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Sen. Eva Burch (D-AZ), Is Interviewed About Arizona Republicans Block Efforts To Repeal Abortion Ban; Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Is Interviewed About Greene And Johnson Seen Having Long Discussion On Floor; "The James Webb Telescope: Are We Alone?" Airs Sunday At 8PM ET/PT. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 12, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Now, this announcement today comes just a few days after President Biden rolled out a sweeping new proposal to reduce or wipe out student loan debt for millions of Americans essentially a do over of his first student loan forgiveness plan, which was struck down by the Supreme Court.

The hope here is that this plan would be in place by the fall in time for voters as they're set to make up their minds before November's election. But this also marks the latest attempt by Biden to show that he's trying to bring down costs for Americans. You often hear him talk about reducing the price for the prescription drugs taking on junk fees.

Student loans, is also an area where the White House believes they've done a lot of work on. But it comes at a time when the President has consistently faced pessimistic views of his handling of the economy. And many Americans are still feeling like their financial states are not doing any better. The President got some tough news this week, when a key inflation report found that prices had ticked up in the month of March, really highlighting the fact that inflation has been a very stubborn political issue for Biden in this campaign.

Now, the Biden campaign is also eager to draw some economic contrast with former President Donald Trump. Campaign officials this morning tell me that next week President Biden will hit the battleground state of Pennsylvania. He will be there over three days in three different cities and his very first stop is his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Officials tell me that the president there will really seek to highlight the differences in the two candidates tax policies arguing that Biden is working for middle class Americans while former President Trump is working for wealthy Americans. We have often seen Biden trying to return to his hometown, using it as the backdrop to make his appeal to working class voters. That will be no different next week.

I will also note that as the President is in Pennsylvania, we will have a pretty stark political split screen as former President Donald Trump is expected to spend most of the week in New York for his criminal trial.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Arlette Saenz at the White House this morning. Arlette, thanks so much. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Tucson, Arizona as the fight for reproductive freedom was electrified by a newly passed law on abortion revived from 1864 in Arizona. Her visit comes after the state Supreme Court reinstated a near total abortion ban that dates back to the Civil War era.

I want to discuss now with Arizona State Senator Eva Burch, thank you so much for joining us. We will talk politics in a bit. But I want to talk to you about your personal experience. You've spoken about your own abortion and you're a nurse practitioner, when you look at what has happened now in Arizona, and what the law of the land is there. What is this been like for you?

SEN. EVA BURCH (D-AZ): Well, I think that disappointing would be a really dramatic understatement. The timing really couldn't be any worse anymore ironic. I just had my abortion procedure less than three weeks before this decision was handed down. And what we're really looking at here, if this goes into effect, is an impossible scenario for medical providers in Arizona, where they really have to make decisions in critical circumstances that are life and death. And that really isn't the sort of legislation that we should be promoting in the state of Arizona.

SIDNER: When you look at this now turning to politics, do you think this issue is even larger than immigration? Immigration has been a huge issue in Arizona, perhaps the top issue and it became a top issue in polling for Americans across the country. And now you have this law put in place it is getting a ton of attention. Do you think the Democrats are really going to be able to get a boost in the state because of it?

BURCH: Well, I'm certainly not going to diminish the issue of immigration. We have, you know, serious problems with immigration in Arizona and things that need to be addressed in a really comprehensive and collaborative way, which isn't what's happening. But that's the same thing that we're experiencing with the abortion conversation.

We should be having these collaborative conversations in the Arizona legislature. But instead, they are having closed door meetings where Democrats who have been advocating for reproductive health care for decades are left out of the conversation so that the legislative Republicans who have been eroding reproductive rights for Arizonans for decades, can decide amongst themselves what they're going to do about this issue.

Do I think that that's going to move voters to come to the polls? And do I think it's going to move the needle in November for Arizona Democratic candidates? Yes, I do. I think that it's going to get people energized. I think that people are going to be more politically engaged than they have been before. And I'm hoping that we see the effects of that in November. SIDNER: I'm curious, I know you're a Democrat, but I'm curious what you think about your Republican counterparts. I want to talk first about Donald Trump. He made a big policy announcement as you know saying, look, his policy is that the states will decide what to do when it comes to abortion rights. But when Arizona actually did so, and they made this ruling, he sort of retracted or he reacted this way, listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[09:35:17]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Arizona go to far?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, they did. I'm sure that the governor and everybody else will going to bring it back into reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So he says, I'm sure the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason. Is that what you're hearing there from Republicans?

BURCH: No, of course not. We had an opportunity to bring it back into reason on Wednesday. And it is a simple solution to fix this problem in Arizona. All we have to do is repeal the ban. It's something that we could have done at any point in time. We've been in session since January, and the bill was sitting in the House collecting dust where it couldn't get a hearing. So we could have fixed this problem at any time.

