Democrats back $1.9T American Rescue Plan as Biden meets GOP senators

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Democrats back $1.9T American Rescue Plan as Biden meets GOP senators

FOX News correspondent Kristin Fisher has the details from the White House on 'Special Report'

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report" February 1, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR (on camera): That's true. You know the tail of
the tape Greg or Tom Brady. Tom Brady didn't get boo, OK. Thanks, guys.

Good evening. I'm Bret Baier.

Breaking tonight, President Biden is meeting with Senate Republicans right
now in the Oval Office to discuss a possible bipartisan COVID relief
package. The 10 Senate Republicans say there are $600 billion proposal
could be approved quickly by Congress and one of them will join us in just
a few minutes after that meeting ends coming right from the Oval Office to
our camera.

At the same time, congressional Democrats are considering going it alone
with a much more expensive and expensive bill.

White House Correspondent Kristin Fisher joins us live from the North Lawn
with the latest on these negotiations. Good evening, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Evening, Bret.
Tonight's meeting is the first time that President Biden has invited
lawmakers to the White House and all of them are Republicans. But whether
or not he's willing to compromise enough to earn their support of his
American Rescue Plan is still very much in question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER (voice over): Go big or go bipartisan, that's the question President
Joe Biden faces as he attempts to pass his $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

The president called for bipartisan support, and 10 moderate Republican
senators responded with a roughly $600 billion plan of their own, less than
a third of what the President is asking for.

SEN. JERRY MORAN (R-KS): I'm going to do everything I can to encourage the
president to do something that is much more targeted and much less
expensive than the $1.9 trillion package that the White House has proposed.

FISHER: Republican Senator Jerry Moran was one of the 10 moderates to send
a letter to the president on Sunday, reminding him of the promise he made
in his inaugural address. "We recognize your calls for unity and want to
work in good faith with your administration." That letter was the catalyst
for today's meeting, which the White House press secretary described as an
exchange of ideas, but not an open negotiation.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He's happy to have a conversation
with them. What this meeting is not is a forum for the president to make or
accept an offer.

FISHER: The Republican senators are proposing $160 billion for vaccines and
testing, which is on par with what the president is proposing. But the two
sides split on stimulus checks. The Republicans are asking for $1,000 the
president wants 1,400.

And then, there's perhaps the biggest sticking point: funding for state and
local governments. And these Republicans have set aside zero dollars for
it.

Despite the President's preference for bipartisanship, he also knows he
does not need Republican support. Provided moderate Democrats like Joe
Manchin are on board.

But over the weekend, the West Virginia senator made it very clear he's
upset with Vice President Kamala Harris for what many viewed as a pressure
campaign in his home state. With the V.P. pushing the White House's
proposal in local T.V. interviews.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I saw it, I couldn't believe it. No one called me.
We're going to try to find a bipartisan pathway forward, I think we need
to, but we need to work together. That's not a way of working together what
was done.

FISHER: Psaki says the White House has been in contact with Senator Manchin
but she also opened today's briefing with this statement of support from
another powerful West Virginian.

PSAKI: West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, also Republican said in
interviews today that he agrees that going big in this moment is critical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER (on camera): So, the White House seeming to lean on Senator Manchin
yet again. Now, tomorrow is going to be immigration day at the White House
with President Biden expected to sign even more executive orders and
actions this time to reverse many of his predecessor's policies down at the
border, Bret.

BAIER: Kristin, it looks like you're at a -- in a snow globe at the White
House on the North Lawn.

FISHER: It feels like it.

BAIER: Kristin, thank you.

Just down the street from the bipartisan meeting in the Oval Office,
Congress remains deeply divided. Chief Congressional Correspondent Mike
Emanuel looks at the partisan fights there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice
over): In the latest sign of instability in Washington, House Democrats are
offering Republican leader Kevin McCarthy an ultimatum. Remove Georgia
freshmen Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from the Education and Labor
Committee or the House will with a vote on the floor, more evidence that
the 117th Congress is more divided than ever.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The enemy is within the House of Representatives.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): This is a new definition of unity for the
Democrats.

EMANUEL: Some would like to go even further seeking to remove Marjorie
Taylor Greene from Congress. The Congresswoman tweeted defiantly today; I
only bow to one. He alone sits in the judgment seat.

