Vice Presidential Pool Reports of March 16, 2023

VP Travel Pool #1 wheels up

Hello all. Zolan Kanno-Youngs here reporting for pool duty. Hope you're all having a great morning.

The Vice President and Second Gentleman landed at JBA at 9:18 am. They exited Marine Two at 9:22 am and were greeted by Major Nicholas Konishi, Director, Flight Line Protocol and SSgt Luther Arriaga.

The VP and the SG each waved to the press (the VP boarded without stopping to answer a shouted question about the Texas case that would overturn FDA approval of an abortion pill).

The pool was boarded onto a separate plane parked near Air Force II. Asked why the pool was not seated on AF2, a White House official sent the following: The standard Air Force 2 was unavailable due to the short scheduling nature of this trip.

From my window seat, your pooler saw AF2 lift off at 9:34 a.m.

Here is the VP's schedule for today:

At 9:20 AM ET, the Vice President and Second Gentleman will depart Joint Base Andrews en route to Des Moines International Airport. Departure will be pooled press.

At 11:05 AM CT, the Vice President and Second Gentleman will arrive at Des Moines International Airport. Arrival will be pooled press.

At 12:25 PM CT, the Vice President will convene a roundtable to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration's actions to protect reproductive healthcare. This roundtable at Grand View University will be open to pre-credentialed media with a spray at the top.

At 3:40 PM CT, the Vice President and Second Gentleman will depart Des Moines International Airport en route to Joint Base Andrews. Departure will be pooled press.

At 7:00 PM ET, the Vice President and Second Gentleman will arrive at Joint Base Andrews. Arrival will be closed press.

VP Travel Pool # 2 Iowa Arrival

Air Force 2 landed at Des Moines International at 10:58 AM.

The Vice President and Second Gentleman exited AF2 at 11:09 am. VP chatted with greeters briefly before entering the motorcade. We're rolling to Grand View University.

Passing along the following background information from the WH:

Greeters upon landing:

Mayor Frank Cownie (D-Des Moines)
- Colonel Travis Crawmer, Base Commander, 132ndAir Wing
- Chief Master Sargent Kris Rode, Command Chief, 132nd Air Wing

On background from a White House official:

Today, March 16, the Vice President is traveling to Des Moines, Iowa to convene a meeting with local leaders to discuss the fight to protect reproductive rights. In attendance at the roundtable will be state legislators, health care providers, advocates, students, patients, and other leaders.

Earlier this week, Vice President Harris hosted a press call about the latest attacks on reproductive rights. She said the attacks are extreme, they are endangering women's lives, and the impact goes far beyond reproductive health care. The Vice President will continue to closely follow actions that extremists are taking at the state level and nationally to restrict health care, including attacks on medication abortion.

The Vice President has brought together leaders from across the nation who are on the frontlines fighting to protect reproductive health care and abortion access. From the time the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade leaked in May, the Vice President has hosted approximately 40 different official convenings across the country focused on reproductive rights. She has met with people from 38 states, including health care providers, constitutional law and privacy experts, faith leaders, disability rights leaders, civil rights leaders, higher education leaders, students, advocates, state attorneys general, and other state leaders. The President and Vice President remain committed to protecting and expanding access to reproductive care.

We arrived at Grand View University at roughly 11:29 am CT. Your pooler did not see the VP enter. At about 12:30 PM, we were brought into a conference room where the VP sat alongside local Democratic state legislators and medical officials.

After Ms. Harris and other speakers gave opening remarks, your pooler asked Harris what the administration's plan of action would be if the Texas court does overrule the FDA on mifepristone.

"Let's recognize where we are which is a group of politicians are attempting to use the court of law to implement a political agenda that would undue the veracity and significance of a medical decision by the FDA about a medication, a decision that was made 20 years ago. Understand also the FDA has been approving medication for about 85 years not only for this medication but for insulin, asthma medication, medication for high blood pressure for chemotherapy."

"Understand what this means. There is so much about this issue that really does attack very fundamental issues and principles," Ms. Harris. "The fundamental issue at play with that court case is our public health system as a whole. If politicians start using the court to undue doctor's decisions imagine where that can lead," Ms. Harris said. "We take this very seriously and are prepared to do whatever we may and can if the court rules in a way that is contrary to what we believe is in the best interest of public health in America."

The pool was then rushed out as we asked follow up questions.

Heres quotes from VP remarks...

"We have this conversation in the context of an action by the highest court in our land last year, the United States Supreme Court, where the United States Supreme Court took a constitutional right," Ms. Harris said.

"What we have seen now is sadly what we predicted," she said. "People around our country are concerned, afraid, confused, desperate, in many ways feeling alone."

