Vice Presidential Pool Reports of March 6, 2022

3/6/22 VP pool - 0

Good morning!

I am serving as both radio AND print pooler for Vice President Harris' trip to Selma, AL today.

We are at JBA awaiting the VP's arrival.

Harris is heading to Selma to commemorate the 57th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement and American history.

The event's webpage lists a "pre-march rally" at Brown Chapel at 1 PM central time, and then the march across the bridge at 2. Several other members of the Biden Cabinet are attending events, too.

Questions? Comments? My contact info is below.

3/6/22 VP pool - 1

VP Harris and SGOTUS landed at JBA at 10:52 and boarded Air Force 2 at 10:57. She did not come over to take questions.

Traveling to Selma with the VP and greeting her at the foot of the AF2 stairs: HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and Deputy VA Secretary Donald Remy.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan will join them in Alabama.

It's windy and rainy on the tarmac - the umbrellas the cabinet officials are under are whipping around.

Consider this wheels up!

3/6/22 VP pool - 2

The VP, SGOTUS, and various cabinet members landed at Maxwell Air Force Base at 11:56 central, and are now motorcading to Selma.

Meeting the travelers on the ground:

- Administrator Michael Regan, Environmental Protection Agency -Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL-07)
- Mayor James Perkins (Selma, AL)
- Mayor Steven Reed (Montgomery, AL)
- General James Hecker
- Colonel Eries L.G. Mentzer

Barring unexpected news, your next update from me will likely be a two min warning ahead of the VP's remarks later today at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, with a full report on the day's events coming later on.

3/6/22 VP pool - 3

It's a beautiful day in Selma, but it's also hot: 83 degrees.

The program is underway at the foot of the bridge, and cabinet members are now speaking. VP Harris will speak last, and you can view her upcoming remarks live at the usual streaming locations.

The stage is set up at the corner of Water Avenue and Broad Street, and the crowd stretches back for a block. The people waiting to hear from Harris and to march are growing audibly frustrated at the long lineup of speakers, intermittently chanting "let us march," and at one point booing when a speaker noted they'd be hearing from "all five" cabinet members here today.

Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke, as did Rev. Al Sharpton. We are told the VP met with civil rights leaders and with the family of John Lewis before the program began.

3/6/22 VP pool - 4

RADIO FRIENDS: "HARRIS SELMA" will be on the server shortly. Waiting for some better cell service before uploading it.

57 years after John Lewis and other civil rights activists were beaten and attacked by police while crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the first Black vice president of the United States commemorated the anniversary by noting progress, but also pointing to roadblocks in Democrats' efforts to counter voting restrictions.

"We stand on this bridge at a different time. We again, however, find ourselves caught in between," Harris said. "Between injustice and justice. Between disappointment and determination."

She said the U.S. is "still in a fight to form a more perfect union. And nowhere is that more clear than when it comes to the ongoing fight to secure the right to vote."

Harris is the Biden Administration's point person on voting rights – an effort that stalled in the Senate earlier this year. She referenced that vote, noting that every Republican voted against changing the rules to allow voting bills to pass by simple majorities, but not mentioning the fact two Democrats did, too, which is why the rules change failed.

Harris urged supporters of the bills not to give up. "I know the path forward is clear. Remember, it took 3 ties for the marchers to cross the bridge. It took their sweat, their tears, their blood."

Harris briefly nodded to the war in Ukraine at the very beginning of her remarks. "Today the eyes of the world are on Ukraine and the brave people who are fighting to protect their country and their democracy. Their bravery is a reminder that freedom and democracy can never be taken for granted by any of us."

Harris was preceded by a long line of speakers – from labor, from civil rights organizations, and from various levels of government. (The crowd grew restless about the long lineup at many points, and loudly booed at one mention during the program that they would hear from "all five" cabinet members present today. They cheered when she was finally announced, though.)

Rev. Al Shapton urged the crowd to do more than take selfies of their march across the bridge today. He said John Lewis and the other marchers in 1965 "laid their bodies down" when they marched. "Because they laid their bodies down, a black woman is vice president. A black woman has been nominated to the Supreme Court. A gay man is transportation secretary."

After the speaking program, the officials and leaders lined up at the foot of the bridge, arm in arm, as they have for so many previous anniversaries.

It took nearly a half hour to get the marchers in the right position before Harris reappeared and the marching began. She stood near family members of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rep. John Lewis. Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson were on the front lines, too, as were a few people from the original 1965 march. The cabinet members were off to the far side on the front of the line.

