'Special Report' All-Star Panel on Biden's Middle East agenda, Pelosi's House mask rule

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Trey Gowdy: Progressives have hard time telling terrorists from our allies

'Special Report' All-Star panel reacts to cease-fire in Middle East and Speaker Nancy Pelosi's mask guidance in the House

This is a rush transcript from "Special Report," May 20, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Prime Minister Netanyahu informed me that Israel has agreed to a mutual unconditional ceasefire to begin in less than two hours. The Egyptians have now informed us that Hamas and the other groups in Gaza have also agreed.

The United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups. I assured him my full support to replenish Israel's Iron Dome system, to ensure its defenses and security in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHANNON BREAM, HOST: Let's bring in our panel to talk about the latest remarks and developments on the Middle East, Matthew Continetti, founding editor of "The Washington Free Beacon," Mara Liasson, national political correspondent of National Public Radio, and Trey Gowdy, former Congressman from South Carolina. Welcome to all of you.

Trey, I want to start with you. What do you make of the president's remarks today? He has faced a lot of pressure from the progressive, more leftist part of his party, including members on the Hill who don't want him to be so full-throated in his defense of Israel, our ally in that region.

TREY GOWDY, FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA REPRESENTATIVE: Yes, it's certainly a repudiation of that wing of the party. There is Bernie Sanders, AOC, and others are having a really difficult time telling the terrorists from our allies. This is a repudiation of that wing of the party. I'm glad he talked to Netanyahu. I hope he is also going to send a message to Hamas and to Iran. What's even better than a ceasefire, Shannon, is not to need a ceasefire. So tell them to stop firing rockets into Israel and then we won't need the ceasefire.

BREAM: The president also said they will work on a number of things, getting humanitarian aid in as quickly as possible and rebuilding Gaza, which has obviously had a lot of destruction the last 11 days or so. But he also talked about the fact that they want to work with the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas. Mara, it sounds like he is trying to be very clear about what exactly who is at fault here and who we intend to work with moving forward.

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Yes, I think the president's statement was pretty clear. I think it really undermines the Republican talking points that somehow he is controlled by the left wing of his party or he does too much to cater to them. This is pretty clear. He wants to work with the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas. He's going to help Israel replenish Iron Dome, its defense system that seems to have worked pretty well against Hamas rockets.

So he know where he stands in the Middle East. He did work for the ceasefire. People criticized him for not coming out and calling for a ceasefire sooner, even when about half the Democrats in the Senate were calling for one. But it was pretty clear that Joe Biden, like other American presidents before him, did not want to call for a ceasefire before Israel was ready to engage in one because they didn't want to be left looking like they had no leverage at all with the Israeli government.

But I think we now know where the president is. I'm sure the progressive wing of his party isn't thrilled about it, but I don't think it's the kind of rift that's going to spill over into other domestic issues.

BREAM: Well, they have talked about the Squad members, in particular, we think about them, but they are calling for this stopping of weaponry and funding to Israel. The president was very clear, as Mara mentioned, about replenishing the Iron Dome and how critical that has been to protecting the people of Israel.

Matthew, I want to play something from two different sides of the aisle in the Senate about how this is being viewed on Capitol Hill and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (D-VT): I believe that we should be mourning the loss of Israeli life, but we should also be mourning the loss of Palestinian lives. Or perhaps some people think that Palestinian lives don't matter. I would hope not.

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX): I think it is shameful that the radical left in the Democratic Party is choosing this moment to try to undermine our friend and ally, the nation of Israel and to support Hamas. The two are not morally equivalent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BREAM: Matthew, it feels like so many of the conversations and disputes that are happening on Capitol Hill and more broadly in Washington come back to these semantics games about what people really mean, what their intentions are. What do you make about how this particular issue is playing on Capitol Hill?

MATTHEW CONTINETTI, "WASHINGTON FREE BEACON": I think someone needs to explain to Senator Sanders that it was Hamas who initiated the violence by firing rockets indiscriminately at Israel's civilian population. It's Hamas that controls Gaza undemocratically since it seized control in 2007 from Fatah, it's rival Palestinian faction. It's Hamas that imbeds its terror infrastructure within its own civilian population in order to maximize civilian casualties of its own people. And it's Hamas that in your own clip with Trey Yingst was firing on humanitarian aid.

