1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,420 YAMICHE ALCINDOR: A mob storms the U.S. Capitol. American democracy tested, but unbroken. 2 00:00:06,420 --> 00:00:10,120 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: (From video.) You have to show strength and you have to be strong. 3 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:14,410 ALCINDOR: President Trump's words lead to a riot on Capitol Hill. 4 00:00:14,410 --> 00:00:18,130 SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY): This temple to democracy was desecrated. 5 00:00:18,130 --> 00:00:20,990 ALCINDOR: His supporters break into Congress. 6 00:00:20,990 --> 00:00:23,320 FEMALE: (From video.) They broke the glass? 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,760 ALCINDOR: And lay siege, but they fail to stop the will of the people: lawmakers still 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,190 certify President-elect Joe Biden's win. 9 00:00:30,190 --> 00:00:32,930 SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): (From video.) They tried to disrupt our 10 00:00:32,930 --> 00:00:36,410 democracy; they failed. They failed. 11 00:00:36,410 --> 00:00:38,750 ALCINDOR: How did we get here? 12 00:00:38,750 --> 00:00:41,920 PRESIDENT-ELECT JOSEPH BIDEN: (From video.) Enough is enough is enough. 13 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:44,580 ALCINDOR: And what happens now? 14 00:00:44,580 --> 00:00:47,240 HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): (From video.) By inciting sedition, as he did 15 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,100 yesterday, he must be removed from office. 16 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:52,290 ALCINDOR: Next. 17 00:00:52,290 --> 00:00:56,750 ANNOUNCER: This is Washington Week. 18 00:00:56,750 --> 00:01:03,360 ALCINDOR: Good evening. I'm Yamiche Alcindor. Welcome to Washington Week. It has been an 19 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,530 historic and traumatic week in Washington, D.C. President Trump encouraged a violent mob 20 00:01:08,530 --> 00:01:13,650 to storm the U.S. Capitol, piercing the very heart of our democracy, after falsely 21 00:01:13,650 --> 00:01:19,160 claiming he won the 2020 election. There are just 12 days left in President 22 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:23,830 Trump's term, but amid them there are growing calls for him to resign or to be removed. 23 00:01:23,830 --> 00:01:28,530 House Democrats are drafting articles of impeachment again and some on President Trump's 24 00:01:28,530 --> 00:01:32,890 Cabinet are talking about invoking the 25th Amendment to force him out. 25 00:01:32,890 --> 00:01:37,200 My sources tell me it's very unlikely that Vice President Pence would agree to do that. 26 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,890 Those close to President Trump say he is embarrassed and isolated. 27 00:01:40,890 --> 00:01:44,170 On Thursday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn't hold back. 28 00:01:44,170 --> 00:01:47,160 HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): (From video.) The president has committed an 29 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:53,180 unspeakable assault on our nation and our people. I join the Senate Democratic leader 30 00:01:53,180 --> 00:01:58,690 in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 31 00:01:58,690 --> 00:02:03,520 25th Amendment. If the vice president and the Cabinet do not act, the Congress 32 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:07,310 may be prepared to move forward with impeachment. 33 00:02:07,310 --> 00:02:11,690 ALCINDOR: Joining us tonight are the best reporters covering Congress and the White 34 00:02:11,690 --> 00:02:17,070 House: Nancy Cordes, chief congressional correspondent for CBS News; Astead Herndon, 35 00:02:17,070 --> 00:02:22,320 national political reporter for The New York Times; and Jake Sherman, founder of the new 36 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:27,120 Punchbowl News. Jake, today a draft of the articles of impeachment have been circulating. 37 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,030 The question on everyone's mind: Could President Trump be removed from office in the 38 00:02:31,030 --> 00:02:33,760 final weeks of his term? 39 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,440 JAKE SHERMAN: It doesn't seem likely, Yamiche. Thanks for having me. It doesn't seem likely. 40 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:43,950 There are only a couple days left here, but the House is undoubtedly in the next couple 41 00:02:43,950 --> 00:02:48,350 of days going to move toward an impeachment vote, potentially next week - most likely 42 00:02:48,350 --> 00:02:55,150 next week. The 25th Amendment is really not a live option for removing the president. 