Return to Transcripts main page
CNN This Morning
Jon Rahm Rallies In The Final Round To Win The 87th Masters; Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Breaks Leg At UConn Parade, Surgery Successful; Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) On Rival Rulings On Abortion Pill Setting Up Extraordinary Legal Clash. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired April 10, 2023 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00]
JIM SHULMAN, VICE MAYOR OF NASHVILLE (via Webex by Cisco): Is not the answer.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
Well, Vice Mayor, we appreciate you joining us. We would like to offer you the opportunity to come back regardless of what happens tonight and be on. So thank you for appearing, OK? Vice Mayor Jim Shulman, thank you.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, Sen. Richard Blumenthal breaking his leg at the UConn men's basketball victory parade. We'll give you the latest on his recovery this morning.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, wishing him the best.
Also this morning, there's new reaction to a federal judge's decision to suspend the FDA's approval that's 20 years old of a widely used abortion pill. We're going to talk to a Republican lawmaker from a swing district, Nancy Mace, who is trying to find compromise on the issue. She'll join us next.
(COMMERCIAL)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASTER ANNOUNCER: Rahm wins the Masters marathon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: A new golfer -- a new golfer adding the famous green jacket to his wardrobe. Twenty-eight-year-old Spaniard Jon Rahm claimed victory at the 87th Masters yesterday. This is his first Masters win and a second major championship win. He is the first European player to win both the Masters and U.S. Open.
[07:35:09]
He entered the final round two strokes behind LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka before heading over and taking over the lead. He finished 12 under par.
Joining us from Augusta, Don Riddell, CNN host for World Sport. So great to see and as we've been reminded all morning how, Kaitlan --
COLLINS: Twenty-eight.
HARLOW: Same age as --
COLLINS: I wish me.
HARLOW: Was it Arnold Palmer --
COLLINS: Yes.
HARLOW: -- he said? Same age as --
LEMON: Same age as -- same age as me.
COLLINS: I was like not me. I'm 31 now, Poppy.
HARLOW: Same age as Arnold Palmer.
LEMON: Same age as Don Riddell.
HARLOW: What was it like to be there?
DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: It was amazing and it was an eventful and tempestuous weekend. I'm sure you've seen the video of the trees falling in all the rain. It was absolutely miserable on Saturday. It was glorious on Sunday and it kind of felt like destiny fulfilled.
Jon Rahm is one of these guys who he says some people learn how to win, some people are born with it. He told me before the tournament that he was born with all of it. And Spanish golfers have a special connection with Augusta National -- Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sergio Garcia, and now Jon Rahm winning the green jacket.
And he said afterwards that this is something he's wanted for as long as he can remember.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON RAHM, 2023 MASTERS WINNER: I've wanted to win it ever since I thought about golfing and what being a champion would be. Just a wave of emotion of so many things just overtook me. I never thought I was going to cry about winning a golf tournament but I got very close on that 18th hole, and a lot of it because of what it means to me and to Spanish golf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Yes, really, really wonderful scenes at the end. Jon Rahm celebrating with his young family and with Olazabal as well. Very, very special stuff. LEMON: You know, congratulations to him, obviously. But the other story that people are talking about -- a noticeable figure who was missing from Sunday's five-time Masters champion -- from Sunday's five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods. He had to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury. Do you think we're going to see him in Augusta again, Don?
RIDDELL: I mean, look, everybody hopes so. He's an absolute legend and an icon. He's transformed this sport for his generation. And, you know -- but it brings into really sharp focus the answer he gave me last Tuesday when I said to him when you are out on the course do you find yourself thinking this could be the last time? And here we are -- he had to pull out.
He hardly plays anymore. Last year he only played three of the four majors and of those three he missed the Cabin 1. He pulled out after the third round in another. Here we see him unable to complete the third round here.
Now to be fair to him, the conditions were absolutely terrible. There's no way that somebody who's been through everything he has would have enjoyed playing in those conditions. But it does feel as though he is stepping, if not limping, into the twilight of his career.
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: Yes. We'll see what happens. It was amazing still to watch that win yesterday. To see --
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: Brooks Koepka and all of them. Of course, now Rahm has a pretty big purse that he is taking home with him, so congrats to him.