They have proven and shown us that they're not interested in that. What I think is likely happening now and what the legislative Republicans have told us what Leader Toma over in the House has said publicly is that we're going to, you know, put the brakes on this, and we need to have a talk about it. And we need to consider what we're going to do next.

And what that means is they're going to try to decide how they can use this to their advantage, how they can put something else into the conversation into whatever the bill is or the solution that they come forward with to make it probably something that Democrats can't vote for, or something that is not in line with what the people of Arizona wants.

If we were going to do the right thing, we would have done it on Wednesday. We would have just done a straight repeal of the ban. But when we have extremists like Donald Trump and Kari Lake at the top of the ticket, and then we have extremists like Shawnna Bolick and like Matt Gress here in the Arizona legislature, those kinds of things can't get done.

And I am exhausted hearing Republicans ask Democrats to clean up their mess. Donald Trump can say that, no, you know, this is too far. But this is your problem. This is the problem that you created. And we're not seeing any accountability. And what we're experiencing in Arizona is a problem that Donald Trump and legislative Republicans created. And now they're expecting other people to clean up their mess without taking any accountability and we just can't stand for it.

SIDNER: You mentioned Donald Trump, you also mentioned the Senate Candidate Kari Lake who has flip flopped now on this issue. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out there. But for now, Arizona State Senator Eva Burch, thank you so much for taking the time to come on this morning and talk about this important issue.

BURCH: Thanks so much for having me.

SIDNER: Sure. John?

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news, just moments ago, the House held a vote that really could show how much control Mike Johnson has over Republicans there. We'll tell you the results just after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:34]

BERMAN: All right, we do have some breaking news. What you see there on the screen is a vote, a procedural vote in the House of Representatives. Normally, this would not be such a big deal. But this time that vote you're seeing there signifies House Speaker Mike Johnson's control of his own party where it might be headed. This is a vote on a rule to allow a full vote on reauthorizing a surveillance bill, a FISA surveillance bill, a lot of that sounds complicated. But what you need to know is that Mike Johnson was sort of embarrassed a few days ago when 19 Republicans voted against him on this narrow procedural measure.

But this time this morning just minutes ago, we're looking at it right there. It passed, and no Republicans voted against him. With us now is Democratic congressman from Florida, Jared Moskowitz. Congressman, nice to see you this morning. The rule, the FISA rule passed, does this mean House Speaker Mike Johnson, all his problems with his own party are over?

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): Thanks, John. Thanks for having me. No, it doesn't mean it. I mean, look, they've had more rules go down this Congress since the last time that happened was in the 70s. And so, you know, this is an historic Congress, right. You know, they've removed a speaker that never happened. They impeach the cabinet secretary, that hadn't happened 150 years. They removed a member of their own party that hadn't happened in 20 years. And they've passed, I don't know, 50 bills, I think which the average is about 400.

They're way beyond the pace and think -- I don't think we've sent a policy bill to the President since the middle of last year. And so, you know, look, it's good that this rule passed so that we can make sure that we're keeping Americans safe from terrorist threats around the globe. But, no, the dysfunction of the 118th Congress is not over just because they passed one rule. They were able to convince Donald Trump to stop telling his members not to vote for it. BERMAN: So House Speaker Mike Johnson was seen on the floor with Marjorie Taylor Greene just before the vote, don't know what they talked about. What we do know is she has been talking about calling for a new vote to oust him from the speaker's chair. If that were to happen, if it were to get to the floor again, where Republicans push to remove the speaker, Democrats, they get to vote too. You get to vote too. How would you vote in this case?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, like I've said, I mean Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't have the votes. She doesn't have the votes to remove the speaker. She doesn't have the votes to rename a post office. Democrats never let her do that. This is someone who wants to secede from the Union. And so, no, I am never going to allow Marjorie Taylor Greene to stand in the well of the people's House and give a speech to remove a speaker, which then would elevate her power wise in the House. So if that motion were to come by Marjorie Taylor Greene, there's no way that I will sit by and let her do that.

[09:45:32]

BERMAN: So if it comes through Marjorie Taylor Greene, you would vote to keep Mike Johnson in the Speaker's chair?

MOSKOWITZ: Well, look, we obviously want to make sure that just like last time, our leader Hakeem Jeffries is negotiating with Republicans. We want to make sure that he has the support of his caucus. But as a American, as someone who took an oath to the Constitution, there is zero chance that I would let Marjorie Taylor Greene sit in the well of the people's House and pick who the next speaker would be, zero.

