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Millions of Federal Workers Receive Email from Trump Administration with Option to Resign from Their Current Positions; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Testify at Senate Confirmation Hearing for His Health and Human Services Secretary Nomination; Advocacy Group Denounces ICE Raid at Philly Car Wash. Interview with Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). Aired 8-8:30a ET
Aired January 29, 2025 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
DON HAZARD, PARDONED FOR CRIMES COMMITTED ON JANUARY 6: I think they're all guilty of treason.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Do you think there should be retribution.
HAZARD: Most definitely. I think so. I mean, most definitely I think so.
O'SULLIVAN: You've got your dad, granddads, your uncle, all military.
JENNY CUDD, OPENING RETREAT FOR JANUARY 6 RIOTERS: All military. My father-in-law, my cousin.
O'SULLIVAN: So this is the wall of heroes?
CUDD: Yes. And it's growing more and more day by day. And now I'm going to get a giant picture of outside of the U.S. capitol on January 6th, and put that up on the wall of heroes.
O'SULLIVAN: But a lot of people right now would look at the other people you have on this wall, people who were part of January 6th, they'd say, no, they're not heroes. To you they are.
CUDD: Absolutely to me they are, because they were willing to stand up for their country and do what they believed was right. And most of them lost everything. So yes, to me, they're heroes.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A, quote, "predator" who has gone on to lie and cheat his way through life. The searing new plea to senators to reject Robert Kennedy Jr. written by his own family member just hours before he is set to appear on Capitol Hill for his confirmation hearing.
And an accountability measure or a photo op? Newly minted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem defending her decision to pose for photos as she joined an ICE raid in New York.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been trying to find a way out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get you out of here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's get you out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where do I go? But don't lose me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise I won't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We won't lose you. Don't worry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: New footage shows the moment sheriff's deputies found a 100- year-old woman struggling to escape a deadly wildfire in California.
Sara is out. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
All right, breaking overnight, huge moves targeting millions of federal workers and specific retribution targeting one. That one is the retired chair of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley. Overnight, the Pentagon revoked his security clearance and his protective security detail. And the defense secretary launched an investigation into Milley's conduct. Now, Milley has long been a target of President Trump for standing up to him after the insurrection.
As for millions of federal workers, they got an email with the option to resign, a buyout of sorts. But the question is, was it an offer or a threat? Additional questions over whether it's even legal.
Let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House with this email. Millions of federal workers with, I guess, a decision to make.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: That's exactly right. And 2 million federal workers, to be clear. This email that was sent by and from the Office of Personnel Management was sent out to all 2 million federal workers, really offering them this chance at a voluntary buyout. They can quit their jobs and still get paid until September 30th if they choose to do so. However, it's not certain that if they don't choose to do so, that their jobs will be guaranteed that they still have them.
I want to walk you through kind of what I was hearing behind the scenes from Trump administration officials and others at OPM. They argued that, one, they're trying to frame this, really, as a good offramp for employees who maybe work remotely or have flexible schedules and don't want to go back to the office full time as President Donald Trump directed them to do last week. They're saying this could be a good option for that. But again, this was offered to all federal employees.
There are some exceptions, however, a spokesperson at OPM told me. I'll read some of those for you now. They said postal workers, military workers, immigration officials, certain national security employees, as well as any employees that these different agencies deem as necessary, they will not be allowed to take this buyout. But otherwise, everyone else does have that option.
I do want to read for you, though, part of this email that was sent around. It was with the subject line "A fork in the road." This is what it said. It wrote, quote, "At this time we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency, but should your position be eliminated, you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions."
Now, John, these workers, again, were emailed last night, but they have just about a week, a week from tomorrow, really, February 6th, to opt in to this buyout. So not a lot of time for them to make this decision. And one other thing I just want to point out is I said that that subject line on this email was "A fork in the road." That is precisely what the email subject line sent to Twitter employees back in 2022 was when Elon Musk began the process of mass firings there.
[08:05:06]
I am told, as our colleague Jeff Zeleny, that Elon Musk did have a big role in some of this. And this is, of course, something that he talked about extensively while Donald Trump was on the campaign trail, saying that he believes the federal government needs to be reduced.
BERMAN: Yes. I can't imagine the language a coincidence. All right, Alayna, what is the status this morning now that a judge has put a temporarily -- temporary, I should say, hold on the White House plans to block federal aid and funding.
TREENE: Right, well, this has been such an interesting thing that has played out over the course of the last 24 hours or so, because after OPM had sent this guidance on all federal loans and grants being frozen, that came out Monday night, actually, there was widespread confusion over who was included in that, which organizations, which people who get some of this funding have.