Thank you, Don.
HARLOW: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: Thanks, Don. See you soon.
RIDDELL: All right.
HARLOW: I was just thinking about how much -- he said twilight of your career -- how much more athletes often do after, you know?
LEMON: Oh, yes.
HARLOW: After they're not winning anymore.
LEMON: They're still going (ph). They just do big things in different ways.
HARLOW: There you go.
COLLINS: Yes, a different act. LEMON: So, other sports news. So tempers are flaring on the final days of the NBA regular season. Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert apologizing this morning after getting into it with teammate Kyle Anderson on the sidelines of yesterday's game with the New Orleans Pelicans. Gobert saying afterwards emotions got the best of him. He was sent to the locker room and ruled out for the rest of the game.
And in Phoenix, Los Angeles Clippers teammates Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland had some words on the bench as they took on the Suns before Hyland shoved Plumlee. Their teammates stepped in to break it up. No word yet on potential disciplinary action from the NBA.
COLLINS: Also, in some sports new but not an athlete himself, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is recovering this morning after he had surgery after he broke his leg during the UConn NCAA victory parade on Saturday. The senator says the surgery was completely successful and he is planning to return to votes when the Senate is back in Washington next week. He will not be marching in any parades in the near future.
The Democratic Caucus' narrow 51-49 advantage and majority in the chamber does mean any absence could affect some really key votes. The Senate reconvenes next Monday.
We'll be right back after this. We're wishing Sen. Blumenthal all the best in his recovery.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:44:00]
COLLINS: You are looking at live pictures of Dallas this morning. That is the home of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The judge who is presiding there is now at the center of the country's abortion battle.
Here is where we stand as of Monday morning. A pair of conflicting rulings from federal courts on Friday has now created what is arguably the most contentious flashpoint in the legal battle over abortion access since Roe versus Wade was overturned last summer.
In one case, Texas judge -- a Texas judge said that the FDA's 2000 approval of Mifepristone, which is one of the drugs that is used to terminate a pregnancy, should be halted. In the second case, a judge in Washington ordered the federal government to keep the drug available in 17 liberal states -- Democratic-led states, we should note -- plus the District of Columbia.
The rulings came down within an hour of each other and they have set up a legal showdown that is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
The Health and Human Services Sec. Xavier Becerra says that the Biden administration is reviewing all of their options after that ruling from the Texas judge on Friday, which would effectively suspend the FDA's approval of that abortion pill. [07:45:07]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XAVIER BECERRA, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I gotta believe that an appeals, the Supreme Court, or whatever court has to understand that this ruling by this one judge overturns not just access to Mifepristone but possibly, any number of drugs.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, ANCHOR, "STATE OF THE UNION": What if they don't?
BECERRA: That's speculation that I think is not worth engaging in.
BASH: But are you taking it off the table that you will recommend the FDA ignore a ban?
BECERRA: Everything is on the table. The president said that way back when the Dobbs decision came out. Every option is on the table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I should note that after that interview, a few hours later, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Department walked his comment back saying that, quote, "People are rightly frustrated about this decision but as dangerous a precedent it sets for a court to disregard the FDA's expert judgment regarding a drug's safety and efficacy, it would also set a dangerous precedent for the administration to disregard a binding decision."
Joining us now for more on this is Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Good morning, Congressman -- Congresswoman, and thank you for joining us.
REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC) (via Skype): Good morning.
COLLINS: Do you think that judge in Texas should be able to say that an FDA's determination about a drug is invalid?
MACE: I don't. In fact, when you look at the court case and the ruling here the judge used an act or a law from the 1800s that was overturned by the Supreme Court -- at least the Supreme Court decided in 1983, over 100 years later, roughly, that law was unconstitutional. And that was the basis for his argument last week.
And look, this is an FDA-approved drug. Whether you agree with its usage or not that's not your decision. That is the FDA's decision on the efficacy, safety, and usage of that particular drug.
COLLINS: Do you agree here then with comments from people like your colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that the Biden administration should ignore this ruling? That the FDA should ignore this ruling?
MACE: Well, we will -- I mean, you know, this is a judicial branch and we have a court system. I do think that this is going to be relegated to the courts. There are other lawsuits that are going on right now.
