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Congress Seeking to Avoid Government Shutdown; President Biden Urges Patience Amid New Omicron Threat. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 29, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:01]

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So I would look for a decision within a couple of weeks, at most.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: OK, Elie Honig and Carrie Cordero, thank you both so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you all for being with me. I will see you back here at 1:00 tomorrow.

The news continues right now with Alisyn and Victor.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: And I'm Alisyn Camerota.

The world is waiting for answers about Omicron. We know very little, other than it was detected in South Africa, it is a highly mutated variant that appears to spread easily and could have some vaccine resistance. But scientists say it will be a few more weeks before there is data to confirm that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.

And we will fight this variant with scientific and knowledgeable actions and speed, not chaos and confusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: The Omicron variant has now been found in more than a dozen countries, including Canada. The rapid spread is prompting more than 40 nations, including the U.S., to restrict travel from Southern Africa.

BLACKWELL: And now the U.K. has just recorded its first cases of community transmission. That means the infected person did not travel to Southern Africa.

So far, no confirmed Omicron infections in the U.S., but the president said today that, sooner or later, Omicron will be here. CNN's Nick Valencia is at the International Airport in Atlanta. In a

moment, we will talk about the U.S. travel ban that started today.

But let's start this hour with CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.

Kaitlan, tell us more about what the president said about Omicron.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he was really hoping to reassure the nation, because he doesn't have a lot more specifics than what you all just laid out there.

And that is what his scientists are working on and Dr. Anthony Fauci has told him. It'll be about a week or two before they know more about this, including if it's more transmissible, how much more severe disease it causes, if that's the case, and whether or not, of course, the big question, it can evade vaccines.

And so, in the meantime, the president is urging Americans to remain vigilant, to get vaccinated if they haven't so far, to get a booster shot, if they haven't gotten one so far, because he noted the millions of people in the United States who have been vaccinated, but have not yet gotten a booster shot.

So, he said, if you're someone who got your second shot after June 1 -- or before June 1, you need to go and get your booster now. And so that is what the president is talking about in the meantime, as they are waiting to learn more about this. Of course, he's essentially having daily briefings with his top COVID-19 advisers to talk about it.

And you saw Dr. Anthony Fauci standing there with the president today. And, of course, the big question is whether or not this changes any things when it comes to these vaccines. And the president said his top aides are in touch with the manufacturers of Moderna and Pfizer to talk about whether or not they need to make boosters, potentially, that could be Omicron-specific.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We do not yet believe that additional measures will be needed. But so that we are prepared, if needed, my team is already working with officials at Pfizer and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to develop contingency plans for vaccines or boosters if needed.

And I will also direct the FDA and CDC to use the fastest process available, without cutting any corners for safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The president also said, Alisyn and Victor, that they are throwing everything they have essentially at this effort.

Of course, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, was just talking about the lessons that they learned from the Delta variant, of course, which was very contagious over the summer. And so the president will be speaking again on Thursday to the nation to talk about what they want to do for this winter when it comes to, of course, concerns over the spread then.

The president said, right now, it does not include any more restrictions or lockdowns, but instead is going to be focused on boosters and testing. And one thing we should note about that -- travel restrictions that are going into place today, the president defended it, saying that it does by the U.S. more time, not a lot, but enough for scientists as they are looking to evaluate how much of a threat this new variant does pose to the United States.

CAMEROTA: OK, so let's talk about those travel restrictions.

Nick, the U.S. travel ban against those eight Southern African nations went into effect overnight. What's it been like?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for at least one passenger Alisyn, it has been an absolute nightmare.

And this is prior to those travel restrictions going into effect. So you could only imagine now what kind of disruption it's having for those passengers trying to get stateside.

But I spoke to that passenger who caught one of the last flights prior to those restrictions going into effect. That flight landed early yesterday evening here in Atlanta. And to her surprise, she said she was not subjected to any additional screening. She also said, in her opinion, she feels that this news is being overblown about Omicron and wouldn't be surprised if that strain was already here in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALHAN, TRAVELER: For here? No, there is no measures. Every measure is only taken in those countries that everyone is so hard on.

