CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Chris Murphy

Interview

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[18:21:56]

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news.

President-elect Biden planning for America's security, as President Trump orders new troop withdrawals and refuses, so far refuses to cooperate with the transition.

We're joined by Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat. He's a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

Is today's non-classified briefing with outside experts that the president had -- president-elect had, I should say, in any way a suitable replacement for the really classified intelligence briefings from government officials, like the one the president-elect traditionally is supposed to be entitled to?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): The short answer is, it is not. There is no way that Vice President Biden, president-elect Biden can get the kind of information that he needs in order to be ready to do the job on day one without this transition beginning.

What we know is that, in the first month of any new president's term, our adversaries and non-state actors around the world will almost always test the new administration. And so that is one of the reasons why it's so critical that there be no gap in knowledge, that the new president have weeks, if not months, to process the most highly sensitive classified information about the threats presented to the United States.

Now, the good news, of course, is that there's been no president in my lifetime that has been more ready to take this job as commander in chief than Joe Biden. So he comes to the office with a set of skills necessary to handle any crisis.

But this inability of the Trump administration to begin the transition, it absolutely does compromise the security of the United States. And it's got to stop.

BLITZER: Yes, he spent eight years as the vice president of the United States, used to receive the daily classified briefings at that time.

Let's talk about these troop drawdowns that the Pentagon announced today in both Iraq and Afghanistan. By the end of the president's term in office, only 2,500 troops will remain in each country. Do you believe these significant cuts are justified by the conditions on the ground?

MURPHY: So, I support a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, but I believe it should happen on a policy timetable, not on a political timetable.

Donald Trump is rushing these decisions, in part to try to limit the options that president-elect Biden has to manage very complicated situations abroad. Remember, in Afghanistan, we have been there for almost 20 years, and we have decided to remove our troops in exchange for promises made by the Taliban to achieve political reconciliation with the Afghan government and to end any relationship that they have with al Qaeda.

They have not made good on those promises yet. And so, by withdrawing these troops now, it limits the ability of president-elect Biden to make sense of Afghanistan policy in January.

It's been pretty stunning, Wolf, how many major foreign policy decisions that Donald Trump is making in these final days, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, with respect to Yemen and Iran.

[18:25:00]

It all seems to be a cavalcade of lame-duck pettiness, the president trying to constrain the options available to the president-elect once he comes into the Oval Office.

BLITZER: In addition, Senator to these troop cuts, the president also has made several high-profile changes over the Pentagon, as well as in other federal agencies.

Is he trying to tie the hands of the incoming Biden administration before they even have a chance to get to work?

MURPHY: Well, you certainly worry about these positions he's filling that have 10 years that extend beyond the president's term.

So, we just voted down in the Senate floor a really radical nominee to the Federal Reserve. It was by a very close vote, and that individual would have been there for the entirety of Vice President Biden's term as president, constraining his ability to work side by side with the Fed to help our economy recover.

So, some of these positions that are being filled, of course, only extend as long as Trump is there. Others do have the effect of making it harder for Joe Biden to get his agenda done.

BLITZER: While I have you, very quickly, I want to just get your quick reaction to the very disturbing news we have just learned that your Senate colleague Senator Chuck Grassley...

MURPHY: Yes.

BLITZER: ... has been confirmed positive for coronavirus. He's 87 years old, third in line to the presidency, as we all know. There you see him. Chuck Grassley tests positive for COVID-19.

What's your reaction?

MURPHY: Well, I mean, my heart goes out to Chuck and his wife.

Chuck's in amazing shape for his age. And so my hope is that he will be able to fight this off.

But we're about to go down to the Senate floor for a vote at 6:30. It's an abomination that Mitch McConnell is acting as if business is still going on as usual. We need to start taking precautions here in the Senate. We need testing available to not just members of the Senate, but all the staff, all the cafeteria workers, all the janitorial staff.

The idea that we are here this week voting on nominees to the district court, instead of actually working on coronavirus legislation, is nonsensical, given that our presence here is putting thousands of people at risk. Senator McConnell's got to get a lot more serious about keeping this campus safe.

BLITZER: And we wish Senator Grassley a speedy, speedy recovery. I know that we're all very, very worried about him, given his age, obviously, what's going on.

Thanks so much for joining us, Senator.

MURPHY: Thanks.

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