president of el salvador. great partnership. >> dana: thank you for sticking around with us. we really do appreciate that. >> you got it. >> dana: and you can check out more politics, perino on politics i was with tim murtaugh and was on the campaign and he was there and john you have another big show coming up. >> john: i will be seeing you again with sandra smith at 1:00. a lot going on this afternoon. so we hope that you will tune in. i tell you, tom sounds like he is exhausted. >> dana: i think, right. no one is super human and hopefully they get enough rest. they have a ton on their plate. much more to come. we have netanyahu's visit to president trump taking place this afternoon. "the faulkner focus" is next. >> harris: fox news alert. right now the tragic effects of illegal fentanyl on american families are at the center of a

senate judiciary hearing. it just started a short time ago. and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are pushing to permanently designate fentanyl-related substances as a schedule one drug. we'll get into the meaning and impact of that. it is so important at this point. we know we've lost so many people in this country as the cartels continue to wage war on us with that drug. i'm harris faulkner and you are in "the faulkner focus." here is some of that hearing from moments ago. >> this is not an easy problem to solve, but there are certain parts of the problem that are simple to address. for one thing, common sense border control will help stem the flow of fentanyl. we also have no idea how many surges of illegal immigrants have been used by the cartels as

distractions to push drugs through our understaffed ports of entry. thankfully, the trump administration has taken this threat seriously. >> harris: all right. again this is a bipartisan push to make this a schedule one drug. it would be temporary at first. drug substances for chemicals in that category are designed as those with no currently accepted medical use and high potential for abuse. of course, on our streets driven in by drug cartels and people being used as traffickers, you can bet that risk factor is playing out every single hour of every single day. so the press is on now to change something. president trump is notching some big wins when it comes to the war on fentanyl. he agreed to use a 30-day pause on tariffs on mexico and canada after concessions to help secure

america's borders. among other things, canada committed to border security plans to the tune of more than $1 billion. mexico promised to send 10,000 mexican military personnel to its northern border with us. separately officials arrested a major cartel leader, they call him el ricky, china is not bending yet, a 10% tariff on u.s. imports is now in effect. china has promised to retaliate with a 15% tariff on american energy and other goods. senior counselor to trump, peter navarro, hitting back against the critics. >> this is a first step. it's a drug war, not a trade war. anybody who is talking about inflation right now is dishonoring the men and women and children who have died at the hands of chinese, mexican, canadian fentanyl coming across our borders. that's what this is about.

>> harris: senior white house correspondent peter doocy now. >> good morning, still no movement on the 10% tariffs on chinese goods. those went into effect at midnight. there could be movement very soon in a first of its kind this presidency trump/xi phone call with a focus on fentanyl. >> it is the president's utmost responsibility to protect american lives. that's why he implemented the 10% tariff on china. president xi did reach out to president trump to speak about this. maybe to begin a negotiation. we'll see how that call goes. >> canadian deal was made when trudeau beefed up security on the border. in addition canada is making new commitments to appoint a fentanyl czar as list cartels and terrorists and 24 hour eyes on the border to combat

organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering. nobody is celebrating an end to these tariff and trade tensions. everybody that we talked to and everybody that we've heard from is saying these things are just pause for now. we could be right back here the first week of march if there is not a significant meaningful decline in the amount of fentanyl and fentanyl components coming across the southern and northern borders. >> harris: that's very important the temporary nature of all this. peter doocy, thank you. jason chaffetz is with me on the mezz. former republican congressman from utah and served at the chairman of oversight committee. a lot will happen in the next 30 days. if mexico and canada were feeling pressure going to yesterday's midnight deadline. 30 days of what they're seeing on the border will do. >> look at the calendar. the joint address to congress is 30 days.

