaccines, you need two doses of the vaccine to get a reasonable level of response and ae antibodies. That adds six to eight weeks to any clinical trial. This is probably the fastest ive ever seen groups get together to enroll patients, so the bottom line is, mr. President , do not blame the scientists. Were doing everything we can. Do you see any scenario that theres a vaccine that is proven safe and effective by the election . No. And partly because we have that requirement for two doses. Its going to take time, even after the second dose, to follow those individuals both for safety and to see if compared to the placebo that theres a protective effect of the vaccine. I dont see having that information until the early part of 2021 and even then thats a world speed record doing that. Ive been saying vaccines wont be rolled out until the Third Quarter of 2021. Dr. Fauci said q1, q2, i say lets split the difference. Sometime in the middle of 2021 and again, that is an extraordinary accomplishment. Right. Because typically vaccines take years, sometimes decades to develop. Dr. Peter hotez, thank you for all you do. Thank you for getting up early for all of us and the information and knowledge youre sharing with us on air day in and day out, we really appreciate it. Thank you for giving attention to this, ana, i appreciate it. Thank you. Be well. Two Tropical Storm storms named laura and marco could make rare backtoback landfalls in the u. S. And that has the governor of mississippi worried the coronavirus pandemic could complicate preparations. Governor tate reeves says shelters space has been reduced by up to half because of covid19. Hes urging people to plan ahead and act early. Hurricane watches have been issued along the gulf as marco intense ties and could become a hurricane within hours. Meantime laura is passing by puerto rico at that and is heading toward cuba. Laura could pass just south of the florida keys come monday. Well be tracking this and bring you new information. Up next, a former Army Green Beret now accused of spying on his country for russia. And his connection goes back decades. Well have more on this elaborate scheme right after this, live in the cnn newsroom. P o early. Or too late. Or make me feel like im not really there. Talk to your doctor, and call 8442342424. In honor of our 50th anniversary, were committing over 30 Million Dollars to new student scholarships. Because we believe in the pursuit of purpose and in the difference you make in the world. Apply for your scholarship today at nu. Edu take the good, with the bad live the life you want to have send it off, with a bang its looking really good [whistling] [indistinguishable muffled words] the department of justice revealing a stunning development. A former Army Green Beret has been arrested and charged with espionage. According to the department, he knowingly leaked u. S. National defense secrets to russirussia Intelligence Service for more than a decade. Ryan, this is a scheme that goes back decades. What more can you tell us . Thats right. Were told according to the charges filed by the prosecutors office, this member of the Army Special Forces was first recruited by russian intelligence back in the late 90s. He visited russia, he was assigned a code name by Russian Military intelligence and they were the ones who even convinced him to join the elite special forces. He initially had a different specialization. The russian intelligence operatives were the ones who encouraged him to join special forces so he could have access to more intelligence, more classified material that he could then pass on to russia. Hes accused of passing on the identities of his fellow special forces members, as well as information about operations and tactics and procedures. Now, he never deployed to a combat zone, but he did have extensive operational experience going to places like korea, elsewhere, before leaving the army in 2005. He was in the reserves for some time of that, only being charged now, which indicates that some new intelligence came to light about his association with the Russian Military Intelligence Service. That is the same Intelligence Service that has been blamed by the u. S. Government for everything from election meddling to a series of assassination plots in europe. So a lot of concern that they were able to recruit someone and maintain someone like this for so long in the armys elite special forces. So how does this play into the Bigger Picture of u. S. russia relations . Well, theres obviously a lot of tension on a range of issues right now. Officials are closely watching what russia will do with regards to the upcoming president ial election. There was this allegation that this same military unit that created this spy was also involved in targeting u. S. Personnel in afghanistan, the payment of bounties, those reports. Now, the Trump Administration has sought to downplay some of those. Officials have told cnn that they do have intelligence indicating that this same russian Intelligence Unit was plotting to target u. S. Troops, so its a wide range of issues with moscow right now and tensions remain very high. And we know the Intelligence Services are saying russia is actively right now trying to meddle in the 2020 election. Ryan