43 00:02:55,150 --> 00:02:58,850 There's a lot of hurdles between invoking the 25th Amendment and getting the president 44 00:02:58,850 --> 00:03:02,750 out of office. But the - so the House will pass impeachment, then it goes over to the 45 00:03:02,750 --> 00:03:08,730 Republican - currently the Republican Senate. You would need a lot of Republicans to 46 00:03:08,730 --> 00:03:12,310 agree to remove the president. I will say this, though. 47 00:03:12,310 --> 00:03:17,660 In my time covering Congress and Donald Trump's presidency, this is the most angry that 48 00:03:17,660 --> 00:03:21,870 Republicans have been with Donald Trump, the most disappointed, the most disgusted, pick 49 00:03:21,870 --> 00:03:26,740 your word here. They are very, very through with Donald Trump at the moment. 50 00:03:26,740 --> 00:03:32,840 They believe that he incited this violence, he sent his protesters to the Capitol. 51 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,960 We don't have to guess that; he told his protesters at a rally we're going to march up to 52 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,450 the Capitol, so they did. I was in the Capitol. 53 00:03:40,450 --> 00:03:45,650 They were loud, they were inappropriate, they were violent, and people died. 54 00:03:45,650 --> 00:03:50,470 So I just think that what Republicans are going to say is, listen, there's 10, five, 55 00:03:50,470 --> 00:03:56,050 however many days when this starts left of Donald Trump's presidency, and we should spare 56 00:03:56,050 --> 00:04:01,070 him and let him finish out his days and move on to Joe Biden on January 20th. 57 00:04:01,070 --> 00:04:06,110 ALCINDOR: Jake just indicated that it's going to be super hard to get President Trump, 58 00:04:06,110 --> 00:04:10,090 it seems, out of office with just 12 days left in office. 59 00:04:10,090 --> 00:04:15,550 Nancy, what is the calculation here when it comes to all the things that we're seeing, 60 00:04:15,550 --> 00:04:19,060 especially of course as these articles of impeachment have been circulating? 61 00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:22,380 NANCY CORDES: Well, I interviewed David Cicilline today - he's one of the authors of 62 00:04:22,380 --> 00:04:27,880 these articles of impeachment - and I asked him, you know, essentially, why do this now 63 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:30,770 when the president is about to leave anyway. 64 00:04:30,770 --> 00:04:34,410 And what he said was, first of all, they need to send a message to this president and to 65 00:04:34,410 --> 00:04:38,710 future presidents and to other countries and to future generations that there are some 66 00:04:38,710 --> 00:04:44,730 things that Congress just will not accept, and the fact that this president is about to 67 00:04:44,730 --> 00:04:50,080 head out the door no matter what happens isn't a reason not to send that message. 68 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,970 As far as Republicans are concerned, not all of them but some of them, there is a silver 69 00:04:54,970 --> 00:05:01,230 lining here, and that is that if the Senate does vote to convict this president even 70 00:05:01,230 --> 00:05:05,630 after he has left office - and that is a possibility; they could take this up even after 71 00:05:05,630 --> 00:05:11,300 he's gone - if they're successful in mustering two-thirds of the Senate to vote to 72 00:05:11,300 --> 00:05:14,530 convict him, he cannot run for president again. 73 00:05:14,530 --> 00:05:20,110 And for many Republicans, the notion of not having this president and the specter of 74 00:05:20,110 --> 00:05:26,550 another Trump run for office four years from now is pretty appealing, pretty motivating. 75 00:05:26,550 --> 00:05:32,480 ALCINDOR: Astead, Nancy saying it's pretty appealing to Republicans to have Trump be out 76 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,900 of the way. You've been covering the Senate race in Georgia. 77 00:05:35,900 --> 00:05:42,450 What has losing the control of the Senate done to Republicans, especially when it comes 78 00:05:42,450 --> 00:05:45,980 to the political calculations ahead? 79 00:05:45,980 --> 00:05:48,830 ASTEAD HERNDON: Well, I think that there was a political message and then there's the 80 00:05:48,830 --> 00:05:51,570 kind of more policy concerns going forward. 81 00:05:51,570 --> 00:05:55,900 The political message certainly is that the Republicans in that race made a bet with 82 00:05:55,900 --> 00:06:01,250 Trump that failed, and that is a warning sign for a Republican Party that cannot put 83 00:06:01,250 --> 00:06:05,560 together this Trump coalition without him at the top of the ballot. 