'Your World' on the Fight for $15, Biden tax increases

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This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," May 19, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

CHARLES PAYNE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The Fight For $15, as the Fed raises some inflation concerns, how both could be signaling price spikes aren't going away anytime soon, and those inflation fears rocking the stock market, the Dow tumbling, as the price spikes hit home.

Welcome, everyone. I'm Charles Payne, in for Neil Cavuto. And this is "Your World."

And we have got FOX team coverage, with FOX Business' Edward Lawrence at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., where those prices are on the move, and Jeff Flock in Chicago, where those Fight For $15 protests are ramping up.

We begin with Edward.

EDWARD LAWRENCE, FOX BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Charles, we came here to dig deeper at MOM's Organic Market.

Talking about the inflation, now, they sell spices here. And the company that makes this spice has enough of it. What they don't have is enough bottles for the spice to go in. There is a bottleneck on the West Coast. These are made in Asia. The company scrambled to find an additional supplier in Europe.

Now, you could go down the list on this one. It's the same for pet food. The cans are in short supply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA DE LIMA, MOM'S ORGANIC MARKET: The height of the pandemic, we were kind of scrambling and buying from restaurant suppliers that we don't normally deal with, so a lot of pivots and changes by our buyers at our central office.

So, it's not to say we don't have anything on our shelves. But you might have to be a little more flexible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: So, it's not necessarily the product itself, but the stuff that makes up the product or what the product is in that's in short supply.

And it all adds up to an overall shortage. When you constrict supply, demand spikes. That means prices go up, like lumber. Prices have risen year over year 90 percent. The demand for metals have pushed up the price for copper, nickel, and especially rare earth minerals that's used to make the stuff that makes green energy things.

In many cases, the companies will pass this cost on to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DE LIMA: From a manufacturing side, things are costing more. People have to -- needing to build additional capacity at plants. That costs more. Short supply of ingredients, that costs more. And we are starting to see those price -- price increases come through.

And so far, we have been able to absorb those and we have got a price match guarantee. And so it hasn't affected us too hard yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: So far, they're absorbing that cost here at MOM's. However, inflation will be with us through the end of the year. The Federal Reserve chairman believes that it will settle back down again next year, once the supply chain settles itself out or works itself out.

And, Charles, as you know from the Fed minutes, some Federal Reserve members now believe that maybe that supply chain will not sort itself out until well into next year -- back to you.

PAYNE: Thank you very much, Edward.

The Fight For $15, well, those protests are heating up across the country today. But could this push for higher wages also lead to higher prices?

FOX Business' Jeff Flock in Chicago, the site of one of those protests -- Jeff.

JEFF FLOCK, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: McDonald's corporate headquarters here behind me, Charles, the site of the Fight For $15 protest today.

They were actually demonstrating for inflation, specifically wage inflation. Take a look at the march that took place across Chicago today in 15 cities across America. Yes, they want $15 as a minimum. Curiously enough, this comes just as McDonald's, the corporate restaurants that it owns and operates, which, admittedly, is a small number of all McDonald's restaurants, gave their workers a raise, not quite to $15, but between $11 and $17 an hour to start for the folks behind the counters and cooking the burgers.

The managers starting at $15, and getting between $15 and $20 an hour. But the workers here in Chicago say, not enough. McDonald's, you got to do more. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IESHA TOWNSEND, CHICAGO MCDONALD'S'S EMPLOYEE: We're going to tell McDonald's what they're going to do and how they're going to do it. We are telling you that we are your CEO shareholders!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

TOWNSEND: We are here today to say to McDonald's, you can pay workers $15 an hour today, not tomorrow, today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLOCK: Curiously enough here in Chicago and in many cities across the country, Charles, they are already getting $15. At least, they will here in Chicago beginning in July, already passed a $15 minimum wage.

But places like Montana, West Virginia and the hinterlands, perhaps $15 is not a minimum. It's almost a maximum -- Charles.

PAYNE: That's a lot of money, certainly, in those places. Jeff, thank you very much.

