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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Biden's New Goal: 70 Percent of Adults With At Least One Shot by July 4; FDA Expected to Authorize Pfizer Vaccine for Ages 12-15; McCarthy on Hot Mic: "I've Had It With" Liz Cheney. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired May 04, 2021 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[16:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: He says she has real problems, that he's had it with her, that he's lost confidence. She's the one who is telling the truth here.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: And she is not backing down as we have seen.

BLACKWELL: No.

CAMEROTA: In fact, she's repeating her feelings about Donald Trump.

BLACKWELL: All right.

THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: You could be one step closer to a safer summer family trip.

THE LEAD starts right now.

The FDA on the verge of authorizing the COVID vaccine for teens and tweens, but will it enough vaccine hesitant adults change their mind and embrace the science to cut this virus down?

Lie or bye-bye? Liz Cheney's days in GOP leadership may be numbered as the top House Republican today says she's out of step with her party because she refuses to lie about the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection.

Plus, CNN at sea, a reporter on a boat north of the Black Sea as Vladimir Putin tests the Ukrainian navy and the United States.

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Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We start with breaking news in our health lead today.

Moments ago, President Biden set a new ambitious goal in the fight against coronavirus, announcing his target to have 70 percent of American adults with at least one dose of a COVID vaccine by the 4th of July. That's in just two months. Right now, the number is just above 56 percent of American adults who have had at least one shot. Even the White House is admitting today there will be major challenges in achieving this, including reducing vaccine hesitancy and increasing access to underserved communities.

We're already getting major news today about how soon children may be vaccinated against coronavirus, a government official saying the FDA could authorize the Pfizer vaccine for kids 12 to 15 years of age within days just as the company announced the timeline for vaccinating kids as young as 2, as CNN's Phil Mattingly now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With vaccination rates dropping and the country awash in vaccine supply, President Biden is setting a new and ambitious target to push the country out of the pandemic.

BIDEN: Our goal by July 4th is to have 70 percent of adult Americans with at least one shot and 160 million Americans fully vaccinated.

MATTINGLY: An Independence Day goal that would lead to a transformative change in how the country operates.

BIDEN: If we can continue to drive vaccinations up and case loads down, we'll need our masks even less and less.

MATTINGLY: The administration would need to deliver roughly 100 million doses over the next two months to meet Biden's new targets, officials say.

BIDEN: We're focused on convincing even more Americans to show up and get the vaccine that is available to them.

MATTINGLY: But the administration's new goal coming as vaccination rates have steadily fallen, now sitting at 2.3 million in the rolling seven-day average. Officials say it's partly due to the sheer number of people who have already been vaccinated but also underscores the long road ahead for a country that currently sits at close to 150 million individuals with at least one dose.

And with the administration confronting vaccine hesitancy, the White House pressing new avenues to boost vaccines from increasing walk-in vaccinations and pop-up clinics to directing hundred of billions of dollars to bolster state efforts to reach underserved communities and the push likely to get another boost next week, with the FDA poised to give Pfizer emergency use authorization for teenagers 12 to 15 years old, roughly 5 percent of the U.S. population, all coming in states from around the country from the Northeast to the South to out West are rapidly moving towards easing pandemic restrictions.

A steady shift towards normalcy with a clear timeline for Biden now set. BIDEN: The light at the end of the tunnel is actually growing

brighter and brighter. In two months, let's celebrate our independence as a nation and our independence from this virus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (on camera): And, Jake, the administration is in the midst of a significant planning period for how they will roll out efforts to get those individuals aged 12 to 15 should the FDA approve the emergency use authorization next week. This is going to include according to administration officials sending vaccines directly to pediatricians. Twenty thousand pharmacy sites open right away, a recognition that teens may have to be vaccinated in different places to get their two doses, and perhaps most importantly a significant public information effort for parents who have questions about whether or not they should go through with the vaccine or the efficacy of the vaccination program, a recognition that this population will be crucial to their goals.

TAPPER: All right. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Let's talk about this with Dr. Paul Offit. He's a pediatrician and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee.

Dr. Offit, thanks for joining us.

Right now, about 56 percent of American adults have gotten at least one shot. President Biden's goal is 70 percent by July 4. That's just two months.