84 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:11,230 More importantly, you had a Democratic motivated base that really overwhelmed that, and I 85 00:06:11,230 --> 00:06:17,800 think that for those Republican senators the mess that Trump caused in that race - the 86 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,550 split between the governor and the senators, the secretary of state, the infighting among 87 00:06:22,550 --> 00:06:27,190 kind of more traditional suburban Republicans and that core MAGA base - was not one that 88 00:06:27,190 --> 00:06:31,860 was worth it. And so I think that that, one, just kind of crystalizes the political problems 89 00:06:31,860 --> 00:06:35,990 Republicans have going forward, but then obviously it expands the possibilities for Joe Biden 90 00:06:35,990 --> 00:06:42,320 going ahead. Cabinet positions and policy are just expanded by the idea that he will now 91 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,440 be able to get a tiebreaking vote with Vice President Kamala Harris through the Senate. 92 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:50,950 There are those policy concerns, but I really think it's a political rebuke just as big 93 00:06:50,950 --> 00:06:54,600 as we saw in November with Biden's victory. 94 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:59,060 ALCINDOR: We now have Phil Rucker, Washington - White House bureau chief for The 95 00:06:59,060 --> 00:07:03,700 Washington Post. Thanks so much for being here, Phil. Astead was just talking about the 96 00:07:03,700 --> 00:07:06,880 calculations, and of course the Republicans losing control of the Senate. 97 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:11,560 I want to talk to you about what's going on inside this White House. Georgia is seen as a 98 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:16,760 rebuke, but there's also, of course, all these resignations, Twitter suspending the president 99 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,500 permanently today. What are you hearing about what's going on in the White House? 100 00:07:20,500 --> 00:07:25,200 I'm hearing that there's chaos, that tensions are as high as they've ever been. 101 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:28,910 PHILIP RUCKER: Yeah, I'm hearing the exact same, Yamiche. 102 00:07:28,910 --> 00:07:33,790 Our sources are telling us that the president feels under siege and he is an alarming - 103 00:07:33,790 --> 00:07:38,740 in an alarmingly fragile emotional and psychological state right now. 104 00:07:38,740 --> 00:07:44,660 He spent most of Wednesday fuming about Vice President Pence, angry with his loyal number 105 00:07:44,660 --> 00:07:51,220 two, not responsive to the needs of the Capitol. He was not engaged in the decision to 106 00:07:51,220 --> 00:07:56,010 deploy the military, the National Guard up there to help quell the unrest. 107 00:07:56,010 --> 00:08:01,620 He resisted pleas from his advisors to tell his supporters to go home and to stand down. 108 00:08:01,620 --> 00:08:06,620 He resisted recording the video that he ultimately grudgingly agreed to do last night, 109 00:08:06,620 --> 00:08:12,050 for the very first time acknowledging his electoral fate, which is that he lost the 110 00:08:12,050 --> 00:08:15,880 election and that there's going to be a new president come January 20th. But this is a 111 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:21,090 difficult time for the president, and the reality is there are very few advisors left around 112 00:08:21,090 --> 00:08:25,980 him. We've seen a number of resignations, and those who are the closest to him right now - 113 00:08:25,980 --> 00:08:30,350 Mark Meadows, the chief of staff, among others - are his biggest enablers. 114 00:08:30,350 --> 00:08:34,630 They're the people who are giving the president misinformation, who are helping him 115 00:08:34,630 --> 00:08:38,380 believe these fantasies that he's believed for the last two months about the election, 116 00:08:38,380 --> 00:08:42,590 and that has a lot of other people in the administration very concerned about how 117 00:08:42,590 --> 00:08:46,480 dangerous he might be as president in his final 12 days. 118 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,190 ALCINDOR: And, Phil, you're saying it's a difficult moment for the president. 119 00:08:49,190 --> 00:08:52,210 It's also a difficult moment, of course, for the nation. Let's take a closer look at 120 00:08:52,210 --> 00:08:56,580 the breach on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The violence left five people dead. 121 00:08:56,580 --> 00:09:00,880 That, as the pandemic continues to kill thousands of Americans every day. 122 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,780 President Trump now faces allegations that he incited a riot. In a speech an hour 123 00:09:05,780 --> 00:09:10,340 before violence broke out he encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol. 124 00:09:10,340 --> 00:09:14,590 PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: (From video.) We won in a landslide. This was a landslide. 