Science and wont guess if they dont know the answer. This as the covid death toll here in the United States climbs above 409,000 and total cases near 25 million, exactly one year after the first infection was confirmed in this country. Lets start our coverage this hour with our senior White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly. The new administration is putting the pandemic clearly front and center. This is priority number one with so many thousands of americans dying every single day. We heard from President Biden. We heard from dr. Fauci. We heard from the White House Press secretary jen psaki. Update our viewers. This time is different. If there is one way to frame what the white house from the top down is trying to make sure they convey to the American People its that there is a new administration in charge. There is a new focus on the pandemic and on the issue that has ravaged the country for more than a year whether on tangible executive action or symbolic messaging there is a singular focus. Let me be very clear. Things are going to continue to get worse before they get better. Reporter on president joe bidens first full day in office a singular focus the fight against the pandemic. We will get through this. We will defeat this pandemic. Reporter the Biden Administration unveiled a raft of executive actions designed to centralize the federal response and bolster its effectiveness. To a nation waiting for action let me be the clearest on this point. Help is on the way. Reporter one that includes new uses of the defense production act to surge supplies, development of advanced therapeutics, Data Collection and establishment of a new board as well as masking requirements during interstate travel on trains, planes, and buses, and a key, symbolic focus, reestablishing trust in the federal government. The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what the evidence is, what the science is, and know thats it. Let the science speak. It is somewhat of a liberating feeling. Reporter but the problems facing the administration are significant, sources say, with the white house Covid Response coordinator saying bluntly, quote, what were inheriting is so much worse than we could have imagined. Biden echoing that point. The roll out has been a dismal failure thus far. Reporter dr. Fauci pushed back on the idea the biden team was left with nothing. We are certainly not starting from scratch because there is activity going on in the distribution. Reporter fauci did acknowledge a ramp up as biden pledged and all of government approach. Well move heaven and earth to get more people vaccinated for free and create more places for them to get vaccinated. Reporter even as he bristled at a question of whether the administrations goal of a hundred million shots in a hundred days was less than ambitious. When i announced it you all said its not possible. Come on. Give me a break, man. Reporter broadly, its a change in direction that goes far beyond just the pandemic as biden through executive action has moved to undo some of his predecessors key initiatives. There is no time to start like today. Reporter already moving to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord while killing funding for the border wall, rescinding a travel ban on muslim majority countries, and revoking the president ial permit for the keystone xl pipeline even as a clear reality hangs over the new administration. Were going to need legislation for a lot of the things were going to do. Reporter biden officials already working behind the scenes to build support for his 1. 9 trillion relief package, sources say. But first a need to confirm top appointees with only one director of National Intelligence aviril haines confirmed so far, a number, one, that falls short of bidens predecessors. And looming over everything on capitol hill the impeachment trial. Former president donald trump. It will be soon. I dont think it will be long. But we must do it. Reporter as we wait to figure out the timeline of the impeachment trial it is that legislative proposal that the administration is really starting to get behind in that effort to strike some kind of bipartisan deal. Make no mistake about it, wolf. The executive actions matter and they have an effect but there is no fulsome approach or fulsome effort on relief either on the economic side or on the Public Health side. They say without a large piece of legislation. That bipartisan work happening behind the scenes. Legislative affairs team, top economic officials Briefing Rather regularly. Also, the president , himself, expected to get on the phone. As you know, wolf, he has made very clear throughout the campaign and his opening days in office he believes he can strike a deal even with republicans who have made clear theyre already opposed to the large price tag. Well see if it comes to fruition. That is the administration focus going forward, not just executive actions but legislative action on capitol hill as well. He clearly wants to work with Mitch Mcconnell and other republicans. Lets see if that is doable. Phil mattingly at the white house for us thanks very much. I want to bring in our chief Political Correspondent dana bash, our Senior Correspondent abby philips and chief medical correspondent dr. Sanjay