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Supreme Court Lets Texas Abortion Law Continue; Security Breach on Capitol Hill Included Missteps; Key U.S. Inflation Measure Hits 39- Year High. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 10, 2021 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Because it means that those so-called bounty hunters. People, anyone in Texas can bring a lawsuit against anyone they think is aiding a woman to get an abortion.

Those lawsuits can continue, and doctors looking at today's opinion, and looking at the fact that the Supreme Court didn't block this law outright, they still may be nervous about starting this procedure up again, no matter what happens in the court. They still may be worried because the Supreme Court allowed it to remain in effect.

So, you had Chief Justice John Roberts and the liberals here saying that the court should have gone further. It should have allowed more -- it should have allowed the providers to sue a larger number of officials. And you had Justice Sonia Sotomayor still lamenting with the liberal justices, the very fact that this law was allowed to go into effect three months ago in the first place. She wrote a really angry opinion.

She said: The court should have put an end to this madness months ago before S.B.8 first went into effect.

So that's where she is, and she made one more point. She said, because the Supreme Court didn't give the providers everything they wanted today, there are going to be more copycat suits popping up across the country, not only on the issue of abortion but other constitutional rights. That's the fear of the liberals in what she said today.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Ariane de Vogue breaking it down for us there in Washington. Thank you so much.

Let's bring in Gloria Browne-Marshal, constitutional law professor at the John J. College of Criminal Justice, also the author of "She Took Justice, The Black Woman Law And Power." And Texas State Representative Donna Howard with us as well. She chairs the Texas Women's Health Caucus. First to you, Representative Howard. What this means for the providers

in your state -- we heard from Ariane that this could have a chilling effect. Do you see any window here where there might be a return to providing beyond the ban that's written into this law?

DONNA HOWARD (D) TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: My understanding is that what happened today did nothing to allow women to access abortion health care in our state. It did nothing to protect our constitutional right to access abortion health care. The Supreme Court has allowed Texas to put an unconstitutional ban, basically, on any access to abortion.

Let me just remind folks that the so-called fetal heartbeat bill, which this is about, occurs basically at six weeks gestation, which is four weeks pregnancy, which is two weeks after a missed period if you're regular. When most people don't even know they're pregnant. So, this is in effect, a ban on a constitutionally protected right.

So, the fact that abortion is legal, that our entire country is being protected by the Supreme Court with this constitutional right, they're turning their backs on Texans. We do not have the protection of the courts to access this constitutional protected health care that everyone else has a right to.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Professor, I don't even understand the practicality of this decision and this law in Texas -- never mind the morality. Why does a state want a woman or a couple to have to carry a child to, you know, and carry a child, care for a child of a rapist or if the woman has been the victim of incest or if there are just, you know, sometimes women don't learn until 20 weeks that there is some sort of horrible disability of the fetus that they're carrying. What is the practicality of what these women will be saddled with?

GLORIA BROWNE-MARSHALL, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, JOHN J. COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Well, that's why Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent the Supreme Court betrayed the citizens of Texas and our constitutional system. In this instance, we're going through a period in this country of nationalism. This happens about every 20 to 40 years, and this idea that by population that the idea of a white baby, the baby that needs to be born, to maintain the white population of this country.

I mean, this is what I'm looking at as a legal historian, as a civil rights attorney, and the person who studied constitutional law, that they want this child to be born in order to maintain the population. As we see more people of color coming into the country as immigrants and being born in this country. By the year 2045, this country is going to be majority people of color. Many conservatives and others know this, and so you have this wave of nationalism to maintain the population growth of white citizens as that population is continuing to decline.

[15:35:02]

CAMEROTA: But I don't even -- Professor, just help me. I don't even understand that because obviously women of color get pregnant in Texas too. And so, this will affect all women, and babies of all colors, and so I just don't understand obviously that logic.

BROWNE-MARSHALL: Well, this will affect also the power of a woman to control their own body. We're still talking about, you know, take America back to the 1950s when men controlled what women did. And so, to have a woman decide not only that she's going to carry a pregnancy forward, but that's also going to affect her economic viability.

This was an argument that was made before the U.S. Supreme Court in this case when it was argued that having a child not only affects a woman's personal life but its affects her economic life, it affects her future, and the future of that child to be able to gain a foothold and actually rides up within the socioeconomic system of this country. So, it keeps her as a dependent, and that's the mainstay of the 1950s, then that's what this law continues to do.

BLACKWELL: We heard that argument also in the Mississippi case that we listen to oral arguments for just a couple of days ago. Representative, let me finish here with you. This case goes back to the district court, what's your expectation of what Judge Pitman will do. Do you expect there to be an injunction to hold off the law while arguments continue? What do you think the next step is here?

