White House to formally raise refugee cap to 62,500 in 2021: report

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White House to formally raise refugee cap to 62,500 in 2021: report

Border Patrol union President Brandon Judd and Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb join 'Your World' to discuss the southern border crisis

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," May 3, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SANDRA SMITH, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Martha, taxpayers bracing for a hit, as President Joe Biden hits the road.

All of this week, the administration will be making the case for more than $4 trillion in new spending, despite signs the economy is booming.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Sandra Smith, in for Neil Cavuto. And this is YOUR WORLD.

Coming up, we will speak to Republican Senator Mike Braun, a member of the Budget Committee, on whether we need this spending push.

First to Kristin Fisher at the White House, where the president's team is going all out on that push.

Hi, Kristin.

KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Sandra.

Well, the president and vice president hitting the road this week to sell these two huge spending bills, the president in Virginia today. Then the vice president is going to be in Wisconsin, Utah and Nevada. And then the president will finish out the week in Louisiana.

And along the way, they will be selling what these bills will actually fund, their expanded definition of the word infrastructure and how they would pay for them.

Earlier today, in Norfolk, Virginia, the president doubled down on his belief that it should be paid for by the wealthiest of Americans and by corporations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I come from the corporate capital of the world. More corporations are incorporated in the state of Delaware than all of the rest of the nation combined. And I'm not anti- corporate.

But it's about time they start paying their fair share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: Now, Republicans believe that increasing the corporate tax rate could very well drive many companies out of the United States. So, Republicans don't like how the administration wants to pay for these huge spending bills. And they also don't like what exactly is in them, this expanded definition of the word infrastructure.

But, despite these huge differences between the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill, President Biden continues to believe that the majority of Americans are behind him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The good news is, I think there's overwhelming bipartisan support for this. If you look at the polling data, Republican voters overwhelmingly support it.

Now I just got to get some of my Republican colleagues to support it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: Now, we still don't have an exact date for when President Biden will meet with this next group of Republican lawmakers.

But over the weekend, the White House chief of staff said that it would likely be within the next few days. So watch for that, Sandra.

SMITH: Indeed.

Kristin Fisher live at the White House for us.

Kristin, thank you.

The White House moving full steam ahead, meanwhile, with those spending plans, as the president prepares to sit down with GOP lawmakers this week.

But is this all for show? A headline in Politico reads -- quote -- "Biden is talking to Republicans, but for only so long."

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren earlier today saying Democrats should go it alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): I am prepared to go to budget reconciliation. I'm somebody who thinks that the filibuster should not be used to give Republicans a veto on things that this country needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Senator Warren signaling she's ready to fast-track the president's spending bills without any GOP support.

With us now, Indiana Republican Senator Mike Braun, a member of the Budget Committee.

Senator, welcome. Great to have you here.

So much to ask you.

SEN. MIKE BRAUN (R-IN): Great to be on.

SMITH: First up, you hear from the president that he wants -- he wants Republicans to work with him on this, he wants to work with Republicans on this.

What's the communication level been with you, for example? You sit on the Budget Committee. You're talking about $4 trillion in spending. Have you spoken with the president or his team?

BRAUN: So, I was over at the White House a little over a month ago, but it was on supply chain issues, like running out of semiconductor chips and a whole different issue.

But, by and large Democrats, when the moment is here, they seize it. And they're Madison Avenue experts in terms of marketing it. Who's not for COVID relief, for instance, when we have just come through a pandemic?

Well, less than 10 percent of the Rescue Plan, COVID relief, was for COVID. Here, when it comes to the American Jobs Plan, you know that -- for infrastructure, as we know it, state legislature I was in, we made the tough decisions in '17, roads and bridges. Six percent or so is in it on that.

They're going to go alone on this. They're going to talk about unity and getting our ideas. But we didn't have it on the first one. This is another $2.5 trillion. And then they're going to back it up with the American Family Plan, under $2 trillion, borrowing every penny of it.

And real quickly on taxes that they're talking about, sometimes, the issue for us, when we cut it, we talk about how it's going to be revenue-neutral. Actually, it was getting close to being that, because it hit the sweet spot.

I come from small business. It was working. Raising taxes, like they're talking about, sure, everybody wants corporations to pay their fair share. That would only cover 15 percent of our normal deficit annually.