gupta. Sanjay, first of all, give us your overall assessment of the new plan President Biden and his aides are laying out today because there is a lot of specific detail there. Yeah, i mean, its pretty comprehensive, wolf. Weve been talking about this for so long, to hear some of these potential strategies to move and address this pandemic, actually starting to be discussed like this i think was pretty significant. Ten executive actions that were signed. As you point out a lot of specifics, fema saying well have a hundred area clinics in areas particularly hard to reach by the end of the month. The cdc tasked with making sure pharmacies can also start to deliver vaccines if they have enough resources and staffing and all that by the beginning of next month. Hhs tasked with trying to recruit more vaccinators, people who can actually administer the vaccines, pulling people maybe from the military or retired health care professionals. Whatever it may be. There was a lot of detail there, wolf. Also we talk about masks quite a bit but besides federal property and federal workers being required to wear a mask also interstate travel via trains and planes and buses for example. It is day one and this takes time to take effect but it will make a difference i want to talk about something we just heard from dr. Fauci at the White House Press briefing. He spoke very candidly about the differences between working his word liberating. What did you make of that very blunt statement . It was liberating to hear him be so candid. How many times weve interviewed dr. Fauci or others as well where you ask a question and he actually said past tense of course now when he was under President Trump, he would actually say it is not going to be helpful to give you that sound bite which is his way of saying i really want to answer your question and you can kind of hear where im going with this but i want to keep my job. It is probably better for everybody if i dont answer this. That is a tight rope he doesnt have to walk now. The tight rope that he has to walk now is the one that we want him to, which is what is the science telling us . What is this virus really about . What are the variants really about . Will the vaccines address those variants . All the questions that dr. Gupta has been asking for so long that we dont necessarily know answers to and he has a net now. He has people around him and supporting him who want the science to lead the way and not the politics. That sounds like a bumper sticker. It sounds like its just kind of rhetoric but its real and really matters. You see how painful it was to remain silent at least in public when President Trump used to talk about hydroxychloroquine as if it was some sort of miracle drug when there was no Scientific Evidence to back that up. Now he is much more liberating in his words. Abby let me get your thought on the contrast from the Trump Administration we saw today not only dr. Fauci but President Biden himself. We saw a major shift didnt we . Absolutely. I think the biggest way to define this shift is the Trump Administration was very focused on wanting to get to certain outcomes, wanting to get to a vaccine, wanting to get to schools being open, wanting to get to the economy being open. They were not very focused on the process how you get there. What are the steps you have to take in order to make sure that those things can actually happen in a way that is sustainable . And so what youre seeing the Biden Administration doing that is different is that they are very focused on the procedural parts of this, on all the elements that go into potentially getting to a final product, which is hopefully for the country an open economy, vaccinated population, virus that is under control. You know, there are questions obviously about whether their goals are ambitious enough, whether their steps are sufficient, but i think the procedural aspect of this, the way in which they are paying attention to the nuts and bolts, makes a difference. And for someone like a dr. Fauci, who also wants to get to those goals, its particularly helpful, i think, to the scientists, to have people who are saying, okay. What does the science tell us about how we can get there . I think that is what youre hearing in dr. Fauci calling this moment liberating for himself. Im sure across the federal government youre seeing scientists feeling exactly the same way. Sanjay, President Biden is promising a hundred million doses, shots, in 100 days. Were already i take it vaccinating nearly a Million People a day on average which would put us on track to hit that goal. Should that goal be even higher . Well, you know, i think so, wolf. Obviously this is a point of contention, you know, as Phil Mattingly just put in his report. President biden sort of bristled when asked about that saying, look. No one believed it was possible and here we are now saying it can be done. Youre right, wolf. Over the last 24 hours there were a million doses that were administered and thats happened once before as well. So even without a significant sort of plan in place, we have intermittently hit that number. So if you start to bring on retail pharmacies as President Biden talked about, and they have enough resources, because it is a huge task so you dont want to minimize the significance