you don't think president trump wants to stand before congress and the american people and make the case against -- for what he is doing now? that is no accident. >> harris: talk to me about china. they have not capitulated. so everybody had that same deadline. you saw phone calls and all of that falling from mexico and canada, yeah, what can we do. let's stretch it out, 30 days. 10 thousand troops and in his prior term as president my recollection is they sent 6 thousand mexican troops. they've upped the antti at this time under pressure. what's going on with china? >> peter sitser in his book blood money details this. china takes the precursors, the pill presses and send them to a mexican port owned by the chinese. they then ship them to northern mexico. there are thousands -- thousands of chinese nationals there that are doing the pill presses and building these drugs.

they then take the drugs, give them to the mules, disperse them throughout the united states and what china has done is they've changed the channel. they are now the money launderer. the sinaloa cartels and others used to give the money to panama and others, now they give it to china and circulate that money in the chinese banks. that's the discussion that is happening that donald trump has to get on top of. we know where they make these fentanyl pills. the question is who will take that down. >> harris: two questions. did the biden administration know where that port was? it has to be on a map. >> yes, it was in a d.e.a. report and a book for about a year. they never went after it. you can look at it on a satellite and google map. it is there and there are thousands of chinese nationals there. >> harris: something that the border czar said a couple times today. tom homan has said we could possibly expect some violence

from those cartels. they won't give up easily. i now can understand better why that is. if you are laundering money through china and going through a country that is giving you the precursors, maybe a payoff is better through china for the cartels than anybody else they've been dealing with and they may fight harder now. they are loving this deal. >> they make it on the money laundering. they use chinese encrypted apps so our border patrol and d.e.a. agents can't understand how they communicate. if you go to southern arizona, which you have been to many times. they have all the high points. pete hegseth and the border patrol are going to take out all the high points and get rid of those encrypted apps. >> harris: what we've seen in areas like nogales, it has been less about human trafficking overall. we've seen peaks with that, peaks and valleys with that.

most of it has been moving illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl. they have some pretty sneaky ways of doing it. they come in by air. we know about the tunnels. >> we use it all. they use everything. ultra lights. i went to one place where a car goes on a ramp and goes over the border. unbelievable what they are doing. there has never been a serious fight to knock this down. i believe that donald trump will be doing that for the very first time. >> harris: from what tom homan says he is the right president to get it done and has the soldiers to do it. el salvador president's has agreed to hold dangerous united states citizens and criminal migrants from any country, any country after meeting with secretary of state marco rubio. >> he has agreed to accept for deportation any illegal alien in the united states who is a criminal, from any nationality, ms-13 or tren de aragua and house them in his jails.

third, he has offered to house in his jails dangerous american criminals in custody in our country, including those of u.s. citizenship and legal residents. >> harris: a new opinion piece with this title argues trump has all the leverage he needs to make allies and adversaries melt into putty. look, i was asking you looked at oversight and all that as a former chairman. how do you get a deal like that done? >> rick grenell got our hostages out. the world is scared of donald trump. the reason to vote for donald trump. our allies will love us and our adversaries will fear us. el salvador is stepping up. i'm sure that prison in el salvador is a really -- you get good hearty meals there. i appreciate the them working with us to actually take care of this problem.

they are a real ally. donald trump's book, amen, we'll help you out. >> harris: i know we'll push this a little bit forward now. something that i've been so focused on has been those people who come into the country unaccompanied minors, maybe they were with an adult and then they got put someplace else. the numbers are moving on that. we've gone between 291,000 of them, senator cornyn, i believe in a hearing last week was talking about many more than that. what are we looking at with that? >> one is too many. we're talking about unaccompanied minors. we talked about this so many times. there are tens of thousands. we don't know if they are being exploited for labor, for sex, or who knows what. we have to go find each and every one of them. it will take the states. the sanctuary states, sanctuary cities drive me nuts. they aren't helping america. >> harris: let's go to this judiciary hearing in the senate. we have the orange county sheriff and i understand the

