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Texas Democrats Leave State to Block GOP's Restrictive Voting Bills; FDA Adds Warning of Rare Nerve Syndrome Linked to J&J Vaccine; Unrest Rocks Multiple Countries after Protests and an Assassination. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 13, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: It is the top of the hour. Good morning, everyone. I'm so glad you're with us this Tuesday. I'm poppy harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

A political showdown over voting rights has turned into a game of catch me if you can. Right now, dozens of Texas House Democrats are in Washington, D.C. after leaving Texas by plane to block new voting restrictions being pushed by Republicans. The move is part of a push to break quorum when the Texas House reconvenes its special session in less than an hour. If you don't have enough legislators present, you can't pass legislation.

Those Texas Democrats are hoping to speak with Senate Democrats who they want to do more to protect voting rights nationally.

HARLOW: Later today, President Biden is expected to lay out what the White House describes as the moral case for the fundamental right to vote in a major speech he is set to give in Philadelphia. He will also launch a pressure campaign, we're told, to try to combat Republican efforts in Republican-led state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.

As for those Texas Democrats, once they return to the Lone Star State, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott says they will be arrested.

Let's begin with our Dianne Gallagher in Washington, outside of the hotel where those lawmakers are staying. It's going to be maybe 30 days, I suppose, until that happens. In the meantime, what can they get done in D.C.?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Poppy, the main thing right now, at least in about an hour that they're getting done, is they're going to break quorum when the Texas House reconvenes, again, in roughly an hour down in Austin. There will not be enough lawmakers there to make quorum.

So that's going to be the initial goal because that is going to block or at least delay the passage or any sort of continued conversation on these election legislation, these bills that add new restrictions and criminal penalties to voting in Texas.

Beyond that, well, they've got to figure out how long they can do this, because Governor Greg Abbott has indicated that he has the power and he's going to use it to continue calling these 30-day special sessions, one after another, after another.

They came to D.C. for a reason, and that was specifically to try and influence, beg, plead, with senate Democrats to pass some kind of federal voting legislation, some kind of protection that would prevent bills like in Texas, SB-1 or HB-3, from becoming law because of reinstating preclearance and making some of these measures simply illegal.

Whether or not that is going to happen, they've been here before trying to do it. We've seen that there is not a lot of appetite for that here on Capitol Hill. But I can tell you that these lawmakers just boarded buses behind me a couple of minutes ago to head to the Hill, they're going to hold a press conference. They're attempting to meet with lawmakers to try and continue this influence campaign.

Again, they have got to be out of the state of Texas for the special session until the beginning of August, but Governor Abbott could call additional special sessions. And when they return, he has vowed they will be detained.

SCIUTTO: Dianne, thank you so much for following this so closely.

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju joins us now from Capitol Hill. So, Manu, Texas House Democrats, they're hoping to meet with Senate Democrats today in Washington. Just bring us up to date on where an effort stands, for instance, just on the less expansive Voting Rights Act. I mean, you do have a little bit of bipartisan work on that but is that -- does that have a snowball's chance at this point?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does not. There really is no chance of getting these legislation through, either the big bill, which lacks even 50 Democratic supports or 50 Democrats who did vote to begin debate, but they didn't vote on the underlying bill. They need 60 to overcome a Republican filibuster. And then, as you mentioned, a narrower bill to restore the -- a provision that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013 on the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. That bill is being worked on in a bipartisan way.

But there is really only one Republican senator who is working with a key Democrat. That Republican, Lisa Murkowski, working with Joe Manchin. There are not 60 votes for that. The House Democrats do plan to move some version of that voting rights legislation this fall but it is not going to pass the Senate.

So, ultimately, this is going to be an argument that will be taken to the states and to -- during the midterm elections, to try to convince voters, one way or the other, if you're a Democrat, they should be reelected, or if you're a Republican, they should take control of Congress.

Now, these Texas state lawmakers are up here this week. They're going to -- expected to meet with Democrats. I'm told that they were expected to meet later this afternoon with Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leaders. Details of that are still being worked out. Expect them to have other meetings with Democrats as well, including Senator Joe Manchin, that has not been finalized yet.

