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Federal Judge Blocks Biden's Controversial Asylum Policy In Major Blow To Administration; McCarthy Makes Most Direct Impeachment Threat Against Biden; Report: Heatwaves "Virtually Impossible" Without Human-Induced Climate Change; AL Republican Sen. Tuberville Responds To Military Spouses' Petition To End Block On Nominees. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired July 25, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:16]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: This just in. A federal judge has just dealt a major blow to the Biden administration's asylum policy, blocking a portion of that policy recently instituted.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more on this now.

And, Priscilla, this relates to the Biden policy that blocked folks from crossing the border, as I understand it, who traveled through another country, right?

I mean, for folks watching at home, this is key, is it not, because this had helped reduce, or the impression was, this had helped reduce the flows.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Jim, this is one of the measures that administration officials have cited for driving down border crossings.

Because what it does is it largely bars migrants who transit through other countries from seeking asylum at the U.S./Mexico border if they didn't first try to seek refuge in other countries.

And as you know, Jim, migrants that do come to the U.S./Mexico border have often passed through other countries, like Mexico or Guatemala, or recently, Panama.

So this is a blow to the administration, which had been using this policy as one of many measures to again drive down those border crossings.

And we know that it had some effect. In fact, just last month, the full month, where all of these issues were in place, U.S. Border Patrol had encountered nearly 100,000 migrants. That's the lowest it had been since February of 2021.

But this is a ruling that could have major ramifications on the U.S./Mexico border. But it is also important to note that the judge put this on hold for

14 days. So that gives the Justice Department time to file for an appeal and try to stop this ruling from going into effect.

Now, we should also note that this is a judge who had heard a similar case under the Trump administration over a similar policy. And he had also blocked it then. So we assume this was probably the route he was going to take.

[13:35:06]

Now it's in -- now the ball really is in the Justice Department's court, and whether or not they decide to appeal.

But certainly, this could cause some anxiety within the Biden administration, as it has relied on this policy, among others, again, to try to drive down those border crossings.

SCIUTTO: So 14 days, we assume the DOJ appeals. That will then go to the Ninth Circuit, though, which had previously reaffirmed this judge's rulings, is that right? In similar cases?

ALVAREZ: Yes, this was under, again, that Trump administration, when similar policies were rolled out.

So just -- again, we don't know how this is going to play out. We just got this ruling.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

ALVAREZ: But the Ninth Circuit has previously affirmed the lower court when it came to this type of rule.

SCIUTTO: Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much for covering for us.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: An impeachment inquiry of President Biden is on the table. That's what House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told FOX anchor and Trump ally, Sean Hannity, signaling an aggressive new approach as Republicans investigate Hunter Biden.

Republicans allege that Joe Biden was linked to his son's business deals, pushing unverified claims of a bribery scheme. Biden and the White House have repeatedly denied those claims.

Let's take you now live to Capitol Hill with CNN's Lauren Fox.

So, Lauren, those House Republican leadership conversations about impeaching Joe Biden, they were tabled a few weeks ago. Something changed.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a divisive issue, Boris, even among House Republicans. This is an issue that divides more moderate members, who have to go run for re-election in Biden-won districts. And it is also an issue that for some conservatives is an important

inflection point for the speaker of the House.

Yesterday, we heard the strongest comments that we have heard so far from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on this issue.

Here's what he told Sean Hannity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): We've only followed where the information has taken us. But, Hannity --

(CROSSTALK)

MCCARTHY: -- rising to the level of impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And House Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden's business dealings for months now. And they have yet to provide a direct link of evidence to President Joe Biden.

However, some Republicans are arguing that if you open an official impeachment inquiry, what you can get is more information.

Now, some Republicans have their sights set on other Biden administration officials for impeachment, including the secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandra Mayorkas, as well as Merrick Garland, the attorney general.

So this is part of a broader push from some conservatives within the party, who want to see impeached on the table in the next couple of months -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes, they have threatened to impeach like a half-dozen cabinet officials in the Biden administration. We'll see what comes of it.

Lauren Fox, thanks so much.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, we have told you, of course, about the punishing heatwaves in the U.S. and in Europe. Next, a report that says that things could get a lot worse.

This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[13:42:49]

SCIUTTO: A climate warming to all of us. The extreme heatwave scorching the U.S. and other countries across three continents right now would be, quote, "virtually impossible" without human-induced climate change.

That conclusion comes from World Weather Attribution scientists, as temperatures are shattering records, not just for intensity, but also for longevity.

The heat destroying crops and livestock, triggering wildfires, exacerbating water shortages and, sadly, killing people. "Heat hell" is how one scientist is describing it.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is here with details on the report.

And, Chad, you and I talk about this all the time. There's been some wild weather. I know weather is not climate, but there are weather patterns that the data shows and has for years are the result of the warming planet.

Explain for folks at home in layman's terms what we're seeing now is connected to human-induced climate change.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We know exactly what climate change is going to do to the earth, pretty much. I know that there is not exactly day-to-day or month-to-month, because, like you said, that's weather, not climate.

But we know that things are going to get more extreme. And we know that there's been extreme heat in the desert southwest the past three or four weeks.

We know there's been pretty extreme weather across parts of New Hampshire, all the way up through Nova Scotia, all those areas that flooded significantly.

And those extremes are becoming more normal than what they were. What would have happened every 20 or 30 years, now can happen every two or three.

