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Biden, Top Lawmakers To Meet As Partial Shutdown Nears; New Details On Hunter Biden's Testimony Tomorrow On Capitol Hill; Today: HHS Secy In Alabama After Embryo Ruling. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired February 27, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Any moment, the president will hold a key meeting over at the White House where he'll talk face to face with the top four congressional leaders, Democrats, and Republicans, with a government shutdown and help for Ukraine clearly on the line right now. Expect President Biden to apply pressure to the new House speaker to not only keep the government open but put a bill on the House floor to get military aid to Ukraine.

CNN's Dana Bash is joining us right now. You know, the speaker is really in a hard place right now because he's facing a lot of pressures from sort of all sides. Talk a little bit about that.

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Both sides within his very fractured Republican Conference, which is not a new phenomenon. I mean, this is part of the reason why Kevin McCarthy lost his job, and why Mike Johnson is in there to begin with. And what I'm talking about, of course, is the very big difference of opinion over government spending.

And that is first and foremost when it comes to the funding of the government generally. And that's what we're looking at with this potential partial government shutdown in the near future -- in the next couple of days, but also about Ukraine. I've been talking to sources on Capitol Hill this morning.

And pretty much to a person on both sides of the aisle, Wolf, the feeling is that it's the Democrats who hold much of the leverage because it is a must-pass, it is a political loser for Republicans broadly to be responsible for the government shutting down. And so, the question is, how is Mike Johnson going to get out of this pickle that he is in, particularly when, as you sort of alluded to, Wolf, the conservatives in his caucus are so angry at him for even the notion of continuing the government spending bill without trying to get some kind of give from Democrats. Democrats don't feel that they have to. They -- again --

BLITZER: Yes.

BASH: They feel that they have the leverage and they're not wrong.

BLITZER: I assume you saw that Washington Post report that both Paul Ryan and Patrick McHenry --

BASH: Yes.

BLITZER: Very high-profile Republicans are urging Johnson to not bow to his right-wing flank right now. But if he wants to stay on as speaker, he may conclude he has no choice.

BASH: Well, you know, it is -- I mean, both of them particularly Paul Ryan has -- had a lot of experience in trying to maneuver the right- wing flank versus doing the job of the government, which is funding the government. And it's like literally in the Constitution, that is a big part of what the Congress is supposed to be doing.

[11:35:15]

And what Mike Johnson is up against, just like both Paul Ryan and McHenry when he was temporary a speaker is a pretty substantial part of his conference that does not believe -- it's not just government spending. But they believe that coming to Congress is about disruption. And about making clear that the -- a lot of the base that doesn't want to fund a lot of these programs, and in the short term, we're talking about programs like WIC, which is helping underprivileged children and other things, that that is not the role of government.

So, there is some philosophical issue here that it's very hard for Mike Johnson to push back on, which is why he's going to have to very quickly figure out a way to get the funding bill for keeping the government open on the floor and do so with majority Democratic votes. That's what happened with Kevin McCarthy. That's what has happened in the past.

BLITZER: So -- what's so depressing is that every few months or so, we keep reporting about a potential government shutdown.

BASH: I know.

BLITZER: And people hear that and sort of goes over their heads. But people don't realize that they themselves, millions of Americans potentially, could be impacted by that.

BASH: Yes. I mean, in the short term, as I mentioned, it is the -- maybe the people who need it most -- who need the most help from the government. And because there -- they had -- they did this confusing sort of two-tiered government funding bill to get them out of the last potential shutdown, that's the first deadline in a couple of days. And then you go up to March 9, that's government funding for the military, for the -- for the State Department, for other very big parts of the federal government.

And yes, it is the constant threat of a shutdown that because of the politics inside the Republican Party in the House. Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, the Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate are pretty much on the same page about not wanting a shutdown and about how to do it. It's in the House which has been the storyline of government funding, really, since the Tea Party took over. BLITZER: Yes. And you covered Congress for a long time.

BASH: Yes.

BLITZER: One of the advantages of anchoring the 11:00 a.m. Eastern NEWSROOM is I get to speak to you because you got a show coming up right at the top of the hour.

BASH: Yes.

BLITZER: Dana, thank you very, very much.

BASH: Thanks, Wolf. You're the best.

BLITZER: Excellent reporter. Be sure to watch Dana right at the top of the hour at "INSIDE POLITICS." Her show. She'll talk to 2024 presidential candidate Cornel West among other guests. That's coming up. "INSIDE POLITICS" starting at noon, Eastern right here on CNN.

When we come back. After a contentious standoff with Republicans, the president's son, Hunter Biden, will sit for a deposition behind closed doors. We have details. That's next.

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[11:42:44]

BLITZER: Today, a brand-new CNN reporting. Sources peeling back the curtain to explain how House Republicans managed to secure a promise from Hunter Biden to testify behind closed doors. CNN's Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid is joining us right now. Paula, what do we know?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it wasn't clear if this appearance, this deposition by the president's son would ever happen because Hunter Biden and his attorney said he would only testify and answer questions publicly because they were concerned that Republican lawmakers would selectively leaked parts of his testimony. But as a long road to get here, over the past few months, we have seen political sniping. We have seen several unannounced appearances by Hunter Biden on Capitol Hill, threats of contempt, and some hardball negotiation tactics that have resulted in Biden agreeing to do a behind-closed-doors deposition, but not without too significant concessions from Republican lawmakers.

First of all, this interview will not be filmed. Even though the interviews with other witnesses related to the Biden investigation have been filmed. Then there's also the issue wolf of the transcript.