The White House, meanwhile, continuing its spending push today, the Treasury secretary touring a bridge that's under construction in Washington, D.C., this to make the case for more infrastructure investments.

But do we need nearly $3 trillion in new spending, spending that some folks say is fueling this very same inflation?

With me now, Texas Republican Congressman Kevin Brady, ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Congressman Brady, thanks for joining us.

You were pretty passionate on this topic today as well. Explain to the audience what we're looking at here. Just, on one side, we understand we need to fix our crumbling bridges. But, on the other side, it seems like it's being used as an excuse or a Trojan horse for a lot of excess spending.

REP. KEVIN BRADY (R-TX): Yes, Charles, at the end of the day, look, there's broad support for real, true infrastructure, no doubt about it. It's always been bipartisan.

But there is this -- the president's bill is packed full -- packed full--

PAYNE: Oh, sorry, my bad. I don't know why I had Buttigieg on my mind.

(CROSSTALK)

BRADY: That's OK.

But it's packed full of wasteful spending, radical Green New Deal, and just lavish green subsidies for millionaire owners of wind farms and the wealthy who buy electric vehicles. This is not the way to go.

And the tax increases he's insisting upon actually wipes out any economic gain from the bill. In fact, America is a net loser economically from infrastructure. That should never happen.

And it's why, really, we need to start over. What he has will not work.

PAYNE: Well, I don't think they're going to start over.

The -- President Biden said, listen, the Republicans are going to make their pitch. He's going to look at his numbers. And I guess, soon, we're going to come up with a new number here. And it certainly will be less than $2 trillion, but a lot more than Republicans are asking for.

You called it wasteful spending. You say that it involves crippling taxes and it sabotages the job recovery. I wanted to go there, the notion that this actually would hurt the strong V-shaped recovery that we were enjoying even long before this year began.

BRADY: So, I think the policies in the Biden ministration are already hurting our economy.

We saw this in the April jobs report. If anyone tells you these generous federal unemployment benefits aren't making it harder for mainstream businesses to hire, they're kidding themselves. We're already seeing those problems.

But these tax increases go farther. Look, they don't land on corporations. They land on the workers, on the families whose retirement depends upon these corporations, on the communities where these companies are at, because I'm convinced, if you pass the Biden tax plan, we will see a second wave of American companies moving overseas and taking their workers and their manufacturing with them.

That -- look, you wouldn't do that in good economic times, much less trying to battle your way out of a pandemic.

PAYNE: Yes, we remember the word inversion entered the lexicon during the Obama years. And many say this would be a lot worse.

BRADY: Yes. Yes.

It was the signature economic failure of the Biden administration and Obama. But guess what? After the Republican tax cuts, that number went to zero. Not only that. We created a giant sucking sound of research investment back into the United States. They look to reverse that, it's a big mistake.

PAYNE: Representative Brady, always a pleasure. Thank you very much.

BRADY: Thanks, Charles. Take care.

PAYNE: So, how big of these problems are these spike hikes going to be -- these price spikes going to be?

I want to bring in market watcher Adam Lashinsky. He says it's no big deal. But Kathryn Rooney Vera, she disagrees.

I will start with you, Kathryn.

KATHRYN ROONEY VERA, BULLTICK CAPITAL MARKETS HOLDINGS: Inflation is a very pernicious force, especially when it's fomented not just by transitory factors, Charles, such as the chip shortage, raw material shortage and base effects, but because of inordinate, profligate government spending, which is the situation under which we're living in right now, as well exacerbated by Federal Reserve policy, which is, we're out of the emergency, Charles, but we're still in emergency measures.

The Fed is still buying $120 billion of assets every single month. And the Biden administration is acting like we're in the middle of a pandemic with these inordinate multitrillion-dollar packages.

What happens here? The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, says it very clearly. Over the course of the next couple of decades, at current trends, interest payments on our debt are going to be more than Social Security.

PAYNE: Right.

ROONEY VERA: And we know what a disaster of an unfunded mess Social Security is.

PAYNE: Right. Right.