Now we're going to see this heat move into the northeast, where temperatures even in New York City are going to approach 96.

So the heatwaves in 2023, here, 3.6 degrees above normal across the southwest, 4.5, and 1.8 across parts of China.

This is what we're talking about when they said, this would virtually be impossible to get to these numbers, because we are so far above the records, we are so far above in breaking records day after day.

So we should have heatwaves about every one to 15 years here, just like this.

But with global warming going on, that may change a lot, because this is where normal used to be. Now we know that normal is farther to the right.

[13:44:58] The bell curve has changed. The standard deviation has changed. We're now going to see three times more likelihood of those type of flash floods, those type of heatwaves, because of where we are now in this globally warming planet.

We have been above the old record now since July 3rd, the record set back in 2016, right there. We've been above that and above all of the other Julys. So we're absolutely going to break July's records, no question about that.

China has been over 50 degrees. They've never had a number like that ever, ever recorded.

So, yes, places are hot. And 25 degrees in a row where the high temperature in Phoenix has been over 110. Patterns are stuck.

If these things moved and we get two to three days like this, OK. But when patterns get stuck, this is when it's dangerous -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: Yes. Watch the data. If you don't believe that, watch your thermometer.

Chad Myers, thanks for helping to breaking it down.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: Military families slamming Senator Tuberville's, quote, "inappropriate and unpatriotic" hold on military nominations. Delivering a letter with a clear message, do not use us as political leverage. Now the Alabama Republican is responding. We'll break it down when we come back.

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[13:50:54]

SANCHEZ: Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is responding to a support group for military spouses that demanded he end his hold on military leadership promotions.

The nonpartisan Secure Families Initiative hand delivered a petition to Tuberville with signatures of more than 500 active-duty military spouses.

They called on him to end his blockade because they say it jeopardized national security and disrupts the lives of servicemembers and their families.

The petition said, in part, quote, "No matter your political beliefs, you must agree that servicemembers and military families will not be used as political leverage.

"It's time to end this political showmanship and recommit to respect the service and sacrifice of those who pledge to defend this nation."

Tuberville has blocked nearly 300 nominations, including roles for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commandant of Marine Corps. He's doing it as a way to protest new Pentagon policies on reproductive health care.

A spokesperson for the Senator sent CNN a statement defending his position say this, quote:

"Coach honors and is grateful for the service of all of our heroes in uniform. That is why he's working to get politics out of the military, using the tools he has as a United States Senator, including his hold."

Let's get some perspective from Sarah Streyder. She's the executive director of the Secure Families Initial. She's also a military spouse herself.

Sarah, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us and for all of the effort that your family's put into defending our nation.

What is your response to Senator Tuberville's response to your statement?

SARAH STEYDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SECURE FAMILIES INITIATIVE & MILITARY SPOUSE: Unfortunately, it reminds me of the kind of platitude I think military families are all too used to.

Folks say that they honor our service and sacrifice, while simultaneously pushing for policies that undermine that service and that sacrifice.

You know, if I got the chance to speak to the Senator in person, which, unfortunately, we were unable to do yesterday as he was at a fundraiser, what I would have explained to him is this is affecting every single one of us with a loved one in uniform.

It's like pulling a football coach in the biggest game of the season and expecting that to not affect the players on the field. Please stop this.

SANCHEZ: So, Sarah, how has this impacted you personally and perhaps other military families that you're hearing from?

STREYDER: So, we're in direct contact with some of the folks whose promotions have been blocked. We've heard from folks who have kids whose schooling is now in limbo.

They may not get to the next duty station in time to start trying out for fall sports or music teams. We've heard from spouses who have already quit their old jobs and can't move and get the new job so they're in some financial limbo as well.

But I think the most alarming stories are from families who have military kids who are about to turn 18, who are taking one look at these political games being played with the military and strongly considering not joining because they don't want to put their careers at risk. Those are the stories I want us to pay most close attention because

this is going to have ramification for recruitment in the future.

SANCHEZ: That is significant because there are already issues with recruitment into the volunteer force.

I'm wondering, Sarah, what you make of the Senator's argument that he's trying to do this to get politics out of the military, that he wants the military not have anything to do with the debate over productive rights?

STREYDER: Well, first of all, I think it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the policy at play. The DOD has posited what is essentially a travel and leave policy to allow servicemembers, who do not have control over where they get stationed or where they live, to access health care.

But what's most important is the underlying tactic that the Senator is using. This is more politicizing of the military than any other policies he's debating.

And we would much rather he stop attacking 300 families who have nothing to do with the policy in the first place and process this disagreement with the DOD through the regular legislative channels.

[13:55:04]

SANCHEZ: And, Sarah, what happens if these holds drag on, if this continues?

STREYDER: Well, by the end of the summer, we're going to have half of the Joint Chiefs of Staff open. And that's no way to run a military, to run a country.

Does the Senator expect the commander-in-chief to continue without the foremost military expertise he needs to make decisions? I mean, this is going to be terrible for national security.

Which is why we're trying to encourage the Senator to withdraw his hold, resolve the disagreements through normal appropriate channels so we can move forward and be fully staffed for what comes next.

SANCHEZ: Sarah Streyder, we have to leave the conversation there. We appreciate your time. And please keep us posted on your efforts to have a one-on-one with Senator Tuberville.

STREYDER: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: Coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we have a deal. UPS and the Teamsters reach a plan, which could head off what would have been an economically crippling strike. We'll have the latest, just ahead.

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