125 00:09:14,590 --> 00:09:21,360 All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify. We're 126 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:27,670 going to walk down to the Capitol. You'll never take back our country with weakness. 127 00:09:27,670 --> 00:09:31,380 You have to show strength and you have to be strong. 128 00:09:31,380 --> 00:09:36,760 ALCINDOR: What President Trump said is not true. He did lose the election. And the vice 129 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:41,880 president's role was only ceremonial. Jake, you were inside the Capitol as all this was 130 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:46,390 happening. I saw your videos of the chaos as I was reporting from the White House. 131 00:09:46,390 --> 00:09:51,430 What did you see inside the building with protesters and with Capitol Police who some say 132 00:09:51,430 --> 00:09:54,400 failed to do their jobs? 133 00:09:54,400 --> 00:10:02,280 SHERMAN: Well, you know, clearly it's a failure of a lot of people when a crowd, a mob - 134 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:08,040 not a protest - a mob of people end up in the Capitol running free and roaming free 135 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:12,510 throughout the otherwise or the previously secure hallways. 136 00:10:12,510 --> 00:10:16,090 I was sitting in the House periodical press gallery, where I sit every day. 137 00:10:16,090 --> 00:10:23,060 Everyone here knows where that is. And I walked out to - down the hallway. 138 00:10:23,060 --> 00:10:26,880 And I knew that people had gotten into the building. 139 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:31,120 And people were smashing - feet from me - smashing their way through this glass door. 140 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:34,540 We've now seen the images all over, a police officer fell. 141 00:10:34,540 --> 00:10:38,160 And they were - next thing I knew - and we were hunkered down in an office for three 142 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:43,200 hours. People were banging on our doors. People were armed. People - there was a 143 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,670 SWAT team going throughout the hallway. We weren't actually evacuated, Yamiche, 144 00:10:47,670 --> 00:10:52,730 it's fascinating, for several hours. We were like sitting ducks, a bunch of reporters. 145 00:10:52,730 --> 00:10:57,460 We kept saying to ourselves, what should we do? And I kept saying, nothing. 146 00:10:57,460 --> 00:11:01,430 We don't have - we're not armed. We have no way of defending ourselves against 147 00:11:01,430 --> 00:11:07,800 large crowds of people. So, I mean, it was an alarming episode, to say the least. 148 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,940 And the scary thing is we always talked about in the Capitol whether - you know, if 149 00:11:11,940 --> 00:11:17,050 people got in, would we be able - would police ever be able to get them out? 150 00:11:17,050 --> 00:11:21,990 It's such a large and sprawling building - you know, seven buildings put together. 151 00:11:21,990 --> 00:11:26,520 It's a large complex. Thankfully, with the help of the FBI, ATF, Capitol Police, 152 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:31,590 Secret Service, D.C. Police they were able to clear the place out and secure it 153 00:11:31,590 --> 00:11:37,360 once again. But really, an episode that I'll never forget. 154 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,090 ALCINDOR: We will never forget this episode. And what you're describing just gave 155 00:11:41,090 --> 00:11:45,390 me goosebumps because it's so scary. Nancy, you've been in that building, that 156 00:11:45,390 --> 00:11:48,700 Capitol building, so many times. It's one of the most secure buildings in the world. 157 00:11:48,700 --> 00:11:52,610 When I go through there I have to get checked, all my stuff gets scanned. 158 00:11:52,610 --> 00:11:55,600 How did this mob get in? How did this happen? 159 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,880 CORDES: Well, in some ways it may have simply been a failure of not just intelligence 160 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:05,530 but of imagination. You know, everyone here at the Capitol is used to huge protests. 