McCarthy is expected to meet with Congresswoman Greene this week. She's
become a lightning rod for conspiracy theory she supported before being
elected to Congress after progressive Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri
instigated a yelling match with Greene for not wearing a mask.

REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): Follow the rules and put on the mask.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You know what, yes, don't yell at
people.

BUSH: Put on the mask.

GREENE: Stop being a hypocrite.

BUSH: Put on the mask.

GREENE: Yes, this is how it is here now.

EMANUEL: Bush now claimed she's moving her office because she doesn't feel
safe. But this is just one sign of the broader conflict on Capitol Hill.
Metal detectors are up screening lawmakers, fistfights have nearly broken
out on the House floor.

PELOSI: The gentleman will clear this chamber.

EMANUEL: Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott says there's no sign of a
major theme for the president.

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Joe Biden said that he wanted unity, he wanted to
work with Republicans. When they say they don't care if a Republican votes
for this, that's not -- that's not working with Republicans.

EMANUEL: Pennsylvania Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright says give it a
time.

REP. MATT CARTWRIGHT (D-PA): You know, one thing I always liked about Joe
Biden was that he does pride himself on working in a bipartisan fashion and
I do too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL (on camera): Much of the problem is a lack of trust of people from
the opposing party. The House is expected to vote this week to find
lawmakers who refused to pass through magnetometers when entering the House
chamber. $5,000 for a first offense, $10,000 for a second offense, 10 times
on Capitol Hill, Bret.

BAIER: You bet. Mike, thanks.

As with everything over the past year, the pandemic is causing major
disruptions this time for Senate Democrats and their control of the split
Senate.

Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest. And it all comes
down to numbers as it always does. Good evening, Chad.

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera):
Good evening, Bret. Well, technically at this moment, Democrats do not have
the majority in the United States and the reason is that Mark Warner
Democratic senator from Virginia was exposed to coronavirus and he is in
quarantine.

Now, Democrats got a scare last week when Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont,
the most senior member of the body went to the hospital for tests, He's
back now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORMAN ORNSTEIN, RESIDENT SCHOLAR, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Narrow
majorities are tough, but they're especially tough at a time of a pandemic.
When if you lose any of your members for any length of time, you are in
deep jeopardy of losing the ability to muster a majority.

PERGRAM (voice over): Republicans are inching closer to claiming one more
House seat, New York Republican Claudia Tenney increased her lead to 122
votes over the Democrat in the last uncalled race in the country.

Democrats aren't willing to negotiate with Republicans so far. Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the GOP for talking with the White
House about COVID aid.

Schumer told the New York Daily News "They should negotiate with us, not
make a take it or leave it offer."

Liberals may be unwilling to bend a compromise that could pose consequences
for Schumer, especially if fellow New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
challenges him in the primary. But to fight Democratic dissension, leaders
like Schumer may only have one option, give rousing football coach halftime
speeches to rally the team.

DANNY WEISS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: You're down to
just, you know, one running back and one ride receiver and you tell your
team, you know, are we going to do this or not? Are we going to put that
into play? Or are we going to fight among ourselves?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM (on camera): Now, the Senate hasn't yet approved a power sharing
agreement. And for now, technically, Republicans continue to hold committee
gavels, that's why Lindsey Graham remains the Chairman of the Judiciary
Committee. And that's why Merrick Garland up for attorney general still,
again, has not yet gotten a hearing, Bret.

BAIER: All right, Chad, thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): There's no reason why Joe Biden can't work with
Republicans in Congress for bipartisan legislation if he's willing to push
Bernie Sanders to the side and work with Republican senators, Republican
congressmen.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): The question is not bipartisanship; the
question is addressing the unprecedented crises that we face right now. If
Republicans want to work with us, they have better ideas on how to address
those crises, that's great. But to be honest with you, I have not yet heard
that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: The definition of bipartisanship as we mentioned, 10 Republican
senators are currently meeting with President Biden and Vice President
Harris in the Oval Office, among them Shelley Moore capital from West
Virginia. She will join us on this show, as soon as that meeting is over to
give us an inside look behind the curtain.

But let's bring in our extended panel in early. Fox News Senior Political
Analyst Brit Hume. Harold Ford Jr., former Tennessee congressman, CEO of
Empowerment Inclusion Capital. Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The
Federalist and Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary and host of The
Bill Bennett Show podcast.

Brit, let me start with you, you know, the bipartisan talk and the unity
talk, but there's really no sense that Democrats are ready to go down the
negotiating side. They kind of are setting up for budget reconciliation,
which means 51 votes.