browne, thank you very much for your reporting. Up next, would it even be 2020 without a massive asteroid hurtling past earth . True story. Youre live in the cnn newsroom. Unlike ordinary memory supplements. Neurivas clinically proven ingredients fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. Take the neuriva challenge with our moneyback guarantee 225,000 in debt. Ah, sofi literally changed my life. It was the easiest application process. Sofi made it so theres no tradeoff between my dreams and paying student loans. Student loans dont have to take over for the rest of your life. Thank you for allowing me to get my money right. You say that customers make thelets talk data. E. Only Xfinity Mobile lets you switch up your wireless data whenever. I accept 5g, everybodys talking about it. How do i get it . Everyone gets 5g with our new data options at no extra cost. Thats good. Next item corner offices for everyone. Just have to make more corners in this building. Chad. Your wireless. Your rules. Only with Xfinity Mobile. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Switch and save up to 400 a year on your wireless bill. Plus, get 400 off when you buy the new Samsung Galaxy note20 ultra 5g. Economic collapse, food and medicine shortages, political unrest. Those are just some of the reasons venezuelans are leaving their country and flocking to the u. S. In tomorrow nights episode, w. Kamau bell visits miami to ask about the problems which made them flee. How long have you been driving . Oh, for over about four years. And what did you do for work in venezuela . Lawyer. I was a lawyer there. Since then i have been here battling my case of asylum, but i mean last year they got me you were in detention . Yes, sir, for a month. What was that like . It was bad. I mean it was really a kind of experience. I had never been in a jail in my life before. It changed my life, the way i see things now. I was there during christmas, the new year. That was it was really, really bad. Mentally they destroy you there. I never want to go there again. Talking with an uber driver. W. Kamau bell is here with us. Theres been a mass exodus from venezuela in the past 10 to 15 years specifically. Tell us more about the political situation there and why so many people are forced to leave. Well, first of all, i think its hard to as an american describe whats going on in venezuela, but it has led to a humanitarian crisis. There is people every day are trying to fight for water, for electricity, for food. And a lot of those people are turning to the u. S. For help. Right now as we say in the episode, the immigration system is broken. So a guy like him who was a lawyer in venezuela who wants to come here, his family lives here and he wants help, he doesnt know how his immigration status is going to go down because our system is broken. It seems the Venezuelan Community in the United States has somewhat a complicated relationship with the trump presidency. I know you spoke to some people who oppose him, but there are many others who are big supporters. Why is trump such a divisive topic, person, to the Venezuelan Community specifically . In the world or in venezuela . The venezuelan people. Okay, all right. Early on he said that he was going to do everything he could to help venezuela, and just saying that for a lot of venezuelans, they hadnt heard an american president speak that forcefully about whats going on in their country. He hasnt done much since then. And also he has sanctions on venezuela which is hurting venezuelans. Even though he said that, some people are looking to what he said but not what hes doing. You ask most of the people if they think theyll ever go back to venezuela. Was there any consensus . I mean everybody who i talked to wants to go back. From what i understand, its a beautiful country. A lot of people had good lives there under chavez. But right now for the most part people know its not the same country that they left or the same country they grew up in. But yes, everybody has a lot of love for that country. As we continue to all endure during this pandemic, the Trump Administration has continued to place even harsher restrictions on immigration and asylum than when you shot this episode, and you reference this. But since the episode, and as we continue through this situation, have you been in touch with any of the people that you interviewed that were hoping for citizenship and has anything changed for them in the process here . For the ones ive talked to, they still feel very confused that whats going to happen next and are still living very much daytoday. Asylum should be something that youre applying for because the place you live, things are so out of control that youre desperate. It should be a very easy system to go through. Its not about immigration, its im desperate for help. Our system is broken right now so people are just living daytoday. The community of venezuelans in south florida are working hard to help those people out, but still its very much up in the air. Well, its good that youre educating all of us through these conversations youre having in your program. W. Kamau bell, thanks for taking the time to talk to me as well. Thank you. Be sure to tune in, an all new episode of