[14:05:01]

I wouldn't be surprised. And, again, when you have the vaccine, you could carry those things and show no symptoms. So, people just need to stop panicking so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: There's a close eye here on flights coming in from South Africa, because Delta, the hometown airline, indicated that it will be business as usual and continue those flights to South Africa, despite the travel restrictions.

Of course, U.S. citizens, as well as lawful permanent residents, are exempt from those restrictions, as are spouses and children of those groups, among other people. We did reach out, though, to the CDC to see if there will be any additional screening for those passengers who arrive here.

They have yet to get back to us, but this is what the Atlanta Airport is saying, talking about how prepared they are for those passengers who arrived here stateside, saying: "As was the case with prior health-related travel bans, Hartsfield-Jackson is working with the CDC, the Customs and Border Protection and the state Department of Public Health to prepare for inbound flights from nations impacted by Monday's expected travel ban announcement. Passengers are urged to check with their airlines for the most current flight information."

The next flight to leave here from Atlanta to South Africa will take off later tonight. The next direct flight will happen on Wednesday. So we will be keeping a close eye here on what happens at the airport -- Victor, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK.

Nick Valencia, Kaitlan Collins, thank you both very much.

Joining us now is E.R. Dr. Leana Wen. She's a CNN medical analyst and a former Baltimore health commissioner.

Doctor, great to see you, as always.

So, all sorts of experts have told us that the next two to three weeks are going to be filled with uncertainty. Obviously, that can be anxiety-provoking for lots of people. We don't yet know really what Omicron is like.

I was interested in hearing from the South African doctor who first saw this new variant on November 18 and what she says she's been seeing in patients. So here's that data point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANGELIQUE COETZEE, CHAIRWOMAN, SOUTH AFRICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: The cases that we have seen last week and the week before last week, also mild cases.

So, we are looking for the severe cases, because the severe cases is what's going to say we are in trouble. I presume that might come later, but not now. Now it's mild symptoms easily treated at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, so just to reiterate, she's saying she's seeing mild cases, people who are tired, scratchy throat, but no loss of taste or smell. Your thoughts?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I hope she's right. I mean, the best-case scenario, of course, is for us to find out that Omicron was just a -- was nothing to worry about, that it was the false alarm.

And if it turns out that somehow it causes much less severe disease, then fantastic, but we can't -- we can hope for that, but we have to prepare for the worst. And if the worst that happens is this was a false alarm, then I think we should celebrate that.

Right now, we -- I believe that President Biden is doing the right thing when it comes to encouraging everyone to get boosters, because there has been so much mixed messaging around boosters. And for him to come out and say, Americans, get vaccinated if you're not already, get boosted if you haven't, that's really important.

But I also think that the travel restrictions are necessary at this point in an attempt to slow down seeding of this virus, if, in fact, it turns out to be more dangerous.

BLACKWELL: So let's talk about those travel restrictions. There's been obviously some pushback from South Africa specifically, other Southern African nations. And we also heard from the former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about these travel restrictions.

First, we're going to listen to President Ramaphosa of South Africa, and then Scott Gottlieb, and then I want your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: These restrictions are completely unjustified and unfairly discriminate against our country and our Southern African sister countries.

The prohibition of travel is not informed by science, nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: We're punishing South Africa for doing the right thing, and telling other nations who want to sequence strains that they find that we're giving them real disincentive to do that, because, if they turn over new variants, this is what's going to happen to them.

So this is a bad step, I think, from a policy standpoint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Bad step from a policy standpoint. They say that it's counterproductive, that South African doctors found this and raised their hand, and the next country that potentially find something won't do that. What do you say?

WEN: Yes, I very much understand and sympathize with that point of view. I understand that many people in South Africa feel like they're being punished for actually doing the right thing.