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS CHANNEL SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (on camera): Yes,
that's right, Bret. You know, I'm old enough and I know Bill is too to
remember when $600 billion was not exactly considered going small.

Let's look at it this way for a moment, in terms of the -- in terms of
COVID, cases are down, hospitalizations are down, we now have two vaccines,
there've been some delivery issues, but they're getting out there. One more
is clearly on the way.

So, the situation is such that you would think it was getting better, we're
beginning may be beginning to see our way clear. And so, is this really the
time to throw $1.9 trillion at the problem? Much of it not directly related
to COVID-19. All of it borrowed money, when the rest of the money that has
-- that had been previously appropriated, has yet to be spent.

So, I think the Republicans have a case, but I also sense that this bill is
a train that is going to leave the station. So, you can probably understand
why the Democrats are trying to load it up with as much as they can get on
it because they know it's likely to pass.

BAIER: Well, there's one Democratic conductor that may not let that train
leave and that's Joe Manchin from West Virginia. One of the reasons why,
Harold, that the White House was pressuring Joe Manchin by sending the vice
president on to local television there in West Virginia with a message.
This is part of that message and the senator's reaction. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you talk to him
about climate change, the first thing that he talks about is job creation.
Job creation around, for example, all of those skilled workers who are in
the coal industry, and transferring those skills to what we need to do in
terms of dealing with reclaiming abandoned land mines.

MANCHIN: I saw it, I couldn't believe it. No one called me. We're going to
try to find a bipartisan pathway for it, I think we need to, but we need to
work together. That's not a way of working together what was done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Besides the fact that the vice president said abandoned land mines
and not mining lands, Joe Manchin seem to take offense to that, Harold.

HAROLD FORD JR., CEO OF EMPOWERMENT & INCLUSION CAPITAL (on camera): Thanks
for having me on. I think what's happening in the White House, Bret this
evening, is what Americans are longing for. You have 10 Republicans meeting
with the Democratic president, they clearly had laid out what they like. He
clearly has a different opinion, but said let's talk. The fact that that
meeting is lasting longer, I think is a positive.

I do hope that some of the petty preschool squabbles that seem to be taking
place on the Hill and the weaponizing of every little disagreement and the
yelling at each other, hope these members of Congress can take a breath and
reflect on the oath that they all swore to take.

It's also important to remember as much as I agree with Brit around the
vaccines coming and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is so promising and
encouraging. You still have one in seven Americans who have run out of
money and can't put food on their table.

So, I hope they can find an agreement between the 600 billion and the 1.9
trillion. I'm old enough to remember that when a guy made a billion dollars
or a woman made a billion dollars, it was a lot of money. Elon Musk, I
think made $40 billion during the pandemic.

So, I think Americans are looking at this in a way and saying what is
Congress going to do? If you want to have a unity government and get along,
then, we build trust with people. Both sides have got to put aside some of
the partisanship, some of the grievance and come to an agreement that will
help Americans more quickly.

It's probably not going to be 1.9 trillion and I hope it's larger than 600
billion. That's what they've got to come to an agreement on.

BAIER: Mollie, you know, Joe Biden is praised often about negotiating.
We'll see what comes out of this overlap (AUDIO GAP) Shelley Moore Capito
on the show.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): Yes, the media
seem to be praising Joe Biden and suggesting that he's going to craft a
bipartisan attempt here. The same time, Joe Biden seems to be saying he
doesn't need any votes, that he has majority in the House, he's got enough
in the Senate to just push through legislation without a bipartisan
support.

But this isn't like when Obama was in his first term where, you know, he
had like 60 Democrat senators, and he had I think Nancy Pelosi had an 80
vote majority. She's down to where she can only lose about five votes. And
you've got this, you know, completely evenly divided Senate.

So, he might want to try to push legislation through, but it would cause
electoral problems for him. I think it's really an open question whether he
can or whether he might need some of these 10 Republican senators in order
to get what he wants.

BAIER: Bill Bennett, your thoughts?

BILL BENNETT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): Yes, which way will
the Biden brain go? I listen to Harold and Harold said, you know, this is
what America has been waiting for the beginning of this meeting, but maybe
they'll regret it at the end of this meeting. Is he going to go with jam it
through Bernie or is this going to be the old negotiator?