We need to be absolutely clear, Shannon, it's Hamas' conflict. And the reason that the ceasefire is good news is that it signals that Israel is confident it has destroyed enough of Hamas' terror infrastructure to at least stop the rocket attacks for some amount of time.

BREAM: Yes, the prime minister and defense minister there in Israel very clear that that was the goal, and they would continue until they felt they had made that significant accomplishment.

To a much less heated battle, but one that is political and growing here domestically is this fight on Capitol Hill over Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in light of the CDC's conversation and recommendations in recent days, mandating that masks still be worn on the House floor when members are there to speak. Here is a bit of the back and forth from the two sides over that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: The attending physician, and that's the guidance we have to go by, said unless people are vaccinated we have to continue to wear masks in our meetings and on the floor.

REP. JAMES COMER, (R-KY): We are required to wear a mask on the house floor and in the committee hearings. Ironically, that's where the TV cameras are. So this is purely theater.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Apparently COVID works differently in both chambers, because in the Senate you don't wear a mask. In the House you have to wear mask. The only difference is the speaker. She doesn't want to abide by the CDC rules. She actually wants to have greater control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BREAM: Trey, I suspect this is one of these things that makes you not miss being on Capitol Hill in the House.

GOWDY: One of a trillion. Shannon, there were a lot of rules when I was in the House, and they were usually honored only in their breach. We weren't supposed to bring drinks on the House floor. We weren't supposed to take pictures. Almost everyone violated those. I did not. I'm a rule follower, which kind of brings me to my larger point. Anyone can follow a rule they agree with. It takes no courage to follow a rule you agree with. It's those that we don't agree with that separates the law and order people from everyone else.

So, if you don't like the rule, then retake the House and change the rules, or honor it, or if you are going to break it and engage in civil disobedience, pay your dadgum fine. Those are your three options. Honor the rule, change the rule, or engage in civil disobedience but pay your fine if you're going to do so.

BREAM: I'm glad I'm not the only one still using the phrase "dadgum." It was used very nicely there, Trey.

Matthew, what about people who are saying I will pay the fine, I'll do whatever, but what about this accusation from members that it's only within TV camera range that the masks are mandated?

CONTINETTI: It's obvious that this is political on Pelosi's part. She wants to punish the members, mainly Republicans, who haven't taken the vaccine, when, in fact, they are only endangering themselves by not having the vaccination. It's very politicized and partisan, and it only proves to me, Shannon, that there is no cure for Nancy Pelosi's silliness.

BREAM: All right, Mara, give us the final word on this.

LIASSON: Final word is the CDC says if you are fully vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask inside or out.

BREAM: All right, we'll leave it there. Panel, thank you so much.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BREAM: Finally tonight, a look at tomorrow's headlines. Matthew, we'll start with you. What are you looking out for?

CONTINETTI: My headline is President Biden's meeting tomorrow with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The White House just concluded a review of North Korea policy, which was very vague, so this gives the opportunity for the president to put some meat on the bone. But more importantly, Shannon, this White House has been buffeted by crises, the latest is just this Middle East and the Colonial pipeline hack. I'm afraid that Kim Jong-un there in North Korea might be cooking up another surprise this summer.

BREAM: Let us hope not, although they do seem to like to get involved with our U.S. holidays when they like to make a statement. Mara, for you, what's on the horizon tomorrow and Friday?

LIASSON: I have ceasefire welcome but does little to resolve the conflict. I think the tragic thing about this ceasefire is that we can expect this kind of conflict to happen again. It's been happening periodically. Neither side steams have any appetite for real negotiations for a two-state solution. And the Israelis like to say that every so often they just have to go in and mow the lawn, degrade Hamas' capabilities, shoot down a lot of their rockets, and get ready for the next time.

BREAM: Well, as I sat down in Ramallah with the then chief negotiator for the PLO, he said once President Trump named Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, or recognized it as such, they could no longer negotiate with the U.S. We'll see if that changes now. Trey, your final headline?

GOWDY: Mine could happen, it could not. But here it is. In a secret ballot vote House Republicans elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as conference chair because no one in the world is doing more to make sure they reclaim the majority than she is.

BREAM: Touche. Panel thank you very much. Great to see you all tonight.

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