ROONEY VERA: But, inevitably, once interest rates go higher, Charles, we're going to have to be financing a very big part of that debt, which is already at $25 trillion.

PAYNE: Yes, maybe a trillion dollars a year.

Adam, you're one of the smartest market people I know. Certainly, the stock market is screaming that inflation could be a serious problem. Should we take that message seriously?

ADAM LASHINSKY, FOX BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, sure, we should take it seriously.

And just to be clear, Charles, I'm not saying that inflation is no big deal. I'm saying, if you ask me, are you very worried about it, are you not very worried about it, I'd say I'm not very worried about it.

I mean, we should be clear on one thing. The inflation that we are seeing in the marketplace right now, the huge price increases that we're seeing right now, are not the result of profligate government spending. They're the result of the fact that the economy was shut down a year ago.

If you shut down the economy, and then you restart the economy, you're going to see large price increases. The number one reason I'm not terribly concerned -- and the Fed has been talking about this -- these -- whatever you believe -- the congressman was saying about whether or not it's hard to find people to go to work.

That's going to end come the fall, because those programs are going to run out. The supply constraints will rebalance themselves.

PAYNE: Right.

LASHINSKY: And the Fed can act. So less worried, rather than more worried, Charles.

PAYNE: Although here's the irony, Adam. Some of these policies, the ones that have already gone through, the $1.9 trillion, and some that are on the drawing board, will add more money.

You're going to -- a lot of women will get $300 per child. There are going to be a whole lot of other things in there that will add more money into a system where the household balance sheets are healthier than they have ever been. That means more spending. That does push up the specter of inflation, even -- even after these supply chains are fixed.

And so maybe not a full Alfred E. Neuman, but it seems like you're a little bit kind of cool on the risks that we're looking at here.

LASHINSKY: I'm just saying -- look, I'm not saying -- I would never say that there's no risks. Of course there are.

But what I'm saying is, is that should you expect them to be long-lasting? And I think the answer is no. Now, I could be wrong on that. But that's why we have a market and people make a bet on that. My bet would be, of course it's happening right now. Is it going to be something we're talking about a year from now? I don't think so.

PAYNE: Kathryn, on Friday last week, consumer sentiment, probably the big news of the week, consumer see one-year inflation that Adam is talking about going to 4.6 percent from 3.4 percent in April. That is devastating.

There's no -- to your point, the Fed can do nothing if that's the case. They will be at the will of the market. And we'd all really feel the pinch, wouldn't we?

ROONEY VERA: Well, yes.

And Adam is right. Right now and through July of this year, all of the inflation that we're seeing right now is simply because of base effects. In this month of last year, inflation was growing at zero percent. So, when you have such a low base, of course, those numbers are going to look astronomical.

That's going to phase out by July of this year. We're going to see ablation decelerate. But, Charles, by the end of this year, we are going to completely close the output gap in the United States, definitive V-shaped recovery. Demand is roaring back.

So you have the combination of demand pull inflation, plus fiscal stimuli, plus monetary stimuli, so that I do think that, even though these inflationary factors are transitory for now, for the next three months, in 12 months, 18 months, we're going to see the real deal.

And that's structural inflation. And that comes from a robust economy and government spending.

PAYNE: I have got two minutes. Let's shift gears to this Fight For $15.

Adam, you and I have talked about this for well over a decade, certainly gaining momentum, individual corporations taking it upon themselves, Under Armour today. But these are large companies, right?

A lot of people are concerned, when you start to make this a flat rate across the entire country, across different size businesses, it's going to have a very deleterious impact, particularly on small businesses, Adam.

LASHINSKY: Well, I mean, of course, that's the case.

I think the way President Biden wanted to do this, which was to phase it in, which makes it very -- more political than economic, which gives businesses plenty of time to react to it, was probably the right way to do it. But he couldn't even get that through.

So, right now, what we're seeing is a political discourse, Charles, not an economic policy conversation.

PAYNE: You know, Kathryn, we are seeing a lot of businesses say, listen, we're going to pay workers more. Amazon's going to pay 75,000 warehouse workers $17 an hour. Bank of America is going at $25 minimum wage.

