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Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) Says He Plans to Greet Trump on Tarmac in L.A.; Senate Votes Tonight to Confirm Hegseth as Defense Secretary; How Trump's Proposed Tariffs Could Affect Canada, Mexico. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired January 24, 2025 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump about to set off on the first trip of his new term, disaster zones in North Carolina and California. And just in, a report about a White House invitation to maybe the last person you would think the president would invite, someone he has said should be in jail.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Pete Hegseth's nomination is on the line, and the Senate is set to have its say with the final vote tonight. Will Republicans get Trump's pick for defense secretary over the line? Two Republicans have come out against Hegseth and now details of a $50,000 payment that's sparking new questions.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And the Bills mafia taking a break from smashing tables ahead of their AFC Championship game Sunday to support the player whose mistake helped them get there in the first place.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: This morning we are standing by for President Trump to leave the White House for his first trip in this new term. First, he'll travel to Asheville, North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene washed away entire roads and businesses. He campaigned in the area right after the storm there. Then the president will fly to Los Angeles, where the fire situation is still active and still extremely dangerous.

Now, the president has threatened to withhold federal aid in California and has repeatedly attacked the state's governor. Overnight though, Governor Newsom, Gavin Newsom, tried to strike conciliatory tone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I look forward to being there on the tarmac to thank the president, welcome him and we're making sure that all the resources he needs for a successful briefing are provided to him.

I certainly plan on being there at the tarmac and look forward to continuing to work not just with him, the administration. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, there's that, and we just learned that President Trump actually invited a man he has trashed for years to travel along. California Senator Adam Schiff, he asked him to travel along to visit California's disaster zones today.

Schiff's office conveyed the senator's regrets that he is unable to join the president in Los Angeles due to scheduled nomination votes.

Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene, live at the White House. Look, I didn't have an invitation to Adam Schiff on the bingo card for Donald Trump.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, I was just as surprised when I learned this, when I spoke to a spokesperson in Adam Schiff's office, and they had confirmed that Donald Trump did invite him, that he couldn't come today because of votes. I was just as shocked as you, especially when you consider Just a couple days ago, John, remember, Donald Trump brought Adam Schiff up and called him scum from behind the Resolute Desk while talking to reporters in the Oval Office.

And so, look, it's very clear that people are trying to make this about the communities that have been affected, those in Asheville, where he is going to visit first today in North Carolina, and then later, of course, in Los Angeles that has been ravaged by these wildfires.

When I talked to one White House official, they said, look, Donald Trump does want to appear more stately. You know, he is president now and the goal is to keep the focus on the communities, even though, and this is what the advisor told me, that the attacks are justified, this White House official's words.

Now, I will add as well that it is unclear whether or not Donald Trump is going to meet with California Governor Gavin Newsom, someone he has also used derogatory words to describe and has criticized his response to the handling of the wildfires. As you showed earlier, Newsom said that he plans to meet him on the tarmac. But when I talked to the White House last night, they said it's still unclear if the two will actually meet today.

But, look, this is something Donald Trump has talked about, both of these visits, for a very long time. He has heavily criticized the handling from local officials and specifically Democratic leaders in these states for the recovery efforts and also what they have done to better prepare these cities for these types of disasters.

Now, we also have heard Donald Trump talk a lot about FEMA and their role in this. There could be some sort of announcement today about having FEMA, I'm told, streamline some of the process that resources can be provided to these states and how they do that, so all things that we should watch for.

But, again, this is something Donald Trump has been wanting to do for a long time. [07:05:01]

And I think it's really a question of whether we will see him continue to kind of issue these sharp attacks against some of these leaders, like Schiff, like Newsom, or if he will appear, as the White House official told me, kind of more stately for these visits. John?

BERMAN: Sometimes the goal does not line up with the results, and we should get our first chance to see how this might go when the president departs the White House today, where he may very well likely speak to cameras.

Alayna Treene, great to have you there. Thanks so much for that report. Kate?

BOLDUAN: As we're standing by for that, there's also relief and new danger out in California this morning and already devastated. Los Angeles is facing down a new threat of potential landslides. Rain is in the forecast for the weekend, and that is good news. They need it as firefighters are still battling fires. But if they get too much rain at one time, it could do more harm than good.