Judging from the executive orders that we've seen over the last couple of
weeks, it may be trying to jam it through Biden. But there are problems as
the lead in pointed out, maybe Leahy, maybe Senator Warner, also, Joe
Manchin, that was not a good move to be talking about the landmines --
sorry, in West Virginia, lack of familiarity with West Virginia on the part
of the vice president here from San Francisco was evident. We're talking
about a collision of worlds here, different points of view. We shall see.
We'll see what happens the end of the hour.

Just to end where I started with Harold Ford, I wish Harold were up there
in the Congress. We need more sensible, moderate thoughtful Democrats like
Harold, rather than what the Democratic Party has become.

BAIER: Harold, what about the control of the caucus by the House Speaker? I
mean, there are two sides of it, the progressive side and the more
conservative side?

FORD: Look, first of all, thanks, Bill Bennett for the kind words. I think
both sides have got to take a breath here. And I think that Nancy Pelosi
has to manage a five-person Congress.

To Mollie's point, we have a tighter Congress. We have a tight tight
Senate. I think Joe Manchin is going to act as a check, he and Mark Warner
both. And I would argue Mark Kelly and maybe even Pat Toomey and Rob
Portman who I believe Rob Portman's in that meeting. Pat might be as well.

I want to -- I think -- I think Bill Bennett framed it right, if they come
in at that meeting, and there's signs from the Republicans that there's an
agreement that can be reached, I think that we can see that the Joe Biden
and a lot of Americans believe they were getting when they voted for him a
few weeks ago or a few months back is that Joe Biden that they're indeed
getting.

BAIER: Well, you know, Britt Hume, the Joe Biden that signed all those
executive orders and actions didn't exactly send the outreach to the
Republican side with those moves.

HUME: No, I don't -- it wasn't, Bret. But one way to look at this is this,
these executive orders were low hanging fruit for him to signal to his
party's left that you know, he's not going to disappoint them in the long
run.

In the end, executive orders can only do so much either way. So, you know,
as big a flurry as there were, and some of them are important, they're
nothing compared to what you can do in legislation.

So, that he might have done that to help pave the way for himself
politically to make a compromise on something like this where the left will
scream if they think he's not going far enough or big enough. So, that's
something I suppose that people who want a bipartisan solution can hope
for. We'll see.

BAIER: All right, panel, thank you very much.

Up next, the CEO of Robinhood has agreed to answer lawmaker's questions
over the platform's decision to restrict stock trading.

First, here's what some of our Fox affiliates around the country are
covering tonight. Fox 13 in Seattle where employees and guests at the
Washington hotel had to take shelter for several hours Sunday after a
homeless activist group tried to take over that hotel.

Approximately 45 activists, some armed with knives and hatchets attempted
to give beds to people experiencing homelessness. At least 12 people were
arrested.

Fox 12 in Portland where a new Oregon law is now in effect, decriminalizing
possession of small amounts of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine.
Possession will now be a $100 fine, or a health assessment that could lead
to addiction counseling.

Critics say the law is flawed, particularly in regards to how it deals with
minors because there is no requirement to inform parents.

And this is a live look at Orlando from Fox 35 our affiliate down there.
The big story there tonight, SpaceX postpones its latest shuttle launch due
to stormy weather. At the International Space Station, astronauts finished
a four-year long effort to modernize the power grid with new batteries. The
process took 14 spacewalks, dating back to 2017.

That's tonight's live look outside the Beltway from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll
be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: A slow moving winter storm continues to hit the Northeast causing
dangerous conditions and closing many coronavirus vaccination sites.
Philadelphia, New York and Boston areas could see up to two feet of snow,
two feet.

New York City has banned non-essential travel to help keep the roads clear
and in-person school is canceled through Tuesday.

The stock market bounced back after last week's drop, the Dow gaining 229
today, the S&P 500 rose 60, the NASDAQ finished up 333.

Last week, during the GameStop short squeeze trading platforms reduced and,
in some cases, cut off the ability of traders to buy and sell. Now, the CEO
of one of the fastest growing platforms has agreed to answer questions from
lawmakers. And one precious metal, maybe the next target for traders.

Kristina Partsinevelos of Fox Business joins us from New York. Good
evening, Kristina.

KRISTINA PARTSINEVELOS, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT (on camera):
Good evening, Bret. That free trading app, many of them like Robinhood have
been a gateway to the stock market for millions of investors.