and the enormity of the task, but if they are brought on and have the resources potentially vaccinating 100 Million People a month is what im hearing from people that i talked to in that world. And then, you know, these Community Vaccine centers we were talking about, a hundred of them within the next month, possibly the National Guard helping administer large vaccine fairs. Theres a lot of ifs. You have to obviously have the vaccine. It looks like the manufacturing can keep up. I think the news potentially that we may hear from Johnson Johnson within the next week could be very encouraging. Ive been keeping very close tabs on that. If that is true, thatll be a one shot vaccine, a hundred million doses of that earmarked for the United States. So there are all these things that if they go right i think we could far exceed that goal. But, you know, well see at this point. I think if we want to get to herd immunity much more quickly and vaccinate people more quickly to cut down on the amount of mutations this has to go fast within the next several months, wolf. They got to move quickly in terms of developing and manufacturing the vaccine. Ive been hearing some reports especially out in new york that people have appointments to get a shot and then theyre told just before theyre supposed to go, guess what . We ran out of supply. Well have to reschedule. So heart breaking especially for people who are 75 and older, promised they were going to get a shot and all of a sudden told theyre not available. Thank you very, very much. Just ahead will there be a delay in the trump impeachment trial . Were learning about a new republican push in the u. S. Senate to slow things down. Ill talk about that and more with the House Intelligence Committee chairman adam schiff. He is standing by live. Well discuss when we come back. And at fidelity, youll get planning and advice to help you prepare for the future, without sacrificing whats most important to you today. Because with fidelity, you can feel confident that the only direction youre moving is forward. 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S. Senate. Lets go to our Congressional Correspondent ryan nobles standing by. Update our viewers. What are you learning . What were learning is the now minority leader of the United States senate Mitch Mcconnell has offered a proposal to democrats that would essentially delay the impeachment trial for President Trump until sometime in mid february, suggesting that President Trump be issued a summons at the end of january and then given a period of two weeks to respond to the summons and file his pretrial briefs. Now, if that were to occur it would open up a window of time here on capitol hill where democrats and republicans could deal with the pressing legislative business at the beginning of the Biden Administration, including the confirmation of his cabinet picks. Now, it is important to keep in mind that Mitch Mcconnell is not the person that controls this process anymore, wolf. As minority leader he can only suggest this be the way everything takes place. It is really in the hands of Speaker Pelosi as to when she hands the articles over and to the new majority leader Chuck Schumer as to when the trial begins but mcconnells participation is very important partly because there is only a 50 50 split between democrats and republicans in the senate and of course democrats are trying to convince at least 17 republicans to join them in convicting President Trump. Democrats have already signaled they would be open to this proposed timeline. Senator chris coons of delaware was just on with you in the last hour and said if they could cut a deal where the biden nominations were swiftly pushed through over the next two weeks he would be willing to push that into february. Coons is the only democrat that weighed in on this right now. So far the majority leader Chuck Schumer has just said he is reviewing the proposal and will talk about it later. But this is a very significant development, wolf, and it is at least the first sign of open negotiating between the two sides as to what comes next for President Trump and his future. Senator coons who is very close to President Biden, both from delaware, obviously, he plaed it clear he would be open for this quid pro quo, confirm all the senior cabinet officials, National Security officials, sub cabinet, move quickly on that and then maybe wait two or three weeks for the start of the Senate Impeachment trial. He was pretty blunt in the last hour in that. Ryan nobles reporting for us, thank you very much. Lets discuss this and more with the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee democratic congressman adam schiff. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us. What do you make of this formal proposal now by Mitch Mcconnell to delay the start of the impeachment trial in the senate, say until mid february, maybe even late february . Well, you know, as most things have come from Mitch Mcconnell it is what suits Mitch Mcconnells interests best. That doesnt mean senator schumer would reject it or that the speaker would. Ultimately it is the speakers decision which i would imagine she will make in consultation with jamie raskin and the team of managers but, also, consulting with senator schumer about what is possible, what the timelines would be, what the conflicts would be, so this is Mitch Mcconnells view of what is ideal. That doesnt make it a done deal by any means. Senator chris coons in the last hour here with me in the situation room said democrats might actually be open to this kind of delay if, key word if republicans worked to get bidens cabinet nominees confirmed quickly in the next two or three weeks. Do you think it is appropriate for democrats to essentially give republicans an ultimatum like that when it comes to an article of impeachment . You know, it doesnt sound to me like it was an ultimatum. I didnt watch the interview with chris but knowing chris that is not generally how he operates. He did say it was a quid pro quo. When i said it sounds like youre talking about a quid pro quo. The republicans agree to confirm all these cabinet positions in exchange the democrats will agree to delay the start of the formal trial in the senate. Well, look. My feeling is that this is a decision that ultimately the speaker will make. She will make the decision based on what is in the best interests of justice, making sure that the house managers can make an orderly presentation of the case and that we can deter any future president from the idea they can try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power through insurrection or other means and get a pass. If a president is going to try to make themselves president for life, its going to happen after the the end of their term. And we dont want a precedent where that is suddenly something that can be swept under the rug or given anything less than the most serious consideration and conviction. So the speaker i have every confidence will make the right judgment on timing just as she did in the last trial. Well see what they decide to do. Obviously very important. You are the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. So far the director of National Intelligence aviril haines has been confirmed. She was nominated and confirmed overwhelmingly in the u. S. Senate yesterday. The fbi director Christopher Wray were now told will stay on his job. He is not about to go. What will it take to rebuild trust in the Intelligence Community right now, rebuild morale in those agencies whether the cia, Intelligence Community, nsa, as well as the fbi . Because theres been a lot of friction as you know over the past few years. Well, first of all i think these are great choices by President Biden. Aviril is a tremendous talent, great experience, a lot of integrity. She knows how to speak truth to power. And she will go about rebuilding that agency. The office of the director of National Intelligence probably the most devastated of all of the agencies by terrible leadership, people like rick gastrointestinal and John Ratcliffe who politicized it, made it a partisan place, and bent intelligence work product to the president s will rather than speak truth to power. So she is going to do a lot of rebuilding and have to. Bill burns, david cohen, great choices for the cia. To restore morale within that agency as well and protect that work force from any political meddling. And in terms of director wray, i give the director enormous credit. Im glad the president is keeping him on. Everyone who served in the Biden Administration had to walk a very difficult line. Most failed. Most ended up sacrificing their integrity, professionalism, or all of the above. Christopher wray managed to maintain i think his professionalism and integrity at all times and i think you have to carry on. We should have the tenyear term for fbi directors that helps immunize them from political pressure. Ive spoken to fbi agents, Justice Department officials. They praise him. They think he stood up to the president , refused to simply do whatever President Trump wanted him to do, and he deserves a lot of credit for that. Congressman schiff, as usual, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck over there. Thank you, wolf. Just ahead new warnings emerging right now of alarming shortages of covid19 vaccines as a new source for the shots may be available soon. And growing fears about the covid variant that is here in the United States right now as dr. Fauci says it spreads about twice as easily as the original strain. Ill talk about that and more with President Bidens pick to become the next Surgeon General of the United States, dr. 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Well, we are hearing more about it and there are a lot of questions about just how quickly things can be ramped up. We did learn today that for just the second time more than a million doses were administered in a day in the United States. Were now up to 17. 