I would -- this is an FDA-approved drug. I support the usage of FDA- approved drugs. Even if we might disagree, it's not up to us to decide as legislators or even as a court system whether or not this is the right drug to use or not, number one. So I agree with ignoring it at this point.
But there are other lawsuits that are happening right now in other states as well over this issue. But to look at the case itself when you look at the law that the judge used -- an old law that the Supreme Court said was unconstitutional, this thing should just be thrown out, quite frankly.
COLLINS: So you think the FDA should ignore this?
MACE: I would. Yes, I would. This is an issue that Republicans have been largely on the wrong side of. We have over the last nine months not shown compassion towards women and this is one of those issues that I've tried to lead on as someone who is pro-life and just have some common sense.
In the state of South Carolina, just a few weeks ago, we had some folks in the state legislature that essentially wanted to execute women who had abortions. So we've got some extreme views on this issue but 90 percent of America is somewhere in the middle. And I think that 90 percent would be OK with listening to the FDA rather than a judge who used an old law that was determined unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. I think the vast majority of Americans would support that decision.
COLLINS: Yes, and I know you think that your party has gotten it wrong on abortion the way that they message on it.
MACE: Yes.
COLLINS: You think that the House majority --
MACE: Yes.
COLLINS: -- would be bigger if Republicans were better.
So what do you -- what do you say to Texas Republican Tony Gonzales who suggested that the Republican-led House should consider defunding some of the FDA's programs if they ignore this court's decision?
MACE: Well, I mean, he's -- everybody is welcome to their own opinion. I represent a very purple district that is really a bellwether for the rest of the country and I can tell you far more than the vast majority -- 60-70 percent are not -- of Americans are not going to agree with this decision. And there are many pro-life people that also, while they're pro-life, they don't want the government to intervene in this radical of a manner.
And the FDA has a rigorous process that they go through on drug approvals. Most of the time they get it right. When they don't there are lawsuits regarding the efficacy of those drugs, and there's already another lawsuit.
But what this judge did -- the basis of his ruling, there's really no basis for it because he used a law that the Supreme Court said was unconstitutional in 1983. It's really -- it's sort of a rogue thing that's happening right now.
There have been efforts afoot both state -- in different states and nationally to defund certain agencies over certain decisions. You see that happening on both sides of the aisle and those are tools that people can use.
But I will tell you we are getting it wrong on this issue. We've got to show some compassion to women, especially women who have been raped. We've got to show compassion on the abortion issue because by and large most of Americans aren't with us on this issue.
[07:50:07]
COLLINS: Yes. Congresswoman, you made a lot of news there. You do think that the FDA should ignore this ruling and that's really notable.
I do want to ask you also about a new report in The New York Times talking about House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's strained relationship with his top deputies in the House.
Do you have confidence in Republican leadership as it stands right now in the House?
MACE: I do have confidence in our leadership. I will tell you I am very focused on my district and my state. I do believe that we have some issues in terms of where are we going from a policy standpoint.
We're going to have the debt ceiling debate. I haven't seen a budget or a spending plan yet. That's something that we need to have on the table long before we have that vote. I want to see us look at inflation and supply chain issues but look at it in a way that can make a difference because right now most of what we've done cannot pass the Senate. We've not been effective in that manner.
I have spoken to our leadership on some women's issues that I'm working on. I am also working on gun violence issues. I just had a mass shooting a mile down the street from where my -- me and my kids were on Friday night.
There are a lot of issues that people are passionate about that Republicans are afraid to address and these are the things that we need to be talking about in this country, and I hope to lead on some of those efforts and urge my leadership to do the same.
COLLINS: Yes. When we last spoke on March 12, you were saying you wanted to see the Republican budget. Here it is now almost April 12. Have you still seen any formation of the Republican budget? Where is the Republican budget?
MACE: I have not seen one yet and that's something that we're going to have to address when we come back in session later this month. We've got to show the American people that we have ideas that can -- that are supported by folks on both sides of the aisle if we want to get anything done, and that's what we need to do this year.
COLLINS: All right, Congresswoman Nancy Mace. We always appreciate your time. Thank you very much. I know you'll be back in Washington next week.
