This is a rush transcript of “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on October 12, 2022. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: All right, we are live following the president of the United States right now. He is in Camp — in Leadville, Colorado, I should say.
But this is a busy road trip for him. He’s going to take on three states right now, Colorado, as I say, today, California events where he will tout his legislative agenda that he says is doing the trick for the American people, and in Oregon, finally, where he’s trying to avoid losing the governor’s mansion to a Republican because an unannounced candidate, unaffiliated candidate, is dividing that Democratic vote.
At issue right now in Colorado, though, is championing, he says, progress being made, not only on the economic front, but numbers that he says are proving that the Inflation Reduction Act is beginning to bear some fruit.
Now, there’s been a great deal of division over that as to whether that’s happening, but this three-state trip, by the way, three strong blue states that he’s going to, is an interesting thing to do less than a month before the midterm election.
So, want to keep you up on that and how this is all playing out and the strategy of the White House here with a little bit less than, as I said, four weeks to go until the general election, the midterm elections.
Jacqui Heinrich of the White House on what this strategy is.
What do you think, Jacqui?
JACQUI HEINRICH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it’s hard to say, Neil, what exactly the strategy is.
I mean, the press secretary was asked yesterday why the president isn’t going to a more contentious state, like Arizona. If he’s going on a Western swing, why not hit some of those areas where Democrats vying for reelection are having a bit tougher of a job?
But this event in Colorado is going to be really a favor to Senator Michael Bennet, who it was a big priority of his to get this site dedicated as a national memorial. Cape Hale is a World War II era military site. It’ll be a national monument. He — the president used his executive powers under the Antiquities Act sort of bypass Congress, because similar bills have repeatedly stalled in the Senate.
They have not been able to sort of advance that legislatively, so the president using his executive power to deliver on that promise. And the other half of that is that it’s going to dedicate 10-mile range, a mountain range that is prized by hikers and climbers, also within this national monument, and the president proposed as well withdrawing 225,000 acres of land from that area in the Thompson Divide from any new potential mining or drilling.
Now, the next steps on that is, the Interior Department Forest Service is going to have to solicit public comment and conduct environmental analysis on prohibiting energy development there for 20 years. But being in the position that we’re in right now, following OPEC’s snub of the president, it’s moving forward with its withdrawal — or its plans, rather, to scale back oil production, and then, of course, that new Producer Price Index data coming out today showing that inflation certainly hasn’t peaked, it could even rise with the cost that manufacturers pay to get goods produced, rising over time.
Good chance that that — that cost gets passed on to consumers. We might even see an inflation rise. So these are some sort of tender issues that the president has to thread that needle there, Neil.
CAVUTO: Yes, and I’m wondering at the timing of this in a blue — a pretty blue state.
Of course, we have a guy who’s running for that Senate seat of Senator Bennet’s who might disagree that it’s a gimme for the Democrats to keep that seat, in just a second.
But, Jacqui, on this wholesale inflation report you alluded to today, it’s running out an 8.5 percent clip, which is a reminder that, after all these rate increases we have been seeing, rates and prices remain stubbornly high. How is the president trying to frame that?
I know he keeps talking about the inflation production act. He’s angry at the Saudis for cutting oil production and has promised to respond soon. Do we know yet what that response will be?
HEINRICH: We don’t know what the response is going to be. We know he’s considering calls from Congress to scale back arms sales to Saudi Arabia, because we have had this sort of agreement with them for many, many years where we will supply the Saudis with arms to defend themselves against enemies in the region, so long as the Saudis produce enough oil to keep global markets stable.
And if they have, in the administration’s words, sided with Russia in snubbing the president and scaling back production, they want to hit back. Separately from that, the read from the White House today on that new inflation data is that repetition of the line we have heard before, that we’re in a good position, this country, to navigate the economic transition that we’re going through right now, but there’s still more work to be done.
I know the president met with his economic adviser, Brian Deese, this morning and got a briefing on that. But we have not had any words from the president on the economy today, Neil.
CAVUTO: Jacqui, just a real quick thought on that and the argument he’s selling that, look, the Inflation Reduction Act is working. He was telling CNN yesterday, Jake Tapper, that there’s a possibility we go into recession, he doesn’t see that happening right now.
But he’s even finding people parting company with him on the economy, on inflation, and on the border, specifically some primary candidates who are saying right now, this is a problem, and they are parting company with him on this.