And could this be a disincentive in the future for other countries to step up and be so transparent? But, at the same time, we also need to buy time. We need to understand more about Omicron. We need to do the lab tests. We also need to prepare the American public.

And I actually think, if anything, that the Biden administration should go further, because, right now, their travel protocols have a lot of loopholes. For example, Americans returning from Southern Africa, they're not going through any types of additional screening.

[14:10:00] They should, I believe, go through mandatory quarantine and then retesting. And now that we can see that Omicron is in a number of other countries as well, why not have screening, universal screening and quarantine and testing for all international travelers?

If anything, I think the Biden administration should go a lot further.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Wen, can you explain why it's important to still get boosted if we don't know today if Omicron yet evades the vaccine protection?

WEN: Yes, it's a very good question, Alisyn.

So here's the key. We know that the vaccines we have are very effective against the variants that we have already identified. Omicron may have or it looks like it does have additional mutations that could render the vaccines less effective.

But all signs point to the vaccines still being somewhat effective. And the other thing, too, is getting a booster increases your antibody response, including against new variants that are developing. And so our best protection now against the variant would be to get the booster dose for those who haven't already, though we also cannot forget about the other measures that have been in place as well, including indoor masking, which I believe that states and local jurisdictions and businesses that have let go of indoor mask mandates, they should bring it back as well as an additional step to protect against Omicron.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned preparing for the worst.

We know that Governor Hochul in New York has now reinstated the state of emergency that, among other things here, across the state would allow the state health department to restrict nonessential surgeries, non-urgent procedures.

You're a former health commissioner there in Baltimore. Is that the type of thing, although there is no case of Omicron in the U.S. yet, that you would like to see cities and states start to do?

WEN: Yes, it is.

All along in this pandemic, we have seen the United States being behind. We wait until something terrible happens, and then we take action. And, by then, it's often too late. Well, I would much rather that we be proactively prepared.

I'm happy that, so far, we have not yet found Omicron cases in the U.S., but most of us believe that it really is a matter of time and a matter of days perhaps before that occurs, and we should prepare our health systems. The worst-case is that this was all false alarm. But, right now, we're facing a Delta surge as well.

And so all of these protocols like masking and boosters will also save lives from Delta if it turns out that Omicron was actually a false alarm. BLACKWELL: Dr. Leana Wen, thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right, the clock is ticking once again for Congress to avoid a government shutdown this week. We are live on Capitol Hill.

BLACKWELL: Also, the politics of the pandemic. One Republican congressman says the new Omicron variant is part of the Democrats' plan to cheat during the midterm elections.

We will try to unravel that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:19]

CAMEROTA: The Senate is back to work today, and December is shaping up to be extremely busy for lawmakers they will tackle the debt ceiling, Biden's Build Back Better Act and the investigation into the January 6 insurrection.

BLACKWELL: But the top priority, government funding runs out December 3, as in this Friday.

CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju joins us now.

So where do things stand right now?

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do expect that there will be some sort of resolution to avoid a government shutdown by this Friday.

And Congress is expected to do what Congress typically does, which is punt, and pass a short-term resolution to avoid a government shutdown, probably extending government funding, we're told, to mid to late January, but they need the cooperation from both chambers, from particularly in the Senate, to move things quickly, and almost certainly will push it once again up to the brink before they avoid a government shutdown.

And then December is just filled with a laundry list of activity and they could be forced to punt on several other key issues, by mid- December, another major deadline, to raise the national debt limit. That's something that, if it's not done, would lead to the first ever default on the U.S. debt in American history.

The Treasury Department says the Congress has to do that by December 15. The Democrats and Republicans in the Senate believe there could be some sort of deal. Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, met with Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, before the Thanksgiving recess, but they still don't have a deal.

And it's not quite certain how that will play out. And other issues also loom large. The annual defense policy bill, that is something that has done year after year, authorizes pay increases for the troops. It deals with a whole host of national security programs. That is slated for some key votes this week in the Senate. But they still need to resolve their differences with the House, get it through both chambers before the end of the year. And then the big- ticket item, the Build Back Better bill, that is Joe Biden's agenda, roughly $2 trillion of new programs to expand the social safety net and deal with climate change.