Again, these are large, well-heeled companies. Shouldn't we just let the free markets do this? I mean, it feels like they're moving in the right direction.

ROONEY VERA: We're in corporate welfare right now.

Ever since the crisis began, that has been the case. The rich get richer. The corporations are making megabucks. And the people that don't have access to that financing, the subsidized loans by the federal government, doesn't even have the money Charles to be subsidizing loans to the big corporations, are losing out.

So you have this massive inequality and wealth gap that's huge now and only expanding.

PAYNE: Yes, Adam, I think I found someone finally smarter than you on one of these segments.

(LAUGHTER)

PAYNE: I want to say thank you to both of you. Appreciate it.

ROONEY VERA: Thanks.

LASHINSKY: Thanks, Charles.

PAYNE: Well, despite President Biden calling the tamp things down, fighting between Israel and Hamas still ramping up. Former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, he is coming up.

And the president's OK with pipelines in Russia, so why not here in America? Meet the attorney general who wants answers. And so do lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY: We are a cooperating agency.

(CROSSTALK)

REP. BILL JOHNSON (R-OH): I'm asking you a specific question, Madam Secretary. Did the administration cancel the pipeline because of politics, because it was clearly not for climate benefits?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: President Biden reportedly clearing the way for a Russian pipeline over there. So why did he kill the Keystone here?

To Hillary Vaughn on the president's energy secretary on the hot seat today.

HILLARY VAUGHN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Charles.

Well, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was peppered with questions today about pipelines, from Colonial to Keystone, but she was really put on spot today when asked about the Biden administration's plans to essentially give a Russia-backed pipeline, Nord Stream II, their blessing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL BURGESS (R-TX): Do you have any information for us today about why President Biden has pivoted nearly 180 degrees away from his previous position?

GRANHOLM: I have not been specifically briefed on that.

BURGESS: This waiver which benefits -- seemingly to me benefits only Vladimir Putin, and we have already disadvantaged the citizens of the United States by not completing the last 100 yards of the Keystone pipeline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: Lawmakers today also wanted answers as to why the administration canceled Keystone, when some science says killing it actually blew up our carbon footprint, adding emissions the size of half-a-million cars on the road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: Did the administration cancel the pipeline because of politics, because it was clearly not for climate benefit?

Because it's going to increase climate. It's going to increase carbon emissions.

GRANHOLM: No, it canceled them. And the president made this commitment because he believed that there are other ways to go, especially in promoting clean energy and cheap energy.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: But you said that pipe is the cleanest way, the safest way to move fuel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUGHN: And, Charles, today, the secretary also walked that back.

Last week, she said that pipe was the best way to move fuel. Today, she says all pipelines are not created equal. It's only sometimes the best way to move fuel -- Charles.

PAYNE: In other words, never mind.

Thanks a lot, Hillary.

Well, 19 states demanding in a letter to the president that he reverse his Keystone decision. Oklahoma was one of them or is one of them.

The Republican attorney general there, Mike Hunter, joins me now.

Mike, thanks for joining us.

Just your -- listen, obviously, Jennifer Granholm made a big mistake from the administration's point of view, but she told the truth about the benefits of pipeline. So, here we are, this strange decision on Nord and the actions that we have seen here at home.

Your take?

MIKE HUNTER (R), OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, we all hoped and there was certainly communication to the electorate that the president was going to govern from the middle.

And we can certainly work around that and work with it. Nobody expected that he would be a virtue signaler for progressives on the issue of the environment, because there is nothing substantive about the president's pulling the rug out from under the Keystone.

There is no question that, empirically, it is safer to move hydrocarbons by pipeline, as opposed to truck or rail. It's indisputable. And so, again, the idea that this is in any way, shape, or form consistent with being responsible about the environment is just fallacious on its face.

PAYNE: I obviously assume those points are in the letter. What else is pointed out in this letter to try to persuade the administration?