I’m just wondering whether they’re just a few going rogue, or we’re going to hear more doing just the same.
HEINRICH: I think it’s going to depend on who’s doing the talking.
Certainly, Democrats that are in more purple districts or purple states are going to be a little bit more bold in stepping aside from the administration. Tim Ryan in Ohio has — is a good example of someone who even said that he’s campaigning as an independent, really sort of distancing himself from the White House. His opponent would say his voting record shows otherwise.
But you’re hearing more of that from these Democrats that are in tough reelection races. And I expect, as we get closer to the midterms, which are right around the corner, we may hear a whole lot more of that, Neil.
CAVUTO: So, I keep bothering you here, but I am curious. The selection of the states involved here, Colorado, California and Oregon, strong Democratic states — again, I will have a Republican candidate who will disagree with that gimme.
But I’m just wondering why this strategy for what some might interpret to be safe states, and not reaching out to the states that could decide or maybe, hopefully, from the president’s point of view, go into the blue column from the red or, shall we say, the pink column? What do you make of it?
HEINRICH: Sure.
Well, we put that question to the White House, and they didn’t bite. I mean, you could — you could infer that maybe there is a question lingering about how much the president’s presence in these states that are purple — purple states is going to help or maybe hurt, given the president standing in the polls, issues that he’s been wrangling for many, many months now.
But we can also look back to his past travel and infer that a lot of the trips that he has done have involved fund-raising. And if you’re going to go to a Democratic stronghold, you’re likely going to leave there with some money, Neil.
CAVUTO: Got it. All right, thank you very, very much for all of that, Jacqui Heinrich at the White House.
Colorado is really the sort of epicenter of this battle right now, where the president is making his pitch to keep that state blue, to keep that Senate seat up blue right now. And Senator Michael Bennet is the guy who has that seat.
And now the guy who wants to take that seat from him, the Republican candidate for Colorado Senate, Joe O’Dea, joins us right now.
Mr. O’Dea, very good to have you up.
You’re an interesting fellow running for a seat. You’re not a politician. You’re a construction guy, a construction CEO, a businessman. You have been arguing that what the president’s been advocating, what your Democratic candidate incumbent has been advocating have been as anti-business as you get.
What kind of reception are you getting?
JOE O’DEA (R), COLORADO SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Neil, so good to be here with you today. Thanks for having me on.
And I can tell you, this photo-op that Joe Biden has taken with Michael Bennet this very day here in Colorado is nothing more than a photo-op. It shows you that Bennet votes with him 98 percent of the time. He’s part of the partisan problem that we have in Washington, D.C.
I’m not a career politician. I’m a working guy. I’m going to the U.S. Senate to represent working Americans here in Colorado. We have been left behind. We have been forgotten. I’m disappointed that our president doesn’t take a tour over maybe in Grand Junction to see what his fossil fuel policies have done to the economy in Grand Junction.
We have got thousands of jobs that have left Colorado because of these policies. We’re paying way too much at the pump right now. It’s costing working Americans a ton of money. And we need to have some change here in November. And that’s why I got into this race.
CAVUTO: Let me ask you a little bit about your background and how it could uniquely suit you for this job.
You know construction. You know the business community. You know the backup in interest rates. You probably are familiar with the wholesale inflation report today that shows rates are probably going to continue to go up here. We will get another confirmation of that with a similar read on inflation of about 8.5 percent.
And that’s despite all these rate hikes we have seen. I don’t know what it’s done to construction in Colorado. I know it has slowed things down dramatically across the country.
Where do things stand now if the Fed keeps doing what it’s doing?
O’DEA: Well, it’s crippling the economy here in Colorado.
We have got homebuilders that have started to put the lots on hold. They’re not developing any more property because of the cost of construction. Colorado is getting a double whammy. We have got record inflation here. It’s almost double the national average at 15.6 percent.
Working Americans are feeling it. I ran into a guy last week. He owns a snap-on tool van and he told me he’s going to park that van because mechanics aren’t buying any tools right now. They can’t afford anything. There’s no extra disposable income. We have lost 10 percent of our buying power here in Colorado over the last six, eight, 10 months because of the reckless spending and all the policies that Michael Bennet and Joe Biden have put in place.
CAVUTO: You know, I know Senate — you trail in the polls, and they don’t mean anything, as you have pointed out in the past.
