'Special Report' All-Star panel on Biden's foreign policy regarding China and Iran

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Fox News panel agrees it will 'be difficult' to get Biden's Iran Deal through

'Special Report' All-Star panel discusses Biden's foreign policy regarding China and Iran

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," June 3, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

BAIER: Let's bring in our panel about foreign policy early. Morgan Ortagus, former
State Department spokesperson. Mara Liasson, national political
correspondent of National Public Radio, and Bill McGurn columnist for The
Wall Street Journal.

Bill, let me start with you. This lab leak theory story continues to kind
of drip out and this Vanity Fair piece was pretty definitive.

Then, you had Admiral Giroir on our air saying he doesn't think Tony Fauci
was telling the truth about not knowing about the origins and discounting
that. Where are we with this story?

BILL MCGURN, COLUMNIST, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, I think we're just at
the beginning. And unfortunately, I think that we've given China time to
destroy evidence and so forth, so we may never get a conclusive answer.

Look, when I've been reading through some of Dr. Fauci's e-mails and so
forth, and I -- and some of them don't look good.

I don't think there's anything wrong with not knowing the answer early on
and considering different things and changing your mind later. The problem
is that when people propose the most logical thing, let's investigate the
virology lab that's just a few miles from where this outbreak began,
because this lab, you know, specializes in bats and coronavirus. And it was
treated as though you were questioning Holy Writ, and so forth. That is
certainly not the answer that we should get from people that claim to put
science first. They should have at least been investigated at the beginning
in a serious way to to rule it out.

And we know like the WHO investigation, the report, I think it's 300
something pages, only four pages was dealing with that.

And what is China doing in the meantime? It's certainly not behaving like
an innocent country. Its lack of transparency, lack of cooperation. And it
accuses the U.S. of starting this virus in a lab in at Fort Detrick in
Maryland.

BAIER: Yes, that's right. Speaking of pages, here is Dr. Fauci talking
about these e-mails, specifically about the conspiracy theory ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The e-mail sent to you said conspiracy theory
gains momentum. Do you happen to remember? Do you remember the e-mail?

FAUCI: You know, John, they only took about 10,000 e-mails from me. Of
course, I remember. I remember all 10,000 of them. Give me a break.

BERMAN: But to be clear, you're saying you don't remember? You can't tell
us what was in the body of that --

FAUCI: I don't remember what's in that redacted. But there -- I mean, the
idea, I think is quite farfetched that the Chinese deliberately engineered
something so that they could kill themselves as well as other people. I
think that's a bit far out, John.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Mara, that's a bit of a straw man, because the the link was linked
to our piece who that said that U.S. officials believed with increasing
confidence that the virus was coming from this lab, not as a bioengineered
weapon, but as a leak of something that they were investigating something
that they were testing. So, that's a straw man response right there.

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Yes.
Well, the problem is, and I've done this myself, it's we can conflate the
conspiracy theories that were going around people, saying it was a bio
weapon, with the legitimate question of whether there was some kind of lack
safety procedure in that lab where they were working with this kind of
viruses and that's how the pandemic might have originated.

And I think anybody who dismissed it out of hand at the time was wrong. I
think it's good that the U.S. government is now looking into it again and
not dismissing it. I don't know if they're ever going to get to the bottom
of this if China isn't going to cooperate.

And I guess it's basically a black eye for China, it would make them look
bad if they had lack safety procedures. But right now, it just looks like
they have no transparency and are not willing to, you know, aid in this
effort.

But yes, this theory should not have been dismissed. And it was often
conflated with the conspiracy theory that it was a bio weapon.

BAIER: Morgan, shortly on this, I want to turn to Iran.

MORGAN ORTAGUS, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Yes, I mean, this
information that was put out in the final days of the Trump administration
came from my office. Everything in the Vanity Fair piece that you
mentioned, Bret was something that was highly debated in the final days.

I myself, went to Secretary Pompeo to make sure that we had full confidence
in releasing this. And all of this information was from the Intelligence
Community that we got declassified. And I think a lot of the Vanity Fair
piece was spot on.

But I think I'm encouraged to hear what Mara said about the media getting
it wrong, because she's exactly right. I looked it up today. I Google
Searched and saw the many times that Secretary Pompeo and I were criticized
for bringing up this as something legitimate that needed to be researched.

But now, the onus needs to go, not just on blaming the American media but
it needs to go back to China because they are still to this day forting the
WHO independent scientists, independent investigators from doing any sort
of credible research in China as to the origins of this. To this day, they
are still stopping these investigations.