Because, to your point, this was more or less -- more or less checking a box for one portion of his political party, and it -- but it has real serious consequences, whether it's economic, environmental, and even sends the signal to our adversaries.

So, what are you saying in this letter, you and these other folks, that might persuade President Biden to reconsider?

HUNTER: Well, it's important to preserve relationships with allies, particularly allies like Canada.

The fault that we have made here, the breach of our agreement with Canada, is something that has, I think, damaged relations with Canada. It's unfortunate. It's also indefensible. There's no question the economic impacts of this are cognizable and have a deleterious impact on economies in those states.

We finally got to a point a few years ago where we were energy-independent.

PAYNE: Right.

HUNTER: So, the national security implications of these decisions when it comes to the environment have to be taken into account.

The world is a dangerous place. And for us to disable our economy with respect to our energy independence, while other countries are doing everything they can, in terms of using fossil fuels, to bolster their economies, it's just nonsense. And it's dangerous.

If you can show me how we can use wind turbines and sun panels to power tanks and tactical aircraft, I'd like to listen to your explanation.

PAYNE: I have got less than 30 seconds.

Any reference to the Colonial Pipeline? I think that underscores just how important pipelines are to us. Taken offline one or two days, and everything turns upside down in this country.

HUNTER: Yes, there's no question that the security of pipelines and financial services, things that are integral to our economy, have to be a focus of law enforcement, have to be a focus of national security.

PAYNE: Yes.

HUNTER: And, as your previous segment indicated, it's just incomprehensible that this administration can de facto approve the Nord Stream pipeline being completed, which is a serious security threat to Europe, and then, literally, pointlessly destroying our ability to complete the Keystone.

And there's no more important, as far as I'm concerned, key to energy independence and national security than our ability to access hydrocarbons by pipeline in this case.

PAYNE: Befuddling might be a word for it all.

Thank you so much, Mike Hunter.

HUNTER: Thanks for having me on.

PAYNE: Meanwhile, folks, I want you to take a look here. This is live, Gaza City, the White House calling for a cease-fire and urging significant de-escalation from the Israelis, but, at least for right now, Israel isn't budging.

So, what that is saying, we're going to get the read from former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Did we just get the first signal the Biden administration might want to pack the Supreme Court? It's something Jonathan Turley is worried about.

And why are these three major American companies being called out by a conservative group?

After this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Well, a truce may be coming soon between Israel and Hamas. We're just getting a report saying a senior Hamas official expects it to happen within a day or two, this as the White House is urging a significant de- escalation after more than a week of violence.

To FOX's Greg Palkot, who is in Tel Aviv, Israel, with the very latest -- Greg.

GREG PALKOT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Charles.

You're absolutely right. There has been a lot more talk today of a possible cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but also a lot more fighting today as well. Hamas rockets once again rained down on Southern and Central Israel, as President Biden told Prime Minister Netanyahu in another phone call there should be that de-escalation of fighting today.

There was no sign of that earlier, as we found out. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALKOT: We are at an air base in Central Israel watching an F-15 of the Israeli air force take off. Planes from here have been heading south to Gaza, some 30 miles, with some heavy weapons, doing some pretty bad damage to militants there and others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PALKOT: Israel, in fact, claims to have hit 830 terror targets in Gaza in the past 10 days. And they say they have killed 130 militants.

But it's the havoc heaped on Palestinians that has the world concerned, women and children killed, shortages of food, water, power, medicine, thousands homeless, and some still missing. Take a listen to a voice inside Gaza City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REHAM OWDA, PALESTINIAN POLITICAL ANALYST: Now we are in urgent need to save the civilian and protect the civilian.

We need international community to support the civilian, regardless of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PALKOT: Now, Charles, it is just before midnight here local time here in Tel Aviv.

And, yes, we're hearing more chatter about a possible cease-fire, the mention that you suggested earlier, but also we're getting more reports of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes.

We will keep watching -- back to you.

PAYNE: Greg, thank you very much.

I want to get right into this with Ric Grenell, former acting director of national intelligence for President Trump, on what he makes of what's going on with this situation.