HOWARD: Well, we're expecting that there will be an injunction. We're also expecting though that it will go straight to the 5th Circuit Court which will also overturn that. The bottom line is from my understanding of this -- and I'm not a lawyer -- but that the narrow pathway to sue here is with the licensing agencies. It's not with the Attorney General. It's not with the state courts or the clerks. So, there's not going to be an injunction that's going to be put into effect that's going to put a stay on this. This unconstitutional ban is going to continue. It's already been going on for three and a half months, and we expected it to continue.

CAMEROTA: Gloria Browne-Marshall, Representative Donna Howard, thank you for helping us try to figure out what is happening in Texas.

BLACKWELL: We're learning some new details about that security breach at the U.S. Capitol yesterday. Capitol Police may have been looking for the wrong person.

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[15:40:00]

CAMEROTA: This just in to CNN, that security breach on Capitol Hill yesterday reportedly included several mistakes.

BLACKWELL: Let's get straight to CNN's Jessica Dean. Jessica, what are you learning?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a source familiar is telling CNN there were several missteps yesterday during this security breach. Including officers failing to see this handgun on the x-ray machine. Remember, anytime you go into a house, office building or anywhere here on the Capitol, you're going to go through security.

They didn't see, according to this source, they did not see that gun image originally on the screen. And also, another misstep, originally, they were telling officers to look for a white woman when in fact they changed that and said they were looking for a black man.

Now here's what we know, according to Capitol Police. A House staffer walked through the Longworth office building, Jeffrey Allsbrooks with a loaded handgun and ammunition. He got his backpack and kept walking. That's when officers figured out that this gun was inside the building. They placed a shelter in place for the Capitol Hill complex while they went to search for this man who then was walking back with the gun.

We're told that he does not have a permit to carry this. It's not registered here in Washington, D.C. But he's told police he did have a permit to carry it in Virginia. Now, Capitol Police are not commenting on any potential disciplinary actions, Victor and Alisyn, that they may be taking and so far, Allsbrooks has pleaded not guilty on this case.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jessica Dean, thank you.

Inflation just hit its highest level in nearly 4 decades. President Biden says it's at its peak. The White House economic adviser joins us next to talk about when costs will begin to ease. That's next.

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BLACKWELL: A new economic report shows that inflation rose again last month to a 39-year high. Prices jumped 6.8 percent in the year through November. President Biden said today that inflation is a real problem but he feels the U.S. is at its peak of the crisis.

Joining me now is the White House Director of The National Economic Council, Brian Deese. Brian, welcome back. Let's start here with that prediction from the president that inflation is at its peak. From the economists we've spoken with, they still think we're a few months out. So, what's the president's prediction based on?

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Well, we never put too much emphasis on any individual month's data will. What I can tell you is that in November, the monthly reading for prices were high but it was a little bit down from the prior month, and about half of the increase in November was driven by energy and cars. And those are two sectors where we've seen thankfully some moderation in prices even since that data was out.

Gas prices are down nationally by close to $0.10. There are 20 states in the country where gas prices have already come down below their 20- year average, and the price of natural gas has come down 25 percent since November, so we're seeing some moderation on that front.

From our perspective, the other thing the president said was that we are working hard wherever we can to make sure that we're eliminating bottlenecks in this economy to try to help goods move quicker and prices to come down faster.

That's what this infrastructure bill that the president signed into law is all about. We're moving that money out to states and localities as we speak. And we're working with the ports across the country to move products from ships to trucks faster and we're seeing some results on that front as well. BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about that. You talked about some of the

good news, and there is good news. I mean jobless claims down to a 52- year low.

[15:50:00]

You mentioned the drop in gas prices, although they were up 58 percent over the year through November. The biggest jump since the Carter administration. But when will those benefits reach the point at which they impact inflation?

DEESE: Well, look, we have incredibly strong economic recovery happening right now. As you said, the labor market is reaching historic records. The unemployment claims down. Their lowest level since 1969. And the unemployment rate is 4.2 percent. And we got there about two years faster than most experts projected.

So, we're making real progress. And because of wage increases and the benefits that the government has provided to families over the course of the year, the typical household income, their balance sheet on a monthly basis, is about $350 a month stronger than it was prior to the pandemic even after taking into account prices.

So, our economy is uniquely well positioned to address these challenges. And that's why we're waking up every morning trying to focus on addressing them in practical ways in people's lives.

You know, working with supply chains, working with our ports. We're going to keep doing that.

BLACKWELL: Brian, let's focus on gas prices specifically. There's a group of Democrats in Congress who sent a letter over -- just sent it over urging the White House to put a ban on oil exports to try to bring down prices at the pump here. Is that something that's being considered?

DEESE: That's not our focus now. But the president has been very clear. He wants us to put all the tools on the table to do what we can to make sure that consumers in America are seeing lower gas prices and are not being adversely affected --

BLACKWELL: Well, Reuters is reporting that that is off the table. So let me ask you the inverse of the question. Has the White House decided not to go the route of banning oil exports to bring down prices for gas?