So, while I'm upset with how the media in the United States handled this
over the past year, they got it dead wrong. Let's turn our attention back
to China and the free world needs to start demanding that the Chinese
Communist Party open up and allow a credible investigation.

BAIER: Yes, this, this story, and covering it about the origins and where
they came from, doesn't take away from our coverage of the vaccines or the
effort that is going well across the country or the coronavirus overall.

But it is an important part of this story and its one that we're going to
continue to follow.

I want to turn to Iran, take a listen to the Iran nuclear deal back and
forth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Putting in place a diplomatic
agreement, an agreement where we can prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapon, where we have returned to the visibility we had before the former
president pulled out of that deal is in our interest.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The Iran nuclear agreement being envisioned by
the Biden administration is too dangerous. I don't trust the Iranians with
enrichment. I have an alternative with Senator Menendez from New Jersey,
you can have nuclear power but you can't make your own fuel.

Do away with the enrichment program and let the world supply the spent fuel
rods for the Arabs and the Iranian -- Iranians. That way they can't make a
bomb.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Bill, critics of Iran are pointing to their actions. Saying they're
just not acting in good faith as the U.S. gets ready to sit down again.

MCGURN: Yes, of course, we're not acting in good faith. It's staggering to
me to watch this. We haven't learned anything. And this is going on while
the Israelis are suffering from rocket attacks on their cities. Whose
rockets are those being fired in there?

Iran is a bad actor in the region. I don't think they're going to be
restrained by any agreement. We should have learned that. And yet, they
seem to get away with that, people seem to be so eager to get a deal at any
price. I think we should have learned the lesson.

I also incidentally don't think it's going to be that easy for Joe Biden to
get his deal through.

BAIER: Mara?

LIASSON: Yes, I agree with that. I think it's going to be very hard. I
mean, but the Iran nuclear deal never was meant to deal with Iranian
rockets, it was meant to deal with Iran's nuclear program.

(CROSSTALK)

BAIER: That's part of the problem.

LIASSON: And to try to set it back by a certain number of years. Then,
maybe that's part of the problem. If you want a deal that's also going to
deal with all of Iran's bad actions in the region, I don't think you're
going to get one.

BAIER: Morgan, last word.

ORTAGUS: That's what Secretary Blinken promised in his Senate testimony. He
promised a longer and stronger deal that would address all the issues that
Bill and Mara just laid out.

The bottom line, the level of Iranian enrichment that Iran needs for a
peaceful program is zero. And I think that Menendez and Graham's op-ed was
spot on today, and the deal as it exists now if they go back into it would
be $90 billion in sanctions relief. For what? For a nuclear weapon that
they can get again in 10 years.

BAIER: All right, panel, we'll see you later on the show. Thank you.

Up next, as Israel changes governments, will the U.S. keep sending military
support?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: A 13-year-old girl is pleading guilty to second-degree murder here
in Washington over the death of an Uber Eats driver in a carjacking. It's a
story we first brought you here on SPECIAL REPORT.

Prosecutors are dropping other charges against her. The maximum sentence
would have her incarcerated until she turns 21. A second carjacker pleaded
guilty to felony murder last month.

Overseas now, opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are
pushing for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy time in
office. The new alliance is trying to head off any last-minute attempts to
derail their newly announced coalition government.

That group consists of eight parties from across the political spectrum
with really little in common except the shared goal of toppling Netanyahu.

Today, Prime Minister Netanyahu continued to exert pressure on his former
allies who joined that coalition, calling it a dangerous leftist
government.

The state department says U.S. support for Israel will remain ironclad
regardless of what government is in place. A key Israeli official met with
top American authorities today to discuss that very subject.

Congressional correspondent Chad Pergram tells us where things stand
tonight.

CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The
Israeli government brought its case to Washington, pushing the U.S. to
restock Israel's Iron Dome defense system, designed to intercept Hamas
rockets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: I would like to thank you, Secretary
Austin, and the entire Biden's administration for supporting Israel right
and duty to defend itself.

PERGRAM: Democratic New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer led a bipartisan
coalition of lawmakers calling on the U.S. to reload Iron Dome.

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): The Iron Dome saved countless lives here,
given how many missiles were -- and rockets were fired at Israel.

PERGRAM: But there's a rift between Democrats on Israel, especially among
progressives.

REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): Should our taxpayer dollars create conditions
for justice, healing, and repair? Or should those dollars create conditions
for oppression and apartheid?

