Brian Morgenstern, White House Deputy Communications Director & Deputy Press Secretary, Discusses Trump's Decision To Replace Ginsburg Before Election, Reversing His Previous View & Trump's Promised Health Care Plan
BRIAN MORGENSTERN, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR & DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: Over history, there have been 19 such vacancies. Seventeen of them have been confirmed. It is just a fundamentally different situation this time than it was last time. Of course, President Obama was term limited out, as well. President Trump is on the ballot again this year, as well, along with a number of Republican Senators, who, again, ran on the platform of confirming conservative constitutionalist judges, as did the president.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I understand the logistics here that you can do this. Right? It is possible because you as a party control the Senate and the White House. The question is: Should you? On the question of should you, then Donald Trump was clear, no.</s>MORGENSTERN: Well, but President Obama made his nomination, as has ever single president 29 times throughout our history with a vacancy, the president makes a nomination. That is his job. It is his constitutional obligation. The Senate has a job to do, which is to consider a nominee, vetting them and rapidly. When the Republican Senate decided that they were not going to proceed in 2016, that was a constitutional prerogative, just as it is now if they wish to proceed.</s>KEILAR: But it is hypocrisy.</s>MORGENSTERN: It is not hypocrisy because the facts are fundamentally different. As I noted, this president and the Senators were elected on a platform of confirming constitutionalist judges. It was a different political makeup at the time. And now, the Republican majority elected, in part, for the purpose of confirming justices and judges is in charge of the Senate. And President Trump was elected on the same principle. And he is in the White House.</s>KEILAR: Let's see if GOP Republicans agree with you on that. I'd like to roll some tape.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I want you to use my words against me. If there's a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Graham said, let's let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination. And you could use my words against me and you would be absolutely right. We are setting a precedent here today, Republicans are, that in the last year, at least of a lame duck eight-year term -- I would say it's a four-year term -- you won't fill a vacancy of the Supreme Court based on what we are doing here today. That's going to be the new rule.</s>SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The next justice could fundamentally alter the direction of the Supreme Court and have a profound impact on our country. So, of course, of course, the American people should have a say in the court's direction.</s>SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I don't think we should be moving forward on a nominee in the last year of this president's term. I would say that if it was a Republican president.</s>SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): President Obama's eager to appoint Justice Scalia's replacement. In the last 80 years, not once has the Senate confirmed a nomination made in an election year. And now is no year to start. This is for the people to decide. I intend to make 2016 a referendum on the U.S. Supreme Court.</s>KEILAR: Brian?</s>MORGENSTERN: It was a referendum on the U.S. Supreme Court in that President Trump released his list of well-qualified, constitutionalist judges, the Republican Senators ran on confirming such judges and justices. So this is about fundamental rights, a right to free speech, to practice religion, the right to bear arms, about really the Bill of Rights and preserving the God-given rights. Especially at time now, Brianna, where, in our country, we have a radical left that seems intent on destroying the institutions, on burning down small businesses, on talking about defunding the police, on really disregarding the constitutional norms.</s>KEILAR: I don't, I don't -- Brian, that has nothing to do with the hypocrisy of Republicans. But talk about something that I think is clear that we probably agree on, which is the consequences of this vacancy on the direction of the country could be huge. Because you fill this vacancy Obamacare is likely dead. So where is your plan to replace it?</s>MORGENSTERN: The president has taken a number of steps in the health care space. I would not agree, by the way, with your premise on hypocrisy, but we have gone through that. So I'll move on to your health care question. With respect to Obamacare, the president is committed to protecting preexisting conditions. He's alluded to his executive actions he can do in that regard. He has also taken steps to reduce drug prices, on making different types of plans, more affordable plans available to the American people, like association health plans. He's made telemedicine more available. So he's about reducing costs, expanding access, especially with the measures he's already taken. And he has said in the media in recent weeks to have more to say on health care as well. But he is 100 percent committed to protecting preexisting conditions.</s>KEILAR: People are already voting. Where is the plan?</s>MORGENSTERN: He has said -- the people can get a pretty good preview of the way the president views health care in this country and how to expand access and reduce costs because he's taken a number of steps already. He will take a number of additional steps --</s>KEILAR: But Brian, Brian, listen, listen. Listen to what he said less than a week ago. This is what he said about having a plan ready.</s>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: You have been promising a new health care plan. I interviewed you in June of last year. You said the health care plan would come in two weeks. You told Chris Wallace this summer it come in three weeks. You promised an executive order on preexisting --</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have it all ready. I have it all ready.