The Lead with Jake Tapper: Rep. Pramila Jayapal, (D-WA), Is Interviewed About Senator Feinstein

Interview

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Well, Jake, it's great to be with you. I mean, first of all, I wish her well with her health. That is what she's dealing with as a serious health concern. Secondly, I think Republicans should think about what's going to happen when the shoe is on the other foot. This is ridiculous that they don't want to accommodate.

But third, and maybe most importantly, look, I think that -- I hope she's able to return quickly, but I think that there are serious concerns about judicial nominations, about other bills. There may be votes on abortion that the Senate will have to take. There maybe -- there's certainly going to be votes on the debt ceiling. These are critical pieces of business that the country needs, and we need a full complement of senators in order to make those things happen. So hope she returns quickly, but obviously we need to move forward on these votes.

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No, I think every senator has got to make that decision. But obviously, there's a lot at stake for the country. She's been an amazing leader in the Senate during her years, and I think she's going to have to make that decision for herself. But there is a lot at stake for the country.

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I'm really concerned, Jake. I mean, look, this is an issue that is right now being dictated by the extreme right wing of the Republican Party because the reality is that the majority of the country agrees that abortion should be safe and legal. And also the reality is that the whole discussion on abortion is about freedom and privacy.

Do you want a Supreme Court justice in your bedroom making decisions about what you can or can't do? This is, you know, at the core, it's a very Republican idea in terms of keeping our freedoms. And so, this is -- it has severe consequences for pregnant people across the country. And if mifepristone, if the Supreme Court decides to uphold the horrendous, nonscientific, completely outrageous decision by the Texas judge, then it's also going to throw the country into chaos as far as approvals of drugs in this country. Think about your cancer drug.

Think about any number of drugs that have been out there for a long time, if somebody suddenly doesn't like them, are they just going to be able to argue that, go to a judge and say, well, we have a political view of this drug, this vaccine, whatever it is, and we're not going to look at the science of it? And you know, I think that's why, in fact, a lot of pharmaceutical companies also are starting to weigh in on this because it has huge implications for all kinds of medications across the country.

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Thank you, Jake.

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