Now there were some concerns again, that there could be selective leaks if the majority party got the transcript first, but we're told that the transcript is going to be simultaneously released to both parties and then released possibly to the public within 24 hours. Now, both of these concessions are ways to allay those concerns about GOP members. The committee is trying to release certain aspects that would help their narrative. But Hunter Biden's appearance comes as one of the key witnesses -- one of the key allegations in the investigation into the Bidens has been attacked by federal prosecutors who have charged one of the witnesses Alexander Smirnov with lying when he said that Hunter Biden and President Biden received millions of dollars in bribes. Smirnov is now facing federal charges for lying. Now, it's unclear how Republicans or even Hunter Biden's side are going to deal with that particular event.

But we'll be watching. It appears Republicans, they're trying to ignore it, move on, and insisting they have uncovered significant information in this investigation.

BLITZER: Paula Reid, excellent new reporting. Thank you very, very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

[11:45:04]

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BLITZER: All right. We have the breaking news just coming in. While en route to the White House to see President Biden, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, just said he's confident a government shutdown could be averted. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker, is there going to be a government shutdown?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): No. We're going to work to prevent that.

And you think there's any chance of a government shutdown? Would it be appropriate to have a government shutdown as there was a State of the Union as well? That's not going to be a problem, do you think?

JOHNSON: We're going to prevent a shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: We're going to prevent a government shutdown, he just said. Very significant words indeed. The meeting between the speaker and other congressional leaders is about to get started over at the White House. We're going to bring you the details as soon as we have them.

[11:50:03]

Other news we're following right now. The Biden administration is diving into the fallout from the Alabama Supreme Court decision that ruled frozen embryos are children and all but stalled IVF procedures in the state. The Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra, is in Alabama today to speak directly with patients and healthcare workers. Alabama's unprecedented ruling is sparking nationwide concerns, even prompting a Florida Republican state senator to postpone a bill seeking to define a fetus as an unborn child.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is joining us now from Birmingham, Alabama. Meg, you're there on the scene. This ruling is stirring fear and uncertainty across the country, especially among IVF providers in Alabama right now, who face potential legal liabilities. What are you hearing from them?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. You know, doctors here are really heartbroken. They tell us that their inability to provide this kind of care for their patients. This clinic that we're visiting today, Alabama Fertility Specialists is among three in the state of Alabama that have temporarily paused IVF treatments amid the legal uncertainty created by the State Supreme Court decision. We spoke this morning with Dr. Janet McClaren Bouknight, who told us just how this is affecting her and her patients. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JANET MCLAREN BOUKNIGHT, ALABAMA FERTILITY SPECIALISTS: To have to cancel a treatment is just devastating. And you know, our patients trust us to take care of them. But at this point, we're in a position where the only thing we can do is advise us all to hold and ask our leaders in this state to create the protections that we need to pick back up our treatment.

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TIRRELL: And that is really something you hear both from doctors and from families hoping to have access to IVF. They are really depending on state lawmakers to come together this week potentially to craft a bill that would carve out protections for IVF, Wolf.

BLITZER: So, what do we expect to hear from Xavier Becerra, the Health and Human Services Secretary?

TIRRELL: You know, we have heard from him that this was a problem created on a federal level. He points back, of course to the Dobbs decision that overturned the protections in Roe v. Wade. And he says this is an impact that stretches beyond Alabama.

And even beyond IVF, he even pointed out, which we've also heard from some doctors of fear around access to certain kinds of contraception. And so, we expect to hear from him a focus on the importance of really solving this from a federal level. We've also heard from, of course, Senator Tammy Duckworth who has introduced legislation trying to protect IVF.

She's issuing a call to her Republican colleagues to come to the table and support this bill this week. So, a lot of action is hoped for from families and doctors here in Alabama on this, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell, thank you very much for that update. We're getting a videotape now, the president meeting with the Republican and Democratic leadership of the House and Senate. There you see it right there. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We got a lot of work to do. We have to figure out how we're going to keep funding the government, which is an important problem. The important solution we need to find, and I think we can do that.

And Ukraine, I think the need is urgent. I hope we can speak to that a little bit. And I think the consequences of inaction every day in Ukraine are dire. I've been speaking to some of our G7 partners, and you just come back, Chuck --

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Yes.

BIDEN: They are very concerned. And also, we need to -- we need to turn the supplemental, we need to deal with Israeli proportion. That also contains a significant portion having to do with humanitarian assistance, and to the Palestinians there. I think it's important.

And we have to replenish the air defenses for Israel. And we have to work on making sure they don't face the threat from -- they can face the threat from what's going on in the Middle East, not just from Hamas but from Iran. And so -- and government funding. I'm sure you guys had all that all taken care of, but I hope we can decide.

I think Congress has responsibility for the government. We got to get about doing a shutdown would damage the economy significantly. And I think we all agree to that. And we need a bipartisan solution.

So, I want to hear from the group. And I want to hear from all of you here. So, thank you all for coming. That's what we're going to be talking about. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. Did everybody pick up?

BIDEN: We're going to have a chance to talk that -- (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: All right. Reporters shouting questions. The president is saying he'll have a chance to speak with the reporters afterwards. He said this is a critically important meeting that has just begun over at the White House.

[11:55:06]

You see the videotape just coming in from the network tool of correspondence. The president, clearly smiling right now, ignoring a lot of reporters' questions, as this meeting is about to get underway. He did say the consequences for inaction right now as far as Ukraine is concerned, would be dire. And he also said that the leadership needs to avoid a government shutdown. All of that very, very significant.

To our viewers, thanks very much for joining me here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer. I'll be back at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, later tonight, for "THE SITUATION ROOM" right here on CNN. Of course, tomorrow I'll be back at 11:00 a.m. in the NEWSROOM. Stay with CNN. "INSIDE POLITICS" with Dana Bash starts right after a very short break.

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