5 million doses administered, about 46 of the number, total number distributed. There are still so many issues as you know. Here in new york cnn has just learned for some First Responders vaccines are put on hold because of supply issues the fdny telling cnn there is not enough vaccine on hand to make additional first dose appointments beyond sunday. Its not just new york having issues. This alabama couple drove to georgia for the vaccine. They knew we were coming from out of state and said that was fine. Reporter new york city postponing 23,000 vaccine appointments this week, warning its supply will be exhausted by tomorrow. You will a constant pattern of basically running out, waiting for the next weeks allocation, and then starting up again. Reporter its not just supply issues. Many of our seniors dont drive. Many of our seniors cant access these sites just because they dont know how to navigate these online applications. Reporter the reality . Even with 1 million shots a day it would take more than a year to fully vaccinate every adult in the u. S. We have to get the other vaccines up and as soon as possible. Reporter Johnson Johnson could apply for emergency use authorization in the next two weeks. Vaccine confidence is growing. According to a new cnn poll twothirds now say theyll try to get one up from 51 in october. While they wait, wisconsin and alabama among the states extending mask mandates. Quite frankly, weve run out of ways to underscore the importance of taking this virus seriously. Reporter today marks one year since the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the u. S. Since then, the nation has logged well over 24 million. Hospitalizations averaging more than 125,000 over the past week and more than 400,000 deaths. The cdc projecting another hundred thousand could be added by mid february. Take it into your heart that its not just about you, not to be selfish. Reporter there are some bright spots. The u. S. Positivity rate below 10 for the First Time Since november. Averaging cases in the past week down in 43 states. Only virginia seeing a rise. Though experts caution this sea of green may not last as new variants spread. We have a virus that is more transmissible. Youre going to get more cases. When you get more cases youre going to get more hospitalizations and you are ultimately going to get more deaths. Reporter in terms of the more transmissible variants dr. Fauci saying today that the one first identified in the uk which we know is here in the u. S. Is about twice as transmissible amid questions about vaccine efficacy with these new strains dr. Fauci said today both pfizer and moderna vaccines should still work against the strains identified in the uk and south africa, wolf. Erica hill reporting for us. Thanks very much. Lets get more on all of this from President Bidens nominee to become the next u. S. Surgeon general dr. Vivek murthy his first interview since President Biden took office. Dr. Murthy, thank you so much for joining us and thank you for doing this again because you were the Surgeon General during the obama administration. Now youre coming back to do it again and we are grateful to you for your service to our country. This is such a critically important job especially right now. As you know, dr. Murthy, President Biden has now set this goal of administering 100 million shots in the first 100 days of his administration but as you already know, the u. S. Is already giving about a million shots per day on average, so why not set a more ambitious goal . We can do better than that, cant we . Thanks, wolf. It is really good to be with you. As you said, President Biden did say that his goal is to deliver a hundred million shots. And while that might seem, you know, easy to do in some respects if you look at perhaps the numbers in the last 24 hours, its worth remembering there are a lot of ways that things could go wrong here. We have had to make sure the supply is adequate. Weve got to build more channels so people can get the vaccine. Weve got to address the hesitancy that is still far too common because in part of misinformation about the vaccine that has spread quickly. What President Biden is doing is taking an even keel approach to this and taking into account everything that could go right. Also what could go wrong. And he is making a mseasured decision about what target we should aim for. Make no mistake his goal is to not only meet that but exceed it. We have to pull out the stops. This is an emergency, wolf, a true Public Health emergency. Weve lost over 400,000 people to this virus and that means we have to do every single thing in our power. Leave no stone unturned to make sure people get this vaccine. And that they can stay safe. Thousands of people are dying every single day. Over 4500 died just yesterday according to john hopkins university. This is a crisis. At the current rate dr. Murthy it would take what, a year for 75 of American Adults to be fully vaccinated. I am an optimist. I think we can do a lot better if fema, the military, everyone is mobilized to focus in and deal with this crisis. Do you agree . Well, i certainly think there is more we could do and we need to do more. Youre right. We cannot take a year in order to get to the critical levels of vaccination that we need in this country. We have to get there sooner and so that is why even before he was sworn in, then president elect biden had shared with the nation a plan that he had developed in collaboration with his advisers to accelerate the vaccine deployment. That involved actually getting the federal government involved in setting up Community Vaccination centers in partnership with states and local communities, involved with work activating pharmacies around the country to be able to deliver the vaccine to people in their own neighborhoods and it also involved building our work force of vaccinators. We hear