But now, the CEO of Robinhood could face the wrath of House Representatives
on February 18th over limited trading.

So, we know this story. Investors pushed up the price of highly volatile
stocks. And a lot of these platforms went ahead and restricted trading.

On Robinhood, many of those restrictions have been eased, but some are
still in place. The app says that they put them in place due to financial
obligations. So much so that today they have to raise $2.4 billion from
investors. It's a lot of money swinging in this.

According to new research, since January 1st, large funds lost roughly $6
billion in this GameStop market frenzy and that is why the CEO of Robinhood
will have to explain to House Representatives about why the platform chose
to restrict the trading of highly volatile stocks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: There is an important set of policy issues that have been raised as
a result of market volatility in recent days and we think congressional
attention to these issues is appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PARTSINEVELOS (voice over): And what goes up must come down. Already today,
GameStop share price closed 30 percent lower in after hours trading, it's
getting hammered, but that doesn't mean it's the end. A lot of attention
has now shifted over to silver and silver ETF, silver mining companies.

PARTSINEVELOS (on camera): The shares of those companies have climbed
higher, even the price of silver, the actual commodity itself, the spot
price hit an eight year high today.

And so, because of this news, this evening, the U.S. regulator or the U.S.
commodities regulator did say that now they're going to be looking into any
type of market manipulation within the silver market, so that's a
commodity's market. This volatility just doesn't want to end, Bret.

BAIER: Alright Kristina, thank you.

Up next, the debate over double masks, should you do it should you not and
the battle in Chicago over going back into schools.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't care about kids. This is all about power.
And they're not -- they come up with different excuses every day of what
they want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is reasonable for me to go to work every day and to
believe that I can come back safely.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: January was the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic with nearly
100,000 people dying in the U.S. The total U.S. death toll now is
approaching 450,000 with more than 26 million cases.

There are signs of progress as mentioned before, hospitalizations are below
100,000 for the first time in two months, and the vaccination drive is
picking up speed. The CDC reports more than 32 million doses have been
administered, up from 17 million on January 20th, 5.9 million Americans
have received both the required doses.

On the prevention front, there is disagreement tonight over how many masks
should be worn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS
DISEASES:  Well, if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put
another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more
effective.

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH, UNIVERSITY
OF MINNESOTA:  If you add on another mask, you may actually make it tougher
for the air to move through the two cloth area. And then at that point it
causes more air to actually leak around the sides, which actually enhances
your ability to get infected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  That was the same weekend. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention is currently studying the effectiveness of double masks,
specifically a cloth mask placed over a medical mask, in stopping the
coronavirus spread. The CDC does not have hard data to support double
masking and has not recommended for or against the practice.

The TSA will require travelers to wear facemasks in airports, bus, and rail
stations following President Biden's executive order. Passengers without a
mask may be denied entry.

Meantime, Chicago public schools were supposed to begin in-person teaching
today. That did not happen. Senior correspondent Mike Tobin is in Chicago
where city officials are squaring off with local teachers.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MIKE TOBIN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT:  After almost a year empty and a
promise that in-person instruction would resume today, Chicago public
schools remain quiet, students still not getting instruction behind the
computer screen.

JANICE JACKSON, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS CEO:  We are starting to see some of
the effects of schools being closed. Many of our students aren't logging
on. We are seeing African-American and Latinx students in particular being
especially hard-hit.

TOBIN:  The CEO of public schools gave an ultimatum to teachers on Sunday,
show up Monday or access to Google Suites, which they use for remote
teaching, will be cut off. Chicago teachers' union president Jesse Sharkey
that could trigger a strike vote. Chicago officials claim they have
exceeded CDC recommendations and spent $100 million on everything from
filtration systems to facemasks. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot says when
negotiations make progress, union leaders make more demands. The union says
negotiations are about the safety of teachers.

STACY DAVIS GATES, CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION:  This discussion is not about if
we return, but how we return. And how we return is with the maximum amount
of safety that we can obtain an agreement.

TOBIN:  When asked about the school crisis in Chicago, the White House
dodged controversy.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY:  We trust the mayor and the unions
to work this out. They are both prioritizing the right things, which is
ensuring the health and safety of the kids and teachers, and working to
make sure that children in Chicago are getting the education they deserve.