united shades of america airs tomorrow night at 10 00 eastern and pacific. Well be right back. Everyone has a story. We have different needs. But one thing we share is wanting to make our lives the best they can be. If you have medicare and medicaid, a dual complete plan from unitedhealthcare can help. Giving you more benefits. At no extra cost. And a promise to be there for you. Whatever your story may be. To learn more, call or go online. Dual complete from unitedhealthcare. Breaking news. The democratic led house has just passed a bill that would offer 25 billion to rescue the struggling u. S. Postal service, as well as halt recent changes that cause delivery delays from coast to coast really. Its those delays that have raised serious concerns about the delivery of mailin ballots ahead of the november suzanne, i dont know if you can hear me. Were live right now. Fill us in on what just happened. Reporter thank you. This is extraordinary, the final vote was 257, democrats 231. The story here is 26 republicans joined them. This was an indictment of the Trump Administration, an outright rejection of the gop leaderships messaging, the talking points and what we have heard before that somehow this was a hoax, it was a sham, it was a scam, that there was no reality behind the real concern of what was happening in terms of the Postal Services ability to deliver the mail. What we saw anecdotely from republicans and democrats was that their constituents and their voters were complaining. They were saying we are not getting our packages. We are not getting our prescriptions, and we are very concerned about this. We even saw the chair of the House Oversight committee, Carolyn Maloney today presenting new documents internally from the Postal Service saying that yes, about 10 the mail had slowed down in terms of delivery, that it wasnt being processed on time. What you have here is really a reality call and a wake up call potentially to republicans. This was an issue that resonated not only with democrats but also with running baepublicans. Some of the democrats i spoke to were quite surprised and very pleased at the numbers here because they thought perhaps a handful of republicans would join them. This is astounding. You heard representative jim jordan, again, calling this a hoax and something that was akin to things that had been made up or regarding the impeachment or children in cages, things like that. He tried to draw some parallels to these things that have been dismissed by republicans. Clearly there were republicans who were represented those states rural districts, those close races, those who depend on the Postal Service for their essentials, that this was an outright rejection of that kind of messaging. And we heard it earlier today, ana, as well from from House Speaker nancy pelosi, who in a way was addressing everyone saying it might be a cultural issue or an issue of democracy or you might see this as an election issue or social justice issue when she said, well, we all look to the mail in different ways, whether its receiving packages from santa claus or letters from the tooth fairy or the 1. 2 Million People who get medications and prescriptions through the mail each year. 80 of those, the veterans getting it in that form. This is a very serious issue, a health issue, and an issue that impacts every american. Thats what i see from this, really a kind of extraordinary rebuke, if you will, of that line that was coming from republicans. Very hard in terms of trying to reject this. Right. And some republicans just said no, were not going in that direction. Our voters, our constituents see the need to actually improve and to bolster the post office in this very, very significant way. It was more than 2 dozen republicans who voted with democrats on this. Thats right. Last weekend, white house chief of staff said the white house would support the stand alone bill to fund the service. Is there a chance the white house supports this bill . We have 30 seconds. I think youre going to see some sort of Coronavirus Relief package in which they will include some sort of support for the Postal Service, perhaps to the tune of 10 billion as they have negotiated previously before the talks exploded before the summer recess. Okay. Thank you for bringing us the latest from capitol hill. Thats going to do it for me this evening. Thank you for joining me. Im ana cabrera. Wolf blitzer picks up our live coverage of breaking news with a special edition of the situation room right after this. Have a great night. Ill be back tomorrow. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer in washington. This is a special edition of the situation room. As the United States deals with a pandemic that yesterday alone claimed the lives of 1,108 americans and more than 8,000 americans died in the past week, theres a new projection showing just how much worse things could get here in the United States. The university of washingtons institute for Health Metrics and evaluation often cited by the white house says if no more Safety Measures are mandated our nation could see an additional 140,000 deaths. But today as millions of americans wait for a vaccine, the president actually accused without evidence the food and Drug Administration of