161 00:12:05,530 --> 00:12:10,330 That's just sort of a fact of life here on Capitol Hill. But those are usually peaceful 162 00:12:10,330 --> 00:12:14,690 protests. People are willing to get arrested, almost asking to get arrested. 163 00:12:14,690 --> 00:12:19,080 They want to make their point peacefully. This was the absolute opposite. You had 164 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:25,000 hundreds if not thousands of people banging on those doors. They came with weapons. 165 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:30,550 And they just simply overwhelmed the Capitol Police force. And I think - you know, 166 00:12:30,550 --> 00:12:33,750 when I talk about a failure of imagination, I just don't think anyone had ever 167 00:12:33,750 --> 00:12:38,820 conceived that something like this could happen because it had never happened before. 168 00:12:38,820 --> 00:12:44,370 And when I started the day on Wednesday, here at the Capitol, the last thing on my mind 169 00:12:44,370 --> 00:12:48,780 was the possibility that this huge crowd - and I saw those people gathering in the 170 00:12:48,780 --> 00:12:53,280 streets on my way to work before dawn. They were already out there by the hundreds. 171 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:57,300 It never occurred to me that they might en masse storm the Capitol. 172 00:12:57,300 --> 00:13:01,840 And clearly law enforcement officials hadn't considered that either. 173 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,730 But we're now in a really unusual situation, Yamiche, where the House sergeant-at-arms, 174 00:13:06,730 --> 00:13:12,300 the Senate sergeant-at-arms and the Capitol Police chief have all stepped down, a week 175 00:13:12,300 --> 00:13:16,390 and a half before the inauguration. 176 00:13:16,390 --> 00:13:22,820 So you've got all the power at the top here on Capitol Hill on law enforcement gone 177 00:13:22,820 --> 00:13:28,560 before one of our biggest high-security events, the inauguration of the next president, 178 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:34,590 at a time when there are great concerns that these individuals could try to strike again. 179 00:13:34,590 --> 00:13:39,520 So yes, tonight the Capitol is secure. But I can tell you, a lot of lawmakers, a lot 180 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:44,790 of aides still feel very nervous, because they're worried that something like this 181 00:13:44,790 --> 00:13:49,710 could happen again. And they themselves are still being hounded at the airport, on 182 00:13:49,710 --> 00:13:55,020 airplanes, wherever they go. Lindsey Graham had to have a full complement of law 183 00:13:55,020 --> 00:13:58,930 enforcement around him at the airport today, because people were screaming at him. 184 00:13:58,930 --> 00:14:01,510 This is not going away. 185 00:14:01,510 --> 00:14:05,280 ALCINDOR: Astead, you've been doing so much reporting when it comes to right-wing 186 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:08,180 extremism. Did you see this coming? 187 00:14:08,180 --> 00:14:12,730 What has your reporting told you about whether or not a moment like this could happen? 188 00:14:12,730 --> 00:14:16,890 HERNDON: Yeah. In some ways, I think for some of us who have been not in Washington 189 00:14:16,890 --> 00:14:20,480 but across the country over the last three or four years - not only at Trump rallies 190 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,930 but at kind of smaller events organized online - you've seen this violence. 191 00:14:24,930 --> 00:14:29,530 You've seen this type of mob activity before. It has been a feature of the Trump 192 00:14:29,530 --> 00:14:34,120 presidency and the Trump era. It's been frankly, though, out of the mainstream case. 193 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:39,190 This is kind of communities that have organized locally and have been really motivated 194 00:14:39,190 --> 00:14:45,180 by the really potent mix of conspiracy and bigotry - a kind of - a mess of 195 00:14:45,180 --> 00:14:49,730 misinformation, but also one that does not kind of believe in the real tenets of 196 00:14:49,730 --> 00:14:55,360 multiracial democracy and does not respect those folks' right to really have their say on 197 00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:58,690 this government. You know, I remember being in northwest Arizona last year at an 198 00:14:58,690 --> 00:15:02,630 event called "Trump Stop." And a man put his gun on the table and said: If Donald 199 00:15:02,630 --> 00:15:05,590 Trump loses, we'll have another civil war. 200 00:15:05,590 --> 00:15:09,520 That's the type of language you've heard at these type of things for a while. 