Is that achievable?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Yes, and it's important to achieve it. If we're really going to significantly slow the spread of this virus, I think we'll need to be ultimately around 80 percent plus population immunity which includes immunity not only that induced by a vaccine by also by natural infection.

We do need to get there, and the proof will be in the pudding next winter. If we don't get to 80 percent, then I think you'll see another surge of this virus next winter.

TAPPER: Of course, a big group waiting to be vaccinated right now are kids under the age of 16. The FDA is expected to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for kids 12 to 15 in the coming days.

Walk us through what kind of trials have to be completed in children 12 to 15 before the FDA will consider emergency use authorization and when you expect that will happen.

OFFIT: Right. So it's roughly Pfizer today a trial of 2,300 children, half of whom got the vaccine, half of whom got placebo. What they found was that the vaccine was safe. It was well-toll rated. It induced an excellent immune response. There were 18 cases of COVID in that trial, all of which were in the placebo group.

So, you know, but for the flip of a coin, 18 children had to suffer that disease. Now if this vaccine is approved through emergency use authorization by the FDA, then parents don't have to worry about that coin flip. They can take the risk out of it and protect their children.

TAPPER: Do you have any idea when that's going to happen?

OFFIT: I don't. It seems to have been every -- it was going to be the next day for the last week.

TAPPER: Right. Do the kids take the same amount of vaccine that adults do?

OFFIT: That's right. So for the Pfizer vaccine, it's a 30 microgram dose with the second dose being given three weeks later which is the way the trials were on.

TAPPER: Is that the same at grown-ups?

OFFIT: Yes, I'm sorry. That's exactly the same as grown-ups, yes.

TAPPER: Is the process different for getting a vaccine authorized for kids 12 to 15 than it is for kids 2 to 11?

OFFIT: Yes. I think it will be. I think when you look at younger children, I think you're going have to do much more extensive sort of phase one studies, those range of studies. Here, the assumption was made, it was the correct one, that the 12 to 15-year-old really isn't much different biologically than the 16, 17 and 18-year-old, and we knew what the data was three weeks apart. As you get to the younger ages, you're going to have to do more extensive dose ranging trials and dose interval trials.

TAPPER: So, you're a pediatrician. What are you going to tell your patients, the parents who say this is still emergency use authorization, I'm worried about it. You know, my kids are okay. COVID doesn't hit kids as hard as -- as it does adults.

What would you say to them?

OFFIT: Well, there's still more than 3 million children who have been infected by this virus. There are more than 200 children who have died at the hands of this virus and in addition, there's the so-called multi-system inflammatory disease which we see in our hospital, you know, fairly frequently, where children have a trivial infection and a month later come back with high fever as well as evidence of damage to heart, liver and kidneys.

And I have no doubt that that disease which is similar to another multi-system inflammatory disease called Kawasaki's disease may well cause longer term consequences. So if you can safely prevent this disease in children, then we should prevent it.

TAPPER: So you would recommend the vaccine without reservation? OFFIT: Yes, for the 12 to 15-year-old, yes.

TAPPER: All right. Paul Offit, thank you so much. Appreciate your time today.

OFFIT: Thank you.

TAPPER: Just in, how Congresswoman Liz Cheney is reacting to the news that she might be forced out of her Republican House leadership position for the crime of telling the truth about the election and about the insurrection.

And suspected attacks with a invisible energy beam causing palpable tension on Capitol Hill. Details of a CIA briefing being called one of the most contentious in recent memory.

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TAPPER: In our politics lead today, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California caught on a hot mic, giving a blunt assessment of Congresswoman Liz Cheney's future in House leadership, and it's not looking particularly good all because Cheney has forcefully and accurately told the truth about 2020 election and January 6th insurrection.

Let's get right to CNN's Ryan Nobles.

Ryan, what is McCarthy saying?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's important to point, first, Jake, that this isn't something that McCarthy is saying publicly. For the most part, he's attempted to stay neutral in this battle over the future of the third ranking House Republican Liz Cheney. But in an interview, prior to an interview I should say on Fox News this morning, McCarthy was caught on a hot mic saying he's had it with Cheney and that he's lost confidence in her, perhaps the clearest sign yet that the House -- that her status in House Republican leadership is numbered.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (voice-over): It seems to be no longer a question of if but when Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney is stripped of her leadership post in the House Republican Conference.

REPORTER: Will you call for a vote for the removal of Liz Cheney from her leadership position?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: You know, the conference decides all that. We're here talking about small business.

