WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined CNN’s New Day with John Berman to discuss his hopes for unity on the eve of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
On looking ahead to a Biden presidency: “[W]e have one last chance for the Senate of the United States, where [President-elect Biden] served for so long, an institution he loves, to return to functionality, to actually delivering results for the American people. Joe is someone who has been knocked down hard by life twice. He knows what it means to lose things you love and to grieve. But he also knows how to get back up with the strength of his faith and family, and how to move forward. That's always inspired me – his willingness to take on challenges and to serve. We need to take this opportunity, this moment, to move past these divisive, difficult, deadly last four years to move past this pandemic and to see the ways in which our country is divided and needs to heal. Joe is just the right man to lead us through this moment.”
On the confirmation of Biden’s Cabinet: “I am working hard to make sure there's a window for his core Cabinet members to be confirmed later this week, after the inauguration. That is one important way that Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer can show that we are indeed coming together and moving forward.”
Full audio and video available here. A transcript is provided below.
Q: Joining me now is Democratic Senator Chris Coons. He is a close friend of President-elect Joe Biden. Senator, thanks so much for being with us. Moments ago, we got word that, still-Senate Majority Leader, soon to be Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, will attend church with the Bidens tomorrow morning. This sounds like something that Chris Coons has his fingers in. What do you know about this?
Sen. Coons: John, well that's just an important and symbolic gesture of coming together, of the sort of unity that President-elect Biden has been calling for throughout his election and this transition. As you know, there are millions of us who are eagerly anticipating Joe Biden's swearing in tomorrow at the West Front of the United States Capitol. But, if you look at everything that is a part of Joe's plans for his inauguration, it shows an entire focus on unity. Yesterday was Martin Luther King Day. Millions of Americans engaged in service as a part of the inauguration. Today, we'll have a farewell ceremony for Joe here in Delaware for him to travel, sadly not by train, to Washington, where he will join Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in an Evening Tide Lighting of the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial to remember the 400,000 Americans who have died so far in this pandemic. That church service tomorrow is an important part of respecting tradition and signaling the importance of faith in Joe's life. It's how he's been able to get up when life has knocked him down. It's central to how millions and millions of Americans have gotten through this pandemic so far; and it's an important reminder of who Joe is and of who we are as a nation – a nation that is hopeful and optimistic and that’s going to need a lot of help coming together.
Q: You mentioned that Joe Biden will not be traveling by Amtrak, by train. Jeff Zeleny tells me he made 8,000 Amtrak trips between Wilmington and Washington. You're in Wilmington. You have a sense of what's going on there. What's the mood inside Bidenworld this morning with these few hours left to go?
Sen. Coons: Optimistic. Look, this is what Joe Biden's campaign for president was all about, which was turning the page, ending a chaotic and divisive presidency, and moving us forward. When I first talked to Joe about his running for president in early 2019, I told him I was convinced he was the right leader for this moment. I had no idea then, none of us did, that 2020 would be such a deadly, difficult and divided year and that he would become president at such a challenging moment. He will look out on a mall that is empty of Americans, that has hundreds of thousands of flags in their place – in part because of the pandemic, in part because of the violence and chaos of last Wednesday. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are absolutely the leaders we need for this moment and on his first day, he will sign a whole series of executive orders to undo some of the damage and division of the last four years. But, he needs partners in Congress, in the Senate. Later today, we will hold the confirmation hearing for Tony Blinken to be his Secretary of State, and I am working hard to make sure there's a window for his core Cabinet members to be confirmed later this week, after the inauguration. That is one important way that Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer can show that we are indeed coming together and moving forward.
Q: Yeah, you talked about the confirmation hearing for Tony Blinken today. Almost impossible, unlikely, we do not believe that he will be confirmed tomorrow – which would mean that Joe Biden very well might be the first president we’ve seen in a long time not to have any Cabinet members confirmed his first day in office. Can you give me a sense of what day you think we will get some confirmations?
Sen. Coons: I'm hopeful by later this week we will see a core team of his secretary of defense, secretary of homeland security, secretary of the treasury, secretary of state confirmed. We don't have exact days on each of them because, as you know, the power-sharing agreement for a 50/50 Senate and the terms of when and how an impeachment trial may begin are just being hammered out in final detail now between Schumer and McConnell. But, Joe Biden has nominated an incredibly skilled and capable Cabinet, a representative and diverse Cabinet, but folks who have worked together at the highest levels of government. In sharp contrast to the previous Cabinet, this is a confirmable Cabinet of folks who can help lead us forward through this challenging and tumultuous moment. The bold plan Joe put out, the American Rescue Plan – that includes everything from additional checks, more money for vaccinations, support for schools safely reopening, extension of unemployment – Congress needs to act on that and act quickly.
Q: You talked about unity and the message of unity that Joe Biden will send tomorrow. For you in the Senate, does unity include working across the aisle with Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley?
Sen. Coons: Look, as you know, I'm someone who believes in the possibility of reconciliation. A lot of my faith heroes and heroes in service are people like John Lewis who were able to be reconciled to those who opposed them, at times even violently. But part of my understanding of how we should conduct ourselves in this world is that true reconciliation only comes after repentance. And I'm looking to see whether my colleagues reflect on the chaos and violence of last Wednesday and take any responsibility for it, and in any way show a sense of responsibility for it that could lay the groundwork for reconciliation. I've found a way, John, to work across the aisle, even with Republicans I sharply disagreed with. But, I thought last Wednesday's actions and those who stoked it and those who led up to it, like President Trump, were unprecedented in the modern era in the United States, and there has to be accountability for those actions.
Q: Just on a positive note, backing up here a little bit, you’ve known Joe Biden for a long time. I think, if I'm not wrong, you delivered a nominating speech for him in Iowa in 2007 when he ran for president that time around. You were stumping for him before you were in the U.S. Senate. What's this like just for you right now?
Sen. Coons: It is a wonderful moment. My daughter has been singing "One Day More" from Les Mis. “Another day, another destiny.” To think that we are just on the precipice of a moment in American history where Joe Biden will become our next president is truly exciting to me. It's energizing to many of us here in Delaware and across the country who worked so hard. I think that we have one last chance for the Senate of the United States, where he served for so long, an institution he loves, to return to functionality, to actually delivering results for the American people. Joe is someone who has been knocked down hard by life twice. He knows what it means to lose things you love and to grieve. But he also knows how to get back up with the strength of his faith and family, and how to move forward. That's always inspired me – his willingness to take on challenges and to serve. We need to take this opportunity, this moment, to move past these divisive, difficult, deadly last four years to move past this pandemic and to see the ways in which our country is divided and needs to heal. And I think Joe is just the right man to lead us through this moment.
Q: Senator Chris Coons from Delaware, a proud senator from a proud state this morning. Thanks so much for being with us.
Sen. Coons: Thank you, John.
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