coroner from orange county, california as well. let's watch. >> 2,278 pills. in 2024 that number skyrocketed to over 2 million. my agency alone. the fight against the fentanyl epidemic in california is incredibly challenging given our close proximity to the border, national drug trends and our state's permissive drug laws. proposition 47 passed in 2014 largely decriminalized most drug and property crimes. our attempts to seek action by the state legislature largely fell on deaf ears. when we first saw the signs of fentanyl in 2015. similar to trafficing cocaine and heroin. this bill failed year after year after year while deaths continued to increase. sadly in some instances our proposal was met with ridicule by those far too devoted to extreme anti-incarceration policies and faced complications

due to california sanctuary laws which limits our communication with our federal partners. despite this grim picture there is hope. in orange county we have seen fentanyl deaths fall from a high of 717 in 2021 to 613 in 2023 and while the state continues to rise. this progress is a result of our ongoing multi-faceted strategy that focuses on supply and demand. it includes investing dollars in narcotics teams and resources. working with the u.s. attorney to prosecute individuals who sell drugs that result in the death of another. creating a new innovative drug education program taught in our schools. since 2016, deputies have holted in over 600 lives saved in our community. jails we created step down units and have a medication assistance program serving 1300 people every day. congress can help this progress by moving forward many of the

initiatives authored and supported by members of this committee. first and foremost we must firmly schedule fentanyl analogs as a schedule one drug. the house is taking that up this week. i want to thank members of the committee for leading this effort in the setting. the funding increases would be help. it has remained static over ten years. they're grateful member of this committee -- we look forward to working with you to advance legislation like the hida enhancement act. we need to protect law enforcement tools, mcsa strongly opposes legislation to restrict law enforcement to -- we advocate for providing law enforcement lawful access to encrypted devices for finding

those distributing lethal fentanyl. we support bipartisan legislation crucial for addressing sud within the criminal justice system for continuous care, successful reintegration and sustained sobriety post release from jails. i look forward to answering your questions. >> thank you, sheriff. i will start by a round of questions and then we'll turn to senator durbin. i think it's only appropriate that we should express our condolences for your loss. when things like this happen i usually try to figure out is there any way we can take something terrible and tragic and hopefully learn some lessons and make things better and save lives in the future? and so thank you for being courageous and telling your story. i know it is not easy but it is very important for people across

this country to understand how this can happen to them and their family. having visited with a number of families in texas, various school districts. i think it requires a layered approach starting at the kitchen table with awareness of our children to the threat. none of them take these counterfeit drugs knowingly. at least knowing that they are able to take their lives that it contains a contaminated fentanyl. i do believe it will require all of us from parents, families, school districts and local law enforcement, state and federal law enforcement and border security. sheriff barnes, it is my understanding that most of the chemicals that go into fentanyl basically have been traced back to china. is that your understanding as

well? >> yes, senator. that is -- there is an issue with precursor chemicals transiting. >> as i understand some of the announcement relating to the tariffs that president trump has announced his administration has said this isn't so much a trade policy as it is an anti-fentanyl policy to finally get the chinese government's attention to do something about the precursors that emanate from that country. but then as you point out, they make their way to mexico where the cartels are putting them into pill presses and making them look like relatively and have fentanyl in them and taking people's lives. do you believe with improved border security we can begin to stop some of the flow of the illicit drugs coming across the

border including fentanyl? >> yes, senator. what you describe is a very complex system. almost a supply chain that starts in china using transit going to mexico, to pill presses. it is not doing any one thing. it is doing 12 things at the same time. addressing this issue is much more complicated than any one thing. the halt act is a great start. when you look at the pill presses pressing pills that's one issue. the border will be the most significant issue as we shut down the border and pathway for those illicit fentanyl to the make its way into the united states. that and many other things have to take place. >> sir, i heard senator durbin's statement, which i disagree with, that says that the vast majority of the fentanyl comes across the ports of entry transported by american citizens. is there anybody on the panel who subscribes to that point of view? dr. farfan.