NOBLES: Just a few month ago, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy defended Cheney from the backlash of conservative members angry over her vote to impeach former President Trump and her critique of his role in the January 6th insurrection. Now, McCarthy seems content to let the conference's far right members take Cheney out of her role as the third ranking House Republican.

MCCARTHY: I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message. We all need to be working as one if we're able to win the majority.

NOBLES: Cheney meanwhile seems prepared to go down swinging, refusing to lie about Trump.

[16:15:03]

This is about whether the Republican Party is going to perpetuate lies about the 2020 election and attempt to whitewash what happened on January 6th. Cheney's spokesperson Jeremy Adler said in a statement, Liz will not do that. That is the issue.

As the pressure mounts, Cheney in a closed door meetings with donors said that Trump's behavior on January 6th was just too much for her. It is a threat to democracy. What he did on January 6th is a line that cannot be crossed.

The jockeying to replace Cheney is already under way. Sources tell CNN that New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is already making calls about the job. Some Republicans would like to replace Cheney with another woman.

In addition to Stefanik, Jim Banks who currently chairs the influential Republican Study Committee is being considered, as well as Jackie Walorski of Indiana and a dark horse, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a prominent member of the Conservative Freedom Caucus.

Meanwhile, Democrats are seizing on the GOP drama. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sending an email accusing Republicans of looking for, quote, a non-threatening female seeking replacement for House Republican conference chair.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (on camera): So, the question is what happens next and how soon could it happen?

Well, it's going to require a vote of the Republican conference to remove Cheney from her post. They are expected to meet sometime next week, and that's where we could see resolution to this issue -- Jake.

TAPPER: And all these possible replacements you mentioned, they are all election liars. They are all saying that the election was stolen falsely insinuating all sorts of nonsense, lying to the public.

Ryan, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Let's discuss this.

And, Jamie Gangel, let me start with you because you breaking details about Liz Cheney's reaction to today's events as well as McCarthy's timeline for ousting her, punishing her for telling the truth. What are you hearing?

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm hearing that it's over. The vote will happen next week and that they will vote her out. That's according to multiple Republican sources who tell me, Kevin McCarthy and the Republican Party has once again caved to Donald Trump.

And I just got off the phone with a source familiar with Liz Cheney's thinking and the source said to me that this is not a surprise to her. She knew it was coming and she is, quote, not afraid of the consequences. The stakes are too high.

Jake, as Mitt Romney said in a tweet earlier today, Liz refuses to lie. She has known this was coming from the moment that she voted for impeachment and then doubled down and kept speaking out.

She could have been quiet, but for her, this is principle over politics.

TAPPER: And, Gloria, a few months ago, there was a vote whether or not to keep Liz Cheney in that position.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah.

TAPPER: And she passed. You're talking to some allies of Cheney's who voted for her then but might turn on her now. What are they saying? How can they justify this?

BORGER: Look, it passed by more than 2-1. You know, this is a secret vote.

But I've been talking to a bunch of Republicans, some of whom supported her last time and they told me, look, we're just kind of sick of this. She's embarrassing our leader. How dare she do that?

We need to get back on message here. We need to be talking about what Biden is doing to America, and she is taking us off message.

In other words, they are saying they want to turn the page. They don't want to look back. What they care about is power and not accountability in terms of January 6th, and this is all about winning the House back, and they believe she's getting in the way.

TAPPER: Yeah. I mean, to be clear, what they want to turn the page from is the fact that two-thirds of the House Republicans voted to disenfranchise voters in Pennsylvania and Arizona and were all in on the lie.

BORGER: Exactly.

TAPPER: Of course, they want to change the page. Their behavior was disgraceful.

Laura, multiple sources have told CNN that Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, New York Republican, she's interested in Cheney's job.

To be clear, Stefanik is a staunch defender of Trump. She promoted the big lie. She voted against accepting the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden in Pennsylvania after the insurrection.

Do you think that she's the leading candidate to -- to take -- to replace Cheney?

LAURA BARRON LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's what everyone is telling "Politico" right now, and my colleague Melanie Zanona who has been covering this and out.

And so, all of the Republicans that "Politico" is talking to are saying Stefanik is the front-runner right now to replace Cheney and that Stefanik is already making phone calls to Republicans about potentially supporting her if Cheney is booted from her current role.