often from both local and state leaders they are worried about the work force. That we may not have enough people to actually deliver the vaccine to meet the demand. We have to do all of this while still Building Public trust and getting information out there so people know the truth about the vaccine. There is still far too much misinformation floating out there. If we do all this together, i believe we can accelerate the rate at which people are getting the vaccine and that is exactly what you heard the president talk about today. What is so encouraging is that President Biden is making it abundantly clear to everyone this is priority number one right now dealing with this covid pandemic. Sources with direct knowledge of the Biden Administrations coronavirus work force are telling us dr. Murthy that they were shocked to find what they described as a complete lack of Vaccine Distribution strategy that they inherited from the Trump Administration. Dr. Fauci said today that were not necessarily completely starting from scratch. There is a program out there. It could be a lot better he says but they are not starting from scratch. What do you think . Wolf, i think for sure there are many people inside government, career Civil Servants in particular, who have been working very hard over this last year to try to put together plans for distributing this vaccine. And what weve seen though is number one weve got to do a lot more to really deliver the vaccine because were hearing feedback frequently from states and local communities that they need more resources. They need more sort of lead time if you will on knowing what their vaccine allocations are. They need more support in setting up Community Vaccination events and in helping recruit the work force to deliver those vaccines. Those are all places we need to really lean in and help. The goal is really to build on what has been done but to bring the full force of not just the federal government but our partnerships with local and state entities to bear to ultimately deliver this vaccine quickly. Ultimately, though, wolf, if were going to do this there have to be a few core themes that guide us in our response. We have to lead with science. Weve got to communicate honestly and transparently with the public and ultimately we have to deliver results. If we do that, we can turn this pandemic around. President biden so far is not mincing any words. He said today in his words, things are going to continue to get worse before they get better. Maybe another hundred thousand americans are going to die from this covid pandemic within the next month alone, in the next few weeks. How much worse, dr. Murthy, do you expect things to get . When will the American People finally start to see some significant improvement . Well, it is a great question, wolf. Frankly its what all of us are worried about as we sit in our homes and look at our lives and wonder when it is going to be safe for us and our families again. The truth is how quickly this turns around depends on the actions that not just the government takes but each of us take in our daytoday lives. As critical as it is to get vaccinated and we want people to get vaccinated it is also really essential that we observe the Public Health practices that help prevent the spread of this virus. We are still seeing hundreds of thousands of people infected each day. We are still losing between 3,000 to 4,000 people a day. That means weve got to continue to wear our masks. We have to avoid indoor gatherings and with people outside of our household. We have to keep distance with others when we go out in particular for groceries or other purposes. Weve got to take these measures because it is how we stay safe until enough of us can get vaccinated to prevent this virus from spreading. Really critically important advice and what is encouraging is right now from the president on down theyre wearing masks. Theyre showing the American Public you got to do this. You know, you cant pretend it doesnt exist. We also heard dr. Fauci speak quite freely earlier today dr. Murthy about the differences hes already noticing in the Biden Administration compared to the Trump Administration. Listen to this explanation he offered. I take no pleasure at all in being in a situation of contradicting the president , so it was really something that you didnt feel that you could actually Say Something and there wouldnt be any repercussions about it. The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know, what evidence, what the science is, and know thats it, let the science speak. It is somewhat of a liberating feeling. So whats your reaction, dr. Murthy, to a very blunt statement that we just heard from dr. Fauci that he feels liberated in this new administration compared to what he had to deal with in the Trump Administration . Well, wolf, what i can tell you is that unfortunately we all know that the Covid Response over the past year has become far more partisan, far more politicized than what we want and certainly than what we could tolerate and thats led to a response i think that frankly could have been stronger. But this is our opportunity to really lead with science. To put partisan politics behind us. And to recognize that what rescues us from pandemics is science and following expertise and doing that together. Republicans, independents, democrats, moving together as one and helping our nation heal. Dr. Murthy, thank you so much for joining us and thanks again for volunteering to serve in our government and our new government right now as you did during the obama administration, Surgeon General of the United States. You are the Surgeon General designate. Once you are confirmed by the senate. It is a critically important job especially right now. