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Key GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) Not Running for Re-Election; FDA Expected to Authorize Pfizer Vaccine for Kids Ages 5 to 11 Today; Search for Jurors Proving Difficult in Trial for Arbery's Killing. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 29, 2021 - 10:30   ET

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

ERICA HILL, CNN NEWSROOM: Within the Democratic caucus, how much of a focus is repairing that within the party?

[10:30:06]

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-L): Look, it's always been tent. I don't know that it was better or worse now than it was ten years ago when we passed health care. It was ugly at times then. So, you know, I think you have to build a day at a time. And the fact that the president came to us a second time on this, progressives seemed to be, you know, willing to accept that, gives me hope here.

We recognize as time goes on, you know, this is critical to the Biden administration. It's critical to what we heard in the last segment on your program, to show the rest of the world that we can function. That's extremely important not just for our economy but for our national security and our relationship with the rest of the world.

HILL: To your point, back here at home, right, we know the president had said yesterday it's not hyperbole. I'm paraphrasing a little bit here, but as I'm told, he definitely did use that word. It's not hyperbole for him to say that the majorities in the Senate and the House and his presidency are really riding on this legislation.

Did that message get through? That's something that's been discussed the last couple weeks. But to hear the president saying that to the full Democratic caucus, that felt like a different tone.

QUIGLEY: I think so. I think it weighs heavily on the caucus. I think they're also starting to recognize that, look, any one of the provisions in this package, if passed alone, will be seen as landmark legislation. We have to judge it not necessarily for what's not in there, which frustrates me too, but what is in there, universal pre-K, the expansion of Pell grants, expanding Medicare to include hearing. I could go on for a dozen other measures. Those are absolutely critical.

So, it's important to move forward not just with the Biden administration's agenda but with these key elements that are so important to our nation's future.

HILL: Are you concerned about the impact of what we've seen over the -- the sausage-making, a very public sausage-making on 2020, especially in your state of Illinois? We have got a full slate coming up in 2022.

QUIGLEY: Look, I'm concerned -- every generation has had its challenges. The greatest generation lived through the depression and beat back the fascists. Our generation faces these extraordinary challenges, like climate change and the others that we're talking about in the trip to Europe with the president. What concerns me isn't just what's going on in D.C., it's what's going on perhaps between the ears of Americans, what's in their hearts.

You know, are we so polarized that we can't see we're more united, we're stronger when we are united than we are divided? It is that animosity that I saw in person being in the room on January 6th. That's what concerns me most. It's reflected in D.C., and I think that's what we have to address as we moving forward.

HILL: Congressman, I also want to get your take. I'm just learning here that Congressman Adam Kinzinger has said he is not running for re-election. Again, we're just getting this now. I'm just curious, your response to that.

QUIGLEY: Yes, it's a surprise to me. Look, we've worked well together in our times in Congress. When Democrats ask Republicans to speak truth to power, you know, if we ask them to do that and they do that with some courage, I think we owe it to them, to give them the recognition.

So, you know, that's a shame. I'm going to Mr. Kinzinger in Congress. And I hope he continues in public life the kinds of things he's doing, addressing the concerns we had with the Trump administration.

HILL: Congressman Mike Quigley, we're going to have to leave it there this morning. I appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

HILL: And just ahead, much more on this breaking news, Congressman Adam Kinzinger's decision not to run for re-election. We are live on Capitol Hill. Stay with us. We're back after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

HILL: A major announcement on Capitol Hill. Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger will not run for re-election.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox joining us now from Capitol Hill. He had said just a couple weeks ago he was going to look at the options, of course, after things were being redrawn in the state. What more do we know about how he came to this decision, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a critical moment for the Republican Party in part because it is a reflection of not just redistricting and the politics in his own state but also the fact that there is not room in the Republican Party right now for individuals who do not back former President Donald Trump. Adam Kinzinger along with Liz Cheney has been one of the most outspoken members in deriding the former president's politics, his style, his lies about the election, and Adam Kinzinger saying just a short time ago on Twitter in a lengthy five-minute video that he is not going to seek re-election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): It has also become increasingly obvious to me that in order to break the narrative, I cannot focus on both a re-election to Congress and a broader fight nationwide.