So, a lot of smokescreen. People are going to be feeling good with all the money being spent. I'm worried about the mid- and long-term.

SMITH: So, explain that to the American people, though, because they are going to be pitched for many days. You saw that Biden kicking off his big tour of America today, where he will be pitching these plans to spend all this money.

So, what do you worry are the consequences of that? Because I will point out they're doing that while we are seeing a booming American economy, whether it's the jobs market. The Dow, as you see on your screen there, continues to hit record highs. You have got wages moving higher.

So, why is it that this administration wants to spend all this money when it seems things are getting better?

BRAUN: Well, that's a good question, because the real consequences will be felt probably post-2022. And they're calculating all this, expertly, in my mind, politically.

But I think it's dishonest for the American public, because inflation's had a lid on it due to global economy keeping cost push inflation down. But when you flood it this much monetarily, under this new modern monetary theory, something has to give.

But there will be a sugar high from all this spending. And when you're doing it on popular things like infrastructure, childcare, and all the other stuff that, sure, we need to look at it, but we're borrowing every penny to do it.

And this idea of talking about paying for it with taxes, that's a smokescreen. That's not reality.

SMITH: Do you acknowledge, real quick, Senator -- we only have a few seconds left -- but a lot of those ideas are popular with the American public?

BRAUN: I do acknowledge that they're popular.

But if you told them that you're borrowing from your kids and grandkids, you think they would feel that warm and fuzzy about it? No. But the nature of politics is get the headline correct, sell it. Most people will end up liking it, until the consequences have sunk in, and then you would probably regret it.

That's a tougher argument to make.

SMITH: Senator Braun, I appreciate the conversation. Thanks for joining us.

BRAUN: Hey, my pleasure.

SMITH: All right.

All right, well, you may not know these faces well, but they could spell trouble for Democrats in 2022. We will explain that one coming up.

But first: how a deadly incident involving a suspected smuggling boat is shining a new light on the nation's border crisis.

And, as that crisis escalates, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain now saying, don't blame the president. We will see what a few border officials have to say about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: The U.S. Coast Guard suspending its search today after a boat suspected of attempting to smuggle migrants into California capsized off the coast of San Diego, leaving three dead and more than two dozen injured.

To FOX News' Jonathan Hunt with the very latest on all of that.

Hi, Jonathan.

JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Sandra.

The U.S. Coast Guard, lifeguards and multiple other agencies scrambled to respond to the unfolding disaster off the coast of San Diego, finding dozens of people in the water, some already dead. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK ROMERO, SAN DIEGO FIRE RESCUE: In my 20 years of working, never seen anything like this or been on a call of this magnitude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Now, video from the scene appears to show the boat got close to shore, but then was battered by waves and began to break apart, as some of the large group of people crammed onto the 40 foot boat jumped into the water to try to save themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: I saw people just getting sucked out, floating out. Some of them of were face down and then a whole bunch of people down below along the base of the cliff there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: The U.S. Coast Guard says they accounted for a total of 32 people, some of whom were taken to the hospital, where they were interviewed by Border Patrol agents.

Among those interviewed and held, a man agents identified as the captain and the suspected smuggler. Just last week, border officials stopped a boat 11 miles off the San Diego coast with 21 people on board. All were Mexican citizens with no legal status to enter the U.S.

And on Friday, Border Patrol ramped up operations to try to disrupt human smuggling by sea off the San Diego coast, a route well used for illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF STEPHENSON, U.S. BORDER PATROL: It's not -- nothing new. We have seen this kind of on the ebb and flow up and down throughout the years. But these last couple of years, we have seen a dramatic increase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: A dramatic increase indeed, about 92 percent from 2019 to 2020. And as warmer weather comes to the area, there's a real concern among border agents that this type of human smuggling, clearly very dangerous, will ramp up even further just as we're also seeing a surge of illegal immigrants across the land border, of course, from Mexico -- Sandra.

SMITH: Jonathan Hunt, thank you for that.

HUNT: Sure.

SMITH: And as this border surge continues, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain says President Biden is not to blame.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON KLAIN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: People who are sending their children here with unaccompanied -- that's what we're talking about, children as young as 6, 7 years old coming here with no adult who are sent on a dangerous journey, I don't think that's because of a speech Joe Biden gave.