PERGRAM: Republicans issued a challenge to the president.

SEN. BILL HAGERTY (R-TN): President Biden's got to look forward and stand
up to these very liberal voices. Now is the time to stand with our allies.

PERGRAM: Progressives could try to block the weapons transfer to Israel,
but that doesn't worry Israel's supporters in Congress.

GOTTHEIMER: Those who are squeaky, tend to get more attention, of course,
there are some people in my party who aren't supportive, but those are a
few splinter lone voices, frankly, despite being loud.

PERGRAM: Still, there's a distinct shift among Democrats when it comes to
Israel.

JOSH KRAUSHAAR, POLITICAL EDITOR, NATIONAL JOURNAL: And even if anti-Israel
Democrats only represent a small slice of the party, they're controlling
the dialogue. You have a very loud minority that are kind of hijacking the
conversation.

PERGRAM: Republican Senator Lindsey Graham traveled to Jerusalem to tell
Israelis the U.S. has their back.

GRAHAM: Even though there's some Democrats saying things that are very
disturbing to me, I do believe President Biden and the majority of the
Democratic Party will be in Israel's camp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERGRAM: The president's budget provides Israel with $3.8 billion in
military help for each of the next 10 years. Bret.

BAIER: Chad, thank you.

Up next.

We take you on an exclusive ride aboard a gunboat patrolling the southern
border.

And as we go to break, Attorney F. Lee Bailey has died. The flamboyant
lawyer had many high-profile cases, but he may best be known for being part
of the O.J. Simpson defense team. F. Lee Bailey was 87.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Now for a look "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight, diplomacy intensifies
with Burma's ruling junta to end the ongoing turmoil since the February 1st
coup there. About 400 pro-democracy supporters took to the streets of
downtown Yangon today for one of the biggest recent demonstrations against
military rule.

About 10,000 of the 80,000 unpaid volunteers for the Tokyo Olympics and
Paralympics say they will not participate when the games open, July 23rd.
That's just in 50 days. Organizers say the loss will not affect the
operations of the games.

Authorities in southwestern China are urging people to stay indoors as a
group of 15 elephants roams that area. Officials are blocking roads with
construction equipment while seeking to lure the animals away with food.
It's not clear why those elephants have made the 300-mile trek from a
nature preserve -- a reserve rather, but they appear healthy.

Just some of the other stories "BEYOND OUR BORDERS" tonight.

We have exclusive video tonight from the southern border. This evening,
correspondent Aishah Hasnie takes us on a ride-along with law enforcement
patrolling in a heavily armed gunship.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: A black pickup truck on Mexican soil
starts crawling as a Texas Department of Public Safety gunboat launches
into the Rio Grande River. We're on board looking for criminal activity,
but we're being watched.

A DPS officer tells us those men in the truck are suspected cartel scouts
and they are tailing us. The cartels surveil DPS boats, even counting how
many officers are on board as they work 14-hour long shifts stop illegal
activity and rescue migrants.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're drowning, they're drowning.

HASNIE: This exclusive video from Roma, Texas, last night shows migrants
struggling to cross the river. Thankfully, everyone survived as the
smuggler pulls them back onto the raft. Today a congressional delegation
toured the Rio Grande River one day after another bipartisan group of
lawmakers called on the Biden administration not to lift Title 42, a Trump
era rule that expels adult migrants over coronavirus fears. They also
pitched policies to enhance border enforcement.

REP. HENRY CUELLAR, (D-TX): We have a list of proposals to add, for
example, more HSI officers, the homeland investigators so they can go after
those criminal drug cartels, not only in the U.S., but go into the foreign
countries.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HASNIE: And Bret, DPS sources tell me that park just behind me on the
Mexico side is believed to be controlled by a cartel. They decide who goes
in and who goes out because it's on the river and strategically important.
Bret?

BAIER: Aishah Hasnie along the border. Aishah, thank you.

Tonight, we follow up last night's story about a high school teacher suing
for reinstatement after being suspended for talking about his religious
groups at a school board meeting in northern Virginia. This evening that
district is being accused of promoting Critical Race Theory under false
pretenses. Here is chief Washington correspondent Mike Emanuel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KORY YESHUA, FATHER: How we treat people is based on who they are and not
what color they are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if they're nice and smart.

YESHUA: See.

MIKE EMANUEL, FOX NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: A viral video of an
African American father and young daughter speaking out against teaching
Critical Race Theory in schools, making the case it forces children to see
color and feel badly.