[10:05:06]

But, nevertheless, those meetings will happen on the Democratic side. But convincing Republicans, that is not going to happen. It is unclear they're even going to meet with Republicans. The senior Republican senator from Texas told me yesterday about this effort, he calls -- he said that if they want to stay, that is not very Texan of them to leave the state, to flee the state. They should stay and fight. That is more Texan of them.

So you're seeing what they -- coming up here, they're not going to change the dynamics here but they'll be up here, and they'll probably meet with Democrats, the votes though won't change. Guys?

HARLOW: So you wonder what are they going to be able to accomplish over the next month there, those Texas Democrats in Washington. I know they hope to start taking those meetings. We'll follow up, Manu. Thanks a lot.

Today, President Biden will head to -- he's going to be Philadelphia. He is going to, the White House says, lay out the moral case for protecting the right to vote across the country. This speech follows a flurry of restrictive voting laws passed by Republican-controlled, legislature many of them based on the big lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

SCIUTTO: John Harwood is at the White House. So, John, they don't have the votes to pass legislation. The White House sees this as a pressure campaign. What does this mean exactly?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means it is the beginning of the process and not the end of the process. What we're seeing play out, as you heard from Dianne and Manu, is Democrats using what tools are available to them to try to counter what is going on on the Republican side. In the case of Texas Democrats, it is leaving the state to block action. In the case of President Biden, he's going to the National Constitution Center to try to make the case against what Republicans are doing in state after state.

It is a bit of a paradox because, of course, Joe Biden got a majority of votes in the last election. He's got majority support in the country right now, but he does not have the votes in the United States Senate to pass federal protections for voting rights.

So that moral case he's going to make is that what Republicans are doing, lying about the 2020 election, trying to make it harder for Democrats to win the next election, by changing the rules, making it harder to vote, changing election administration. He's trying to make the case that that is wrong, framing it as part of the larger battle that he is attempting to wage between the viability of democracies and the viability of authoritarian regimes.

Now, he's not completely powerless. He has got the executive branch. And The Justice Department is pursuing action against states that are trying to curb voting rights. He can rally -- try to rally Democrats in states to resist at the state level, rally voters, as Manu indicated, in the 2022 election.

But the White House and Democrats more broadly have not given up on the prospect of trying to ultimately get action in Congress. Don't have the votes today, but if they believe that if they could that moral case over time and more and more convince fellow Democrats in the Senate that the burden of protecting American democracy falls to them, they hope at some point between now and November 2022, they can have an attempt to try to get around that filibuster.

Unlikely to succeed, but they haven't given up on the effort as they look ahead to the next year.

SCIUTTO: We'll see if it works. John Harwood at the White House.

These are live pictures right now, Texas Democrats speaking on Capitol Hill as they try to get the U.S. Senate on board with a national effort to fend off the state voter restrictions. We're going to bring you updates as they happen.

Joining us now to discuss the big picture, Martin Luther King III, a global human rights leader, thanks so much for taking the time today, sir.

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS LEADER: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: I wonder, first question for you, if your father was alive today, how do you think he would feel that after all these years, there is still a battle for equal voting rights? In fact, you can argue that protections for voting rights are being rolled back.

KING: You are absolutely correct. I think my father would be greatly disappointed in some of the leadership of our nation, particularly when you're suppressing the right to vote as opposed to expanding. But you never give up. He would be diligently organizing, mobilizing, strategizing, and, ultimately, victory can be seen. Although we can't see right at this moment how we're going to get out of this quagmire, but I am sure that, ultimately, American people are going to stand up.

For example, we're having a major march on August 28th, the march on Washington, the anniversary. And we've marching in five different states, including the district of Columbia, to say that American voices need to be heard around the issue of voter restrictions.

SCIUTTO: Let me ask you this. So, keeping up the fight, but there is a time limit, right? I mean, you have got election coming up in a little over a year, right, in which Republicans could take back one chamber of Congress, maybe even two, at which point there is no hope for legislation like this. [10:10:09]

I just wonder, have you been disappointed so far by the efforts of President Biden and congressional Democrats to get something passed, to take action?