MACE: Thank you.
LEMON: Yes.
MACE: Thank you.
HARLOW: So, Kaitlan, that's incredibly notable to hear from her as a Republican congresswoman --
LEMON: A Republican congresswoman.
HARLOW: -- agreeing with not only Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, Sen. Ron Wyden, and those who have said ignore the court here -- but counter, right, to what HHS came out saying yesterday after the Becerra interview.
COLLINS: Yes, saying that they -- the White -- yes. They were saying basically they didn't think that they could ignore a ruling from a judge saying that would set a dangerous precedent. Of course, there are some legal experts who raised questions about whether or not they do have the authority to do that. Even some lawmakers have said that they should do that.
But so striking to hear Nancy Mace. Of course, she is very outspoken on abortion. She has been very candid about her views of how the Republican Party handles abortion. But she says that they've gotten it wrong here. That the FDA should ignore this court ruling and move forward from there. And also being pretty critical of the judge in that situation on what his basis was, which was --
HARLOW: Yes.
COLLINS: -- what Joan (ph) was saying earlier was very much in the weeds on what the FDA's authority here is.
LEMON: But also being very critical of her party, saying that her party -- the American people aren't with the party and that there's nuance with this, especially for -- as it relates to women and who should -- when women should get an abortion. I thought it was an outstanding interview.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: Definitely newsmaking. Thanks, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Incredible.
HARLOW: Thanks, Kaitlan. The Pentagon investigating a leak of what appears to be a lot of classified intelligence on the war in Ukraine -- the current recent intelligence in the midst of this war. Why it is being called one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in decades.
LEMON: Plus, something major happened on "SUCCESSION" last night, or so we heard. We haven't seen it yet. We're talking about the etiquette of office spoilers next.
(COMMERCIAL)
[07:57:49]
Clip from HBO Max "SUCCESSION."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Well, apparently, something big happened while we were sleeping.
COLLINS: Asleep.
LEMON: So I'll tell you, that one guy threatened the other guy and then -- I have no idea.
HARLOW: Who knows?
LEMON: I haven't watched since the first season.
COLLINS: People are going to think we're talking about something that happened in, like, Washington --
LEMON: No.
COLLINS: -- or something. Yes. This is what happened on T.V. last night.
HARLOW: Even more dramatic than what happens in the halls of Congress.
Something big happened on "SUCCESSION" last night and we don't know because we were sleeping and this is a spoiler-free zone. But if you're a fan of the show it's either something you can't wait to talk about or some information you're dodging all day long.
What are the rules of spoiler etiquette? I don't know. My husband gave up on me and watches without me now. He's just like I can't wait for like five weeks so you have time to watch this. I know, I know, I know.
COLLINS: I don't blame him. I think I'm on his side on this one.
LEMON: Yes.
COLLINS: Five weeks?
HARLOW: I will watch it one day. I will watch it one day.
LEMON: And there's -- I kind of want to know and then -- because then you -- then watch it play out. It makes it more interesting to me.
COLLINS: It's such a good show.
HARLOW: It's my favorite show on T.V.
COLLINS: I can't believe it's on the last season.
HARLOW: I know, but that's great. You end on a high note. Better than going on too long, don't you think?
COLLINS: I don't know. We'll see.
LEMON: How much do you have to catch up on? Have you been following?
HARLOW: Oh, I'm only two -- I watched the first one and I'm two episodes -- it's only been three episodes.
LEMON: Yes. I haven't watched since the first season. I've got a lot of catching up to do.
COLLINS: Yes, you do.
LEMON: Yes, a lot.
HARLOW: CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECERRA: This is not America. What you saw by that one judge in that one court in that one state -- that's not America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Good morning, everyone. That is who you're hearing from there -- the Health and Human Services Sec. Xavier Becerra weighing in to Dana Bash. Because a judge's ruling in Texas has not set off a major battle over abortion pills and this battle could reach the Supreme Court. I just talked to a Republican member of Congress who says the FDA should ignore the judge's ruling.
LEMON: We'll see what happens with that. Plus, the Pentagon is trying to figure out how highly sensitive classified documents about the war in Ukraine leaked online.