That's because of horrible conditions in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: I want to ask our next guests what they think of that. They have been on the front lines of this surge.

Border Patrol Union President Brandon Judd and Pinal County, Arizona, Sheriff Mark Lamb join us.

We want to also mention that we have called Mr. Klain for an interview, and we have not yet heard back from him or his team.

Welcome to both of you.

I want to bring to your attention, Sheriff and Brandon, per an AP source just moments ago, Biden is formally raising the refugee cap to 62,500 this year, after you will remember and you have seen firsthand the blowback that he's received in delaying the easing of the Trump limit that was put on that.

Brandon, your reaction to that first?

BRANDON JUDD, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BORDER PATROL COUNCIL: We continue to put politics ahead of the American public. We continue to put politics ahead of the people that are putting their hands into these dangerous criminal cartels, these organizations that abuse them.

If we continue to send the message that the border is open, then people are going to come. We're going to continue to see boats capsizing off the coast of San Diego. We're going to continue to see people crossing through the dangerous deserts of Arizona. We're going to continue to see people passing away because they believe that this administration is going to let them in.

We have to send the message, Border Patrol agents, people like myself who put on a uniform and go on patrol the border, we have never dealt with this type of crisis before. And we're not getting the support and help from the administration that we need in order to control this issue.

It's got to stop.

SMITH: Sheriff, I want to get your broader thoughts on this surge that we continue to see at the border, more children being allowed in.

But, first, from where you sit, what does that news mean to you, that the AP is reporting that the president will formally raise the refugee cap to 62,000 -- over 62000?

MARK LAMB, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA, SHERIFF: Well, he's just trying to appease his base.

The fact is that 60,000 got-aways -- there are 60,000 people that we saw on cameras or that we chased in a car pursuit or with our helicopters in the first quarter in the Tucson sector alone of Arizona. They got away, 60,000. Plus, they let 170,000 people come in here anyway. That's all semantics.

That's all they do is talk semantics. They continue to try to mislead the American public. And, like Brandon said -- he is so spot on. They continue with this rhetoric and the talks that they continue to go down, where they're not going to turn juveniles away.

All they're doing is opening the floodgates for more and more people to come, undermining not only Border Patrol and ICE, but the sheriffs and the other people who serve on a daily basis, who put this badge on trying to protect our communities.

SMITH: Wow.

Brandon, President Biden says this is not his fault, it's not his messaging, he is not to blame. His team says the same. Do you see that differently? Is all of this, the surge we continue to see at the border, is it a direct result of Biden administration policies? Or was this trend already happening?

JUDD: I really wish that I can say what I really feel, but I can't do that on air.

The fact remains that the numbers clearly show that this is his fault. The numbers show that, because he has sent the message that our borders are open, because he has reimplemented the catch and release, because people that cross the border illegally are being released into our communities, that is the message that is going back to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and throughout the world; 51 different countries were represented in the Donna facility.

This is not just the Northern Triangle countries. This is throughout the world. And it's his messaging that has caused this. And, again, if we don't go back and we don't look at what has worked in the past, we're going to continue talking about this day in and day out.

And, frankly, the Democrats are going to suffer because of it.

SMITH: Sheriff, what do you want to say? Brandon said he had to hold back. You see things every day that we don't see.

And the average American isn't experiencing what you experience, so a final word from you.

LAMB: You're right.

Well, Brandon, it's true, he works for the federal government. I don't. I can say it. They're doing a terrible job. It is their talk. It is their fault. It's weak leadership to blame somebody else or to blame President Trump. It is their fault. He's in charge now.

It's -- when we talk to these people that come into this country, when we ask them why they're coming here, they're saying it's because of Joe Biden and his politics. That is the common reason that they come here.

We don't know what the federal government's going to do. I feel bad for Brandon Judd, his people, the Border Patrol agents that are trying to do their job. But we, as sheriffs, are standing up against this. We have got sheriffs from across the country mobilizing under Protect America Now, and, hopefully, the people will support us and join us at ProtectAmericaNow.com, because we will not stand by while this federal government continues to turn a blind eye and put Americans at risk in our communities across this country.

SMITH: Brandon, real quick. Final thought.