KING: Well I've been one of those who consistently challenged the administration, challenged Democrats. I think Congressman Clyburn came up with an interesting solution around the filibuster. If they are -- not around the filibuster, but I'm saying, if there are issues around a budget that we could vote on and actually have an adopted budget, then why not the issue of voting, which is fundamental and the most important issue? Why not could we also utilize that same provision for it?

SCIUTTO: It is a good question. We'll see. I mean, do you believe that the Democrats have a strategy? The president is going to speak this afternoon to launch, in effect, a pressure campaign, right, to push voters, legislators, et cetera, at the state level. But are you confident they've got a plan to get something passed?

KING: I cannot personally say that I'm aware of a plan. I do know that there are a number of things that are being proposed. What I do not know is what is actually physically going to happen. But, again, the people are not going anywhere. People are going to be demonstrating in five states across this country on August 28th. And so we're going to continue to strategize, to organize, to mobilize, to march and demonstration and also to register. One of the goals is to register at least 2 million people by next year's election.

SCIUTTO: I want to ask you before we go, Brennan Center for Justice, it has done a good accounting of this, 28 new restrictive voting laws in 17 states. You look at things like limiting drop boxes, say, in Harris County, Texas, has 5 million people and just one drop box now, Democratic county, also heavily African-American county. Do you believe these laws are deliberately designed to make it harder not just for Democrats to vote, but for people of color?

KING: Well, I do think the laws are designed to make people, make it harder for people to vote. It restricts everyone's ability to participate in our democracy. And that is very sad in 2021 that we've been debating this issue. As I said, we should be expanding, not subtracting and reducing.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And we should note, in the past, voting rights legislation only a few years ago, tended to be bipartisan. Now we have got parties going in opposite directions. Martin Luther King III, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

KING: Thank you for the opportunity.

HARLOW: Great interview. All right, still to come for us, as a new warning is attached to the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the benefits of getting vaccinated far outweigh any side effects of this one. More on the push to get for Americans vaccinated, next. SCIUTTO: Plus, record setting heat on the west coast has millions of people, millions under heat alerts. Has climate change made this the new normal?

And political crises erupting in Cuba, Haiti, South Africa. Look at those pictures there of protests. We're going to be live from all three countries as only CNN can do ahead this hour.

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HARLOW: Welcome back. The FDA is now warning that the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine could lead to an increased risk of a rare nerve condition known as Guillian-Barre syndrome.

SCIUTTO: To be clear, the FDA says only 100 preliminary reports of the syndrome have been reported out of nearly 13 million doses of J&J vaccine administered.

Joins us now, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, CNN Medical Analyst, Professor of Medicine and Surgery at George Washington University. Dr. Reiner, good to have you on.

As a matter of comparison, our Sanjay Gupta said that even with the numbers, you're still more likely to get this syndrome just from contracting the flu regularly, and I wonder what your view is. Is this a significant concern or not significant?

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, what cheers me is that we have a vaccine safety monitoring system that works. And I think the take home message for the American public is that the FDA just didn't issue EUAs for vaccines, they are actively monitoring their efficacy and side effects.

We do see Guillain-Barre every year in the United States from vaccines. We see it from the flu vaccine probably about 300 times a year. So, the incidents with the J&J vaccine in the 13 million doses given in the United States might be a bit higher than what we've seen with the influenza. I don't think it is alarming. It is still fairly unlikely. Every year in the U.S. -- every week in the U.S., we see about 100 cases of Guillain-Barre (INAUDIBLE) including all kinds of (INAUDIBLE). Guillian-Barre has been reported with just COVID, as you said, with just the COVID infection itself. So this is not a red flag.

What is more important to me, frankly, is understanding whether the J&J vaccine has high efficacy against delta and we still don't have compelling clinical data that shows us that.