[16:20:02]

Now, Stefanik is trying to say that when she's in these conversations that she isn't actively trying to whip against Cheney in what we expect will be a vote come next week, but that she's ready if they want her.

So, you know, as you said, Jake, and, Gloria said, this really though doesn't -- you know, you put aside the palace intrigue. What, this comes down to is the fact that Cheney is trying to eradicate from the GOP, from her party the big lie, and she's trying to make sure that it's something that isn't perpetuated as they move forward. But all indications and the vast majority of the party are clearly on the opposite side of her and want to stay worthy to Trump.

TAPPER: Yeah. And, Jamie, what are you hearing about others who may want the job. And Stefanik has certainly shown her willingness to tell lies to the American people.

GANGEL: You know, it's actually very interesting. I am being told that Elise Stefanik is the front-runner and that she's actively calling people to get support. What's interesting is going back. Elise Stefanik used to be actually pretty close to Liz Cheney and they were very much on the same page --

TAPPER: She worked in the Bush White House, yeah.

GANGEL: -- as conservative Republicans.

Somewhere along the line I started hearing over and over again from Republican sources what happened to Elise Stefanik? She became a Trump loyalist and -- and this is where she wants to be, and to me at the end of the day, this vote says and Elise Stefanik coming in. Donald Trump has taken back this party and the House Republicans with a vengeance.

TAPPER: Yeah, and, Gloria, I mean, people I know who worked in the bush White House with Elise Stefanik say they don't recognize her anymore, she's become so Trump.

House Speaker Pelosi, a Democrat, today weighed in on the Cheney situation. She accused McCarthy of wanting a woman in leadership that he doesn't view as a threat. What do you make of it all? BORGER: I think they probably want another woman in leadership if they're going to oust a woman. I mean, the optics of ousting Liz Cheney and not having another woman in leadership doesn't look great for them. I think that McCarthy originally didn't see Liz Cheney as much of a threat. Now, he finds her an annoyance and he's angry with her as lots of Republicans are because she will not let them forget.

And that's the issue here. They want to forget it. They don't wand to be held accountable for January 6th and their reaction to January 6th. They want to talk about whatever they want to talk about with Joe Biden and Liz Cheney is standing there, saying stop, you can't cross the bridge.

Yes, we're not going to forgot this and that's work and that threatened democracy and if we want to be true conservatives loyal to the Constitution of the United States. We have to say where we stand on this and they don't want to go there. They just don't want to go there.

TAPPER: To be clear, Liz Cheney gave a very forceful condemnation of Biden policies last Wednesday.

BORGER: Yes.

TAPPER: It's not like she doesn't want to talk about Biden. She doesn't prefer to talk about how the Democrats are awful in terms of policy.

BORGER: Right.

TAPPER: It's just, Laura, that she does not want to pretend that the election lies and the insurrection are anything other than, you know, what they were.

I guess other question, Laura, is where does Liz Cheney go from here? Is it possible she might not be re-elected?

I mean, Trump and the Matt Gaetz wing of the Republican Party, which I guess despite his legal problems, remains ascendant. God forbid Liz Cheney tells the truth but Matt Gaetz is doing everything he's doing. Might she actually lose her reelection to the House ion Wyoming?

BARRON LOPEZ: I think that's certainly possible, Jake. I mean, we've seen when President Trump decides to get involved in these races, that he can definitely upset incumbents. And so, that's definitely a possibility for Cheney, that she may not have a political future in the House.

Now, there's option that she may seek other office. But, again, this party is very much the party of Trump still. It's still very much trying to repeat what he is saying which to this day he's trying to argue that Biden is not a legitimately won president. We all know that that is false.

TAPPER: Yeah.

BARRON LOPEZ: But that is what they are do, and so by doing that it's also potentially shrinking their base.

So I know the conventional wisdom is in the midterm, the opposing party has an easier time of flipping the house or flipping the Senate, but by continuing to play to Trump, they are potentially also shrinking their base.

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TAPPER: It's just incredible to watch the House Republican Party. I mean, what's next, that the moon landing was fake? Is that going to be Republican dogma now in the House?

Gloria, Laura, and Jamie, thank you so much. Appreciate it all.

Coming up next, CNN is aboard a Ukrainian patrol boat as Russia moves its aggressive tactics from land to sea.

Stay with us.

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