do you think any one of the 1.7 million gotaways during the last four years have been transporting fentanyl? >> well, 1.7 million of -- >> during the biden administration out of the millions of people that were welcomed into the country and released, there were 1.7 million that appeared on various sensors, cameras and things like that that evaded law enforcement and made their way into the interior of the united states. do you think any one of those 1.7 million individuals that were evading law enforcement were transporting fentanyl? >> to restate what i mentioned in my testimony data from the u.s. sentencing commission shows 86.4 people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking in physical year 2023 were u.s. citizens. >> my question is about the people who evaded law

enforcement, is it possible that some of them or maybe even many of them were transporting illicit drugs including fentanyl? >> as someone who fights organized crime that would be a bad business decision. drug traffickers deal >> sounds to me like a very profitable decision on the part of the cartels to evade law enforcement and be able to deliver your drugs and load into the united states only to make a lot of money from it. why is that a bad business decision? >> because from a business point of view you would prefer to have smugglers who have a legal right to enter into the united states. that a runner who is uncertain whether or not he or she will cross into the united states. so if you are looking at it from the point of view of will we turn a profit or not in this particular shipment, putting your shipment in the hands of an immigrant who does not have a legal right to enter into the u.s. is a bad business decision.

>> sheriff barnes, do you agree with that? >> i do not. two facets here. you have the trafficking of the narcotic in large bulk. our experience in intervention is those are oftentimes residents of mexico. the distribution of that or sales of it i think to her point might oftentimes be carried out by u.s. citizens in the drug trafficking market. the vast majority of the large quantities coming across my experience are being conducted by mexican nationals. the distribution and sales inside the united states oftentimes has been carried out by u.s. citizens. >> thank you. senator durbin. >> thank you all for being here. how many of you would this be your first time to see the senate judiciary committee, would you raise your hand? a few of our witnesses and others, the first time. this is an interesting

committee. it represents the spectrum of politics in the united states senate. we have the most republican republicans and the most democratic democrats sitting on this committee. so you won't be surprised that many times we disagree. and that disagreement sometimes leads to good speeches but very few laws. there was an exception. two years ago we took up this issue and started talking about what we could do to stop the spread of fentanyl and the deadly impact it is having on america. we actually voted in this committee on a bipartisan basis unanimously for five measures that dealt with social media. your point, if snapchat were a store on the corner selling fentanyl lateed percocet and it happened one time and they could be sued, that would be the end of the story.

but we learned through section 230 that social media gets off the hook. you are joining families, i understand, trying to hold them responsible for your son's death and other deaths as well. i couldn't support you more. let me tell you what happened. we passed bills in this committee holding big tech and social media responsible. unanimously. now there are four or five new members of the committee but every member of the committee two years ago voted for it, democrat and republican, conservative and liberal, all voted for the measure. what happened as a result of that combined bipartisan effort? nothing. nothing. speeches, that's what happened. we failed as democrats in the majority in the senate. the republicans failed as the majority in the house to pass any measure. i said it, democrats bear

responsibilities and republicans as well. we have to be honest about this. why? why would something as popular and obvious as that fail before the congress? because there were powerful forces that have a lot of money at stake and don't want liability who will publicly say they love this measure. >> harris: this is so critical for the movement of how we are going to deal with fentanyl in our country. what he said there jason chaffetz is with me. doesn't bode well for this process. he said you have the people who are politically the farthest at part as republicans and democrats sitting in the room now. why tell everybody that? he is talking with someone affected through her own son the deadliness of fentanyl. >> there is frustration on both sides they aren't putting policies in place. one of them to be serious about them is enforcement and taking down the drug cartels.