Officials say more than 250,000 sandbags have been positioned in flood prone areas already. All of this work comes as fire crews are facing two new fires burning now in San Diego County.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is in Altadena with much more on this. What is the very latest that you're hearing about the fires and now this new threat?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. Yes, look, the Hughes fire, which has burned more than 10,000 acres just in the 48 hours since it began. It triggered the evacuation of 16,000 residents, another almost 40,000 put under evacuation warnings.

Look, there is also these two new fires you mentioned in San Diego. There is good news. There is some rain coming this weekend and the fires are largely under control. The red flags -- red flag warnings are about to expire this morning around 10:00 A.M. local time, but the rain is bringing new concerns. It could bring yet another type of devastation to this area and local officials are preparing, but they're warning that there could be another catastrophe. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA DERDERIAN, SPOKESPERSON, CITY OF PASADENA: This fire burned two feet into the root system on these foothills. There's nothing left holding the soil in place. So, even one drop of rain will come down seven times faster than it typically would have prior to this fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so if these rains come a little heavier than expected, Kate, in these areas, it could be catastrophic, both mud and debris flowing through this. Also, all of the toxic materials that we have here in Altadena that have been warnings for people to not touch it. With the rain, that's an extra concern that we could see. The cleanup efforts are just beginning here.

And so this could bring another hurdle for this community and just hoping that the rain doesn't come too hard and doesn't bring even more sorrow. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much. The president headed there, and Sara coming in hot.

SIDNER: I had to rush over here for a lot of reasons, Kate. It's Friday, friend.

BOLDUAN: I needed you. I needed you on a Friday morning, Sara.

SIDNER: It's Friday and I need help. Thank you so much.

Ahead, will Pete Hegseth's $50,000 payout to a woman who accused him of sexual assault ultimately cost him a job of defense secretary? The Senate set to vote on his nomination today.

Plus, President Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship slapped down by a federal court, but the battle may not be over.

And pandamonium, I hate myself, we've got something for your dopamine coming up in just a bit, cuteness alert.

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[07:10:00]

SIDNER: Tonight, the full Senate set to vote on President Trump's controversial pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth. Republicans can only afford to lose three members of the vote. They've already lost two, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.

Overnight, CNN uncovered new information about a $50,000 payment Hegseth made. It was part of a confidentiality agreement to a woman who alleges he sexually assaulted her. Hegseth, though, has repeatedly denied that allegation.

CNN's Manu Raju has a story for us.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pete Hegseth well on his way to becoming the next secretary of defense after a weeks-long battle in the aftermath of Donald Trump naming him shortly after the election to be his next secretary of defense that blindsided Republicans and Democrats alike.

Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host, a military veteran, someone not known -- someone who doesn't simply does not have the experience to manage an organization like this, catapulting to this hugely important position,

Republicans fell in line. They said that he is the right person with the right mindset to shake up the Defense Department and his line with Donald Trump. They gave deference to the president's decision for this critical national security position.

But Democrats in particular raised concerns about his character. They raised concerns about his judgment, about whether he could actually manage this sprawling and hugely critical agency, and as well as these allegations of misconduct, including allegations of sexual assault.

Now, he has denied allegations of sexual assault, allegations of excessive drinking, allegations of womanizing. We did learn, though, in correspondence with the Senate Armed Services Committee, he provided $50,000 to a woman who accused him in 2017 of sexual assault.

[07:15:04]

They reached a nondisclosure agreement, and Hegseth testified he reached that nondisclosure agreement because he did not want this woman to go public with, he says, false allegations that could hurt his career. His attorney told us about that $50,000 settlement. He said it would cost more to fight this in court, which is why they decided to settle it.

Now, that does not seem to change Hegseth's trajectory. He is still expected to be confirmed tonight on a simple majority vote after the vote occurred on Thursday afternoon to advance his nomination and break a Democratic filibuster. That vote, 51 to 49, all Democrats voted against Hegseth, that included also two Republicans joined Democrats. All of the 51 votes in the affirmative were Republicans. Those two opponents who were on the GOP side, Senators Lisa Murkowski Senator Susan Collins, two moderate members who have often broke with their party.

And this issue, they raised similar concerns as Democrats about his temperament, about his character, about whether he could do the job. They raised concerns about his past comments, criticizing having women in combat. Hegseth since walked that back. Collins did not believe his walk back and believe that his comments recently that he opposed women in the military were very concerning to her. And Murkowski, in particular, raised questions about his character.