YESHUA: I want little white kids to know that they are not oppressors. I
want little black kids to know that they are not oppressed.

EMANUEL: In the affluent suburbs in Washington, D.C., in Loudoun County,
Virginia, the school system is being accused by local parents of pushing
Critical Race Theory, disguising it as a revamped equity plan. Some argue
it's sending the wrong message to their children.

FRED REGE, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA, PARENT: That engrained part means that
it can't be done away with, which is an excuse for failure. And it's a very
dangerous ideology. And for the white kids, it's what did I do wrong? And
am I responsible for this?

EMANUEL: Loudoun County school leadership insists it is not teaching
Critical Race Theory.

SCOTT ZIEGLER, LOUDOUN COUNTY SCHOOLS INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT: Our equity
programs and our professional development for teachers is not about
bringing one student down or elevating another student. Our equity efforts
are about providing a world class education for all of our students.

EMANUEL: This comes as a Loudoun County teacher, Tanner Cross, was
suspended with pay after expressing his religious views about transgender
policy issues. Parents say the school district is not open to feedback.

BEVERLY MCCAULEY, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA, PARENT: It's imperative that we
stand strong for him. He's a great guy. I saw like his thing. He didn't
come out without love. He just was out to tell his side for these children.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

EMANUEL: Parents argue the school district is taking away First Amendment
free speech rights from parents and teachers in order to plow forward with
a more progressive educational agenda. Bret?

BAIER: Mike Emanuel in Ashburn, Virginia. Mike, thanks.

Up next, additional work for Vice President Harris. Does she have too much
on her plate now? We'll take a look.

First, here is what some of our FOX affiliates around the country are
covering tonight. FOX 9 in Minneapolis as prosecutors seek a 30-year
sentence for the former police officer convicted of murder in the death of
George Floyd. Derek Chauvin's defense attorney is asking he be sentenced to
probation and time already served. Sentencing is set for June 25th.

Officials have reopened the intersection where Floyd died. Crews removed
concrete barriers, artwork, flowers, and other items from that area
informally known as George Floyd Square. However, community activists soon
erected makeshift barriers and resumed chanting Floyd's name there.

FOX 35 in Orlando as a 12-year-old boy accused of engaging in an armed
standoff with deputies appears before a judge. The boy and a 14-year-old
girl are accused of escaping from a children's home, breaking into a house.
Body camera video shows one of the deputies saying don't make me do this
during a tense standoff. The deputies were forced to shoot when the girl
emerged and pointed a gun at them. She is listed in critical but stable
condition. The boy surrendered peacefully.

And this is a live look at Boston from WFXT covering run one of the unusual
stories there tonight. A man gets his golf car -- his car, rather, his car,
stuck on a golf course. The driver says he was following directions on the
Waze app. He took a turn too wide and became stuck. He had his car, not the
golf cart, his car stuck on the golf course.

There you go, that's tonight's live look outside the beltway from SPECIAL
REPORT. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: President Biden will not appoint a commission to investigate the
January 6th Capitol riot, that's according to his press secretary. But Jen
Psaki saying the president does believe Congress should put politics aside
and support a full and transparent investigation done by Congress.

President Biden is relaxing at his home in Delaware tonight, but his vice
president is getting less and less time to take it easy. The president is
handing his number two new assignments, giving her a very full plate. We'll
discuss all of this with the panel in just a moment.

But first, White House correspondent Peter Doocy is with the president
tonight in Rehoboth Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: There was a time Kamala Harris thought
Joe Biden could be her V.P.

KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that Joe
Biden would be a great running mate as vice president. He has proven that
he knows how to do the job.

DOOCY: Now that's her job.

HARRIS: I am incredibly honored by this responsibility.

DOOCY: And her responsibilities are growing.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He sees her as a partner, and
someone who he is playing the role of a modern day vice president.

DOOCY: Senior adviser Anita Dunn recently told "The Washington Post" "There
are very few issues that get to the level of the president. Those are the
ones that only he can make a decision on."

But when the president is not in the room, he trusts his number two.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When she speaks, she speaks
for me. She doesn't have to check with me.

DOOCY: The latest item in the Harris portfolio, a vaccines roadshow.

BIDEN: The vice president is going to lead that tour across the south and
the Midwest.

DOOCY: She is also tasked with expanding voting rights.

BIDEN: But just as fundamental of any of these investments I have discussed
is maybe the most fundamental -- the right to vote.