That is still awaiting action in the Senate. It's still uncertain whether Senator Joe Manchin will get behind it. And then what will that version that gets out of the Senate look like? They have to reconcile that with the House. And they want to do all that by Christmas. Unclear if they can do it, or if they will once again be forced to punt -- guys.

BLACKWELL: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

The new Omicron variant is also fueling a fresh politicization of the pandemic. Texas Congressman and former White House physician Ronny Jackson claimed this weekend Democrats are using the new Omicron variant to push mail-in voting and -- quote -- "cheat" in the midterms.

Joining us now, CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger and CNN political commentator Scott Jennings.

Scott, thanks for being with us, Gloria as well.

Scott, I want to start with you.

I'm not going to ask you to defend that, unless you agree with him, and then feel free. But the strategy of using what could be -- and we don't know -- an important change in the pandemic here in the U.S. as a political weapon, is that what's coming from the rest of the party, or is he out on the limb by himself?

[14:20:20]

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he's out on a limb.

I mean, I think what everyone hopes and prays for is that this variant comes and goes and is mild and doesn't dramatically change our trajectory, which is that the vaccines work and they will continue to work and we can get back to normal life someday.

I do think what he's tapping into, though, Victor, is that a lot of Republicans believe that, during the pandemic, a lot of voting laws were changed to accommodate the pandemic and that we were all trapped inside. And a lot of Republicans believe Democrats want to put those into law permanently, even if the pandemic goes away.

And so that is what he's tapping into. And I suspect he won't be the only Republican you hear sort of giving voice to that general concern.

CAMEROTA: Gloria, just to remind people, this is the former White House doctor.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And he was found in a Pentagon inspector general's investigation to have been drunk, intoxicated, impaired on the job.

So I'm not sure how much stock anybody should put in his medical opinions. But, of course, now he has constituents that I assume will listen to him.

BORGER: Sure. I mean, look, sure he does, I mean, just like a Gosar, or a Marjorie Taylor Greene, or a Boebert.

I mean, these are people who just want to stir the pot. They want to make Donald Trump happy. They want to continue to bring up the big lie, because it gets them attention. And you have a leader in the House, in Kevin McCarthy, who refuses to publicly tell them to shut up, honestly.

And so they go on. He may talk to them privately, may say, you shouldn't have done that. You should apologize. You have got to go out and say something. But he hasn't gone out there and said, this is not what our party stands for. The Republican Party, he should say, doesn't stand for rigged elections. The Republican Party stands for free and fair elections. And I believe Scott would agree with that.

But McCarthy is not willing to chastise these people publicly.

JENNINGS: I can actually comment on that, Gloria.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Go ahead. Go ahead, Scott. Go ahead.

JENNINGS: I do think -- yes, I think it's a strategic -- this is a good conversation, because I think, as a strategic matter, what McCarthy is wrestling with is, what's the best way to deal with it if your goal is behavior modification?

I think, in some cases, as Gloria said, these people who like to stir the pot, they're actually hoping for the establishment or for the leadership to come down on them publicly, because then it gives them the ability to say, look, the establishment in Washington, the swamp is after me.

And so one of the things I have heard from the leadership circles is that they're trying to handle some of these things more privately, in the hopes of getting behavior modification down the road, and sort of avoid getting into the tit for tat that ultimately maybe what some of the -- I mean, you saw Boebert the other day, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Dr. Jackson.

I mean, all -- these people may be actually trying to provoke one of these sort of public back-and-forth, because they think that actually helps them more, if somebody from the leadership comes down on them.

BLACKWELL: But is McCarthy's goal behavior modification or is it just to be speaker? (CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: Is he staying away from criticizing these people...

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: I think they're both, because...

BORGER: They're both, yes.

