writes the simple truth is we don t know yet anywhere near enough about omicron to make such judgments or to impose such policies. the hype that s been created currently out there in the media and worldwide, doesn t correlate with the clinical picture. south africa can health officials say the u.s. and europe have been hasty in banning travel from their region. today united nations secretary general antonio gutierrez joint that criticism with especially strong words. we have the instruments to have safe travel. let s use those instruments to avoid this kind of allow me to say travel appetite. president biden has said the omicron variant is cause for concern but not panic. well, critics of mandates and travel restrictions say government should follow the same advice. bret? bret: more on this with the
looms if there is not quick action in congress. congressional correspondent chad pergram is on all of that from capitol hill with an update. good evening, chad. we have seen fiscal cliffs before. but lawmakers appear to be getting dangerously close to a shutdown this time. that s right, bret. the house doesn t even have a bill yet. there is no agreement on how long a short-term bill should last. but the problem is the senate. some conservatives want to slow down the bill over vaccine mandates. our military service members deserve the right to make this medical decision for themselves. without the threat of losing the ability to care for themselves and provide for their families. the house freedom caucus asked senate minority leader mitch mcconnell to, block, timely passage of the spending bill unless it defunds vaccine mandates. but most g.o.p. members disagree with lee. no. no. there s no appetite, nor should there be on either side of the
even though just this week 3 different federal judges have paused biden backed mandates, skeptical they are legal. there are court cases right now, something that the department of justice is fighting. the new variant arrives just ahead of the holidays as president biden tries to deal with a covid-crimped supply chain. now, i can t promise that every person will get every gift they want on time. only santa claus can keep that promise. new travel bans are in place for eight african countries and more could follow. president trump instituted the travel restrictions was a real shock to european allies. are you committed to are you committed. unlike trump i don t shock our allies. tomorrow the president is expected to announce stricter rules even for vaccinated americans. the policy may have a huge loophole. have you advised the president about the possibility of new testing requirements for people coming into this country? does that include everybody?
states actually did have laws that addressed abortion. it was never recognized as a right. so i think we need to go back to that constitutional understanding and say the states do have the ability to make that decision and that s where the popular opinion will play out and if that s what people want to see, that s what those states laws are going to look like. bret: carrie, elizabeth, we appreciate your time tonight, it s a controversial, emotional issue. we appreciate you analyzing it. we will see what the justices do. thanks. thanks. bret: now to other top story a traveler who came to southern california from south africa tested positive for the omicron variant the first official case inside the u.s. the experts believe the new variant may have already been here as it now has surfaced in more than 20 countries. the news comes at a time in which president biden is facing judicial resistance over some of his pandemic-related policies and mandates. white house correspondent peter