201 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,780 What happened yesterday was a culmination of those events that came to Washington, to the 202 00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:18,220 seat of democracy, to the kind of hallow places where we don't think this is possible. 203 00:15:18,220 --> 00:15:22,270 But it has been growing and fermenting around the country for years. 204 00:15:22,270 --> 00:15:26,270 ALCINDOR: After this week, the split in the Republican Party is growing. 205 00:15:26,270 --> 00:15:29,950 Almost every Republican I've talked to this week was obsessed with this question. 206 00:15:29,950 --> 00:15:34,640 Goes to what Astead was just talking about: What is the path forward for the party? 207 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,670 The GOP divisions will be on full display on inauguration day. 208 00:15:38,670 --> 00:15:42,520 Vice President Pence is going; President Trump is not. 209 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,160 My sources tell me that tensions inside the GOP are as high as it gets, and that Trump is 210 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:50,180 furious at Vice President Pence and congressional Republicans. 211 00:15:50,180 --> 00:15:54,500 Nancy, you've been reporting on this all week. What is going on inside the GOP? 212 00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:58,440 CORDES: Well, there is a lot of finger pointing, to put it lightly. 213 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:04,110 A number of Republicans kind of outright turning on some of the individuals who really 214 00:16:04,110 --> 00:16:10,480 led the charge this week to vote against the Electoral College results, to challenge them. 215 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,380 They were accused of selling their supporters and President Trump's supporters on this 216 00:16:15,380 --> 00:16:21,140 fantasy that perhaps he had won the election after all, that there was massive voter 217 00:16:21,140 --> 00:16:24,910 fraud, that the election could be overturned. 218 00:16:24,910 --> 00:16:28,560 And they are really coming under withering attack not just from some of their colleagues 219 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:33,830 here on Capitol Hill - some Democrats have directly called on individuals like Ted Cruz 220 00:16:33,830 --> 00:16:39,560 and Josh Hawley to resign - but from the business world, Hawley lost a book deal, and 221 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:46,630 even from some of their Republican mentors. We have seen a lot of Republicans sort of 222 00:16:46,630 --> 00:16:50,770 come out and say that they're very concerned with what the president has said. 223 00:16:50,770 --> 00:16:55,480 I haven't heard too many Republicans come out and say that they themselves wish that they 224 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,910 could take some of the things they had done or said back, that they wish that perhaps 225 00:16:59,910 --> 00:17:06,700 they hadn't joined this movement to try to challenge election - the Electoral College results. 226 00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:14,290 So you know, a lot of finger pointing but not a lot of soul searching, I'd say, just yet. 227 00:17:14,290 --> 00:17:19,590 ALCINDOR: Soul searching. Phil, there has been a lot of soul searching since President 228 00:17:19,590 --> 00:17:24,760 Trump got into office. We've covered him together. We've seen his false allegations, 229 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:29,070 his false information. Talk to me a little bit about what you reported this week, which 230 00:17:29,070 --> 00:17:34,260 is that President Trump was raging uncontrollably about perceived acts of betrayal. 231 00:17:34,260 --> 00:17:37,950 And President Trump, in some ways, never really trusted establishment Republicans. 232 00:17:37,950 --> 00:17:40,380 What are you hearing? 233 00:17:40,380 --> 00:17:44,170 RUCKER: He never did, Yamiche. Part of his whole political brand has been that he's 234 00:17:44,170 --> 00:17:49,240 the victim, right? That the elites, the people who are in power in Washington but also 235 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,710 in the business world, in New York, that they were out to get him. And that he was - 236 00:17:53,710 --> 00:17:57,950 he was an outsider. That's how he developed so much support out around the country, 237 00:17:57,950 --> 00:18:02,460 how he got elected president. And but what he's seen right now is it's all coming home 238 00:18:02,460 --> 00:18:07,180 to roost in these final couple of weeks. He is losing support. He's losing members of his 239 00:18:07,180 --> 00:18:12,970 Cabinet. He's losing members of his staff. But he's also losing allies on Capitol Hill. 240 00:18:12,970 --> 00:18:17,690 Senator Lindsey Graham, one of his closest friends, golfing partners, fiercest defenders 241 00:18:17,690 --> 00:18:22,690 in the Senate over these last four years, basically said: It was an interesting ride, but 242 00:18:22,690 --> 00:18:25,940 it's over. I'm done with Trump. I'm moving on. 243 00:18:25,940 --> 00:18:29,730 Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has told other senators, according to our reporting, that 244 00:18:29,730 --> 00:18:33,170 he does not intend to ever speak to Donald Trump again. 