I have only got 10, 15 seconds left here, but there's a lot of pressure on Kamala Harris to go visit the border. She has not yet. And she's been in charge of the surge and the crisis at the border for 40 days now.

Would that change anything if she did that?

JUDD: If she came to the border, she would be expected to do exactly what Vice President Pence did.

Vice President Pence came to the border, saw the issue and immediately corrected some of the things that he saw wrong. Vice President Harris can't do that, because it would go against her base if she came down and actually fixed the problem. That's the main reason she's not coming.

SMITH: Our best to both of you. You're on the front lines of all of this.

LAMB: Thank you, Sandra.

SMITH: We will continue to follow up with you. Thank you. All right, thank you.

After Democrats fail to flip an open congressional seat in Texas, are Republicans gaining fuel to possibly flip the House in 2022?

And a bit later: a Biden adviser claiming the president didn't absolutely say schools will reopen this fall. We're talking to parents who say the administration is now flipping the script.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Two faces, a sign of trouble for Democrats in 2022?

And what's it going to take to get kids fully back in school this fall? Why something the White House is now saying has parents worrying.

We're back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: New details from the first court appearance for a woman arrested on an American Airlines flight for attacking a flight attendant.

To Eric Shawn with the latest on that.

Hi, Eric.

ERIC SHAWN, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Sandra.

Well, apparently, she yelled, "Cops aren't going to do anything to me." Well, they did. Now she's under arrest, just had an arraignment and a court hearing for this case. Police say and identify the passenger on board an American Airlines flight that was flying from Miami to New York's JFK yesterday as 28-year-old Chenasia Campbell.

They say Ms. Campbell apparently was upset about the garbage, saying that the flight attendants didn't take it. So she got out of her seat, walked to the flight crew area. That's when they got into an argument with another flight attendant. And they say Ms. Campbell started attacking the female flight attendant, punching her, grabbing at her as they grappled down onto the aircraft's floor, even, they say, tried to pull the flight attendant's dress off.

Thankfully, though, there was an off-duty NYPD officer on board that flight who was able to strain Ms. Campbell. The flight went on to JFK, where she was arrested. And in her court hearing just within the last two hours, she was ordered freed on $15,000 bail, but the judge did say she wanted Ms. Campbell to undergo a mental health evaluation and drug testing.

Her mother during the court hearing says that she is in a mental health program, again, some scary moments on board that American Airlines flight from Miami to JFK after this alleged attack on a flight attendant -- Sandra, back to you.

SMITH: Wow.

Eric Shawn, thank you.

Switching gears now, the Texas special election heading to a run-off race between two Republicans.

Jake Ellzey and Susan Wright claimed the top spots for a seat that has been vacant since February, locking out Democrats from that race. Democrats were hoping to turn the seat blue. So, is this a sign of a red wave coming in 2022?

Axios reporter Stef Kight and Democratic strategist and FOX News contributor Jessica Tarlov and Republican strategist Alexandra Wilkes joins us now to discuss.

Alexandra, does this give your party hope?

(LAUGHTER)

ALEXANDRA WILKES, GOP STRATEGIST: Look, I am always careful not to over read the results of a special election.

However, I do think that there are some important tea leaves in this. And when you look down at the turnout by county, you do see that the more rural counties were the ones who turned out, the more Republican counties were the ones who turned out, which I do think is a good sign.

I think it does suggest an enthusiasm gap. I think it shows that Democrats, number one, they don't have the president at the top of the ticket or on social media, importantly, to be motivating their base.

SMITH: OK.

WILKES: And I think it also shows that the president himself, President Biden, has not necessarily made the case to the American people that coronavirus shouldn't necessarily beget bigger and more expansive government in people's lives.

SMITH: OK.

Jessica, is this a concerning sign for your party?

JESSICA TARLOV, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I have been concerned since election night. I know Democrats are proverbial bed wetters all the time.

But we had a very bad showing down-ballot. Obviously, we took back the White House, and we were lucky to pick up the two Senate seats in Georgia. But they could have easily gone the other way if Republicans had supported those $2,000 checks a few months prior. And, as you know, we lost a lot of House seats, and the gains that Republicans made were amongst women and minorities, which obviously kind of puts a dagger through traditional Democratic messaging.