BLACKWELL: But is he staying away from criticizing these the Boeberts for her Islamophobic joke about Ilhan Omar or Gosar's video or Marjorie Taylor Greene's -- pick one -- because he does not want to alienate that portion of the party and those votes he will need?

Actually, Nancy Mace, a member of the conference, talked about what she'd like to see from Speaker -- from Leader McCarthy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): We have a responsibility to lower the temperature and this does not do that.

I didn't come to Congress to throw bombs on Twitter, to raise -- take advantage of people by saying crazy things to raise money, or to be a comedian. I will leave comedy to Dave Chappelle. I was disappointed in the comments. I was encouraged to see that she did apologize.

COLLINS: But you do condemn this comment from Congressman Boebert?

MACE: Oh, absolutely, 100 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So you have got there a moderate in the party, Gloria, who's saying he needs to come out and condemn it. And she does, even if he doesn't.

BORGER: Right.

And, look, she couldn't have been more clear. This is ridiculous. This is not what she wants the party to stand for. But McCarthy's got Donald Trump on one side, who loves Marjorie Taylor Greene, endorses Gosar, for example.

And he also doesn't want to alienate Donald Trump, who believes he's the wizard behind the curtain. And he may well be. Who knows?

And I remember, with my kiddies, you could put them in the corner for a timeout. And we talked about behavior modification. And you could hope, well, maybe that would work. But, very often, that didn't work, until you did it a bunch of times, until the caucus, the Republican Caucus, does it as a whole a bunch of times, saying this doesn't reflect well on us.

[14:25:16] But we haven't seen that either. And maybe people want to just sort of close their eyes and say, well, this isn't really happening. And we don't want to give them the attention, the oxygen that Scott's talking about.

But at a certain point, you have to say, as the congresswoman said, this is not what we came to Congress to do.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

And, also, we should say the governor, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is also calling out some of this hateful rhetoric, Scott.

BORGER: Right.

CAMEROTA: I mean, they I just think it's interesting when you hear Republicans start to say that they're disgusted by this and being able to say it out loud. And, I mean, I think he speaks for all of us when he says that the goal should be to bring back civil discourse. A lack of civility is increasing the divide in this country.

So I think we have time to play this. Let me just play for you Governor Hutchison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): Even in our own caucus, our own members, if they go the wrong direction, I mean, it has to be called out. It has to be dealt with, particularly whenever it is breaching the civility, whenever it is crossing the line in terms of violence or increasing the divide in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Scott, do you think it's notable that we're hearing from, it seems like, more Republicans, elected officials now?

JENNINGS: I do think it's notable, I mean, Nancy Mace, Governor Hutchison.

And, look, I have talked to a number of Republicans over the last several days. Nobody goes into public office to then have to turn around and spend a huge chunk of their time defending comments from people who are dumber than a bag of hammers.

I mean, if you think that this is your job as a congressperson, to make up a story and tell a joke, I mean, it's not what most people I know go into politics for. They all believe it's garbage. They all believe it's beneath the Republican Party.

And, by the way, I think most people believe this decreases our chances of winning elections. And so, if you're not in public service for the purpose of passing laws, making changes, winning elections, so you can pass more laws, then what in the hell are you doing?

BORGER: Right. JENNINGS: And I think that's how most Republican leaders see it. And

I do think you're going to see more and more people condemn it, because everybody wants Republicans to win the midterms. Everybody wants to take back the White House.

And I think most people believe that if the Boebert model is the one we're going to follow, the chances of doing one or both go down drastically.

BORGER: Well, let's see what Kevin McCarthy does. Let's see if she is ostracized by her own party. Let's see whether in a private caucus party members stand up and say to her, you have to stop doing things like this because you do not represent my party.

And once that happens, and once Kevin McCarthy starts acting like a leader, maybe this ridiculousness will stop. Maybe not.

CAMEROTA: All right, Gloria Borger, Scott Jennings, thank you both for the perspective.

BORGER: Sure.

CAMEROTA: OK, there are big changes in the tech world. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey resigns, effective immediately.

We will tell you why he's leaving next.

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