you have to deal with the demand and the distribution. you have to do it soup to nuts. when you have sheriff barnes. god bless a guy like him. to be the coroner in orange county, california is tough the. he is telling it like it is. and narcan, whatever it is that they give to people who have taken fentanyl, think about how many lives were saved with just that one move but still had -- still had in just that one county more than 600 deaths from fentanyl. >> harris: then we saw the game change a year or so ago. maybe longer. i remember in one of my own kids' schools they had put out this notice just about how the drug had changed and they are selling it in candy and wrapping it in all sorts of i shiny objects and tell teenagers that. they were using a horse sedative to lace with it and that was taking away the power of the counter drug to treat you if you had an overdose of fentanyl.

just get your mind around our evil that is. >> it is pure evil. that is what it is. this is what i think and a strong statement, but this is what i think china's endgame is. i think they're okay killing americans. normally you would want to get an addictive drug so they keep coming back as repeat customers. that's not what fentanyl does. it kills people and gets rid of your customers. why would the chinese want to do that? >> harris: they hate us. the government, not the people. bridget's son died of an overdose of fentanyl and looking at the list of witnesses today. you have people who have been affected by this and you have people like the sheriff coroner donald barnes who wants to fight to save americans. your last quick thought. >> they need support at every level. he mentioned -- i would like him to expand on it -- sanctuary cities and states. he mentioned that sanctuary state laws prohibit him from doing his job fully. in places like california is a

problem. the sanctuary cities, they have to take down the laws. the people doing it the most evil to our families and kids, they've got to be detained and incarcerated and ultimately deported. >> harris: he is telling the us and bringing the truth. always great to be with you for breaking news. president trump's crackdown on violent illegal immigrants. agent rounded up hundreds more charged with or convicted of murder, domestic violence, robbery. but democrat leaders across the country, as jason was just saying, are forming that resistance and they won't let go of it. plus the senate with some key votes on some of president trump's most controversial cabinet nominees. >> they are all intelligent. articulate, unflappable, they are fight enjoys reers. president trump won a convincing victory and deserves to staff the administration with people he wants in those positions.

>> harris: robert f. kennedy, jr. cleared a big hurdle out of committee. next up tulsi gabbard. gianno caldwell in "focus" next. . aaaaaaaaaaaaa. - headache? - better now. mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season.

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>> harris: president trump needs his entire cabinet in place and we have breaking news on movement now. a full vote on the senate floor for pam bondi. senate majority leader john thune said on the floor the u.s. senate will vote later today on pam bondi's nomination to be the attorney general. also a short time ago robert f. kennedy, jr. moved one step closer to becoming health and human services secretary. the senate finance committee last hour voted along party lines to advance his nomination out of committee and onto the full senate for a vote. and we expect the senate intelligence committee to vote today on tulsi gabbard's nomination for director of one potential hold-out there

moderate republican senator susan collins. now she is backing tulsi gabbard. >> i will vote for her. i believe she is committed to strengthening our national security. and i questioned to her extensively about her views on edward snowden and i am now satisfied that she will not seek in any way to have him pardoned. >> harris: you will remember the edward snowden case behind one of the biggest classified document leaks in u.s. history. now senior congressional correspondent chad pergram is on capitol hill with more. a lot of staccato quick movement now. >> absolutely. also doug collins is up for v.a. they'll vote on him today. the finance committee voted 14-13 along party lines to send

kennedy's nomination to the floor. g.o.p. louisiana senator bill cassidy agreed to vote yes after what he termed quote intense conversations. still questions linger about vaccines. >> the only way that bobby kennedy and i will get crosswise is if he does all actually take a position against the safety of proven vaccines. that will be a problem for me. >> a week or more before his nomination hits the floor. but there could be g.o.p. news there. democrats are united in their opposition of kennedy. >> do senators want their legacy to include disregarding basic health science and instead elevate conspiracy theorists? making robert kennedy secretary of health and human services in my view, colleagues, would be a grave threat to the health of the american people. >> democrats question his past when president trump picked him