But Senate Republicans have poured a great deal of political action committee money into your race, I believe Republicans alone about a million dollars here, but you’re still down. And I’m wondering, is it just an issue where it’s not resonating yet, or you think it’ll get to that point, that the more people look at what’s happening at the pump, what’s going on right now when they go to the grocery store?
Are you surprised that it hasn’t connected to the degree maybe you hoped?
O’DEA: Oh, I beg to differ. It’s connected.
When I go around this state — I have been to all 64 counties — people are angry about their fuel bill. They’re angry about their heating bill. They’re angry about the gas bill at the pump. They can’t afford groceries right now. People are angry. They’re unsure, fiscally unsure. We have got record crime here in Colorado. We’re the number two state in fentanyl overdoses.
So those are the things that are resonating with working Americans here in Colorado. I built a huge coalition. It’s good Republicans, it’s independents, and it’s also some disgruntled Democrats that are getting behind this campaign. They’re ready for change here in Colorado. We’re a purple state. And we’re going to get across the finish line in November.
CAVUTO: Mr. O’Dea, you have bucked Republicans in your state on a host of issues, but most notably the abortion one, which you have said you would not support any bans under 20 weeks.
I’m wondering. And I recognize well your state and that it does tint blue, let’s just say. I’m sure you want to change that. But how has this affected you with voters? You want to obviously stand apart from fellow Republicans on this particular issue. But how does that sort out with the public?
O’DEA: Look, the number one party here in Colorado is, 45 percent of our electorate is independent.
And my stance is in the middle. It’s what most people here in Colorado recognize. Michael Bennet has been outrageous. He supports a — abortion up to an including the day of birth. That’s just not where Coloradans are. We’re running this campaign with one thing in mind. And that’s replacing Michael Bennet here in November.
And I have got a lot of people of all groups that are behind this campaign. I’m excited about it. And we’re going to win in November.
CAVUTO: All right, I’m sure you hope that will be the case.
So, thank you very, very much, sir, for joining us.
Joe O’Dea is the Republican candidate for senator in the state of Colorado.
We did reach out to Senator Bennet. We hope to work out something pretty soon. We have had some luck with that. Just making sure that you get to hear from all sides all the time. So, if we hear back from him, he is on, again, to give us his pitch why he should stay in the United States Senate.
In the meantime, we have been touching on this, this notion that the president is very upset at the Saudis for cutting production and leading that effort on the part of OPEC, OPEC Plus countries to cut supply by two million barrels a day. It’s a very, very big issue right now on Capitol Hill, how they sort this out and try to get a gauge of what the response will be from the administration.
Aishah Hasnie is on that at the State Department.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Neil. That’s right.
So we have been hearing all day talk about consequences. The president wants to take action, promising he’s going to take action against the desert and kingdom, but we really haven’t gotten any details about what those actions are, even a timeline.
I just pressed the State Department on why it appears that we’re waiting to take action. You will hear their response next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Blumenthal and Khanna right now, they’re calling for a stopping of U.S. arm sales to Saudi Arabia. Do you support that legislation?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We’re going to react to Saudi Arabia, and they’re doing consultation when they come back. And we will take action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, well, something is coming from the president of the United States to go back at the Saudis for leading this OPEC and OPEC Plus country charge to cut production by two million barrels a day. He was not happy about it.
We are learning later on that, in fact, during this whole debate, and beforehand, he was letting Riyadh know that this would not be a good idea and thought it would be something that could be egregious to our relations. Again, what he does is anyone’s guess.
Aishah Hasnie at the State Department with more on where this goes from here — Aishah.
HASNIE: Hey there, Neil.
Well, that’s the perfect way to put it. Nobody has any idea where this goes from here. It’s clear that the administration wants to take some kind of action. The president has promised it. But, so far, they haven’t committed to anything quite yet.
So I pressed State Department spokesman Ned Price on this today. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: We keep hearing about actions, consequences, but they won’t happen until senators come back to the Hill which is not going to be for a while. This is going to put us deeper into a further energy crisis. People are wondering about how to heat their homes, getting colder out. Why wait?
NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We’re not waiting. This is a process that is ongoing.
We want to make sure that this is a process that is deliberative and deliberate, but also inclusive. And, by necessity, this will be a process that will take some time, but I don’t want to leave the impression that we are sitting on our hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: OK, so they say they’re not sitting on their hands. But we still, again, don’t know when they’re going to take any actions.