[10:40:08]

I want to make it clear, this isn't the end of my political future but the beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And he's also making it clear in that lengthy video that he doesn't think people on Capitol Hill right now are leading. And it is easy to read between the lines there that he may be talk about his own Republican leadership who he has fought with and been divided with over the last several months on Capitol Hill, since January 6th.

Of course, he is one of two Republicans who were on that select committee investigating what happened that day, what happened leading up to January 6th, and he's caught a lot of flak from members of his own party. He is a man on an island with Liz Cheney fighting this fight with Democrats trying to get more information, and it's really put him on the outskirts of the Republican Party here on Capitol Hill.

So, a very important moment, a sign really that this Republican big tent just isn't that big anymore, Erica.

HILL: Lauren, stay with us. I also want to bring in Jim. Jim, I know you have some new reporting on this, as we're just learning more details. What are you hearing?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: That's right. I've spoke to someone close to Congressman Kinzinger who says that the congressman is not ruling out running potentially for other offices, including the possibility of Senate, no decision made. But to be clear, he's made a decision not to run for re-election for his House seat but is not ruling out the possibility of running for something else. That is notable.

We should also note this group that he is diving into here, Country First, is something that I'm told he's been thinking about for some time as getting started, getting rolling independent of his decision on politics. But, again, the news there that he has not ruled out possibly running for other office, including for the Senate, Erica.

HILL: It's also notable, you know, what we've seen, as Lauren was pointing out, the backlash that we've seen for him being very vocal about, you know, pushing back obviously on President Trump, pushing back on the insurrection, but, Jim, the fact that that voice within the Republican Party, it's much more difficult for that voice to gain traction within the party at this moment.

SCIUTTO: Well, we've talked a lot -- does the party belong to Donald Trump, right, and this is yet one more indicator that it is, because for the few sitting lawmakers who are willing to challenge him, there are consequences. Kinzinger is not the first Republican congressman who voted to impeach who has decided not to run for re-election, and you've seen others paying other kinds of consequences, including challenges, such as Liz Cheney in her home state in Wyoming coming up, a very brutal primary challenge. Others face other consequences.

They're publicly attacked. They have trouble running money -- raising money. They have trouble working with some political advisers, right, who are basically banned from working with certain folk who has spoken out publicly against the president. And, by the way, you and I, Erica, and Lauren, we talk about the polling that shows that a majority at least of Republican voters still support the former president as well.

HILL: Lauren, I imagine because this is, you know, just breaking there on Capitol Hill, probably haven't heard a lot of feedback, but news does travel fast in those hallways, and, of course, with lawmakers. I'm curious, has reaction started to roll in on Capitol Hill?

FOX: Well, one thing that was very clear from this video that Kinzinger released is the fact that he does feel like the party is moving in a different direction. Like you said, this news is just breaking. We're just getting a sense of what this reaction may be.

But you can bet that there are Republicans who are going to be applauding this decision because they feel like this is a sign that Kinzinger is on the outskirts of the party, not the future of the party. And I think that's going to be a really important thing to watch. What does McCarthy think about this news today that Kinzinger is not going to be seeking re-election?

Like Jim said, there is really backlash within this party when it comes to trying to raise money when you are on the outside of the relationship with Donald Trump. It is also very hard to even find people to work for your campaign because of some of the efforts by leadership or allies close to leadership who are telling people, if you want to work for Liz Cheney, you can't work for the other individuals who are leading this party. I mean, that is a stark contrast.

You know, one thing that was very interesting to me in that video was how Kinzinger said tribalism is becoming the way forward. And if you aren't part of a tribe, if you speak out against the tribe, then you don't fit in anymore. And I thought that that was a really poignant moment in that video.

HILL: I have to agree with you, Lauren, absolutely, and great to point that out as well.

[10:45:04]

We will continue to follow this breaking news. So, stay with us on CNN for more on that.

Also ahead, the CDC has laid out guidance, as you know, for who should get a COVID vaccine booster shot. Well, a new CNN analysis finds the vast majority of Americans now qualify for one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

HILL: Today, the FDA is expected to grant emergency use authorization to Pfizer for its vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. That means younger kids could get their first shot within days. This is happening as the average number of daily booster shots administered to adults has reached a new high.