So, yes, I'm concerned. When you look back to how Democrats kind of think about Arizona and Texas, there are two camps, people who think that Texas was going to turn blue and the people who think that Arizona was. Obviously, we know that it was Arizona, and there were big warning signs for people like Beto O'Rourke and folks who worked with him that we weren't going to be able to flip Texas just because we had higher shares of African-American and Latino voters turning out.

So, it's a long road ahead. I don't know what will happen by 2022. But it's obviously not the result we were looking for.

SMITH: All right, so, Stef, Tammy Bruce, a FOX News contributor, one of our colleagues here, tweeted out the results of this and posted: "Dems should prepare for a shellacking in 2022."

What is your assessment of this?

STEF KIGHT, AXIOS: I mean, it certainly shows the Democrats' hope of turning Texas blue is -- it's going to take some time. It's going to be hard.

You look at the results from the special election, you look at what happened in South Texas in some heavily Latino districts in 2020 that moved pretty significantly toward President Trump, and it's going to be tough to see Democrats really turn this state blue as early as some of them hoped they would.

You add on top of this that the state will get two additional seats because of the census numbers that came out recently, and Republicans control redistricting in that state and are also pushing through some voting restriction bills.

So, Republicans really are controlling a lot of this political process right now. And it's going to be tough for Democrats to come back, even as the state continues to diversify in the cities, that tend to be more progressive.

SMITH: Speaking of Republicans' attempt to control a lot of this political process right now, Alexandra, former President Trump put out a statement directly after this happens.

By the way, the date of the run-off has not yet been set.

But his statement read: "The Democrats have just conceded the race. Susan surged after I gave her an endorsement last week. Her wonderful husband is looking down very proud of her."

So he seems to be sort of taking some credit here. Does he seem to be trying to sort of lead your party at this moment in time?

WILKES: Well, look, I think that he obviously wants to claim a piece of the victory.

And I think that you could see the influence in terms of an intraparty struggle between the two Republican candidates that he definitely tipped in favor of Wright. But I do think that, in general, his lack of presence on social media and the fact that he is not at the top of the ticket, at least for the next four years, I think that that's a real problem for Democrats.

I think that they have got a huge enthusiasm bump in this past election based on having him there. And, meanwhile, President Biden and the Democrats are running through a number of different programs that are bound to excite our base.

So, we will have to see how it goes.

SMITH: A sort of ladies edition of the political panel happening here.

Jessica, I thought it was really -- it stuck out to me this headline, where a national affairs columnist for The National Review, John Fund, asked the question, if Biden's so popular, why this? And it was attached to a link of, obviously, the approval ratings that had just come out in the new FOX News polling showing that Biden's approval rating with a majority of voters, 54 percent, although lower than Barack Obama's and George W. Bush at the 100-day points, but nearly 10 points above where Donald Trump was 100 days.

So, is that a fair question?

TARLOV: I don't -- it seems like we already know the answer, that he is popular, certainly more popular than President Trump was, who was completely polarizing.

SMITH: The question was, if he's so popular, why this?

(CROSSTALK)

TARLOV: But why this in terms of having a 10-point higher percentage, or you mean compared to Barack Obama?

SMITH: Generally, Jessica, when you're looking at the struggle that we're talking about for your party right now, based on this outcome and concern already about 2022?

TARLOV: Oh.

Well, I don't think Joe Biden is -- he's going to be on the ballot, but these are the people's names who are going to be on it. And it's going to be President Biden's administration. We will see where he travels.

But I just said, from looking at the 2020 results, that we did struggle down-ballot, certainly in House legislatures and in Congress, even though President Biden, soon-to-be-President Biden then, was on the ballot.

But if you look at everything that he's implementing, it's very popular; 54 percent is a very good approval rating. And so he will help people out, but it all comes down to local politics for a lot of these -- a lot of these. voters. And, as Alexandra said, President Trump was a polarizing figure, so people were voting for him or they were voting against him.

And that's not going to be the same case when we have another election in 2024 in the same way.

SMITH: All right, good discussion. Thanks to all three of you for being here. Appreciate it. Thank you.

WILKES: Thanks, Sandra.

TARLOV: Sorry for misunderstanding there.

KIGHT: Thanks, Sandra.

SMITH: All good. All good. Hope I clarified. OK.