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HARLOW: Important point. Dr. Reiner, just to be very clear for our viewers, we are only talking about Guillain-Barre is related to the J&J vaccine, which is a fundamentally different, very differently formulated vaccine than the mRNA vaccine of Moderna and Pfizer. REINER: Right. So, the J&J vaccine is similar to the AstraZeneca vaccine. It uses an adenovirus vector. And, in fact, Guillain-Barre has been reported with the AstraZeneca vaccine as well. There does not appear to be an incidence of Guillain-Barre with (INAUDIBLE) Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, which also have been shown to be extraordinarily effective at preventing both infection and particularly severe illness, hospitalization and death.

So I think there really is no worry right now about Guillain-Barre with the two mRNA. This should not be an impediment to getting vaccinated. I think if a one-shot vaccine appeals to you, you can safely get the J&J vaccine. If you have concern, we have two other great choices in the United States.

SCIUTTO: And, by the way, most, by far, people in the United States have gotten either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

And the data on them, Dr. Reiner, again, for folks listening at home who may be making a decision right now for themselves or for their family, more than 99 percent, that is not an exaggeration. I'm not just saying 99 percent out of hand, but more than 99 percent of COVID deaths right now are from or among unvaccinated people. I mean, do you -- as a doctor, do you ever see data that clear, right, in terms of showing the benefit in death prevention from a disease like this?

REINER: No. Every person who is currently dying in the United States from COVID is unvaccinated. In fact, last month in Maryland where I live, every single COVID death occurred in an unvaccinated person. So that is one piece of data that I would remind the public of.

The other piece of data is virtually every physician in the United States, I think somewhere between 96 percent and 98 percent of doctors in the United States have been vaccinated. So if that is the case, people in the United States need to ask themselves, why would doctors be getting vaccinated. Because we understand the data. You will not die from this virus if you are vaccinated. That is the bottom line. I can't say it any simpler than that.

HARLOW: Yes, I'm so glad you said it and we'll keep saying it over and over again. Jonathan Reiner, thank you, as always.

REINER: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: Well, the South African military has now been deployed in Johannesburg and elsewhere as violent protests have turned deadly now in that country. We're going to have a live report on what started it all, next.

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[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Around the world now, political events sparking major demonstrations and some unrest. What started as protests over the jailing of a former president, has led to looting, days of violence in South Africa, more than 750 people have been arrested now. In Cuba, thousands filled the streets to demand democracy as that communist country sinks deeper into a grave economic and health crisis.

And in Haiti, the government said at least 28 people were involved in the assassination of the president, including several people who worked as informants for U.S. law enforcement.

HARLOW: Our correspondents are standing by to bring us the latest. Patrick Oppmann is Havana, Matt Rivers in Port-au-Prince and David McKenzie in Johannesburg, South Africa, and that is where we begin.

David, to you first. Explain what is happening on the ground and what the response is from the president?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy and Jim, the president is calling for calm. But this is a situation here, you see this armored personnel character -- armored personnel carrier with troops inside it.

This is unheard of in democratic South Africa. Throughout the day, we've been out on the streets, at malls and shopping areas of this city, where there has been looting and unrepentantly, often with very few police or military on the scene.

The military has been called out. There is some sense of calm now but I think it is too early to tell whether this worse unrest in South Africa in many decades will calm down at this point. Jim and Poppy?

SCIUTTO: David, can you tell us, just explain to our viewers what spark this unrest at the start?

MCKENZIE: So, Jim, the spark was political. The fact that a former president, Jacob Zuma, was imprisoned for contempt after many years of allegations against him on corruption. That led to his supporters saying they're going to fight until he's released.

Now, that then spiraled out of control. I think it is no longer just politics. There is a massive wealth divide, as you know, Jim, you've reported here before in this country, people taking advantage of the disorder. It is too early to tell whether they will be able to bring it under control.

But you see, this military on the streets earlier, we saw the military at least in one case using live ammunition. There have been multiple arrests, scores killed and hundreds who have lost their livelihoods with masses damage and millions in lost revenue.

[10:30:07]

It is a sad day for South Africa.