Now, State would also not confirm, Neil, or deny The Wall Street Journal reporting out there that the administration pleaded with the Saudis to delay the oil cuts by one month, a move that would have pushed it after the midterms.
Meanwhile, Democrats out there are happy to talk about what they want to see. They’re threatening everything from blocking future U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia to pulling U.S. troops out of the kingdom .That would be a relationship-destroying move here.
Now, some say the administration just needs to look in the mirror and recalibrate its own policies, since, as we all know, gas prices were already rising before the war in Ukraine. And they began rising again right before the midterms here.
Again, no timeline so far on any actions against the kingdom. Ned Price would only go so far as to say this conversation could be weeks to months – – Neil.
CAVUTO: Aishah, thank you for that.
Aishah Hasnie.
To Charlie Gasparino on the financial implications of this.
Now, Charlie, you have been talking to a lot of Wall Street types who are saying that, to a man and woman, they have been wanting, urging the administration, boost production here, so we don’t have to depend on OPEC and nefarious types over there. It’s fallen on deaf ears, apparently.
CHARLIE GASPARINO, FOX NEWS SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Right. And lay off the harshest rhetoric.
I mean, listen, take it for what it’s worth and take it from the source, I should say. All these Wall Street firms have lots of dealings in Saudi Arabia, in the Middle East. So they have a lot riding on this. The royal family, as you know, runs a major company, like a hedge fund, essentially, Saudi Aramco.
I’m not exactly sure what it’s called now, but it throws out a lot of fees. So, there’s a lot of stuff that goes on between Wall Street, the banks here in the U.S., and the Saudi royal family.
That said, they also know how to deal with these guys. And their message is simply this, Neil. You can’t have both a foreign policy and a domestic oil policy that both attacks a major producer who was an ally of ours, maybe over good — over the right thing, which was the Khashoggi murder — I get it, that MBS probably — is likely the responsible party for that.
But if you’re going to go green, and reduce oil output here, do everything you can to discourage oil exploration and drilling here, going after the Saudi royal family is kind of a nonstarter. Also, from a foreign policy standpoint — and, again, I’m not an expert in foreign policy. These Wall Street guys know it because they have to know it.
Saudi Arabia has always been an ally against Iran in the Middle East, the most belligerent player there. So we’re going to essentially alienate an ally that’s standing between us and Iran. And, also, you basically annoy them to the fact that they’re going to cut back on production, when we need them to increase production.
So this is kind of what you hear.
CAVUTO: I mean, they’re not exactly the standard-bearers of niceness with us, so — or diplomatic.
I’m just wondering, though, how far does Wall Street worry or financial guys worry that we alienate the Saudis, or are they kowtowing to the Saudis?
(CROSSTALK)
GASPARINO: Well, that’s — it’s one thing to kowtow, which no one’s expecting to kowtow.
But, at some point, what they’re saying is, lay off if you — because we need them in a lot of different ways. They are a major player in global — in global economics. They have been an ally against Iran and Iran’s ambitions in the Middle East, which is far more expansionary and dangerous than what the Saudis are doing.
Yes, it was a tragedy what happened to Khashoggi, but, at some point — this is the hand we’re dealing with here. I mean, are we really looking for regime change in Saudi Arabia?
CAVUTO: And the bottom line is, a lot of these guys are saying the president could have avoided this by not abandoning, as they see it, abandoning our production here to make us more dependent on the Saudis than other guys, right?
GASPARINO: If you’re going to abandon production here, if you’re going to abandon our production here, don’t annoy — don’t annoy an ally that produces a lot of oil. I mean, that’s kind of simple common sense.
They would also like a, like, chilling of the — or not a chilling, but a…
CAVUTO: Yes.
GASPARINO: That’s the wrong word. But they would like a little bit of amends that should occur between both sides.
CAVUTO: Yes, everyone dial it down, dial it down a notch or two.
GASPARINO: Yes.
CAVUTO: Charlie, thank you very, very much.
Charlie Gasparino following all those developments here.
Well, as I told you at the outset of the broadcast, wholesale inflation is running at about an 8.5 percent clip. We’re expecting to get reminders that inflation at our level, the retail level, will be similarly high.
And it got us thinking, because it happens here now in that on YOUR WORLD, where we look at the quadrupling of interest rates to bring down inflation, and not a single sign it’s working. And this is a quadrupling of interest rates. Prices go still higher.
That’s why people panic, because they don’t see anything coming of this — after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: The mess at the border.