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you so much, wolf. 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Call now breaking news the house and the senate have now approved a waiver for retired general lloyd austin to serve as President Bidens secretary of defense. If confirmed and it looks like he will be he would be the first africanamerican to lead the pentagon. Joining us now the former defense secretary, former republican senator william cohen. Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. I know you advocated for a waiver for general austin. I assume you know general austin. He spent 40 years in the u. S. Military. What do you say to those senators who are worried this potentially could erode the principle of civilian control of the u. S. Military . I think you have to look at the person nominated. His character, quality, ethics, and relationship with the president of the United States. As youve indicated earlier, we are under attack. There is a war going on. And so the president felt it very important that he have someone he can trust who has diplomatic skills to be sure but organizational skills. I think the general play, or the secretary will play a very Important Role in the organizational distribution of the vaccines as soon as they can be produced, so i think under those circumstances i would look at the man, id look at the moment, and say, yes. There is a rule about not having out of service seven years. Sometimes you have to waive it particularly when you are attacked by an enemy and we are attacked by an enemy now. So as a war time president we need to have a war time secretary of defense and capability and the president is now trying to organize all hands on deck using every aspect of the government to combat this virus thats killing us 4500 a day. Im glad theyre activating fema. They have to activate the u. S. Military to get the job done and save thousands of lives. It does put this approval of the waiver by the house and senate, it does put general austin a step closer to confirmation. So far, though, only one of President Bidens cabinet nominees has been confirmed by the senate, talking about the director of National Intelligence, avril haines. Could these confirmation hold ups become from your perspective as a former defense secretary a National Security issue . Absolutely. I think part of the delay is due to the fear factor. The former president really instilled a lot of fear in the part of members of congress in the house and senate and was watching them very closely as to who was going to say this election is over. It was legitimate. It was not fraudulent. Were going to recognize joe biden as the president of the United States. The first thing the president did, he attacked Vice President pence. He attacked the minority leader in the house, mr. Mccarthy, and he attacked Mitch Mcconnell. And so i think everybody was watching that holding back and as a result of holding back i think that the whole process has been slowed down somewhat. Now that we have president high class, really capable, well seasoned. So weve got a president whos been in positions of power for a long time. We need him now more than ever. And, by the way, just one final note. Amanda gorman, she lit up the skies for me. She is a young girl who was able to tell the history of this country with poetry and passion and truth and patriotism. And i think she spoke for so many millions of americans saying who we are and what we are supposed to be about and who we need to be. So joe biden has put together an incredible team. That inaugural was a new beginning, a rebirth of what we feel we need to present to the American People and to the world. It was a great day yesterday. Yeah, it was a beautiful, beautiful poem. 22 years old, really amazing young woman. William cohen, thanks so much for joining us. My pleasure. Thanks, wolf. There is more news were following. The deadly capitol insurrection is now ramping up. Federal prosecutors have charged at least 120 defendants for their role in the riot. Cnns brian todd has got late breaking developments for us. Brian, what are you learning . Reporter wolf, we have information torrenight on any arrests being made. Chilling new detail on how the rioters attacked police and the weapons they used to attack them. We do have to warn viewers this piece contains video which some viewers may find disturbing. Distressing video from the Capitol Breach on january 6th. A man wildly swings a hockey stick. Prosecutors say at Police Officers. The man, michael foye of west land, michigan, arrested today facing federal charges including assaulting an officer. Ah ah reporter the dragnet has brought in the man assaulting d. C. Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges seen in this video being crushed and screaming for help. That suspect, patrick of connecticut, has been denied bail. Federal prosecutors have charged about 120 individuals who allegedly took part in the riot. One of them, joseph biggs of florida, is a member of the pro trump extremist group, the proud boys. Biggs is believed by Law Enforcement to have urged followers to, quote, blend in with what they would wear on january 6th. Believed to have worn an ear piece and carried a walkee talky like device. Some of these people may have been incited to participate because of the president s incitement moments before they stormed the capitol. Definitely there was an element that came prepared and was looking to do nefarious things. Reporter new video obtained by cnn shows members of the farright Militia Group called the oath keepers moving in a line to the front in a mob storming the capitol. Prosecutors say they moved in an organized and practiced fashion to force their way to the front of the crowd. One person in the group facing charges is identified by prosecutors as Jessica Marie watkins, who prosecutors say is an oath keeper and leader of an ohio militia. Watkins has admitted being there, but denies causing any destruction. Experts say the oath keepers are known for their ability to recruit members of the military and Law Enforcement. Many of the people within these violent white supremacist and militant groups were trained by the United States army, right. Thats the kind of training and experience that foreign terrorist groups dont have, with drool over. Reporter today House Speaker nancy pelosi indicated there may not be evidence yet that republican members of congress aided and abetted the rioters by giving them tours of the capitol before the siege, which some republicans have denied. But pelosi did say she believes some Republican House members embraced the rioters mindset. There is no question that there were members in this body who gave aid and comfort to those with the idea that they were embracing a lie. Reporter tonight social media posts from rioters, Police Body Cam footage and testimony from Law Enforcement officers is painting a more complete and brutal picture of the violence on january 6th. Of hand to hand combat between police and rioters. Of officers being beaten and attacked with objects like an American Flag and a fire extinguisher. Today d. C. Officials said the city remains under threat even after the inauguration. Lets be clear. The threat of right wing extremism is here, right. And we saw it on january 6th. And it will continue to be a persistent and real threat to the District Of Columbia and to, and to our region as well. Reporter and we have this just in. Cnn reporting that federal investigators leading the investigation into the january 6th attack have briefed interim Biden Administration officials at the Justice Department on the manhunt for suspects. Officials charging about 120 people so far with federal charges. They are looking, wolf, at bringing possibly more serious charges like sedition and conspiracy. Carry lengthy prison terms if convicted. Brian todd, thank you very much. Well have more news right after this. Between what is hoped for and what can be, theres a bridge. Between endangered and protected, theres a bridge. Between chaos and wonder, theres a bridge. There from the beginning to where we stand today. One company. One promise. If you can imagine it, we will build the bridge to get you there. Cisco. The bridge to possible. quiet piano music comfort in the extreme. The lincoln family of luxury suvs. Hi, im a new customer and i want your best new smartphone deal. Well im an existing customer and id like your best new smartphone deal. Oh do ya . Actually its for both new and existing customers. I feel silly. But i do want the fastest 5g network. Oh i want the fastest 5g network. Are we actually doing this again . Its not complicated. Only at t gives everyone the same great deal. Like the Samsung Galaxy s21 5g for free when you trade in. Finally tonight, we share more stories of people who died from the coronavirus. Brandy ledger of new mexico was 41. She loved cooking, tending to her plants and her family. Her fiancee gary describes her as loving, caring, and kind hearted and a wonderful mother to her two children. Theodore lumpkin, jr. , of california was 100 years old. He was one of the last surviving members of the famed Tuskegee Airmen who served in world war ii. He went on to become a Real Estate Agent and volunteer in the air force reserves. May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing. Im wolf blitzer here in the situation room. Thanks very much for watching. You can always follow me on twitter and instagram at wolf blitzer. You can always tweet the show at anyone sit room. Erin burnett out front starts right now. Out front next, the breaking news. Liberated, dr. Anthony fauci says he can speak the truth about the pandemic as President Biden begins dismantling trumps legacy from the pandemic to the wall. Plus more breaking news. Mitch mcconnell says he wants to delay the impeachment trial, and tonight democrats arent flatout dismissing the idea. Why . And more charges tonight in connection to the deadly insurrection at the capitol as bidens inauguration leaves q anon conspiracy theorists in disbelief. Lets go out front. And good evening im abierin burnett