But given the fact that this is a 53-47 GOP-controlled Senate, in order for Hegseth's nomination to stall, it would require four Republicans to break ranks. Only two Republicans broke ranks, which means Hegseth is going to be confirmed on one of the narrowest majorities for a nomination, a post that often is supported by big bipartisan majorities, but be given a controversy over this pick. That is why this was such a close vote. But Hegseth is poised to get his job, get this critical job tonight.

BERMAN: Our thanks to Manu for that.

So, new reporting this morning that President Trump's tariff plans could plunge the entire continent into a recession.

And a song that was thought to be lost forever has now been found. Tina Turner, like you have quite literally never heard her before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:20:00]

BERMAN: We got new reporting this morning on the impact that President Trump's proposed tariffs threat not just on the U.S. economy, but the entire continent.

CNN's Matt Egan is here with some new reporting on this, Matt, what have you uncovered?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, John, we're just about a week away from President Trump's threatened February one tariffs on Mexico and on Canada. And, look, this would be a risky gamble for the president. These are two of our closest neighbors, biggest trading partners, and economists say that this 25 percent tariff, if it happens, would plunge both Mexico and Canada into recessions, particularly devastating for Mexico, because their economy relies on selling cars and appliances and food to the United States, and that this trouble could spill over into the U. S in the form of slower growth here, also potentially more illegal border crossings into the U.S from Mexico, that these two countries would almost definitely retaliate by putting tariffs on stuff that made in America and that this could lift consumer prices for Americans and potentially cost cause the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer. So, there's a whole series of potential impacts here.

The problem is that these economies, right, they're three different countries, but their supply chains are really closely connected. They depend on each other. President Trump has argued that we don't need the cars and the lumber and the oil. But the analysts who look at this stuff, they say otherwise. Just look at the car industry in particular. The average car part crosses the border multiple times before it ends up in a dealership here in America.

And so analysts have said that these tariffs would be devastating, causing the average car sold in the U.S. to get $3,000 more expensive. And also Canada, it's the biggest source of foreign oil into the United States. Gas Buddy has said that if these tariffs go into effect, you could see gas prices in the Great Lakes region go up by up to $0.50. Midwest and Rockies by up to $0.30 a gallon.

So, really, when you take a step back and think about it, these tariffs could really undermine a number of Trump's promises, right, at the border, the cost of living, mortgage rates, gas prices. And so that's why people on Wall Street, they're a little bit skeptical. They think that Trump might be bluffing here and that he's not going to actually impose these tariffs.

BERMAN: The economies are so intertwined. These analysts feel that there is a risk of a boomerang effect, that anything you do to them come back and hurt you here.

EGAN: Exactly.

BERMAN: People who have covered Donald Trump's finances in business plays for years say, what's happened the last two weeks is like nothing they've ever seen in terms of these meme coins. EGAN: Right. Listen, the President and the First Lady jumping head first into the crypto space and not just any part of crypto, right? Meme coins are sort of like the Wild West of the Wild West, and it's raising all of these concerns about conflicts of interest and other issues here. Even some people in the crypto industry were taken aback when the president launched this meme coin just days before entering office.

Some lawmakers are also sounding the alarm. Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Jake Auchincloss, where they say that anyone, including the leaders of hostile nations can covertly buy these coins, raising the specter of uninhibited and untraceable foreign influence over the president of the United States.

And that's not to mention the conflict of interest issues here, right, because the president was elected with a lot of support from the crypto industry.

[07:25:02]

He promised to take a lighter regulatory touch. Just yesterday, the White House put out a new executive order that, among other things, creates this working group to study crypto. They're reviewing all the regulations. They're even studying the creation of a national stockpile.

So, John, look, I think that this is just the beginning of the congressional oversight we're going to see on this particular meme coin issue because it just raises so many questions.

BERMAN: Yes, it does. All right, Matt Egan, great to see you. Thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All will be revealed, full stop. No, that is what President Trump said when signing yet another executive order, this one to release the files related to the assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK Jr. Why he says this is all about transparency.

And new details about the fate of the hostages set to be released by Hamas in the coming weeks. Four more hostages expected to be released tomorrow.

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