Businesses reopening, but now having trouble rehiring. Meet the restaurant owner offering a big signing bonus. Still, no one's biting. Who does he blame for that?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: There's a presser happening on the 2-year-old who was abducted from a church, now found after an Amber Alert. There is a press conference being given right now.

We're going to dip in and listen here.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to help us locate can bring Noah home safely.

We have all been working nonstop. And I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to who we have here today (AUDIO GAP) federal Bureau of Investigation, Virginia State Police, United States Marshals Service, the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Giles County Commonwealth attorney's office.

We want to give them a big thank you for the assistance that they provided to us the last two days.

These agencies conducted interviews, covered leads, and, quite frankly, in some instances, brought additional resources unique to them as they made the difference.

I know the community wants answers. Please be mindful. Even though Noah one has been safely recovered, the investigation is still ongoing. And we need to be careful of information that is released.

SMITH: You have been listening to an update about Noah Trout, a 2-year-old boy who was abducted there in Virginia.

An Amber Alert had been issued. And the public was told that this child was in extreme danger. That Amber Alert was then canceled. The public was made aware that, while he was taken from Riverview Baptist Church around noon Sunday, that that boy is now found, the boy pictured on the right hand of your screen.

The latest update that we received was that he was in the hands of FBI agents and VSP tactical team members. They're obviously giving more information at this news conference on that right now. The audio is a little bit difficult to take in there.

The police had not identified the suspect at the latest time, so we're hoping to get an update on that. But we were told the suspect was in a dark-colored SUV or a van. And people we're told to call 911. Of course, that's why Amber Alert help. They were able to track down this 2-year-old boy there in Virginia.

So he is now safely in the hands of the professionals there. The FBI and those tactical team members have them in their possession. We will hope for the absolute best for Noah Trout, the 2-year-old boy who was abducted from a church, Amber Alert issued, and he was found.

That's the latest from Virginia. We will bring you the news from that as we get it.

We will take a quick break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: Well, your table is ready, but there might not be anyone there to bring you a meal. That is because restaurants are having trouble hiring new workers as the reopenings and those government benefits continue.

Our next guest offering $400 bonuses to try and compete with Uncle Sam. Darren Lee is the proprietor of the Hopscotch and Bourbon restaurant in Michigan.

Darren, sounds like a fun place. I'm sure a lot of folks would like to get back to having that fun. But you're having a hard time finding work. What's the problem?

DARREN LEE, OWNER, HOPSCOTCH AND BOURBON: No, the problem is a lot of people are still getting that unemployment money, and they're still lined up for the benefits.

Some of them are making more money than they might make in a regular week's work, I guess. I'm not real sure. But I have had some recent popularity and some news out there which has helped me gain quite a few people interested in work that are not collecting unemployment anymore.

(LAUGHTER)

LEE: Unfortunately, most of them are not qualified for the job.

So, that makes it a little more difficult.

SMITH: Interesting.

So, you're offering a bonus to folks if they want to come interview and get a job with you?

LEE: Absolutely.

If they can come and interview, and they have -- meet the qualifications to take on the job, we're more than happy to have them. And the signing bonus comes after working 30 scheduled days on time and performing your job duties properly.

And I have no problem paying them, not at all.

SMITH: Darren, what about demand? Are you seeing people willing to come back to the restaurant and get back to their old ways of eating out and drinking at the bar?

LEE: Not so much, because, living here in Michigan, just as I opened this place up, or reopened it, our wonderful governor told everybody to order out and don't go and dine in. So, that made it a little more difficult, on top of everything else.

But we're working our way back to it. We have got a popular new theme. It's COVID-friendly. I tried to design the entire new theme around what we're going through right now...

SMITH: Yes.

LEE: ... with socially distanced tables, bottle service that allows less visits to the table, a reduced menu and refined, so that people could have a quick and simple choice to make. And I'm hoping to gain their favor.

SMITH: Good for you, Darren. We love our small businesses in this country. We want you guys to prosper. You are the engine of this great American economy.

So, did you have any workers that worked for your restaurant before the pandemic that were then furloughed, laid off, left because of health concerns or whatever it may have been, that said, I don't really need to come back because they're -- they said, surely, that they are on unemployment benefits, and it just doesn't benefit them to return?

LEE: Yes.

