Oregon Democratic Governor Ordered Troopers To Track Down Republican State Lawmakers
WHITFIELD: Today the Trump administration once again is refusing to acknowledge that climate change is a real threat. This morning Vice President Mike Pence dodged CNN's Jake Tapper about the idea of a human induced climate emergency.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you think it's a threat manmade climate emergency is a threat?</s>MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the answer to that is going to be based upon the science.</s>TAPPER: Well, the science says yes. I'm asking you what you think.</s>PENCE: Well, there's many in the science --</s>TAPPER: The science community in your own administration at NOAA, at the DNI, they all say it's a threat. But you won't for some reason.</s>PENCE: Look. What we have said is that we are not going to raise utility rates. Remember what President Obama said?</s>TAPPER: But it's not a threat.</s>PENCE: He said his climate change plans. He said it is necessarily going to cause utility rates to skyrocket and that would force us into these green technologies. Now you have Democrats all running for president that are running on a green new deal that would break this economy --</s>TAPPER: So you don't think it's a threat is what I'm saying? You don't think it is a threat.</s>PENCE: I think we are making great progress reducing carbon emissions. America has the cleanest air and water in the world.</s>TAPPER: It's not true. We don't have the cleanest air and water in the world.</s>WHITFIELD: Meantime, the Oregon state legislature canceled its Saturday session so police could investigate threats made during a stalemate between the state's Democrats and Republicans over a climate bill. CNN affiliate KOIN reports the cancellation comes over concerns of militia groups gathering at the state capital. Republican lawmakers who oppose a climate bill abandoned their responsibilities to vote and left the state of Oregon. And the Democratic governor ordered state police to round them up. Here is CNN's Sara Sidner.</s>SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. This is wild. But the governor so frustrated with the fact that the Republican senators have decided to keep their promise and walk out stopping all business inside of the capitol. She has decided to send the state police after them.</s>PETER COURTNEY (D), OREGON STATE SENATE: I am asking at the highest law enforcement branch in the state of Oregon go out and find my fellow legislators.</s>SIDNER (voice-over): Politics have gotten so ugly in Oregon the Democratic governor has now ordered troopers to track down Republican state lawmakers.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are rogue. They need to get back. They need to do their jobs.</s>SIDNER: It all came to a head Wednesday with the warning from the governor saying she contacted state police after Republican senator said they would walk out of the legislature to block a vote on a landmark climate bill aimed at dramatically lowering greenhouse gas emissions.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any of you are offended, that's fine.</s>SIDNER: One of those senators responded to the governor's warning with a threat of his own.</s>RYAN BOQUIST (R), OREGON STATE SENATE: This is what I told the superintendent. Send come heavily armed. I'm not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It is that simple.</s>SIDNER: Thursday all 11 Republicans made good on the promise to walk out attacking the Senate president before leaving.</s>BOQUIST: We are at the 11th hour. If you don't think these boots are for walking, you are flat wrong, Mr. President. And you send the state police to get me, hell is coming for you personally.</s>SIDNER: The governor followed through as well in an extraordinary move last night, she ordered the state police to bring them back to work. It is an extraordinary move, would you agree?</s>GOV. KATE BROWN (D), OREGON: Absolutely. But I would also argue that the challenges we face as a state and a nation around tackling climate change also require extraordinary circumstances.</s>SIDNER: The wife of one of the Republican senators told CNN the senators went out of state to Idaho.</s>BROWN: This is an embarrassment to the state of Oregon.</s>SIDNER: The underlying reason for the standoff, Democrats have a super majority, which means they can pass legislation without a vote from a single Republican. But in order to do any of the people's business they need at least two Republican senators to be in attendance for a quorum. State police say they will politely ask senators to return and accompany them if need be. But if they can't find two senators to agree they would need permission from their superintendents to use handcuffs.</s>SIDNER: The legislation session here ends on June 30th. If they cannot convince two Republican senators to show up here to the capitol it means that all of the people's work will not be finished. But the governor has promised if that happens she will call for a special session -- Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: Sara Sidner, thank you so much. All right. Still ahead, a hot air balloon crashes into a crowd of people right there sending dozens of people diving out of harm's way. So how did this happen?