It’s one thing for Republicans to bash the president for not doing anything about it, but, increasingly, a number of Democrats are breaking up with the party boss and saying, you got to see what’s going on here. It is killing us everywhere — after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, I want you to take a look at those numbers.
The good news that underlies this is that your wages are going up at about a 5 percent clip. So you’re thinking, wow, I’m hitting pay dirt. Unfortunately, what you’re paying for goods is going up at a far faster rate, the wholesale rate, before it gets to you in May with the retail rate, which will be out tomorrow, still running at about an 8.5 percent clip.
That was actually stronger than thought. Again, that inflation rate for you and me at the retail level comes out tomorrow. It’s expected to be similarly high. I can save you the trouble of looking at this after all these rate hikes we have, seen essentially going from zero percent to close to 4 percent.
We have seen no impact on bringing inflation down at either the wholesale or retail level. You have seen it for yourself when you go to the store, when, these days, now, even you go back to the gas station and realize that that drop we had and gas prices has suddenly reversed and we’re on about a 19-, 20-day tear of higher prices, period.
To Art Hogan right now, who follows this for a living very well, I might point out.
Art, it’s interesting. Stock market dropped after being up most of the day, largely on concerns that we can’t get over this problem, and that we’re not seeing any results in lower inflation, lower prices anywhere, which means, I guess, the Fed has to keep hiking and hiking. Do you agree with that?
ART HOGAN, MARKET STRATEGIST: Yes, I think that’s the major problem, right? We’re in this environment where everything we look at in the economic data channel really makes us think, what’s that going to mean for the Fed? And does that keep them hiking and taking us higher and keeping us there longer?
And today’s PPI was certainly a piece of that, tomorrow’s CPI even more important to that end. It’s important to remember though, right? So when we think about why the Fed has already done a great deal, as you mentioned, quadrupled rates, why aren’t we seeing the effect of that?
And I think the three things to think about, first and foremost, the most important is, the Fed can really affect demand by raising rates, right, make it more expensive to buy things.
CAVUTO: Right.
HOGAN: They can’t affect supply, right? And they can’t — they can’t grow more food, or they certainly can’t make more cars, and they can’t produce more oil.
But the third thing is, and this has been true of monetary policy since the beginning of time, is that monetary policy has long and varied lags, right? So, the variable lag part of that means that it takes six to 12 months for the first rate hike to start kicking in.
If we went back to March, when they hiked for the first time, the PPI was at 11.6, right?
CAVUTO: Yes.
HOGAN: So we’re certainly down from there, but nowhere close to where we’d like to be.
And we certainly get impatient on every month, looking at data saying…
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: But there’s always the risk, right, Art? There’s always the risk of the Fed could overdo it, because it’s not seeing results just yet.
And you’re quite right. There is a significant lag, up to a year, to see the impact. By that time, if the Fed were to continue going on this policy, we could be in some deep doo-doo. That’s a financial term, as you know.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: What do you think?
HOGAN: Yes, not only a risk. I think it’s almost a certainty, right?
The Fed, because they look backwards at data, and they have to estimate how restrictive they have to be and how long they should be there, the very same ways how much they should ease and how long they should stay easing, they always overstay their welcome on both sides of that pendulum.
So I think that the biggest risk is that they — not that they take rates to a restrictive level, which would be close to 4.5 percent, and we will probably won’t be there by the first quarter of next year, how long they keep it there while we’re waiting to see if any of this medicine is working.
And I think that’s the real conundrum. I think that’s the biggest fear in markets right now.
CAVUTO: Yes.
HOGAN: Not that they can’t get to a place of being restrictive, and they will likely to get there pretty quickly. It’s how long do they stay at the party and really tamp down demand into something that’s much worse, like a recession?
CAVUTO: Yes, they have long taken the punchbowl away. And now they’re closing up the whole frat house, I guess.
Art, thank you very much. Good catching up with you on this, I think, Art, given that forecast.
Art Hogan following all of that.
Meanwhile, I hate to insult to injury here, but have you seen the mess at the border? It’s gotten so bad right now that many in the president’s own party are saying, enough already.
Griff Jenkins is there.
Hey, Griff.
GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That’s right, Neil.
Unprecedented numbers of migrants continuing to stream across, and even the local Democrats have had enough. They’re fed up. We have got that story coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Kamala Harris is absolutely wrong on that. It’s not secure. We have a lot of work to do.