There's also new data analysis done for CNN that shows the vast majority of vaccinated adults actually qualify for that extra jab.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining me now. So, Elizabeth, walk us through a little bit of what we're learning in this data.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Erica, surveys have shown that Americans are very confused about whether or not they should be getting a booster after they've been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. People just don't know. And some people think you have to be very old to get a booster, you have to be very sick.

So, we asked the team at Boston Children's Hospital, their computational epidemiology lab, all right, can you calculate this for us? And what they found that 89 percent of vaccinated adults qualified for boosters once they get sufficiently past their original vaccinations, 89 percent, at least 89 percent.

So, let's take a look at all of the data behind this. So, first of all, for Johnson & Johnson, everyone qualifies for a booster once you're two months past your original shot. For Pfizer and Moderna, once you're six months past your second shot, you qualify for a booster if you're age 65 or older, if you're a front line worker like a teacher or a doctor, if you have certain conditions, such as if you're overweight, if you have depression, if you have anxiety, if you have heart problems, if you have asthma. All of those people qualify. And that's how you get up to such a big number, that 89 percent of vaccinated adults qualify for a booster once they get sufficiently past their original vaccinations.

So if you're wondering do I qualify, the answer is, yes, probably, you do. Erica?

HILL: It is pretty remarkable, and I guess when you see it laid out that way, right, the fact that, first of all, all the folk who got J&J, as you point out, are now eligible, but also the large number of other pre-existing conditions. I appreciate it. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HILL: Well, just ahead, more from Rome. We'll take you back live. President Biden, of course, in Europe. Stay with us for the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00]

HILL: An update now on the process to pick a jury in the trial for the men accused of killing Ahmaud Ashery in Georgia. Of the hundreds who have now appeared, only 47 potential jurors have indeed qualified. This is some two weeks into jury selection. Defense attorneys now worrying of a, quote, revolt within the jury pool.

CNN's Martin Savidge is in Atlanta. Why is this taking so long?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think, Erica, the short answer is it's because you have a very high-profile case that's taking place in a relatively small community. Now, Brunswick, Georgia, is no Mayberry, but it is a pretty small city here.

And one thing that is clear is that a lot of the jurors who have already been questioned fear about possible retribution or repercussions by possibly serving on the jury in this particular case. There's a lot of hesitancy. We know that because there were 1,000 jury summons sent out and less than half, about 500 people, less than that, actually, showed up. So, there's a lot of reluctance to serve on this jury, and part of that is that concern.

The other thing we're finding out is that a lot of people are saying when they get inside of that courtroom and ask, have you already formed an opinion, half of those almost on a daily basis are saying, yes, I have already formed an opinion. That's clearly a problem. And if you dismissed everybody who had said they formed an opinion, you wouldn't have much of a jury at all. So, a lot of the time is taken up when these jurors are individually then questioned.

And, remember, there are six defense attorneys. There's also the prosecution and the judge. And, essentially, they're all trying to find out, wait a minute, if you hear the evidence in a court of law, if you hear the judge explain the law to you, could you still be impartial? And, in fact, that's when you hear jurors saying, you know what, yes, if you put it that way, I could consider it. So, it's taking so long for a worthy cause to find those who can be a fully impartial jury, 12 members, 4 alternates.

HILL: Yes, a worthy cause, indeed. Martin Savidge, I appreciate it. Thank you.

SAVIDGE: You're welcome.

HILL: Let's go back now to Jim in Rome for more on President Biden's meetings throughout the day today. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, we just got some remarkable details from the president himself on his meeting earlier today with Pope Francis. The president, as he was meeting with the Italian prime minister, was asked if he had discussed abortion, reproductive rights with Pope Francis, this, of course, an issue because some U.S. Bishops have proposed denying Biden communion at church because of his support of abortion rights. He was asked, Biden said they didn't discuss abortions rights specifically but he did say that the pope called him a good catholic and said, the pope said, he should continue receiving communion.

This is material, Erica, because you have a meeting of U.S. bishops in just a couple weeks' time in the U.S., where there was at least a proposal to discuss this, although they've backed off somewhat. But that is quite an endorsement and it shows how deep the relationship between the two men in.

I should also note that the president said the two of them prayed for peace and for each other.

[11:00:00]

HILL: Fascinating and great detail there as well.

SCIUTTO: Thanks so much.