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Democrats Demand to See GOP Health Care Bill; Anger in D.C. After American Held by North Korea Dies; Source: Spicer Might Be Moved Out of Briefing Room; White House Will Be First On Camera In A Week. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired June 20, 2017 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00] JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: While since it's behind closed doors it's become about the theater and Phil mentioned the CBO. I just want to show a little clip of video here. Three Democratic senators, (inaudible) call it a stunt if you like.

Cory Booker, Chris Murphy, and Brian Schatz, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Connecticut, in a car, streaming as they go to the Congressional Budget Office. They say they're looking for the Senate bill -- the Senate Republican bill and the score. The score is the grading on how much it would cost, how many people would lose their health care.

So, again, part of the pre-policy theater here which we're laughing about. It is somewhat important because the Democrats are trying to rally their base and (inaudible) shame the Republicans into the process. But this will matter much more when we actually get a bill. We can talk about one of the things -- what do we do to people watching at home not the drama and theatre here in Washington.

JACKIE KUCINICH, THE DAILY BEAST: That's very true. I was just thinking Rand Paul called and he wants his stunt back because he did the same thing on the House side --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

KUCINICH: -- just about a month ago. And, yes, it's a stunt, but Democrats, especially using that word "mean", that the president apparently said behind closed doors, and I think you're going to hear that reverberating all over the place. Whether or not this fails, that is a sound bite that they're going to -- or that is a word that is going to be used in every ad that we see about health care from now until --

CAROL LEE, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: It's not only that, "mean" is something that is going to be on the minds of Republicans who are thinking of voting for something that maybe they're not entirely comfortable with. Is this president going to come in and undermine them after they've cast this vote? And that's part of the problem with what the president said, which I think is probably one of the most significant things that he's said in vent weeks in that same line.

KING: It's a very important point. If you haven't follow this at home, the president has that big Rose Garden ceremony to celebrate the House passed bill and he meets last week with Republican senators to urge them to continue their work where he repeatedly used the word "mean" to criticize the House bill. And now White House say, it's (inaudible) after the fact, after the fact, after the celebration. The president started reading news reports to bill (inaudible) it does that to Medicaid, oh it does that -- you know, it gives waivers for preexisting conditions and whatnot.

So the president's calling it "mean". The Speaker of the House Paul Ryan today trying to say, well, the president didn't exactly mean that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: you know, I don't really think that accurately reflects the president's sentiment about the House health care bill. I think that was some kind of a misinterpretation of a private meeting. I was talking to the president many, many times. He's excited on what we did in the House.

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS HOST: So you're saying he's on board then?

RYAN: He's on board and also -- the Senate's got their own legislative process so they're going to take their amendments and I assume they'll change the bill. Big legislation like this doesn't go through the House or the Senate with no changes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I love my old colleague Bill Hemmer but the better follow-up question would have been, Mr. Speaker, those were several Republican senators who said the president used the word mean and use it repeatedly.

STEVE INSKEEP, NPR: And Phil Mattingly's reporting as well as other people's reporting underlines a reality this bill isn't really being kept secret from Democrats although it is. It's being kept away from Republicans and conservative interest groups because they don't know who's going to react which way as there were fierce reactions to the House bill once it was known.

PERRY BACON, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT: This bill has momentum, though, for one reason. No one -- and that's a Republican who wants to vote against the bill to repeal the hated ObamaCare. So I think a lot of this stuff about the details, what comes out. (Inaudible) to see three members of the Senate stand up and vote against ObamaCare.

And I'm very skeptic on what kind of repeal. And I'm skeptical that will happen no matter what the details of the bill say.

KING: It's a great question you raise and so I think the results in Georgia tonight could impact the mood in the Senate as well. If Republicans start getting skittish, if you're a Susan Collins or Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman of Ohio, you're from a more moderate state, you need a lot of suburban voters you're going to react to this.

Let's look at some of the numbers as you mentioned here. You know, CBS poll this morning, what do you know -- do you know what the health care plan will do? Yes, have a good understanding, only 23 percent of Americans say that. Seventy-six percent of Americans say they haven't heard enough.