Ric, thanks for joining us.

Your assessment?

RICHARD GRENELL, FORMER ACTING U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Thanks, Charles, for having me. It's always a pleasure.

Look, I don't think that the United States should be calling for a cease- fire when Israel is defending itself. If Canada or Mexico were launching rockets into the United States, it would take us about five seconds to respond forcefully.

And we certainly wouldn't like the U.N. telling us to have a cease-fire. Let's look at what's happening here. I mean, what's going on in the Palestinian territories is an embarrassment for the Palestinians. They haven't had a government that's representative of them since 2005's election of Abbas.

Their leader, Abbas, is in his 15th year of a supposed five-year term. They need to stop asking the international community for additional help. This is one of those constants where they get bombed because they're allowing rockets to take place on their territory. Their country is -- their area is destroyed.

And then they appeal to the international community to ask for rebuilding help and money. And this is a cycle that we have got to stop with.

It's also very important to note that, when Jared Kushner and the U.S. put forward a very generous offer of a peace deal, that Abbas rejected it outright. They could have had economic development from the United States, in the tune -- to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, but they rejected it outright.

And now we see them allowing Hamas, the Iranian regime to pay for rockets. They can't afford these rockets in the Palestinian territories. They're getting these rockets because the Iranians are giving in-kind contributions, giving them money, giving them rockets.

PAYNE: Ric, what's the endgame?

You talk about this cycle, and it's gone on for a long time. They always get sympathy, even Hamas, in this country from elected officials, the media.

What is the ultimate endgame?

GRENELL: Look, the ultimate endgame is simple. And everybody knows what it is, is stop allowing your territory to be used as a launchpad for rockets into Israel.

Israel is not starting this. Let's be very clear. All of these people in the United States, BLM and others, who are somehow having a moral equivalency test that's going on here, are wrong. The rockets would stop on the Israeli side if we didn't have the Palestinians launching rockets at Israel.

Israel is defending themselves.

PAYNE: Right.

GRENELL: That is fundamentally what's happening here.

And I don't understand why the Biden administration is allowing the Squad to continue to scare it into somehow pretending that more money to the Palestinian Authority is what's needed. I mean, we have been giving money to the UNRWA organization, the U.N. refugee organization.

We have been giving direct humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Now there's talk in Vienna right now, today, of how much money we're going to give to the Iranian regime to try to quiet them down. It's unbelievable that we think that more money is going to solve this problem. It's actually creating the problem.

PAYNE: Ric, I want to get your take on this State Department, because they just -- just now saying that they're waiving sanctions on Nord Stream II and its CEO.

But they say it's due to national interest concerns. But it is sanctioning four Russian entities that helped build the Nord Stream II pipeline. So, they're saying it's not security. It's national interest.

And it's really becoming very muddled and confusing.

GRENELL: It's not national security concerns.

It's the Biden administration's reputation with the German government. And I would just point out, it's the current German government that will actually be done in September. Chancellor Merkel is done in September. The leading party that is looking to be in the coalition is the Green Party.

And, interesting enough, in Germany, the Green Party is actually against Nord Stream II. And so the Biden administration could find itself in September, actually, at odds with the German government for not being tough enough on Putin, not being tough enough on Nord Stream II.

And I, lastly, just have to say there's a whole bunch of Democrats who called President Trump a Russian asset that now have egg on their face, because they're going to need to call Biden a Russian asset for this move. This is exactly what President Putin wanted. Joe Biden just gave him the biggest gift.

PAYNE: Ambassador Ric Grenell, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Well, the president's Supreme Court commission is meeting for the first time today. Could their report end up giving President Biden the final push to pack the court?

We're going to get the read from Jonathan Turley next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE ANDRIAS, SUPREME COURT COMMISSION RAPPORTEUR: The fourth area of research is to consider proposals regarding the membership and size of the court.

We will consider debates about whether to expand the size of the court or otherwise reform how it is constituted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: President Biden's Supreme Court commission held its first public meeting today.