for the job and have reservations about what mr. trump said regarding his health policy. warnock. >> donald trump said he was going to allow mr. robert kennedy to, quote, go wild on health. go wild. of all the things that i can think of that i would like to see a secretary of health and human services do go wild is not on the list. >> we expect cassidy to explain his vote on the floor shortly. also the senate intelligence committee votes today on the nomination of tulsi gabbard to be director of national intelligence and gop indiana senator todd young says he will support gabbard. >> harris: chad, thank you. minute-by-minute. in "focus" new gianno caldwell. we are finally starting to see

some movement even though we're probably a week away from that final floor vote for rfk, jr. big news today. >> quite big. i'm so excited. pam bondi, to see her sworn in as attorney general and heading to d.c. after the show. she is on the caldwell institute for public safety advisory board. there are so many good cabinet members. some of them are controversial, tulsi being a controversial person but she just supports her country. donald trump will have an exceptional cabinet. people focused on providing a stance that america first. people who will follow the trump agenda and people to make america healthy again on secure our borders and streets and prosecute crime. i think donald trump 2.0 is the best one we'll see yet. >> harris: we're following it stem to stern here in terms of the nomination process. but it doesn't seem like the

slowness that democrats have in some ways contributed to at each turn is stopping president trump from any of the things he needs to get done in these lanes. talk to me about what you know his crackdown on crime would look like. through your institute you have a good idea. >> yes, yes, absolutely. i think what we're seeing right now is warp speed. remember when we had the covid vaccine. that's what we're seeing now with many hundreds of executive orders. certainly getting encouraging our border men and women to secure and arrest as many criminals as possible. over 700 people over the weekend were arrested. five of them had criminal records. if you have come in illegally you've broken the law. that's a fact. when pam bondi in we'll be able to see the full weight of law enforcement with many of these crimes especially we saw the fentanyl hearing. we know that fentanyl is coming in from china through mexico and

we understand that the cartels are looking to attack our men and women in uniform. those things will come to an end. they have had a free pass to reign in billions of dollars in smuggling and drugs and it stops now. >> harris: back to the numbers. more than 700 illegal immigrants arrested over the weekend and you are absolutely right. 500 plus had convictions. either in their former countries or here. we were able to vet some of these people, i would hope. look how many of them got in and now we have to hunt them down. president trump's crackdown on illegal immigration is moving full speed ahead as gianno and i were talking about. immigration and customs enforcement or ice made those arrests this past weekend. you can see where they've been. the charges include everything, violence, murder, sex abuse, drug trafficking. yet we still see scenes like

this. [shouting "no more ice" ] >> harris: no more ice. who would round up these people? those anti-deportation protestors were marching through los angeles yesterday. that followed protesting sunday in los angeles and other cities. a car hit a police officer on a bike at one of those protests in dallas. tony evers of wisconsin is rejecting a state republican bill requiring local law enforcement help that would help federal immigration officers identify and detain illegal aliens. his office calls that bill a non-starter. he is just one of the many democratic leaders resisting the crackdown. >> our police officers will not be cooperating with federal law enforcement around federal immigration law. >> we stand together firmly in our welcoming city status.

>> it is performtive theater and it is nothing more than shock and awe. >> harris: performtive theater. do you think the immigrants feel like that are thaw are being picked up and arrested >> what about the families who lost many. we have seen migrants kill people. the same criminality to the u.s. we didn't see a bunch of people protesting saying just lock them up and get them out of our communities. this is what the american people are looking for and why donald trump won so massively because people want safety and security in their communities. we've seen since joe biden was in office for a first time in american history 100,000 people die from overdose of a drug. these are serious issues and they require serious people in these jobs and serious solutions. that's why i could not be more thankful that i voted for donald trump especially in my brother's memory. i have to tell you for those who think like these elected

officials who say we'll stand in the way of ice, i hope tom homan does exact will i what he says which is for those who want to block and object from what's going on you may face prison time. that may be what it is to get folks to get in line. >> harris: thank you very much. i appreciate you. new york attorney general letitia james is taking on president trump. oh my goodness, is this a broken record? why she is telling hospitals to defy trump's orders on transgender treatment for children, young children. she is one of many democrats railing against the president's agenda to protect children. but there is a division in the democratic ranks or division just on how to oppose the president. power panel next. >> democrats need to be standing up and speaking out in this moment and not being -- mamby

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>> we're going to fight. make no mistake about that. >> democrats need to be standing up and speaking out in this moment and not being mamby dick cheney pamby.