And yet this bill could come out Thursday. They could try to vote on it within a week in the 4th of July recess. This was the subject for a little back and forth between the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: Well, we have time, more than 10 hours since this a complicated view to review the bill. Will it be available to us and the public more than 10 hours before we have to vote for it since our leader has said -- our Republican leader that there'll be plenty of time for a process where people can make amendments. You need time to prepare those amendments.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I think we'll have ample opportunity to read and amend the bill.

SCHUMER: Will it be more than 10 hours?

MCCONNELL: I think we'll have ample opportunity to read and amend the bill.

SCHUMER: I rest my case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

INSKEEP: There's ample time before this commercial break if you want to --

KING: That is your government at work right there.

BACON: (Inaudible) that this bill has had unusually low amount of hearings and discussion. And I think this is different from 2009. I think this is not a partisan is able so say this bill has been kept more secret, members can't see it.

[12:35:02] They're going to the CBO (inaudible) and it's weird that people who serve in the United States Senate can't see a bill that's been finished in some way and therefore it's in the CBO. It's a very odd process.

KING: It's one-sixth of the American economy and affects every single American. And you think people might actually want to know about it.

BACON: I think so.

LEE: Yes, people do actually want to know about it and they probably want to know about it with enough time to actually figure out what is in the bill.

KING: And just remember, as the Democrats beat up on the Republicans, you have seen this movie before if you've been around for a little while. I just want to go back in time. The Republicans are crafting this behind closed doors. As we go to break, this trademark vintage tweet from then the governor of the Indiana, mike pence. "It's simply wrong for legislation that will affect 100percent of the American people to be negotiated behind closed doors." That was then, this is now.

KUCINICH: And he's a part of the negotiations, apparently today, so.

BACON: I mean, it goes to the point that the CBS poll showed also that the bill is unpopular. I think that's part of the problem is that they're not sure. I think their sense is that the more -- in the House clips we saw the, the more the bill was discussed -- got -- less support it gets. So I understand politically the idea this is not a popular bill, there's going to be lots of Medicaid cuts in it. So the idea that discussing it in public is not going to help its passage is probably politically wise and politically accurate.

KING: But one thing we do know is it's not going pull all of the roots out of ObamaCare. It is going to replace ObamaCare. It could significantly change ObamaCare depending on how they come down on the Medicaid question, how they come down on the guaranteed essential benefits question in the Senate.

But if you have something that doesn't pull the roots out, if you look at Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, there are two right there who said they won't vote for anything that's not full and complete repeal. Either one of them changes their mind or those two get to you 50. And if you lose those two -- that's 50 plus Mike Pence. If you lose those two, that's it, that's all you can lose.

INSKEEP: Well, you still got Mike Pence who had that tweet that might be there to save it. We don't know what's going to be in this bill but it's widely expected to be some variation on the House-passed bill. With that essential formula for subsidies and that essential formula for Medicaid move around some of the numbers.

It's widely expected to be that and it's worth remembering that one of the things that was said about that House-passed bill was that, it had no natural constituency for the very reason that you said, John, it keeps parts of ObamaCare, it destroy parts of ObamaCare. It moves the numbers around, it reduces subsidies for a lot of people who probably voted for Donald Trump for president. And that raises a lot of questions and will make it hard for some members to support.

KUCINICH: And i would keep an eye on senators from states that were heavily hit by the opioid crisis because their governors are going to be screaming if their Medicaid funding is cut.

KING: Well, that's something that they use for that fund organize for the requirement that health care plans -- private health care plans cover drug treatment as well. We'll keep an eye on that. And again, we're talking about the drama and the theater. I promised you once we have a bill to discuss, we'll talk much more about the numbers and its impact on you.

Up next, a 22-year-old American dies days after being released from North Korea. So how should President Trump respond?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:42:06] KING: Welcome Back. The death of a young American detained in North Korea for more than a year sparking calls for swift and tough response. Twenty-two-year-old Otto Warmbier died Monday afternoon, just days after his release. Warmbier was in a coma when North Korea finally allowed him to be medically evacuated to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of bad things happened, but at least we got him home to be with his parents where they were so happy to see him even though he was in very tough condition. But he just passed away a little while ago. That's a brutal regime and we'll be able to handle it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The question is, handle it how. In a statement last night, Senator John McCain of Arizona said, "Let us state the facts plainly, Otto Warmbier, an American citizen was murdered by the Kim Jong-un regime. The United States of America cannot and should not tolerate the murder of its citizens by hostile powers."