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): When the president decided he was going to do something dumb on this and change the rules that would create a bigger crisis, I told him he was wrong.
KATIE HOBBS (D), ARIZONA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Biden does need to step up immigration and border security, absolutely.
REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): They’re listening to the immigration activists, but who’s listening to the men and women in green and blue? Who’s listening to the border…
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, that is a perfect case, and you’re seeing more examples of it, of Democrats going rogue or at least parting company with the president on what’s going on at the border, saying he’s not doing enough, at least acknowledge the problem, maybe visit the area.
But the fact of the matter is, that has yet to take place. So expect more Democrats to express that frustration.
Griff Jenkins, Eagle Pass, Texas, with more on that — Griff.
JENKINS: Hey, Neil, good afternoon.
Those comments are spot on, and the images and numbers prove it. Let me turn you now to our sky drone and take you up and show you just how wide open this border is, Neil. In the 12 days I have been here, the first 12 days of the fiscal year, there have been over 15,000 migrant apprehensions and justice sector, 3,300 known got-aways.
They have had 89 smuggling loads apprehended. And they have had 39 rescues. It’s 66 percent more than it was compared to last year. Last year was off the charts.
Now, let me show you footage from our drone we shot earlier today. We had not one, not two, but three large groups of more than 100 migrants. They are from Venezuela, Cuba and Colombia, seeking asylum. But this week, we have also had migrants from Yemen, Syria, Bangladesh, and Iran.
That’s why Democrats like state Representative Eddie Morales, who represents this area, is fed up and wants more from the Biden administration. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STATE REP. EDDIE MORALES (D-TX): So, while Biden in the White House could do more in terms of the planning, especially we need to do it more orderly.
We cannot incentivize these individuals that are — these migrants that are coming through our rivers and exposing our Border Patrol, our troopers and our National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JENKINS: Now, let me show you quickly some video of a Texas DPS hot pursuit of a smuggler, the driver in this vehicle crashing into a pole.
He was a driver from Indiana. He said he was being paid $3,000 per migrant to transport them from Eagle Pass, this area, to San Antonio. There were three migrants rescued. One had a serious head injury. It’s unbelievable. It’s happening every day, every hour, Neil.
And that is why politics are really taking a backseat down here on the border because this problem from human smuggling to the unprecedented numbers of migrants just simply crossing illegally is something they have never seen the likes of what it is right now — Neil, we will send it back to you.
CAVUTO: And maybe these Democrats mentioning that is a game-changer, in and of itself. You probably need a lot more, but interesting.
Griff, thank you so much.
My friend Griff Jenkins at the border on that.
Lieutenant Chris Olivarez, the Texas Department of Public Safety, he’s right there on the front line with this.
And, Chris, we’re always talking on these developments. And I was thinking maybe the fact that more Democrats are speaking out about this, that might offer some hope for you. What do you think?
LT. CHRIS OLIVAREZ, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Well, Neil, I mean, I think that we have reached that breaking point already with this current border crisis.
And, quite frankly, we have reached it ever since last year. And now we’re starting to see more political figures that are coming forward and voicing concerns that enough is enough. And it is. I mean, it’s unacceptable what’s been taking place ever since last year, now — even going into this fiscal year now.
We’re still continuing to see large groups come across, human smuggling events, and the fact that these border committees are overwhelmed. They want — they want something done. They want a strategy put in place by the federal government. They want them to take action. And they have completely neglected the American people.
The people that reside in these border communities, they have turned their backs on them, and they feel — they feel abandoned. And that’s why the state of Texas is having to step in and fill those gaps, where federal agents are tied up processing because they’re not getting the support from the federal government.
So it’s unfortunate, Neil, but, unfortunately, we’re going to continue seeing this — this mass migration take place throughout the Southern border until the federal government actually puts some action in place, until they actually address and acknowledge the fact that we do have a crisis on the border.
CAVUTO: You were the first to seize on the fact when these cases would no longer be adjudicated back in Mexico. In other words, someone slipped over the border, went back to Mexico and dealt with it on that side.
Now, of course, they’re all dealt here. And they all become asylum cases, which I think accounted, you can correct me, Lieutenant, for eight out of the 10 migrants who make their way here, to say nothing of the got-aways. I don’t know what those numbers are.
But asylum seems to be sort of the card by which they try to get not only to get access to the United States, but in their eyes stay in the United States. What do you think of that?
