Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY): America Has Become 'a Spectacle for the Rest of the World'
President Trump is in hot water after reportedly calling Haiti, El Salvador, and some African Countries "shitholes" in a closed-door immigration meeting with members of Congress. The President denies he used this language, but Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was in the room during the meeting and says he heard President Trump speak those words.
Congressman Adriano Espaillat represents the 13th district of New York and urges Republican leaders to condemn the president's remarks. He believes President Trump's actions are embarrassing to all Americans, no matter the party affiliation. The Congressman says he is unfortunately not surprised to hear the President would make such remarks.
"This is not a Republican problem, nor Democratic or Independent problem," the Congressman said. "This is an American issue to have the executive of our great nation speaking those terms. It's totally unacceptable."
Rep. Espaillat says immigration progress on Capitol Hill is slowed by the President's comments, despite agreement that "Dreamers" here under the Obama Era DACA policy should be protected.
Epidemiologist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding joined Closing Bell to explain why ending the travel mask mandates could put the U.S. in a bad position in the coming months as new COVID-19 variants threaten to cause another spike in cases.
Toby Fricker, the chief of communications for UNICEF, joined Cheddar News to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues, displacing at least five million refugees from their home country. "The situation for children is horrific when you have to leave your home. I mean, that's traumatic for any child anywhere, but being forced to run for your life literally is really horrific to think about that," he said.
Laurence Tribe, a professor of constitutional law at Harvard University, joined Cheddar News to talk about the legal underpinnings of the ruling to lift the federal travel mask mandate. "Judge Mizelle decided that she would issue a nationwide injunction, which she and other conservatives have criticized in the past," he said. "That didn't stop her from doing it this time. She did it by just wiping away the CDC's rule, and she did it, have to say, in an opinion that was, well, I'll be honest, really stupid."
Marijuana legalization has spread across the country in recent years, and the number of Americans in support of legalization is at an all-time high. Andrew Bowden, CEO of the premium cannabis brand Item 9 Labs, joined Cheddar to break down the inner workings of the industry and how the industry can grow from here.
After a nationwide mask mandate for travel was struck down by a federal judge, Dr. Sampson Davis, an ER physician and bestselling author, joined Cheddar News to talk about the ramifications. "We are at a place where we are going to have to wait and see, unfortunately," he said. "The good news is that we're coming off a celebration of spring break, Easter, Passover, and we'll see what happens. But right now I'm not seeing a spike and people come into the hospital are truly sick. However, I'm still seeing people test positive for COVID."
Chris Vecchio, senior strategist at DailyFX, says the James Bullard and the Fed's bark may be louder than its bite when it comes to potential rate hikes in May. Investors brushed off any causes for concerns during Tuesday's session, which led to stocks ending the day sharply higher.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 19, 2022, with a federal judge voiding mask mandates on public transportation, updates from the Russia and Ukraine war, Mac Miller’s drug dealer sentenced for involvement in the rapper's death, and more.