245 00:18:33,170 --> 00:18:37,080 The two have been estranged these last few weeks, not been on speaking terms, but 246 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,800 McConnell's finished, and his wife, Elaine Chao - the transportation secretary - she 247 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:45,270 resigned on Thursday. And I think we're going to continue to see this. 248 00:18:45,270 --> 00:18:50,080 We just in the last hour or two saw that Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from 249 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:54,280 Alaska, has said that she's done with Trump, she thinks he needs to leave office right 250 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:59,650 away, and we very well could start hearing from some more in the days and hours to come. 251 00:18:59,650 --> 00:19:03,380 ALCINDOR: Phil's talking about that strained relationship between President Trump and 252 00:19:03,380 --> 00:19:08,980 congressional course - and congressional Republicans. Jake, you wrote in Punchbowl News 253 00:19:08,980 --> 00:19:13,610 this week that Kevin McCarthy and President Trump got into a screaming match. 254 00:19:13,610 --> 00:19:17,740 Is this bond between President Trump and congressional Republicans, and even maybe the 255 00:19:17,740 --> 00:19:21,020 vice president, is it broken? 256 00:19:21,020 --> 00:19:27,390 SHERMAN: You know, the transaction that they had relied on for many years to kind of 257 00:19:27,390 --> 00:19:32,510 smooth over at least internally their relationship or in their minds their relationship, 258 00:19:32,510 --> 00:19:37,980 that transaction is up. That transaction was put up with kind of disgusting behavior 259 00:19:37,980 --> 00:19:43,090 and behavior that we really can't stomach in exchange for conservative judges and 260 00:19:43,090 --> 00:19:47,580 conservative policies and things of that nature. That's up, right? 261 00:19:47,580 --> 00:19:52,500 Donald Trump is going to be president for another couple days and then he's gone, so I 262 00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:56,790 think the incentive structure has changed. Now, Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican 263 00:19:56,790 --> 00:19:59,860 in the House of Representatives, has a bit different of a calculus. 264 00:19:59,860 --> 00:20:02,250 He wants to win the majority back. 265 00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:05,830 He believes there's a lot of people in his conference, Republican members of the House, 266 00:20:05,830 --> 00:20:11,140 who are from districts that Donald Trump is very popular in and who, frankly, support 267 00:20:11,140 --> 00:20:15,230 Donald Trump, and he doesn't want to get crosswise with them. 268 00:20:15,230 --> 00:20:19,390 But a lot of people would argue - and I think this is a fair argument to make - that the 269 00:20:19,390 --> 00:20:23,720 reason that his rank and file is supportive of Donald Trump is because they have no alternative. 270 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,180 If McCarthy doesn't split with Trump then they don't split with Trump, and they think - 271 00:20:27,180 --> 00:20:30,730 and McCarthy thinks he's not splitting with Trump because they're still with Trump. 272 00:20:30,730 --> 00:20:35,190 So it's just - it's a complicated situation. But I think - I think everyone's right here, 273 00:20:35,190 --> 00:20:40,270 which is Republicans are just - they're tired of him, and this was the final straw. 274 00:20:40,270 --> 00:20:44,130 ALCINDOR: Just two weeks before the inauguration came these deadly events. 275 00:20:44,130 --> 00:20:49,350 President-elect Joe Biden has condemned this week - on Thursday, Biden said this. 276 00:20:49,350 --> 00:20:53,020 PRESIDENT-ELECT JOSEPH BIDEN: (From video.) No one can tell me that if it had been a 277 00:20:53,020 --> 00:20:59,240 group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday there wouldn't have been - they wouldn't 278 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:05,690 have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. 279 00:21:05,690 --> 00:21:12,170 We all - we all know that's true, and it is unacceptable, totally unacceptable. 