BERMAN: What would that look like? Would that look like you not voting for Hakeem Jeffries and actually casting a vote for Mike Johnson?

MOSKOWITZ: Yes, no, that's not what the vote is. So you don't vote on the speaker, right? It's different from what you saw on television, where I cast my vote for Hakeem Jeffries. And they cast their vote for Kevin McCarthy. The vote is on a motion to vacate. And there'll be a motion to table that.

So first, you'll vote on the table, right? And so Democrats could decide to table the motion so we don't even get to the actual vote. If the table were to fail, then the motion to vacate is either just yes to declare the speaker's chair vacant or no, to declare the speaker's chair vacant. It's never on the person. That's why what I'm saying is I'm not voting for Mike Johnson. I'm not saving Mike Johnson. I'm voting against Marjorie Taylor Greene.

BERMAN: Got it. Even though in a way you wouldn't be voting for Mike Johnson, who's going to your home state today to Mar-a-Lago to hold a press conference with Donald Trump, when they are going to engage in election conspiracies once again. You're OK with that?

MOSKOWITZ: No, of course not. But remember, we're pretending like this motion to vacate by Marjorie, she makes it and it fails, somehow the speaker is going to survive, right? It's very likely that once we start down that path, right, that hit -- the clock is ticking on him anyway, which is why I'm saying I'm not interested in saving Mike Johnson. I'm just not interested in turning this body, one of the greatest legislative bodies ever created, turning this over to Marjorie Taylor Greene.

BERMAN: I just wanted to ask you, because today's Friday, Monday, something historic in this country happens, which is that a former president will go on criminal trial here in New York City. I just want you to reflect on that, what that's going to look like, what that's going to feel like when Donald Trump is on trial here?

MOSKOWITZ: Yes, I said this when he was first indicted, and then, you know, he was indicted, like, I don't know, three more times after that, that this is a sad day for America, right? No one should be jumping for joy, that Donald Trump has gotten himself in so much trouble, that he has 90 indictments. That's not good for America.

And so, look, he deserves a fair trial. And, you know, whatever the verdicts are, the verdicts are going to be. But it is not a good day, obviously for the country. And no one should be celebrating the fact that we now have a former president, dealing with 90 indictments.

BERMAN: Congressman Jared Moskowitz, thanks so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

MOSKOWITZ: Thanks. Appreciate it.

BERMAN: Sara?

[09:48:33]

SIDNER: All right, stick around because the images you are going to see are literally out of this world. You're going to love this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, an inside look at the most powerful telescope ever built for the whole story CNN's Kristin Fisher explores the James Webb telescope and how it's helping shape what we know about the universe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The James Webb Space Telescope unprecedented in science and scale.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is effectively the best time machine that we've ever created.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James Webb is revealing the cosmic story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where do we come from? Are we alone in the universe? These are big questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: unlocking the secrets that we never knew.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well over 10,000 individuals $10 billion. FISHER: Behind schedule over budget.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's thousands of ways this can go badly and one way it goes right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James Webb begins a voyage back to the birth of the universe.

FISHER (voice-over): And those otherworldly images displayed on a cosmic tapestry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a historical moment for humanity and I feel we are super privileged, that we can actually see this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully we'll be able to see a reflection of ourselves and to learn more about where we came from.

FISHER (voice-over): Replacing our reality by rekindling a childlike imagination.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all astronomers as a kid, as an adult you look up, you say what's out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FISHER: So we spent two years following two scientific teams, as these scientists became some of the very first scientists to ever get their hands or eyes on the most powerful telescope ever built. And you could see one of those astronomers there Dan Milisavljevic, getting emotional as he walked into Webb's mission control for the very first time.

[09:55:06]

And you know, John, I think there has been so much said about the hardware of the Webb telescope itself, how, you know, what a magnificent machine it is. And of course, we've seen all of these incredible images that the Webb telescope has produced, what we wanted to do and what makes this story different is we wanted to shine the spotlight on the scientists themselves, because it's up to them to come up with the questions that the telescope will then try to answer.

And, you know, John, these are really some of the questions that cut to the core of, you know, who we are, why we're here, and what this all means. John?

BERMAN: It really is so fundamental, and it's so great to hear the stories of the people behind it. You're talking about hands and eyes and you're talking to telescope just makes me nervous that someone's going to get a fingerprint on the telescope, but you can't do it with the James Webb I know.

FISHER: No.

BERMAN: I know you can't do it with this one, but it still makes me nervous. Kristin Fisher, this is going to be so terrific. Thank you so much. Be sure to tune into an all new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole topic, airs Sunday 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

SIDNER: I don't know what it says about me my favorite images, the dying star. So I love that image. Yes, thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Jim Acosta up next with "NEWSROOM."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)