>> we will fight back against donald trump's hateful agenda. >> harris: they are so cheery. do you think they're winning voters. democrats are talking tough about fighting back against president trump. others are saying they are off to a slow start. the hill with this headlines. democrats fume over weak, early response to trump. one party strategist told them trump is eating us for lunch and we're letting him. house minority leader hakeem jeffries laid out a plan to colleagues yesterday. house democrats will continue to push back against the far right extremism, he says, that is being relentlessly unleashed on the american people. republican congressman. >> it's contrarian. whatever president trump does if it's a, they want b, if it's b they want a. they can't ever let the guy try to implement something that america first. >> harris: power panel matt gorman and patrick murphy.

look, matt, this is not really hard science. but what do they expect to happen on the left with voters if they focus all on trump? they still aren't focused on the people. >> they've learned nothing from the last election, right? all about trump all the time. hakeem jeffries putting out plans and letters, i'm shaking in my boots. pritzker running for president and look in his own backyard. illinois was a closer race between harris and trump that florida, the former swing state. trump won wards in chicago. look, he needs to look at his own backyard before taking on trump. clearly the american people saw something that j.b. doesn't. >> harris: patrick? >> harris, i agree with matt in the sense we have to focus on what is good for families. the price of eggs and inflation, the price of eggs was three cline 65 and now over $5.

we elected this guy to help our economy make prices go down. >> harris: wait a minute. i don't want a conversation with false flags. when eggs were up under your party's president, the nation's president, biden, they were up because of inflation and up a lot more because inflation was rocking 9%. eggs now are being pressed upon for a lot of health reasons that we have. we have a bird flu there are a lot of things pressing on that. i want to make sure you are apples and apples. people know what the cost of things are and suddenly you care but you have to say the right reasons. go ahead. >> we didn't give president biden the grace of the covid recovery and unemployment benefits. >> harris: they went up his entire presidency. we're talking about the price of eggs, they went up. he didn't address it. >> he controlled inflation and

going down. we have to have the best american policy that affects american families. >> harris: between november and two weeks ago biden was still president. we're chasing our tail right now. the dog isn't barking anymore. when it comes to that resistance that democrats are putting up against president trump new york attorney general letitia james told hospitals to ignore the president's order banning transgender treatment and surgeries for children. she says they violate the state's anti-discrimination laws. we are going to go to senator cassidy talking about why he has changed his vote in favor of robert f. kennedy, jr. >> it was not rude. i was getting hundreds of messages a day personally and thousands through the office and i just physically could not. now mr. president believe it or not, of these hundreds of people

calling me and contacting me however they did, many of them disagree with each other. diametrically. three dimensionally they disagrid. but the unifying factor is they all desire the best for our country even though they differ from each other so much. and maybe that kind of frames my feelings about this nomination. for context before entering politics before ever thinking of running for political office i practiced medicine for 30 years in a public hospital for the uninsured carrying for those who otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford the access to the care i provided. after seeing patients die from vaccine preventable diseases i dedicated much of my time to vaccine research and immunization programs personally witnessing the safety monitoring and the effectiveness of

immunization. put simply vaccines save lives. this is the context that informed me when considering rfk as the nominee to be secretary of the department of health and human services. it was a decision i studied exhaustively. i took very seriously. as i said i would, i spoke with mr. kennedy not once but multiple times over the weekend, including this morning. we had in depth conversations about the medical literature, about the science behind the safety of vaccines, he referred me to studies and to people, i reviewed them and spoke to those whom he mentioned i should speak to. now the most notable opponents of mr. kennedy were pediatricians on the front lines of our children's health who regularly have to combat misinformation, combating