The VP said laws have been passed that provide jail time for a doctor or a nurse "who does what they took an oath to do, which is to treat their patients in a way that is in the best interest of their patients."

"We have seen, what I would consider and do consider as a former prosecutor to be an immoral approach to survivors of rape or incest," Ms. Harris said. "There is even no exception after individuals have survived such an act of violation to their body," only to have their states deprive their ability to make a decision about their body.

"It's immoral," she said. "Let's be clear on this issue: one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not telling her or any individual what to do with their bodies. Let them make that decision."

"This is not only about reproductive health. This is about basic health care. Look at what we're seeing in terms of litigation that is happening right now in Texas, where politicians are asking a court of law to undue a decision by the FDA that was made on the basis of peer review of the work of mental health professionals 20 years ago that deemed a particular medication, mifepristone, to be safe. And I'd ask anyone that when you're thinking about what this might mean for context, look in your medicine cabinet because what your doctor has prescribed to you likely to help with issues like chemotherapy drugs or asthma or insulin, that medication your doctor has prescribed probably was able to be prescribed because the FDA approved it."

"We should all understand that these attacks go beyond reproductive health," she said.

She then Iowa was on the front lines "in this fight." "The majority of Iowans do not support these attacks on reproductive health," she said.

VP Travel Pool #4 OTR March Madness

We left the Grand View University at about 1:30 and we're brought to Wells Fargo Arena at 1:34 PM. Pool was brought briefly to the side of Kansas bench just near the baseline. We had no visual on the VP. Kansas led Howard 42-34.

Pool was then guided through a hallway, past the Arkansas locker room and to seats behind the opposite baseline just to the left of the Howard bench.

As Kansas took a 44-37 lead with 1:50 left in the first half, your pooler spotted the VP in a suite overlooking Howard's bench. She could be seen standing, chatting with others while watching the game.

Background from the WH:

On background from a White House official: This afternoon, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff made a surprise stop at the NCAA men's basketball tournament game between the Howard University Bison and The University of Kansas Jay Hawks in Des Moines, Iowa. Vice President Harris graduated from Howard University in 1986. The last time Howard University competed in the Men's NCAA tournament was 1992.

Here are also the speakers from the VP roundtable:

SPEAKERS:

The Vice President

Zach Wahls, Senate Minority Leader

Lindsey James, House Minority Leader

Dr. Kaaren Olesen, OB/GYN Clinic Section Chief at Broadlawns Medical Center

VP Travel Pool #5 VP on Jumbotron

The VP was shown on the Jumbotron at Wells Fargo Arena at about 2:30 PM. The VP, smiling in her suite above the Howard bench, waved enthusiastically to the crowd.

The crowd seemed slightly delayed in realizing that it was indeed the Vice President on the Jumbotron. After a couple seconds the fans erupted in a mix of applause and some boos. Your pooler heard loud cheers coming from seats near Howard's bench.

(And just to clarify the OTR in the last email's subject line was just to indicate this is an OTR stop. It was not on the public schedule but all material is usable).

VP Travel Pool # 6 Howard locker room // rolling

Pool was brought to the Howard locker room with about 3 minutes left in the game against Kansas.

At about 3:13 PM, Howard's players tricked into the room. Kansas had just beat Howard 96-68. We could hear a crowd outside of the locker room chanting "H-U, You Know!"

The VP and Second Gentleman walked in minutes after the players.

"You played hard, you played to the very last second, you made all us Bisons proud," Ms. Harris said.

"You are smart, you are disciplined, you put everything you had into the game," Ms. Harris told the players.

"You guys did not stop and that is so inspiring," she said. "So you keep playing with chin up and shoulders back because you showed the world who bison are."

Harris said she sees Howard alumni all over the world and everyone is talking about the team.

"So I know you may not be feeling great right now. Okay, but know who you are," Ms. Harris said. "You are excellence."

We're rolling to the airport at 3:20 PM CT.

(And apologies for my typo in my report on remarks during the roundtable. I blame autocorrect for spelling "undo" as "undue").

VP Travel Pool #7 wheels up

VP exited her motorcade at 3:37 PM. She stopped, turned and smiled at the Second Gentleman as he made his way over. They then both boarded AF2.

Pool was then escorted to the second plane with staff. Your pool could not spot AF2 lift off. We're wheels up to JBA.

VP Travel Pool # 8 JBA

We landed at JBA at about 6:45 PM. The pool landed after Air Force 2. Your pooler was not able to see the VP exit and board Marine 2.

The pool did watch as Marine 2 took off at 6:53 PM.

That's it for me. Thanks all.