OLIVAREZ: Right.
And that’s the issue right now, the fact that the asylum claim is being abused. Illegal immigrants are circumventing the legal immigration process by claiming asylum when they get — when they reach the border. And the fact that the federal government has allowed that, have allowed an open border policy, that’s why we continue seeing large groups of immigrants coming across.
And they’re going to continue to come in across just as long as the federal government continues to have an open border policy, and the fact that they’re busing and flying these immigrants to their destination. So that’s the issue right there.
The fact that the remain-in-Mexico policy was a very effective tool, and what it did was, it would slow down mass migration. It would keep the immigrants that were seeking asylum to keep them in Mexico so they could hear their asylum cases. It was a more controlled situation. Right now, it’s out of control.
And the reason why I say that is because you’re having 1,500 to 2,000 immigrants come across these smaller border communities a day. That’s not sustainable. That’s unacceptable. And that’s why there needs to be a more effective policy put in place to help slow down this mass migration that we’re seeing on these border communities.
CAVUTO: Yes, because, as you pointed out, once they get over, and with that asylum claim, they stay a while. And there’s a legal process that facilitates that sometimes for years to come.
Chris, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
CAVUTO: Finish that thought. I’m sorry, sir.
OLIVAREZ: No, Neil, and I was going to say, you can’t blame these immigrants for making this journey, right, because they’re being encouraged.
So, of course, they’re going to make this turn. They’re going to continue coming, because they see friends and families that have made this journey and they have been released into the country. So they’re going to continue doing so until, actually, there’s some action put in place.
CAVUTO: Yes, as you pointed out, say asylum. Keep saying asylum. That’s the ticket.
OLIVAREZ: Right.
CAVUTO: Chris, thank you very much for that.
In the meantime, Republicans might be opposing it and looking for legal challenges to it, but the president going full throttle with that loan forgiveness, student loan forgiveness, where some 40 million students and former students stand to benefit up to $20,000 a pop. They’re even looking at a way to get a Web site going on that.
And doesn’t Madison Alworth know it at the University of Tampa in Florida – – Madison.
MADISON ALWORTH, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, we have a sneak peek of what the application process will look like when it goes active later this month for that student loan forgiveness.
You said 40 million that stand to benefit. The concern is, after seeing the application process, experts are warning that even more could take advantage of the system and commit fraud. After this, I will explain that major loophole that experts are pointing to and saying that is going to be a big problem — coming up after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, you want your student loans forgiven, there’s got to be an app for that. Turns out there is, or they’re working on it right now.
Madison Alworth in Tampa, Florida, with more on that.
Hey, Madison.
ALWORTH: Hey, Neil.
So, yes, we have gotten a sneak peek of what the application for student loan forgiveness is going to look like, that released by the White House. That process is supposed to start at the end of the month.
But now that experts have seen what that simple — short and simple application process is, they’re worried and warning that there is a huge potential for fraud. So, taking a look at what the White House released in terms of what to expect for their application, they’re saying that borrowers will have to only submit their name, Social Security number and date of birth to register.
Very important to note borrowers will only have to self-certify that they meet the income criteria. And that part right there could create a huge fraud problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM KISSEL, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: You’re not verifying student’s income. You are letting people say that their income is lower than the threshold, when their income might be higher than the threshold.
And the department isn’t even going to be checking almost anyone to see if you have actually been under the threshold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALWORTH: So what is that threshold?
Those that qualify are supposed to make less than $125,000 a year, or households that make $250,000 a year or less. The White House is saying that they are going to be more critical of applicants that make close to those numbers.
But Kissel says it’s not possible for them to be more critical, because they’re not asking for proof of income levels. There’s a lot of money on the line. The payouts are estimated to cost over $400 billion. And when you have a big sum of money like that, it, of course, opens up the potential for other scams online.
There’s already concern around fake Web sites that will attempt to steal information from qualifying borrowers. So applicants are being warned and told to be careful of where they apply and what information they put out there.
Now, all of this, of course, is contingent on this program moving forward. The White House is bent on making this happen. It’s supposed to start later this month, but currently, there are six states that are suing the Biden administration over the student loan forgiveness program — Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, Madison, thank you very much for that.
As Madison was wrapping up there, we’re learning right now that the U.N. General Assembly has just overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s move to annex parts of the Ukraine. And, of course, of that move, and then the success of Ukrainian soldiers to take back large swathes of land in at least two of those annexed regions and the follow-up assault, pretty brutal assault, on the part of the Russians afterwards got us to this point.