Likewise, Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, this time on Twitter said, "Otto Warmbier should never have been in jail for tearing down a stupid banner. And he most certainly should not have been murdered for it."

Murderer is a strong word. I can't argue that it's inappropriate in this case. So based on what happened, he was detained for a year and a half, there were consistent efforts during the Obama administration to try to get him out, North Korea did not accede to those efforts. It seems North Korea sent him home when they realized how dire the situation was. But the question is what. The question is what.

You hear about sanctions, maybe prohibiting any tourist travel by Americans to North Korea. But we hear the sanctions debate every time they test a missile as well. Are there any additional sanctions that can be put in place to make any difference here?

LEE: Well, the North Korea is -- if not the most isolated country in the world. One of the most and there's already a ton of sanctions that are on North Korea. The things that they could do and that they haven't been done yet or if these so-called secondary sanctions which basically target, you know, Chinese banks or companies that are doing business with North Korea.

This administration and the previous administration have been reluctant do that because it's such an aggressive move. And so the Trump administration has decided they'll give China a few months to try to take some steps to choke off aid to North Korea in trade and whether or not they do that then they'll move to other steps. But your point is exactly right, there is no good answer here. No one wants military action in North Korea because no one really knows what that would unleash. And there aren't any option when's it comes to sanctions.

KING: And I should note as we're on the air here, the president just again tweeted his condemnation of the brutality of the regime. And in the tweet was a link to some comments also he made in the Oval Office expressing his regret at the death of this young American saying he'd talk to his parents and talked about how great his parents were, the compassion they had showed. And good for the president for doing that and for keeping attention on this but the question is, what. What can you do with this?

INSKEEP: Well, here's a counter intuitive answer to that. There is a question of justice for a dead man. But the counter intuitive answer for what the United States might do is talk actually.

[12:45:05] We got a chance to talk with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in late April and he said then that what he wanted to be doing, what the United States wanted to be doing with the North Korean regime was talking with them specifically about its nuclear program and ending its nuclear program but they wanted to talk directly. They ended up talking directly to bring home Otto Warmbier. It's a great circumstance in which it happened but it raises the possibility that the administration might go back to North Korea again and say, we want the other three people that you're holding, the other three Americans back.

We actually want to discuss the end of your nuclear program. I don't know that they're going to do that. But it is what they previously said they wanted to do on --

KING: You make an important point. I just want to put up on the screen for people watching at home. There were three additional Americans being held there, one since October 2015, one since April, one since May. And -- so as the rhetoric plays out and they understand what condemnation. They understand it with the use of the word "murder". The understandable debate about what to do next.

You also have to understand this is a hermit regime, it's unpredictable. And as that debate plays out, it could affect the fate of these three Americans being held. Maybe the North Koreans will decide as a gesture, you want to have talks, here, let's show our good faith. I wouldn't bet on that.

KUCINICH: And what you heard from Admiral John Kirby throughout today is that one of the reasons that we don't know this, one the reasons the North Korean regime decided to release this young man was because he was so gravely ill. That is one of the theories there. So we don't know that talking even worked here. He might just have been so ill they didn't want him on North Korean soil when he passed away.

KING: We'll continue to watch the diplomacy as well as the political outrage here in Washington. Keep an eye on matters important. Up next, rumors about Sean Spicer's future swirling again. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:53] KING: Welcome back. It was just five months ago, Sean Spicer entered America's living room with the first briefing room appearance we're not likely to forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe. These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, since that fiery briefing room, call it a spree, call it a lecture, call it what you will, that was January 21st. The president has mostly then earlier told mad at his press secretary complaining to the other aides and sometimes to Spicer himself about his performance. His inability to respond quickly enough to leaks the president believes and his failure the president thinks to stop those leaks.