280 00:21:12,170 --> 00:21:17,630 ALCINDOR: Now, in both the House and the Senate, Democrats have control. 281 00:21:17,630 --> 00:21:22,700 That comes after Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won the Georgia Senate races. 282 00:21:22,700 --> 00:21:26,030 That would have been our top story this week in any other week. 283 00:21:26,030 --> 00:21:29,830 Astead, President-elect Joe Biden is talking about unity and healing the soul of the 284 00:21:29,830 --> 00:21:33,500 nation. Will it work after all that we have witnessed? 285 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:36,990 HERNDON: You know, this is a real core belief of Joe Biden. 286 00:21:36,990 --> 00:21:41,310 This is something that is not just a kind of political move from him, but it's how he 287 00:21:41,310 --> 00:21:46,820 kind of sees and understands the universe, and has understood his kind of negotiating of 288 00:21:46,820 --> 00:21:51,800 Washington in his decades in the Senate, and so this is not - this is something that is 289 00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,980 going to be around and has frustrated some. 290 00:21:55,980 --> 00:21:59,900 You know, I've talked to people who are in those meetings with him in the transition who 291 00:21:59,900 --> 00:22:04,090 are trying to get him to budge, to embrace kind of unilateral executive orders, to 292 00:22:04,090 --> 00:22:10,820 prioritize things like combating racial injustice or other issues over the idea of 293 00:22:10,820 --> 00:22:15,320 bipartisanship and kind of Washington civility, but Joe Biden has responded to them in 294 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,680 those meetings saying he is certain that there is going to be a break from kind of 295 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:23,530 Trumpism among Republicans and that he is going to hold onto that belief. 296 00:22:23,530 --> 00:22:26,990 That is something that we're going to just have to see where that goes in the next couple 297 00:22:26,990 --> 00:22:31,490 of months - is this a movement where he is going to be able to really see that? 298 00:22:31,490 --> 00:22:37,530 But you know, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock served him a big step on that front because 299 00:22:37,530 --> 00:22:40,910 he does not have to deal with a Mitch McConnell Senate anymore. 300 00:22:40,910 --> 00:22:44,920 The question is whether he will be so concerned with kind of healing hearts and minds 301 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:49,250 that he - or will there be a focus on kind of the policy change that could happen, 302 00:22:49,250 --> 00:22:54,020 because whether congressional Republicans break with Trump or not what we know is that 303 00:22:54,020 --> 00:22:58,480 the base has been with him, and the American people on the conservative - on the 304 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:02,230 conservative side have still been motivated by him. 305 00:23:02,230 --> 00:23:05,330 I don't know if that's something that Joe Biden can heal in rhetoric, but that is 306 00:23:05,330 --> 00:23:08,410 something that he can target in terms of policy. 307 00:23:08,410 --> 00:23:11,950 ALCINDOR: We only have about 10 seconds left, but Phil, I want to just go to you. 308 00:23:11,950 --> 00:23:17,920 What do you make of just what things look like now with the GOP at one point wanting to 309 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:22,460 look at President Trump for midterms? Just 10 seconds left. 310 00:23:22,460 --> 00:23:26,560 RUCKER: You know, Yamiche, we're really going to have to see because this is such an 311 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,380 evolving story, but I wouldn't count Trump out. We've seen through history that 312 00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:36,590 politicians can disappear for a while and have a resurgence later, so you know, we'll see. 313 00:23:36,590 --> 00:23:42,080 ALCINDOR: That's it for tonight. Thank you to our panel: Nancy Cordes, Astead Herndon, 314 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:47,230 Phil Rucker, Jake Sherman. Incredible reporting this week. This is a heartbreaking time. 315 00:23:47,230 --> 00:23:52,070 The images of this week's attack are burned into our collective souls. But democracy 316 00:23:52,070 --> 00:23:57,720 persisted. United we still stand. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. 317 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:02,420 Be sure to check out our Washington Week Extra, where we'll continue this conversation. 318 00:24:02,420 --> 00:24:06,130 You'll find it online on our social media and on our website. 319 00:24:06,130 --> 00:24:37,160 I'm Yamiche Alcindor. Stay safe. Good night from Washington.