CNN "The Lead with Jake Tapper" - Transcript: Interview with Senator Dick Durbin
Interview
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[16:30:53]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our money lead: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is projecting optimism, saying that, by the end of today -- quote -- "hopefully," Democrats and the Trump administration will have an agreement for another coronavirus relief package.
The clock started on Sunday, when she said they had just 48 hours to reach an agreement if they wanted a bill passed by Election Day. Now she is downplaying, however, her own deadline.
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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Let me just say, it isn't that this day was the day that we would have a deal. It was a day where we would have our terms on the table to be able to go the next step.
And, again, but legislation takes a long time.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Here to discuss, the Senate minority whip and Democratic Senator of Illinois Dick Durbin.
Senator Durbin, thanks for joining us.
So you're on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Do you know what Pelosi and Mnuchin have agreed to so far? Do you think a deal is going to happen?
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): No, there's no update that's been given to us.
But it was encouraging for the speaker to say that, finally, the actual terms are on the table.
Jake, we face a serious epidemic. And it may get worse. We face a serious state of our economy, and many people are suffering. We need a serious bipartisan bill. And, at some point, Senator McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, has to get off the sidelines and actually sit down to the table with Democrats.
It's not just a radical idea. TAPPER: McConnell said that he would put any deal reached by Pelosi
and Mnuchin, he would put it on the Senate floor, though he would not say that -- whether or not he's comfortable with a price tag of around $2 trillion. We know he isn't.
Do you think, if Mnuchin and Pelosi arrived at a compromise, and the Democrats in the House passed it, and it was on the Senate floor, do you think it would pass? Would there be enough votes for it?
DURBIN: Well, we have 47. Democrats. It usually takes 60 votes to do something significant. So we need 13 Republicans for that to happen; 20 of the 53 Republicans have said they're not going to vote for a penny. They don't want to do anything to stimulate the economy or to deal with the coronavirus epidemic we're facing.
So it remains to be seen whether there are enough votes, even if all the Democrats support it.
TAPPER: President Trump continues to claim that he wants a bigger stimulus package than even Pelosi is proposing.
I mean, if Republicans won't even agree to $2 trillion, how would more get passed? I mean, I don't even understand this Kabuki of him saying he wants a bigger package, when McConnell is out there saying he doesn't want anything more than $500 billion.
DURBIN: Jake, this is a classic good cop/bad cop on the Republican side.
You have McConnell saying he's going to be a budget hawk and he doesn't have the votes. You have the president saying, well, the Democrats are lowballing it, we need a much bigger number.
I don't know who's in charge over there. It seems like there's real confusion.
TAPPER: You're also on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is poised to vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court in just two days.
Groups such as NARAL and Demand Justice have called for the replacement of Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, after they didn't think she was strong enough against Barrett's nomination and she praised Senator Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the committee, how he handled the hearings.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer just said that he had a long and serious talk with Feinstein. What was that talk about? And what do you think? Should Feinstein be replaced?
DURBIN: Well, let me get down to the bottom line here. We have a job to do.
The Republicans are rushing through this Supreme Court nominee -- nomination of Amy Coney Barrett and want to get it done before November 3, because, on November 10, the future the Affordable Care Act will be decided in an oral argument in the Supreme Court.
They want their judge on the court in time to eliminate the Affordable Care Act. The president has told us that. That, to me, is the overriding issue here.
I'm not privy to the conversation between Senator Schumer and Senator Feinstein. All I can tell you is, we have work to do this week to let the American people know what's at stake with this nominee.
[16:35:01]
TAPPER: Do you think she didn't do a good enough job?
DURBIN: Well, I think the ending was not clear. We had made it clear throughout the entire hearing that this was the wrong thing to do, the wrong time to do it, and the wrong person at this moment in history.
We're in the midst of a pandemic. The idea of putting someone on the court who's going to eliminate health insurance for 23 million Americans, and really lessen the coverage that the rest of us enjoy in our health insurance, it's exactly the wrong time. That point was made clearly, despite the last few minutes of videotape of that video hearing.
TAPPER: So it sounds like you took issue with her praising of Graham and giving him a hug.
But, beyond that, do you think that she did not lead an effective enough charge against Barrett's, as the presiding Democrat in the hearing?
DURBIN: Well, I can tell you, I thought her opening statement and questions were good throughout. I sat next to her throughout the hearing. I stayed in the hearing during the entire four days.
I think the Democrats really presented a powerful case. The shot at the end may have been misleading as to what the rest of the committee felt about this. But we are determined to handle this responsibly. It's a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, health insurance for millions of Americans at stake.
The stakes just couldn't be higher.
TAPPER: If Barrett's confirmed, as it looks like will happen, and Democrats win back the Senate -- we don't know if that's going to happen or not -- but, hypothetically, if that were to happen, would you vote to add to the number of justices on the Supreme Court?
DURBIN: I haven't made up my mind on that issue. It's a serious one, very serious.
I think the American people want balance on our federal courts. And for the last three-and-a-half years, they have watched Senator McConnell load these courts up with right-wing ideologues. We need real balance if we want to get real justice.
TAPPER: All right, Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, thank you so much for your time, sir. Good to see you again.
DURBIN: Thank you.
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