It's why Spicer's departure from the briefing room has long been at the center of what's become a cottage industry of reporting here in pending perhaps White House staff shake-up. Now, Spicer again rumored to be on his way out of the briefing room which means "Saturday Night Live" might need a new stick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA MCCARTHY AS SEAN SPICER, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: Trump is innocent? How do we know? Because he told us so he, period.

The travel ban is not a ban which makes it not a ban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he just called it a ban.

MCCARTHY: Because I'm using your words. You said ban.

I clearly meant to say concentration clubs, OK. Take that.

You come at me like that, I will put you in the corner with CNN. I'm telling you exactly what President Trump told me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what if he's lying to you?

MCCARTHY: He -- I'm going to New York. The press interview is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: That's funny, Melissa McCarthy does a great Sean Spicer. But, again, this is one of those stories where you could focus on the theater and the drama and the constant leaks about the shake-up within the White House. Whether you like Sean Spicer or not, whether you support him or not, this is his job and he's been constantly talking about losing your job, which is a hard thing to do. And number two, there's a bigger issue about White House transparency and secrecy in this interim period where Sean Spicer's job has been somehow under review, under consideration. They've start to do more off camera briefings which is -- I'm a T.V. person so we want the camera in the room there. I covered the White House, they don't always will have to have a camera in the room. But it is bad, it is bad when an administration starts to retreat from public disclosure and public discourse.

That's my speech. But when we start with the issue of Sean Spicer, we expect him to step in to some behind the scenes role and someone else to step in?

LEE: I think we don't really know. There'll be some changes and they've already implemented a number of changes in just some of terms of the way they're handling the press operation and the briefing. As you mentioned, we not had a briefing on camera in a week and they'll do one today for the first time. But, you know, they can choose how to do their press operation however they want to do, but it doesn't mean that they get to skirt accountability and that's what we've seen.

That's the problem I think, that reporters are having with the way that they're doing things. It's not designed to just do things differently and shake things up a little bit. It's designed to try to manipulate the system so that they don't have to be held as accountable as typically press secretaries and White Houses are held accountable.

BACON: The story in the Washington Post, they want to plug people (inaudible) has mentioned, we're having a general decline of transparency in Washington right now. We're having fewer briefings of the state at the Pentagon, at the White House, not on camera anymore. We have this health care process, we have administration officials not sharing information with the Congress at all, like congressmen who are Republican and Democrats.

We generally are having a bigger problem of transparency and more things being kept secret which I think is a much broader issue than Sean Spicer but I think a really important with not a press issue is actually a lot of ways (inaudible). The American public is not seeing any health care hearings either and that's why I think it's important to emphasize that.

INSKEEP: And even when there's an appearance of transparency it really isn't because you don't know which of the many different messages to believe. The Melissa McCarthy parody is almost literal in a way. And the way that he/she keeps denying things that were obviously just said. And it's just a statement of fact, that's not a partisan statement, it's just a statement of fact the president will contradict his own aides and the aides will contradict each other. And even as far as Sean Spicer's rumored departure would go, how would you believe any report about that until it actually happens as it ever does.

[12:55:06] KING: And one of the people rumored to perhaps be coming in is the conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham who has very good relationship with reporters. Who understands how Washington works. You might call this morning a bit of an audition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: The president needs to remember the reason he got elected is to shake up Washington. The Republicans have got to pass legislation that's going to make the lives of every day Americans better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better.

INGRAHAM: If they do not, they should leave office. They should not be in Washington because apparently, you know, they're either too afraid or they want to resist Trump themselves or. I don't know what it is. But they should not go home to fundraisers and picnics in August if they can't get their rear ends in gear and deliver for the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, Laura Ingraham says part of that interview she's not dying for the job, she's not sure be the best use of that skill set but I can mention this. If the president saw that this morning he might like it.

Thanks for joining us in the Inside Politics. Hope to see you back here this time tomorrow. Thanks everybody for coming in.

Remember, there is a White House briefing today with Sean Spicer, next hour. His own future will be among the questions. Wolf Blitzer will guide you through that after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1 p.m. here in Washington, 8 p.m. in Jerusalem --