The commission has been tasked with looking into possible changes to the Supreme Court -- this includes adding more justices -- and will present a report to the president later this year, this amid calls by some Democrats to pack the court in news that the Supreme Court will be taking up a major abortion case.

So what can we expect to come out of this commission?

Want to bring in FOX News contributor, constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley now.

Jonathan, your take, as this moves, particularly after the Supreme Court announced that it will look into this Mississippi case?

JONATHAN TURLEY, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this is a failure leadership on the part of the president.

He called the idea of packing the Supreme Court a boneheaded and terrible idea when he was in the Senate. And then, when he was running for president, he refused to tell people where he stood on the issue. And, instead, he created this commission.

And the expectation is that this is not going to happen, because the vast majority of citizens oppose packing the Supreme Court. This is a boneheaded idea of people on the far extreme.

But even extreme groups, like Demand Justice, which is a dark money operation of the Democrats calling for packing the court, even they have rejected this commission as political theater. Now, this is the same group that ran billboards around D.C. demanding that Justice Breyer, a liberal icon, resign immediately from the court.

So that's the dynamics of this. So it's unlikely to produce packing the court. At least most of us hope that we haven't lost our collective mind. But it's an expensive form of theater. It's like a federally funded primal scream group.

I mean, it's -- the public's against it. The Supreme Court justices who've spoken publicly are against it. Most people in Congress are against it.

PAYNE: What about, though, a ruling on this Mississippi case that liberals find offensive, sparking some sort of need for an emergency?

TURLEY: Well, Dobbs is really as serious as the press indicates.

For many years, people have exaggerated the threat of certain cases for Roe v. Wade and Casey, the case that came after it. This one is the real McCoy. This really could result in substantial cutback on those cases, if not an outright overturning. Most of us think that's unlikely to see a whole case overturned.

But this case is as good as the press -- I mean, it could be what everyone calls the big one. And the reason is because it's clean. It's a direct question that goes directly toward Roe and Casey.

So, that's going to fuel these demands. And it should tell people something who are calling for packing the court, an idea that just a few years ago was viewed as anathema to the rule of law. The test of principle is to follow it when it doesn't serve your interests.

PAYNE: Right.

Well, it's -- we're all watching with bated breath. I just can't imagine that, to your point, the administration going against this, particularly with so much public opposition from all sides.

Jonathan Turley, thank you very much. Always appreciate it.

TURLEY: Thank you.

PAYNE: Well, folks, New York City then and now, the city that never sleeps continuing its great reawakening.

And guess what? If you're feeling lucky, you can roll the dice at more casinos today. We have got a live update from one of America's most popular spots.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAYNE: Well, more states going all in, lifting COVID restrictions today. This includes Connecticut and their popular casinos.

That's where you will find our very own Lydia Hu, who is at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut.

so, Lydia, how's the action today?

LYDIA HU, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Pretty busy.

You can probably see the (AUDIO GAP). And if you can take a closer look (AUDIO GAP)

PAYNE: All right, well, obviously we're having some mic trouble there, but what one heck of a day that be open.

Connecticut joining a whole bunch of other states. And casinos really, really are benefiting big time from that.

So, let me ask you a question. You know the old saying the customer's always right? Well, we have got a consumer group that is saying that these companies got it wrong. Why? Well, they put woke first, in fact, woke politicians first.

We will debate it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Nike is constantly political. Why? Cover.

Congressional reports suspect Nike used forced labor in China. Religious minorities were ripped from their families, sterilized, sold to factories. Nike made shoes in those same areas.

Congress tried to ban Nike's labor practices. Nike fought back with highly paid lobbyists. Rather than hiring Americans, Nike chose China.

John Donahoe, Nike, stop exploiting foreign labor. Serve your customers, not woke politicians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAYNE: That's just one of three new ads from nonprofit consumer protection agency Consumers' Research, calling out Nike, Coca-Cola and American Airlines. They claim they are putting politics before customers.

So, is the group right or wrong?

Here to discuss, Global Situation Room President Johanna Maska, along with FOX News contributor Deneen Borelli.