And that is the case with some of them. Unfortunately, we had some very good candidates here and good employees, but they, of course, found other jobs, as I had to shut down due to the pandemic. They were able to go out and find other employment at other places.

And they are blessed, truly, and so are their employers, because they have got some really good people. And now I'm struggling to find new ones.

SMITH: As far as putting out that $400 bonus, are you noticing any of your restaurant peers are taking notice of that strategy and following suit?

LEE: Oh, I'm not going to lie. I took it from somebody else's strategy.

(LAUGHTER)

LEE: I saw someone else do it. I thought (AUDIO GAP) and I put it out there.

But, much to my dismay, it was almost pointless, because I did not get a lot of feedback. I didn't get a lot of answers. I put ads on Craigslist and in different papers and on Facebook, and just didn't get the type of response that I thought that I would see from it.

SMITH: How hopeful are you, Darren, that things are going to get back to normal?

LEE: Well, I'm extremely hopeful, because this cannot last forever.

I mean, we have a pandemic every 100 years, right? We need to look back into history and find out how often it ends.

SMITH: Good for you. Good for you.

Well, we wish the absolute best for you. I suppose a lot of folks that live around there just -- just heard about the bonus. Maybe you will get some more people in there to interview.

Our best to you. Your phone's ringing. I hear it right now.

(CROSSTALK)

LEE: We may have started something. The phone is ringing, so let's hope for the best.

SMITH: You -- we will hope for the best for you, of course.

Darren, thanks for joining us and talking to us about your situation. So many are going through very unique situations of their own. Thank you.

LEE: Sandra, thank you so much.

And if you're in Michigan, stop by. I will buy you a cocktail.

SMITH: You got it. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

All right, well, the president touting school reopenings, but when it comes to getting kids fully back in the class next fall, why isn't the White House fully committing?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SMITH: This just in.

Bill and Melinda Gates are getting a divorce, the couple just tweeting: "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission.

"And we will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life."

And take a look at this, these kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: How did you like doing this from home?

STUDENT: I liked it.

STUDENT: It was OK.

(CROSSTALK)

STUDENT: It was a little difficult with all the glitches. But it ended up being pretty good. I definitely prefer it that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Got to love kids, straight-up honesty there.

They're back in class, and they seem rather happy about it. But, unfortunately, not all American schoolchildren are back in class full-time. And now a top White House adviser says they cannot fully commit to making that happen in the fall. Is that fair?

Let's bring in our panel of parents today, Sarah Westwood of The Washington Examiner, GOP pollster Lee Carter, and Democratic strategist Johanna Maska.

Thanks to all three of you for being here.

Everybody's got an opinion this, of course, but I don't know that there's any science that says kids can't safely return to the classroom, right? So, why wouldn't the administration commit to saying, absolutely, our kids will be back, Lee Carter?

LEE CARTER, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: I can't imagine. I mean, every study, study after study says that there's no reason not to send kids back to school.

It's things like -- the American Academy of Medical Colleges did a study sponsored by Brown university of 200,000 students; 0.13 percent of them got the -- got COVID, only point 0.13 percent of them. None of them had fatalities.

We're talking about long-term impact on our children. And this is not science. They always talk about following the science. Science would say get the kids back in school, that the side effects of not being the classroom are a lot worse than anything else.

SMITH: So, Sarah, the fact that we know that kids should be back in the classroom, why not commit to that, knowing that we know how to do this safely now?

SARAH WESTWOOD, THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Well, from the beginning, the Biden administration's messaging when it comes to school reopenings has been a mess.

In December, Biden was saying that the majority of schools should be open by the end of his first 100 days in office. By January, he had moved the goalposts to say just schools grades K-8. At various times, there were White House officials saying that schools being open at least one day a week would be sufficient in their eyes to hit that milestone.

At other times, Biden was saying, no, schools needed to be open five days a week. So it's not surprising now that the Biden administration doesn't have a coherent message on why the CDC is saying schools should be open, but they can't quite guarantee that the schools will be open in the fall.

You're also hearing a justification from Biden officials about why the schools aren't reopening is because this decision is being made at the state and local level. And while that's true, you have seen the Biden White House not hesitate to try to overrule state and local officials when they want to pursue things, like Biden asking all Americans to wear a mask when he came into office, like his very liberal use of executive actions in his first 100 days in office.