There were chants and songs as the marchers slowly made their way across the bridge. At the middle, right under the rusty EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE lettering, the procession paused and Rev. Sharpton led the group in prayer.

Shortly after that, Harris and the other Biden Administration officials left the group and got back in vehicles. We are all now heading back to the Air Force base.

3/6/22 VP pool - 5

The VP and cabinet secretaries are back on Air Force 2 and headed back to JBA.

Harris did not respond to questions about her upcoming Poland trip as she boarded the plane.

Below, background from OVP on who Harris met with in Selma before her speech.

Ahead of her remarks, the Vice President met with civil rights leaders:

- Latosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voters Matter
- Reverend Al Sharpton, President & Founder, National Action Network
- Reverend Jesse Jackson, Founder, Rainbow PUSH Coalition
- Jonathan Jackson, Aide to Rev. Jackson and Son
- Melanie Campbell, President & CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Partnership
- Charles Steele, President & CEO Southern Christian Leadership Conference
- Sherrilyn Ifill, President & Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
- Barbara Arnwine, President, Transformative Justice Coalition
- Bishop William Barber, President & Senior Lecturer, Repairers of the Breach
- Fmr. State Senator Hank Sanders, Founder, Selma Jubilee
- Joi Chaney, Senior Vice President for Policy & Advocacy, National Urban League
- Derrick Johnson, President & CEO, NAACP
- Martin King III
- Andrea King
- Dr. Bernice King
- De'Liece Drane, The King Center
-members of the Lewis family

3/6/22 VP pool - 6

Hi from the pool shuttle, which is parked and not moving because, we are told by guards who just stopped us, JBA is on lockdown due to reports of an "armed individual on base." The VP and SGOTUS have left on Marine Two. I do not know if the cabinet officials are still on base.

More as we learn, and I will note I have not been in contact with JBA's PAO yet – this is just the situation the tv pool and I see right now from the van.

Rest of the pool report.

The VP and SGOTUS are on Marine 2, headed back to the Naval Observatory.

Education Secretary Cardona and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg came back to speak to the press on the flight home.

No headlines from Cardona. Two quotes of note from Buttigieg below.

Buttigieg responded to several calls at the event to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge after John Lewis. "It certainly makes sense to me…in some way or another, obviously Congressman Lewis needs to be honored there. And what I know about Edmund Pettus, I would not be commemorating him." (Buttigieg later clarified, lest he be accused of "bad federalism," that renaming the bridge is a local decision, not a DOT call.)

Asked about dropping masks requirements on planes, Buttigieg reiterated that March 18th is the "built in date" for the next reassessment from TSA. "Whenever it is deemed safe, I will be as happy as any traveler to put my mask away," he said, while also urging people to respect travelers who want to keep masks on.

(I'll note since relevant to above: Buttigieg wore a mask talking to the press on the plane, while Cardona did not. Both had masks on the rest of the flight, as did everyone else.)

"Buttigieg gaggle" and "Cardona gaggle" are on radio server.

Talk to you all later.

3/6/22 VP pool - 8

Quick update: A White House official tells us the four cabinet secretaries who were traveling with VP Harris are safely off-base. (That's Fudge, Cardona, Buttigieg, and Regan.)

We are still on our shuttle, and still are awaiting any sort of official statement on the extent of what's happening at JBA right now. A guard who searched our shuttle told us it is a confirmed "armed individual" but that no shots were fired.

3/6/22 VP pool - 8 (actual 8 and likely final)

Press release from JBA is below. And since it’s now relevant if anyone is writing about this, I had Harris in Marine 2 with the rotors starting at 8:51. They taxied for a few minutes before taking off from the runway. So it seems like the VP had left the base just before this happened.

Unclear on exact timing with the cabinet officials though.

(And I can report they are letting our van proceed to the visitors center – GOOD NIGHT!)

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD -- At approximately 9 p.m. today, one vehicle drove through the security checkpoint and failed to adhere to commands of security personnel at the Main Gate on Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The 316th Security Forces Group immediately deployed the barriers and stopped the vehicle. Two individuals fled the vehicle, and one was apprehended by 316th SFG. One individual remains at large. We can confirm that the individual who was apprehended had a weapon, but no shots have been fired.

There is not an active shooter situation at Joint Base Andrews; however, the intruder’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

The main gate remains closed at this time. Base traffic is being diverted to the Virginia Gate.