Deneen, your thoughts on these ads?

(LAUGHTER)

DENEEN BORELLI, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it's great these CEOs are being called out, Charles.

And let me point out the hypocrisy here. American Airlines, you need I.D. to fly on their planes, right? Well, they have a problem with the voter I.D. laws in Texas and Georgia. So, talk about hypocrisy and double standard, do as I say, not as I do.

But I think it's great these CEOs are being called out because management should be focused on the consumer. Just like you mentioned earlier, the consumer is always right, focused on their goods and their services, and stop going down this slippery slope of the woke world.

PAYNE: Johanna, I really hate knowing the politics of these CEOs, because I have had to change where I buy things so many times. Pretty soon, I got to just hunt for my own food and clothes.

But what do you make of what's happening, this whole direction in corporate America? I feel like there's more pushback coming.

JOHANNA MASKA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Charles, Deneen, it's always wonderful to be with you.

And I hope we don't have to force you to hunt for your clothes.

Look, I think businesses make decisions for their own business interests. And I always think it's interesting when politicians decide to pull Republicans or pull the companies into conversations, when it suits them.

If they want to join with the Democrats and bring together some robust work standards, so that we have more worker rights, Democrats stand for that. So, I think, in this case, what they're doing is, they're trying to throw red meat out at people. And I don't think it's going to actually work, because the truth is, these companies are making business decisions.

Coca-Cola beat their earnings projections.

PAYNE: Yes.

MASKA: You said it yourself, Charles. Sometimes, you're investing in those woke companies because they're actually making money, because they're appealing to a vast number of people.

PAYNE: Yes.

MASKA: And I wish that the Republicans would take a cue and not restrict voting rights.

PAYNE: One thing I will say real quick, I don't think Republicans are restricting voting rights.

But more importantly, with these companies, I follow the market closely. I think they have forsaken conservatives in America, because there's four or five billion people around the world. And they can make up for any lost business, which, by the way, is rare.

We did get -- we did reach out to Coca-Cola, and they gave us the following statement I want to share with you all: "We respect everyone's right to raise their concerns and express their views. But we also believe the best way to make progress now is for us all to come together to listen respectfully, share concerns and collaborate on a path forward. We remain open to productive conversations with groups who may have differing views."

Want to switch gears here a little bit, because there's another big controversy. And it's the mask of debate, or confusion, if you will, under way in his country. New York lifting its mask mandate today, aligning with the CDC.

But California, they're not going to do the same until June. And New Jersey, who the heck knows. So whatever happens, Johanna, to following the science?

MASKA: Yes, so the mask mandate, it has been in place to protect people in California.

And the CDC guidance has now said that, if you are vaccinated, you can take your mask off.

PAYNE: Right.

MASKA: And what California is trying to do is not push it to the business to enforce that.

So, the truth is, they're sticking with the mask mandate a little longer, so that they can get more people vaccinated. And I think we can all agree that, if we can get more people vaccinated, it's going to help us all.

PAYNE: Deneen, your thoughts?

BORELLI: Well, Charles, these two governors are ignoring the science.

And, listen, Moderna and Pfizer, these vaccines are over 90 percent effective. Once you're vaccinated, there's minimal chance of spreading anything. And people have the choice of wanting to wear the mask or not. It doesn't have to continue to come from these governors, especially in these blue states.

PAYNE: Yes.

All I can say is that these -- these have been two of the most ham-fisted approaches to COVID. And it's about power, in my opinion, because it's been awful, and it's done awful things, the highest unemployment numbers, and just really woeful situations out of both states.

I know. I live in New Jersey.

Ladies, thank you both very much. Really appreciate it.

And that will do it for me.

A big down day in the market, although we started to come back. Inflation is huge, folks. You got to watch this every day, because you have access. This is all about your money.

So, with that in mind, make sure you watch me every day 2:00 p.m. Eastern on "Making Money" on FOX Business. That's my goal. I'm the only one with that goal. And I try to meet it every single day.

Thanks a lot. I appreciate all the support.

Now here comes "The Five."

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