But on this issue of school reopenings, it doesn't seem like the Biden White House is willing to use the tools of the federal government to prioritize this.

SMITH: Johanna, it to her point about the messaging, why not say, well, if there are roadblocks before now in the fall, absolutely, the kids should be back in the classroom; if we see those roadblocks, we will address them, because we know they should be?

But why probably?

JOHANNA MASKA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes.

SMITH: That's the word I think that gets to everybody.

(LAUGHTER)

MASKA: Look, I agree that I think that the Biden administration is going to have to put more pressure on school districts to understand that we need to have a plan to get every child back in class five days a week.

I am a public school parent. And one thing that I don't love is when it rings hollow when people who are in elected office divest from the system, they put their kids in private school, and then they complain that we don't have our public schools open.

When you're part of the public school system -- and I am, on the Schoolsite Council -- you see that there are so many different parents with different concerns. Some parents have special needs. There are situations.

You have people's precious capital that you are dealing with...

SMITH: Yes.

MASKA: ... their most precious resource, in their child.

And so I would like to see the local, the school level, the school site get the most power, because I don't love -- and I have seen it here in California -- where the district is creating bureaucracy and problems in getting our schools open.

And I think you could actually end up getting a lot of bipartisan agreement here and getting some changes that are long overdue.

SMITH: Yes.

MASKA: I mean, frankly, we have an opportunity now to transition to more digital education infrastructure...

SMITH: Absolutely.

MASKA: ... which is needed for our kids who are going to be technology- first.

So, we have got to do this. We have got to speed it along, but we have got to get the politics out of it and actually invest in our...

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: I mean, we just had a screen up, Lee, that showed up about a third of American children are still on some sort of hybrid model right now.

I mean, that's a lot of kids that are still on a computer at home in some capacity. And, Lee, here we are talking on a panel of women, and we're talking about how women have been more adversely affected by this pandemic when it comes to employment than men, because so many women chose to give up their employment to stay home with their school -- with their school- aged children during all this.

They want to get back to work too.

CARTER: I mean, there's no doubt about it.

And the impact on -- the studies on the impact on women are really staggering, when you look at more than half of women have said that they feel like they either have to cut back or leave the work force as a result of this. It's had a huge impact on women, both actually in their stated -- in their stated impact.

But, also, there's things that are so far beyond what people are saying. It's the impact on their careers, on promotions, about showing up, on being able to plan for the return the office. A lot of companies still haven't decided what they're going to do.

How are women supposed to be part of that conversation...

SMITH: Yes.

CARTER: ... if they don't know that their children are going to be back in school? It has a huge, long-lasting impact both on women in their careers and also on the kids themselves.

SMITH: Sarah, it's a great point.

And going back to the messaging on all of this, Dr. Fauci talking about that infection level down, and the need also for science to point out that the goals for getting kids back to school shouldn't be zero infections, right? That was never the goal.

So, somebody is going to have to explain, if they're going to keep kids home, why they're doing it. Final thought from you.

WESTWOOD: Right.

You see there have been many studies, including one by the Brookings Institute, that shows community infection rates really have no bearing on whether schools are opening. You look at a state like California, which has the lowest per capita rate of COVID infections and the highest rate of classrooms still being closed.

There is no justification in the science. And from the schools that have reopened, we have seen no evidence that open classrooms contribute to community spread. So there is less and less of a scientific justification for the teachers unions to fall back on.

They have been the primary obstacle so far, and they have relied on the argument of science so far to obstruct the reopening of classrooms.

SMITH: Sarah, Lee and Johanna, I know everybody's been through a lot.

But one thing I think is so important when we talk about these stories and how some are still learning from them, it's the leadership of those teachers, right, where a lot of these problems come into play. But so many teachers have been doing such a great job getting our kids through this pandemic, doing it.

So, I believe it's Teacher Appreciation Week, so a shout-out to some of those hero teachers out there.

Thanks to all three of you for being here. I really appreciate it.

CARTER: Thank you.

MASKA: Thank you.

SMITH: OK. Good to see all of you.

I think that was our second ladies panel of this Monday afternoon.

It's been great to be with all of you. Thank you so much for watching.

Neil will be back tomorrow. And he will have former HHS Assistant Secretary Admiral Brett Giroir as his guest. So, join him then.

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