vaccine skepticism with correct information. correct information that comes from their education, their training, and experience as physicians. they are aware of the falling vaccine rates and inevitability of increasing hospitalizations of death and children from vaccine-preventable diseases and aware children are now contracting diseases they would not have contracted if the child was vaccinated. now i heard from others passionate about the need to address chemicals in our food and belief that we're victims of large impersonal forces maximizing profits while sacrificing our health and there is evidence for that. food safety is principally a usda concern i strongly agree this is an issue society must address. other rfk supporters are concerned regarding environmental risk and fear these risks are being ignored by authorities. mr. kennedy's history of

environmental activism motivates that. they still feel that he can make a difference. so as i looked how to resolve this, i returned to where i began. would it be possible to have mr. kennedy collaborate and help public health agencies reearn the trust of the american people? regarding vaccines mr. kennedy has been insistent that he just wants good science and to insure safety. but on this topic the science is good. the science is credible. vaccines save lives. they are safe. they do not cause autism. there are multiple studies that show this. they are a crucial part of our nation's public health response. but as someone who has discussed immunizations with thousands of people i recognize that many mothers need reassurance that the vaccine their child is receiving is necessary and

effective and most of all safe. while i'm aligned with mr. kennedy regarding food and taking on chronic disease it leaves vaccines. they tried to reassure me to protect the public health benefit of vaccination. to this end mr. kennedy and the administration committed that he and i would have an unprecedented close working relationship if he is confirmed. we'll meet and speak multiple times a month. allow us to work well together and therefore to be more effective. mr. kennedy asked for my input into hiring decisions at rick hs beyond senate confirmed positions and this aspect of the collaboration will allow us to represent all sides of those folks who are contacting me over this past weekend.

he has also committed he worked within current vaccine approval and soft monitoring systems and not establish parallel systems. if confirmed he will maintain the centers for dizzy control on im nation practices, recommendations without changes. cdc will not remove statement on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism. mr. kennedy and the administration committed that this administration will not use the subversive techniques used under the biden administration like sue and settle to change policies enacted by congress without first going through congress. mr. kennedy and the administration committed to a strong role of congress aside from he and i meeting regularly he will come before the health committee on a quarterly basis if requested and the health committee chair, me or someone else, may choose a

representative on any board or commission formed to review vaccine safety. if he is confirmed hhs will provide a 30 day notice to the health committee if the agency seeks to make changes to any of our federal vaccine safety monitoring programs and health committee will call a meeting to further review. these commitments and my expectation that we can have a great working relationship to make america healthy again is the basis of my support. he will be the secretary. but i believe he will also be a partner in working for this end. if mr. kennedy is confirmed i will use my authority as chairman of the senate committee with oversight of hhs to behalf any attempt to remove the public access to lifesaving vaccines without iron clad, causational scientific evidence that can be

accepted and defended before the mainstream scientific community and before congress. i will watch carefully for any effort to wrongfully sew public fear about vaccines between confusing references of coincidence and anecdote. my support is built on assurances this will not have to be a concern and that he and i can work together to build an agenda to make america healthy again. we need a leader at hhs who will guide president trump's agenda to make america healthy again. based on mr. kennedy's assurances on vaccines and his platform to influence americans' health it is my consideration that he will get this done. as i've said, it has been a long, intense process. but i had assessed it as i would

assess a patient as a physician. ultimately restoring health in our association is too important and i think mr. kennedy can help get that done. as chairman of the senate committee with oversight authority of his position, i will do my best to make sure that that is what we accomplish. i want mr. kennedy to succeed in making america healthy again. his success will be tied to the health of our nation. he has the opportunity to address the most pertinent issues affecting americans' health. we also need to reform institutions like fda and nih and those as already indicated are my priorities of chairman of the health committee. i look forward to his support in accomplishing this