</s>STEPHANOPOULOS: You have been trying to strike down preexisting conditions.</s>TRUMP: It doesn't matter. I have it all ready. And it is a much better plan for you.</s>KEILAR: It is all already. That was six days ago. Where's the plan, Brian?</s>MORGENSTERN: The president will roll it out when he is ready to do so. But it will focus on expanding access, reducing costs --</s>KEILAR: Brian, Brian, it doesn't matter. Where is the plan? We are six weeks from the election. He'll roll it out when he is ready? People are voting. He's been promising this over the summer. He's been promising this for years. He is asking the Supreme Court, in a moment that it will get soon, to get rid of Obamacare. He has to have something to replace that if he's going to make good on the promises. Where is the plan?</s>MORGENSTERN: He's already eliminated the individual mandate, lowered prescription drug costs, expanded health care options and insurance options. He's already expanded telemedicine. He'll have more to say on the subject very soon. I understand --</s>KEILAR: People with preexisting conditions -- no. Well, there's no plan. These are executive orders. And on the issue of preexisting conditions, this isn't -- when the president talks about a plan, that -- it seems to be is a comprehensive plan. People are concerned. You heard this last week from voters. They're concerned about their preexisting conditions. You're looking at an estimated 12 million people in this COVID pandemic, it becomes increasingly important, who may be losing their employer-provided insurance. So where is the plan that they need and that they should have if we listen to what the president has said? Where is the plan?</s>MORGENSTERN: I appreciate your persistence. You now asked me the same question a number of times. And I'll give you the same answer --</s>KEILAR: I have gotten the answer no times. I have not gotten an answer.</s>KEILAR: That's why I'm asking again.</s>MORGENSTERN: -- a more comprehensive view. But as I said, you can get a preview already from the many comments he's made and the many actions he has taken.</s>KEILAR: When?</s>MORGENSTERN: He is committing to protecting preexisting conditions. He is committed -- he's already lowered costs. He's already expanded access --</s>KEILAR: When will he release the plan? Brian, when?</s>MORGENSTERN: He'll release it very soon, Brianna. And --</s>KEILAR: He's been promising very soon and he's --</s>KEILAR: -- blown past his own deadlines. Before the election?</s>MORGENSTERN: He will be -- very soon. He'll be very transparent on this policy as he is with all of his other policies. The American people will never have to guess where President Trump stands on a very important issue.</s>KEILAR: They will have to guess where he stands on this issue. Let's listen to what he's said over the summer about the timing of his plan.</s>TRUMP: I'm signing a health care plan within two weeks, a full and complete health care plan that the Supreme Court decision on DACA gave me the right to do. We're going to solve -- we'll sign an immigration plan, a health care plan and various other plans. And nobody will have done what I'm doing in the next four weeks. I want to say that we will be introducing a tremendous health care plan sometime prior -- hopefully, prior to the end of the month. It is just about completed now. Over the next two weeks, I'm pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all preexisting conditions for all customers. That is a big thing.</s>KEILAR: I'll ask you again, Brian. The plan is long overdue. Why is the plan not out?</s>MORGENSTERN: Brianna, it will be out very soon. I don't know if you expected me to bring it with me here to this interview. But the president will release it on his timeline, very soon. And he, again, will --</s>KEILAR: No, no. Brian, he's not released --</s>KEILAR: Brian, to be clear -- Brian, he put his timeline out there. That's completely false, what you're saying. He is not releasing it on his timeline. He's blown past his timeline. I mean, is there even a plan?</s>MORGENSTERN: It's his timeline. So there is a plan. He will describe it clearly to the American people. It will reduce costs and expand access and protect preexisting conditions. And the American people will have a good look at it and they will be very pleased with it because --</s>KEILAR: How will he protect preexisting conditions, with an executive order? You know that's not how it works. He can't do that.</s>MORGENSTERN: He's already --</s>KEILAR: He's asking the Supreme Court to get rid of Obamacare, which protects people with preexisting conditions.</s>MORGENSTERN: I think some of the best lawyers in the world and in the country have looked at this and helped him with it. And he's very confident that with executive action, he'll be able to do that as he has already publicly stated.</s>KEILAR: If that were the case -- Brian, if that were the case, then Presidents Obama and Clinton wouldn't have gone through that rather pleasant process of going to Congress to get preexisting conditions protected. You can't just do that with an executive order. That's what the experts say. This is something that requires something more.</s>MORGENSTERN: I think other experts say differently. I'm not here to speak for President Obama or Clinton. I'm here to speak for President Trump. And what his lawyers have looked at, given the current state of the law, they believe they're on sound footing to do that. So he will do what it takes to protect preexisting conditions. It would be better if we get Congress on a bipartisan basis to help pass a comprehensive health care plan to do all these things that the president wants. But to the extent they're not willing to play ball, he'll use the authority to expand access and lower costs and protect preexisting conditions.</s>KEILAR: People are already voting. We're just several weeks here to the election. So we'll be awaiting that plan that is long overdue from the president. Brian Morgenstern, thank you for being with us.</s>MORGENSTERN: Thanks for having me. Take care.</s>KEILAR: More on the breaking news. 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