DEESE: We haven't taken any ideas off the table. What we have done is acted decisively and we're starting to see some results.

Months ago, the president started engaging with international counterparts, both oil-producing countries and oil-consuming countries. Rallied the global coalition to release oil from collective stockpiles working with Japan, Korea, India and doing the longest ever release of U.S. stockpiles.

And what we have seen over the course of that period is that oil prices have come down by 10 percent or 15 percent. In addition, what the president said is he wants to see that decline in prices actually affect consumers at the pump and has asked the Federal Trade Commission to make sure that if there is any illegal behavior going on in markets that is hurting consumers that we take direct action.

So, the president is acting. We'll keep looking at all the tools on the table to make sure that consumers don't end up on the short end of those dynamics.

BLACKWELL: The White House still working to get the Build Back Better Plan passed. Senator Manchin has cited inflation many times as one of the reasons he's not getting behind many of the portions of that bill. Does this report make it harder for the White House to get this bill passed?

DEESE: For those who are worried about costs that families are facing and certainly the president is worried about those costs. The Build Back Better Plan is precisely the prescription that you need. This plan will lower costs of prescription drugs. Lower the cost of childcare for families. Lower the cost of elder care. Lower the cost of housing. These are the major costs that American families are facing. And this bill will go directly at that.

And the bill is fully paid for. And when it's fully paid for it won't actually add to inflationary pressures. That's why you have everybody from rating agencies in the U.S. like Moody's to Nobel Prize-winning economists confirming that this is not going to add to inflationary pressures. What it is going to do, it's going to provide some relief to some of the biggest costs that families face.

BLACKWELL: All right, Brian Deese at the White House, thanks so much.

DEESE: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Well, the Supreme Court says the controversial Texas abortion law can stay in place. More on that ahead.

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[15:55:00]

BLACKWELL: For so many, this time of year is about giving back. But the 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute salutes ten extraordinary people who put others first all year long. The star-studded gala airs live this Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENIFER COLPAS, BRINGING CLEAN WATER AND POWER TO RURAL VILLAGES IN HER COUNTRY: There was no drinkable water. Something inside me started saying, you need to do something about it.

DR. ALA STANFORD, BRINGING COVID-19 TESTING AND VACCINES TO PHILLY'S MINORITY NEIGHBORHOODS: I could not allow one additional life to be lost.

LYNDA DOUGHTY, THE SEAL RESCUER: I feel this responsibility to help these animals. This is what I was put on this earth to do.

SHIRLEY RAINES, BEAUTY 2 THE STREETZ: They started calling me the makeup lady. I love them because I am the frump.

ZANNAH MUSTAPHA, FUTURE PROWESS ISLAMIC FOUNDATION: What keeps you going is the resilience of these children.

HECTOR GUADALUPE, A SECOND U FOUNDATION: We want to give you your second chance at life. It provides you a way to dream.

MICHELLE NEFF HERNANDEZ, SOARING SPIRITS: We helped people live through something they did not think they would survive.

DR. PATRICIA GORDON, CURE CERVICAL CANCER: I'm just doing the job that I'm supposed to do. I think I'm the luckiest doctor that ever lived.

DAVID FLINK, EYE TO EYE: I want them to know that their brains are beautiful. You have to love each other across our difference.

MADE JANUR YASA, PLASTIC EXCHANGE: That is no small dream. If you believe, you will succeed.

ANNOUNCER: Join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live as they name the 2021 Hero of the Year.

KELLY RIPA, ACTRESS, TALK SHOW HOST: Welcome to the CNN Heroes family.

ANNOUNCER: The 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute Sunday at 8:00 Eastern.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Victor, I am so excited for you to be there in person.

BLACKWELL: This is my first year. I'm looking forward to it.

CAMEROTA: I know. It is such a soul-satisfying life-affirming night. I mean, it is always just a super inspiring show. So, gather the family. Grab your tissues. You're going to need them. And tune in this Sunday night at 8:00.

BLACKWELL: Looking forward to it.

CAMEROTA: It's really good.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: All right, well, meanwhile, President Biden and several national leaders paid homage to the late Texas Senator Bob Dole. His funeral was held today at Washington National Cathedral. President Biden said in his tribute that he quote, so loved the guy, and he called Dole a genuine hero and a man of his word.

[16:00:00]

BLACKWELL: Senator Dole was later honored at the World War II Memorial for his decorated service in the Army. His remains will go to his Kansas hometown for a public viewing and service and then to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery.

CAMEROTA: All right, have a great weekend. everybody. I'll see you on Sunday. See you all Sunday.

BLACKWELL: "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

CAMEROTA: I said it.

BLACKWELL: All right.