DOOCY: And she is being sent to Central America this weekend to address
immigration.

HARRIS: It's going to be honest and real conversations.

DOOCY: Her goal, figure out the root cause of migration from Central
America to the southern border.

BIDEN: I have asked the V.P. today because she is the most qualified person
to do it.

DOOCY: Even though he has got experience doing that.

BIDEN: When I was vice president, the president asked me to focus on
providing help needed to address the root causes of migration.

DOOCY: A former staffer for a different vice president, Mike Pence, tweets
"Biden, carrying on the long standing American tradition of passing off the
terrible, impossible tasks to your V.P." But Jen Psaki describes the
delegating differently.

PSAKI: She asked to lead the effort on voting rights.

DOOCY: And president recently explained when he hands off to Harris.

BIDEN: I said when we became a team and got elected that the vice president
is going to be the last person in the room. She didn't realize that means
she gets every assignment.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO TAPE)

DOOCY: Biden says he plans to run for reelection in 2024 when he will be
81, which means Harris may not be able to turn talk about all of these big
assignments in into a stump speech for the top of the ticket until 28. And
that introduces the next question. Would Biden endorse his V.P. right out
of the gate? Remember, Barack Obama didn't. Bret?

BAIER: We could be a long way away from that. Peter Doocy traveling with
the president in Rehoboth Beach. Peter, thank you.

Our panel is back, Morgan, Mara, and Bill. Mara, what about the increasing
portfolio for Kamala Harris?

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: This
is a really interesting story. She has a big portfolio. I don't think it's
necessarily any bigger than any other vice presidents who also were
considered perhaps the frontrunner for the next presidential nominating
battle.

The difference is that she is a first woman, the first African American and
the first Asian American to be the vice president. So she has a lot of --
the spotlight is really on her, also, because Biden is as old as he is,
might not run again. If he does run and win, he might not serve out a full
second term. So lots and lots and lots of interest in Kamala Harris and her
political future.

BAIER: Morgan, the vice president has traveled quite a bit inside the U.S.
She has been to at least 15 states by our count. You see some of them
there. She has not been to Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, obviously, the
focus of some of the biggest border issues.

MORGAN ORTAGUS, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Yes. And she is
headed to Mexico next week for the first time. It's hard to be in charge of
the southern border as the president put her if you don't actually visit.
So I think we have to really look and see what are the metrics that we are
judging her by. Is she going to be able to go Mexico and to stop the flow
of illegal immigrants?

We already know what the root cause of the migration is from the northern
triangle countries. We know that from vice President Biden back in the
Obama administration and more papers, white papers on the subject than
could be counted. What we need is someone who can take action, so I will be
looking for metrics.

Finally, I would say from a political perspective, she was a catastrophic
failure in the Democratic primaries just over four years ago -- or excuse
me, a few years -- last year. And so what we'll be looking forward to see
is can all of these visits around the country improve her poll numbers,
because so far, as it relates to doing well in primaries in the Democratic
Party, not so good.

BAIER: The White House says it was always about the origins of the problem,
the root causes, and it wasn't the portfolio of the borders per se. It's
been back and forth on issue that. But visiting the border, take a listen,
Bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you plan to visit the border?

KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Um, not today.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: But I have before and I'm sure I will again.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: The vice president is
supposedly the point person to fix illegal immigration has yet to even
visit the southern border.

TOM HOMAN, FORMER ACTING ICE DIRECTOR: She is going to wear this tragedy.
Her and the president and the secretary, they are going to wear this
tragedy, and they should, because they have put this open borders agenda.
This isn't mismanagement. This isn't incompetence. This is by design.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Bill?

BILL MCGURN, COLUMNIST, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes, look, I think
Kamala Harris may be the only one with brains in the White House. She is
not going anywhere near the border. That appointment, they can talk about
root causes, it sounds like a high school student kind of fudging on a
paper. So instead of getting into the specifics, he has these grand root
causes. All it's doing, all that appointment has effectively done is
focused attention on what you mentioned before, that she is not going to
any of these border states.

She had a similar kind of foray into the COVID relief bill when she came
into West Virginia and it looked like pressure on Joe Manchin. And that was
in early February, and that backfired. So, I don't know, I don't know what
the White House is doing. It seems to be dumping these things when it looks
like they may not be a winner, dumping it on Kamala Harris. So I think she
is wise to go nowhere near that border.

BAIER: Speaking of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, what about the
filibuster and what's happening on Capitol Hill? We'll have that with the
panel after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN, (D-WV): I will not be the 50th Democrat voting to end
that filibuster.

SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA, (D-AZ): To those who say we must make a choice between
the filibuster and x, I say this is the false choice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you are not going to budge on the filibuster?

SINEMA: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BAIER: Democrats Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona and Joe Manchin from West
Virginia holding strong, saying they are not going to break up the
filibuster, not going to end the filibuster. This would enable the
Democrats to have a number of different votes if they didn't have to reach
60.

We are back with the panel. Mara, they seem pretty set on this. And even
though they get asked literally every single day, they keep on saying the
same thing.

LIASSON: Yes. Look, it takes all of the Democrats to change the rules, and
so far they don't have all the Democrats. Until Joe Manchin has some piece
of legislation that he really, really wants and the Republicans are
filibustering, and he wants it more than keeping the filibuster as it is,
the filibuster is going to stay.

And remember, you don't have to get rid of the filibuster. You can amend
it. Reconciliation is a carveout from the filibuster. You used to have to
have 67 votes, now you only have to have 60. So you could amend the
filibuster, you could get rid of it completely, but you are not going to do
anything until Joe Manchin wants to do it.

BAIER: Right. And, Bill, Joe Manchin sits in the seat in West Virginia of
the legendary Robert Byrd who came up with the Byrd rule that gives you the
opportunity to have reconciliation and budget issues that can get 51 votes.
He is standing on tradition. It does not seem like they are going to change
that.

MCGURN: I don't think for now, as Mara, said they would have to have a
piece of legislation. Look, I hope they don't change. I think tradition
counts for something. And I think Joe Manchin is looking down the road.
It's so easy to say kill the filibuster now. Will that really be popular
down the road when they have to defend themselves, that the Democrats --
look, the Democrats, they don't like the Electoral College goes the wrong
way, let's abolish the Electoral College. The filibuster, let's abolish the
filibuster. They want to change the rules on so many things.

And I think the Senate is generally by nature a cautious body. And I think
some of them are being cautious on it. And I for one am glad to see it.

BAIER: Meantime, the negotiations, Morgan, continue over infrastructure.
President Biden meeting with Republican Shelley Moore Capito of West
Virginia. West Virginia at the center of all of this, I guess, and
suggesting, according to "The Washington Post" and others, that he is going
to maybe make a pitch that's a little bit less on infrastructure, $1
trillion, maybe come off of the taxes that they have pitched originally.
Possible they get a deal?

ORTAGUS: Yes, I think, you know, President Biden is actually taking a lot
of political headwinds from his own party for negotiating and wanting to
have an infrastructure package that has a lot of consensus with Republicans
as well. I actually think it's a smart political move. He's taking heat
from his base. And now we'll have to see if Republicans can continue that
negotiation.

BAIER: We'll see. Another phone call this week, we believe. Panel, stand
by.

When we come back, we'll hear from you about tomorrow's headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BAIER: Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines with the panel.
Mara?

LIASSON: I don't know why do I this to myself, but it's another
infrastructure headline. OK, Biden ready to make concessions on tax hikes
to get infrastructure bill, but parties are still far from a deal.

BAIER: It's infrastructure week every week, Mara.

LIASSON: I think they're actually miles about. Every week.

BAIER: Morgan?

ORTAGUS: It's been a rough few days for Dr. Fauci with his emails being
released, so my headline is Dr. Fauci takes down Chinese Medal of
Friendship from his office wall.

BAIER: Oh dear. OK, Bill?

MCGURN: Mine is Chinese hack into New York subway system but do not attack.
Probably because they recognized they couldn't do any more damage to the
subways than Governor Cuomo and the Metropolitan Transit Authority is doing
on its own.

BAIER: That's a long headline.

LIASSON: That's a lead.

(LAUGHTER)

BAIER: That might be a lead draft. We'll give you that. All right, panel,
thanks so much.

Tomorrow on SPECIAL REPORT, author David Albright joins us to talk about
Iran and new book "Iran's Perilous Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons." Inside
there's new information about Iran, what it has been doing and what it's
trying to do with its nuclear ambitions. We will also have a story about
whatever happened to Venezuela. Remember that story? Huge, Guaido, Maduro.
Where are we? We'll take a look.

Thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. That's it for this SPECIAL
REPORT, fair, balanced, and still unafraid. FOX NEWS PRIMETIME, sometimes
called America in Crisis, hosted by Ben Domenech starts right now. Hey,
Ben.

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