TOBIN:  And tens of thousands of parents in Chicago just want their kids
back in the classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE:  My husband is an essential worker. He is excited to
show up and do his job every day, pandemic or no pandemic. I've had to put
my career on hold and stay home with the children every day to make sure
they are doing their lessons.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

TOBIN (on camera):  And in the last few minutes, Mayor Lori Lightfoot's
office announced a 48 hour cooling off period. Remote learning will not be
cut off during that period. In fact, all classroom work will be remote for
the next two days. Bret?

BAIER:  Mike Tobin live in Chicago. We will follow this one. Mike, thank
you.

In California, Republicans are gathering signatures to try to recall the
state's Democratic governor as the state struggles to control the
coronavirus. National correspondent William La Jeunesse has details from
Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, (D-CA):  Deaths continue to be significant.

WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT:  Despite a rising
death rate and a spreading virus mutation, California Governor Gavin Newsom
denies putting politics ahead of science with the sudden plan to reopen the
economy during a voter revolt to kick him out of office.

NEWSOM:  That's just complete, utter nonsense, so let's just dispense with
that fundamental, foundationally nonsense.

LA JEUNESSE:  The effort to recall Newsom is gaining momentum. Supporters
are well on their way to collecting the 1.5 million signatures needed by
March 17th. So far, possible candidates include a Silicon Valley
billionaire Democrat, and Republican John Cox and former San Diego Mayor
Kevin Faulconer, who claims to have raised over $1 million for a campaign.

KEVIN FAULCONER, (R) FORMER SAN DIEGO MAYOR:  This is across the board in
California. I believe it's going to qualify, and I believe we are going to
be into a recall situation here very soon.

LA JEUNESSE:  Critics say Newsom has himself to blame, pointing out he
failed to reopen schools, the vaccine rollout is among the nation's worst,
their belief that his stay-at-home orders have been inconsistent,
enforcement arbitrary, state testing and tracing was late or nonexistent,
and a broken promise to fix unemployment insurance that paid those who
didn't deserve it while failing those who did.

KATHLEEN VAN HART, TENANT:  I'm always robbing Peter to pay Paul. I've sold
anything that I've had that is worth selling to try to make ends meet.

LA JEUNESSE:  Newsom's latest directive has unions angry, allowing the
elderly to get vaccines before essential workers. "It's like he's putting
us out to die" said the SEIU's Sandra Diaz. "We can't play politics with
people's lives and frontline workers."

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LA JEUNESSE (on camera):  A recall vote wouldn't likely happen until
summer, giving Newsom time to get kids back in school and Californians
vaccinated and back to work. Bret?

BAIER:  William, thank you.

Up next, we head to a city in Nebraska feeling the effects of President
Biden's decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Former President Donald Trump has a new impeachment legal defense
team following the resignation of five attorneys just over a week before
the start of his Senate impeachment trial. A source familiar with the split
says the former O'Rourke wanted that team to make the election fraud case,
and the attorneys quit over that. The trial is scheduled to begin next
week.

The Lincoln Project, a group formed by veteran Republican operatives who
oppose President Trump, is disavowing its cofounder John Weaver as a
predator, liar, and an abuser. The statement came after a "New York Times"
report detailing Weaver's history of alleged auditory predatory behavior.
The report featured interviews with 21 men who accused Weaver of sending
unsolicited and sexually provocative messages, often while suggesting he
could help them get work in politics. One alleged victim was only 14-years-
old. In a statement to "The Times," Weaver says he is disheartened and
saddened that he may have brought discomfort to anyone in what he says were
mutually consensual discussions.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in Russia to support jailed
opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and more protests are expected ahead of
Tuesday's court hearings. Senior foreign affairs correspondent Amy Kellogg
is following that story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

AMY KELLOGG, FOX NEWS SENIOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT:  Dragged
through the snow, beaten with officer batons, and bundled into police vans,
more than 5,000 Russians were detained Sunday in dozens of cities across
the country. Tens of thousands were out again, braving often sub-freezing
temperatures to demand the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei
Navalny, an end to corruption, and in some cases simply the end of
President Vladimir Putin's 20-year reign.

All this sparked by Navalny's arrest after recovering from poisoning by a
Soviet era nerve agent, and a new documentary he did about $1 billion
palace allegedly belonging to Putin. The Kremlin denies the palace is
Putin's claims Navalny is on the CIA payroll, and that the west is stirring
Russia up.

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE:  The Russian government makes a big
mistake if it believes that this is about us. It's not. It's about them.
It's about the government. It's about the frustration that the Russian
people have with corruption, with kleptocracy.