Again, I say overwhelming, not unanimous. Four countries joined Russian in voting against the resolution, Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea and Belarus; 35 countries abstained from the vote, including China. Not a big shock there.
But the fact of the matter is, condemnation from the U.N. doesn’t mean that any of this stops. It goes on.
We’ll have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: With the help of members of Congress here today, I signed the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act that constitute the largest investment in climate ever in history.
O’DEA: This photo-op that Joe Biden has taken with Michael Bennet this very day here in Colorado is nothing more than a photo-op. It shows you that Bennet votes with him 98 percent of the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: The president has a road trip going on right now, the first stop, of course, today in Colorado. He’s going to be in California as well in Oregon, and each and every one an opportunity to help candidates who want his help, but, more to the point, to remind them something that he says should be the wind at their back, the Inflation Reduction Act and some other positive economic underpinnings.
They would probably not include inflation, though, which is still pretty bad.
Tom Bevan of RealClearPolitics with us right now.
Tom, an interesting selection of states. What do you make of it?
TOM BEVAN, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, REALCLEARPOLITICS.COM: Right, not Georgia, not North Carolina, Ohio.
CAVUTO: Right. Right.
BEVAN: Right, where there are a lot of candidates where he’s — he’s actually been in those states a couple of months ago, and the candidates had — quote, unquote — “scheduling issues.”
Look, President Biden’s job approval rating overall is 43 percent in our RealClearPolitics average. In some of these swing states, it’s 39 or 40. And so for most of these candidates, he’s a drag on the ticket. And they don’t want him around right now, as they’re — as they’re in very close races, again, trying to stay focused on the issues that they think they have an advantage on.
And almost exclusively across the board, that is not on the economy. It’s on abortion and things like protecting democracy. But the question is whether that is in sync with the voters’ demands and the voter — voter concerns, which, right now, most of the polls, almost every poll across the board shows economy and inflation is the number one issue.
CAVUTO: Yes.
And I don’t know how it sorts out in Colorado, where the Democratic incumbent senator has a substantial lead. That could change. We’re seeing signs of that right now in Georgia as well. That too could change, much closer race there.
But I’d be curious to get your handicapping of the Senate right now and how you see it going.
BEVAN: Well, right now, you have Adam Laxalt ahead in Nevada. That would be a pickup for the Republicans. And you have John Fetterman, the Democrat, ahead in Pennsylvania. That would be a pickup for the Democrats.
And those two would cancel each other out and everybody else would hold their seats, all the incumbents and all the Republican open seats, and so it’d be a wash.
However, a lot of these races have tightened. The Pennsylvania race, in particular, has gotten much, much closer. And, in fact, it’s one of the states that, over the last three cycles, polling has underestimated Republican support by about 5 percentage points.
So, if the history is accurate with regard to the polls in Pennsylvania, that race is a lot closer, and Oz might even end up being ahead there. So that’s something to keep an eye on. But it’s looking like, with just under a month ago, like Republicans are still a slight advantage to win back the Senate and pick up one seat, maybe two seats if they have a good night.
Obviously, if things break the Democrats way, they will hold on to the Senate in a 50/50 situation.
CAVUTO: If they don’t, that is, the Democrats don’t hold onto the Senate, something happens where a guaranteed win doesn’t become a guaranteed win, it’s a 51-49 Republican Senate and the House under their control as well, play out the next two years of a Biden administration.
BEVAN: Well, nothing will happen legislatively. Even if Democrats — even if Republicans pass something through the House, use reconciliation to pass it through the Senate, Joe Biden is going to be sitting there for the next two years with a veto pen.
And so Republicans will be in the same situation Democrats are in, in terms of having majorities that are so slim as to be unmanageable. Where the action will come, though, in the House is certainly on oversight. You have some Republicans talking about impeachment, if not Biden, someone like Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of DHS.
They will certainly try and curb spending in the House. In the Senate, it’ll be about judges. Mitch McConnell and the Republicans will take back the Judiciary Committee and stop the judges that the Democrats have been putting through. And so it’ll basically be not legislative. It’ll be executive, oversight type thing with Republicans.
CAVUTO: It will be crazy. It will be crazy, to your point.
BEVAN: Yes.
CAVUTO: Tom, thank you so much.
That will do it here.
Here comes “THE FIVE.”
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