KELLOGG:  The U.S. and other western governments are condemning the protest
arrests and demanding Navalny be released. The Kremlin is not willing to
compromise.

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN (through translator):  As to the comments
of the U.S. representatives in respect to our country, in respect to the
illegal rallies which happened in our country, I repeat, we are not ready
to listen to the American opinion on this matter, and we will not do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLOGG (on camera):  Navalny's team is calling for sanctions on some
people close to Putin, and another opposition figure says the U.S. is
actually Navalny's greatest hope for pressure on Russia as Europe, he says,
quote, "doesn't have the political will." Bret?

BAIER:  Amy, thank you.

Another story from Beyond Our Borders tonight. The military in Burma staged
a coup and detained senior politicians, including Nobel Laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, reversing the progress toward democracy the nation has made five
decades of military rule. The military says a senior general will be in
charge now of the country for one year, and the seizure was necessary
because the government had not acted on the military's claims of fraud in
November's elections. In a state, President Biden condemned the seizure of
power as a direct assault on democracy and the rule of law.

Just one of the other stories Beyond Our Borders tonight.

Up next, the panel rejoins me to discuss the COVID vaccine progress and the
double mask debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY:  The size of the package needs to
be commensurate with the crises we are facing, the dual crises we are
facing, hence why he proposed a package that is $1.9 trillion.

JARED BERNSTEIN, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS:  The American people really
couldn't care less about budget process, whether it's regular order
bipartisanship, whether it's filibuster, whether it's reconciliation. They
need relief and they need it now.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY, (R-LA):  Ours is about $600 billion. We are very
targeted. We're targeted to the needs of the American people, treating our
tax dollars as if they are our tax dollars, not just money to spend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER:  At this hour 10 Republicans are meeting with President Biden and
Vice President Harris in the Oval Office. There you see the beginning of
the meeting. One of them sitting right there in the plaid jacket is
Republican Shelley Moore Capito. We expected her to be out on the North
Lawn talking to us about what was happening inside the Oval Office in this
meeting. The meeting is still going on. So, we told her, you know what, you
should probably stay in there and not come on SPECIAL REPORT right now. But
if she does come on, we will put her on the air. There you see President
Biden with the mask in the Oval Office, and that meeting has been lasting
for quite some time.

We're back with our panel, Brit, Mollie, Harold, and Bill. Bill, you have
been through a number of negotiations over time. The fact that they last a
long time is usually a good thing.

BILL BENNETT, FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY:  Well, we'll see. It can be like
juries. Interesting you made the point that the news is more important than
the news show. I understand the temptation.

(LAUGHTER)

BENNETT:  And I know the business we're in. But if there were more math
majors in Congress and fewer lawyers, we might not be having this
difficulty. What about the couple trillion or more we've already put in? Is
that all been accounted for? Has it all been spent? I don't think so. And
besides, what are the details in this bill? How much of the politics of
bribery is involved here, such as in the teachers' union stuff going on in
Chicago? I just wish we were a little more careful about our numbers. Fewer
lawyers, more mathematicians. But they are probably in the aerospace
industry where we need them. Anyway, let's see what happens.

BAIER:  Yes, Mollie, Bill mentions the teachers, and the response has been
they need money to open up these schools. Obviously, a number of schools
around the country are doing it currently. There is this big dustup in
Chicago. What do you make of this? Because there are a lot of teachers and
a lot of parents that are frustrated at this moment.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE FEDERALIST":  The science has never
supported keeping children out of schools, and the fact that many children
haven't been in school for a year is flat out abuse and neglect, and there
are a lot of people are having tremendous problems with it.

It's just amazing that we are still talking about it. It's like the whole
country has forgotten how to do cost-benefit analysis, whether that's about
complete shutting down the economy and thinking you can print enough money
to get out of this, not thinking about the long-term economic catastrophe
that's happening, or not thinking about the damage to children and the
shuttering of society and how many problems we have had as a result of
that.

We need people who can do better cost-benefit analysis and understand the
costs associated of these really draconian shutdowns instead of just
understanding we have vaccines now. The weather will be getting warmer.
People are getting vaccinated. The numbers should continue to go down, and
people need to get back to living.

BAIER:  Brit, we have been told to trust the science. This weekend there
were different assessments of the double mask and whether it was good or
bad from scientists in the field.

BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST:  That's a problem. The thing
about masks, I think, Bret, is a good way to look at it is this, that
common sense They say that the mask will do something, that it will retard
your ability to push this virus, if you have it, away from you onto other
people. Double masks may be effective, but there are problems with that
too.

I think the idea of wearing a mask comes down to this. Even if you don't
believe they are particularly effective, an awful lot of people do. And if
you are walking around in some indoor space without a mask on because you
don't believe they work, and you may be right, other people are going to be
freaked out. So, be nice. Wear a mask. It can't hurt. It probably will
help, and it will make other people more comfortable. That's how I come out
on masks.

BAIER:  There you go. I'm with you. But Harold, I guess what people want to
know is what the true facts are. We have seen some evolution about how
things are treated. The schools are one thing. We hear that there is really
very small percentages, if many at all, transmitted from children to
teachers. But yet the teachers' union is very concerned about health and
safety. Thoughts?

HAROLD FORD JR. (D) FORMER TENNESSEE REPRESENTATIVE:  I think one of the
ways to address this, and there's politics around the unions. We should
remember, no one goes into the teaching profession to become famous or to
make a lot of money or for the glory of it. I do think that if we were to
vaccinate all the teachers, and teachers' union made this point, it would
weaken them considerably. So maybe that should be something to consider.

But the science is right. And the science, you can't say you embrace the
science when it's convenient for your politics, and the science suggests
that kids in schools, they have a lower transmission rate. So we should
figure out what those schools are doing that have those lower rates and we
should replicate that around the country.

Again, I think what's happening tonight is fantastic. Problem solving is
trumping pettiness and partisan politics. If staying in that meeting
another hour or two gets us to a point where we can have an agreement that
we can address the economic slowdown, the pandemic at the same time --
remember, it was government that shut down these places, and I think
rightly. So we have to help people not only get back up on their feet but
resume a way of life when these vaccines take place. And hopefully that
distribution is wider and more available to every American, the vaccine
distribution, that is, sooner rather than later.

BAIER:  Yes, let's hope that's what's happening in the Oval Office. We'll
find out, and hopefully Senator Capito and others will tell us what
happened.

Bill, you know a little bit about education. Your thoughts on the situation
currently?

BENNETT:  Yes, they may take a vote to strike, and people should pay
attention to that. There's a canard going around that it's all the union
bosses, and not the teachers. This wouldn't be going the way it is if a lot
of teachers didn't support it. I know a lot of teachers. I agree with
Harold. A lot of them are in for all of the right reasons. But the
situation, places like Chicago, they make pretty good money. They get three
months off. They have excellent benefits. And the state understands what
these benefits are.

So I think we are engaged here, they are engaged in the politics of
bribery. And I think the American public might see this as an opportunity
to consider other alternatives. There are those doughty Catholic schools
out there. They are just going at it, doing what they're supposed to do on
much smaller budgets. And they too are dedicated to the education of
children. It might bring about a little bit of a revolution here in schools
as people think about this.

BAIER:  Bill, I only have 15 seconds, but can you put a sense about what
this means to kids doing this virtual for so long, not being in person?
What the implications are for our kids down the road?

BENNETT:  Social, academic, emotional loss. Books will be written about a
lost generation or part of a generation because of this year. You cannot
take kids out of the normal environments they are in without loss. And
where are the Democrats thinking about the kids for whom school matters the
most? Those kids in the inner city communities, those kids who are poor,
they need to be in school. Their parents need to be at work. This is a real
shame and scandal, and the losses are incalculable.

BAIER:  Panel, thank you very much for tonight. We had a little audible
since that meeting is still going on. We appreciate the time.

When we come back, you think kids enjoy the snow in the nation's capital?
You're not alone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER:  Finally tonight, it was a good weekend to be a kid in D.C., lots of
snowfall, lots of hills around here, including one with a capital on it.
But humans weren't the other only ones having fun in the weekend snowfall.
The Capitol's favorite pandas were caught at the National Zoo having some
fun of their own as the pair, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, giant pandas rolling
around, sliding through the snow. We could watch this for at least 30
minutes, I could just watch it. It looks fun.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for the SPECIAL
REPORT. Fair, balanced, and still unafraid. "FOX NEWS PRIMETIME," have you
seen this show? Well, this night and all week hosted by Trey Gowdy starts
right now.

Hey, Trey.

END

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