Now, of course, they did say there were exceptions. Social Security, Medicare, as well as individuals who rely on this assistance were not included in that. But then there were questions of, what about these other big government agencies? What about food stamps? Et cetera. And again, a lot of confusion.
Now, one thing that was able to stop this, as you mentioned, was just before this was supposed to go into effect, which was last night at 5:00 p.m., a federal judge temporarily blocked it. That is expected to go, kind of play out in the courts on Monday. But this is something that I think a lot of reporters and others throughout the government, really across the nation, are still trying to get more answers on, about how widespread this is and what this actually could mean for the millions of Americans who rely on this type of aid. John? BERMAN: All right, Alayna Treene at the White House, plenty to cover this morning. Thank you so much. Kate?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, all eyes are going to be moving very soon to Capitol Hill for the first of two confirmation hearings for President Trump's pick to head up Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. People have concerns. Why? In part, his lengthy and documented history of pushing conspiracy theories, debunked conspiracy theories about vaccines and infectious disease, even declaring in 2023, Robert F. Kennedy said, that there is no vaccine that is safe and effective. So even Republicans on Capitol Hill have concerns. Now looking for public commitments from him about vaccines and the need for them.
But one top vaccine expert, Dr. Paul Offit, says no matter what RFK Jr. says today to senators that they can't believe him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: He's told you who he is for the last 20 years. He has said again and again he considers no vaccine to be a benefit. He has said again and again that he thinks the polio vaccine killed, in his words, many, many, many more children than it saved. He's told you that he doesn't think HIV is the cause of AIDS. He's told you he thinks that the hepatitis b vaccine doesn't work. He is what he says he's been for the last 20 years. Why are they expecting that when he sits in front of them, he's going to be something different no matter what he says?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: If confirmed, RFK Jr. will oversee 13 public health agencies like the FDA, the CDC, NIH, just to name a few. His own family now is speaking out, saying that senators should reject him for this job.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is tracking this. Sunlen, it's all going to be starting up very soon. What is Kennedy going to face when he heads to the hill this morning?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is going to face, Kate, a brutal round of questioning. This is going to be a contentious confirmation hearing, two days of hearings ahead of us, one kicking up in the next hour. He is one of the most controversial nominees, and we have heard from many senators on both sides of the aisle concerned about many of his stances, his past views, as you said, on vaccines, spread of disinformation, food safety, agriculture.
And Republican senators specifically really wanting to question and hone in on what exactly is his stance on abortion. Over the last month, Kennedy has been up here on Capitol Hill making the rounds and meeting with senators behind closed doors, trying to shore up support ahead of these hearings. But we have heard from many top Senate Republicans this week that say they are still undecided on how they will vote, still concerned. So that's certainly a red flag for the administration wanting to get their nominee through. Now, adding to this mix is the fact that they have this razor thin
majority here in the Senate. Kennedy can only afford to lose three Senate Republicans, assuming that all Senate Democrats vote against his nomination, his confirmation, I should say. So that is just underscoring how much pressure is on him in this moment to perform. And notably, as you mentioned, we heard from his cousin Caroline Kennedy, really, with that scathing letter and video testimonial saying that he is not only predatory, his troubling behavior, but saying that he lacks any relevant background for this position.
[08:10:03]
Certainly, those strong words coming from a family member, and she urged the committee, Kate, to vote against his nomination. So certainly a lot of attention on him this morning.
BOLDUAN: Sunlen, thank you so much for setting us up. John?
BERMAN: All right, with us now, CNN political commentator Scott Jennings and Paul Begala. And Scott, Robert Kennedy is different than some of these other nominees that have gone before the Senate for Donald Trump. What do you think his chances are?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think he's over the line yet. I do think there's some undecided people. He is different. First of all, he's a Democrat, and this is a Republican controlled Senate. And he has espoused very liberal views on some core, fundamental issues for Republicans in the past, such as abortion, gun rights. So I suspect he's going to get some questions about that. And when he goes to the table under oath, I'll be interested to hear what promises he makes. The vaccine topic is going to be asked. Certainly, Senator Cassidy has questions about that. So he has work to do.
On the political other hand, I think he's the most popular appointee of Donald Trump right now, the most popular nominee. He's the most well-known. The Kennedy name still carries quite a cachet in this country. And the focus on health, just the overall idea of asking questions about why we're so unhealthy, whose fault is it, who can we hold accountable, and what can we do about it? This has a massive constituency, as does some of the things he says about the pharmaceutical industry. So he's not without political assets and political momentum as he goes into a questionable situation.
BERMAN: Paul, given some of the things he said in the past about vaccines, what do you anticipate today? And where do you think the Democrats and Republicans, because, look, Senator Cassidy and others have questions to, where they should focus?
PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I mean, he's certainly not a Democrat. Just let's get that straight. He left the Democratic Party a long time ago. I think he kind of left planet earth a long time ago. But, he had. And look, I feel sorry for him. He had a brain eating worm in his head. And the worm died of starvation. So there's just not a lot of material up there, I guess, because he has criticized the HPV vaccine, which has saved countless people from cervical cancer. Criticized polio vaccine, criticized, in fact, even Mr. Trump's COVID vaccine which was wonderfully effective.
He's got a real problem, a serious problem. And it's a political one. The Republicans are on that committee, its true, but you're right, Bill Cassidy. He's burdened with a medical degree. So he actually knows stuff. He knows a lot more than Bobby Kennedy, believe me, about the practice of medicine. Other members of that committee, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who already voted against Pete Hegseth, doesn't mean they'll vote against Mr. Kennedy, but they seem to actually be concerned about public health. This is -- you couldn't pick a worse choice.
And Caroline Kennedy, I mean, this is his own cousin, who is, by the way, a diplomat, a very serious, sober woman. And that letter is the most scathing and heartbreaking thing I think I've ever read.
BERMAN: Just one more question, Scott, on Kennedy before we move on. Given the things he has said, he has said out loud about vaccines, if he goes back on them or tries to explain them away, is it just going to get memory, hold all these things?
JENNINGS: Well, he'll be under oath, and he'll have a chance to explain how he arrived at his views, and we'll have to see if that's persuasive. I don't know that it necessarily will be for everybody on that committee, as Paul just mentioned. There are some really skeptical people on there.
I will say this. Trust in the public health regime in this country is very low right now. People are very unhappy coming out of COVID. And he is tapping into something with his views on that, plus his views on our overall national health. It has a real constituency, and I would not underestimate the popular sort of push to get him over the line from people who are not typically engaged in our public affairs, but have latched on to him as somebody who they see is pushing back against a public health regime that failed, lied to us, what have you.
BERMAN: All right, let's listen to Karoline Leavitt, the new White House press secretary, speaking.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- private details for the rest of their lives. Again, taxpayers are funding it. And the individuals you're mentioning are quite wealthy, I understand, so they can get their own private security if they wish.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a couple questions just about the freeze on federal loans and grants. What will that report, what will the report and review process look like when it goes to OMB for review? And also, now that a federal judge has temporarily blocked it, what are the plans moving forward on that? Because it seems like that Q&A memo that was released yesterday as well was trying to kind of explain a lot of the widespread confusion that a lot of these different organizations who rely on that funding had. So I'm just on both of those questions.
LEAVITT: Yes. Well, that's why the Q&A was released, so that there is no confusion. There's no confusion within this building. I know there is, again, amongst the media and those who don't seem to just be able to read a memo and take it for what it is. It's very clear, this is a temporary pause on federal funding to ensure that tax dollars are not funding things that this president has signed out of law. So the Green New Deal, DEI, et cetera.
[08:15:36]
As I said repeatedly yesterday, and I would like to double down on the fact that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, which I'd like to be clear on that today, welfare benefits, individual assistance, food stamps, et cetera will not be impacted.
So, the American people should not be confused about this and in fact, they should be grateful that this administration is actually valuing their hard-earned tax dollars.
REPORTER: What about the federal -- what is the response, though, to the federal judges' temporary block on this -- that's expected to play out in court on Monday. What are your guys plans regarding that and also just going back to the review process, what does that look like?
LEAVITT: Everything this administration does is within the confines of the law. And so, we're prepared to fight this battle in court.
REPORTER: Karoline -- tell us about -- how about --
REPORTER: Thank you Karoline for stopping --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: All right, that was the new White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, her first briefing yesterday. We heard her at the beginning talking about the decision to revoke the security clearance and the security detail for former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Mark Milley. That has also been done to John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Brian Hook.
Back with us, Paul Begala and Scott Jennings. Let's focus on Mark Milley for a second, the former Chair of the Joint Chiefs, Paul. You woke up, as we all did this morning to this news that these actions have been taken against him in addition to an inspector general investigation.
BEGALA: Well, it's a massive betrayal of our National Security. It is a betrayal of General Milley.
General Milley was put in the position of our top military officer by Donald Trump, right? He served honorably. He served 44 years in military. He is a hero.
And I mean, Special Forces, 101st Airborne, 10th Mountain Division. This guy is a hero. He's an American hero.
Donald Trump, you know, less illustrious military record, even called our heroic war dead at Arlington Cemetery and in Europe, where they died for our freedom, suckers and losers. Now, that's what's going on here and Mr. Trump is taking away security detail that General Milley needs because General Milley carried out Trump's order. I think a very wise order to take out Qasem Soleimani, the worst terrorist in the world, the head of the Quds Force in the Iran National or the IRGC, their terrorist operation.
Soleimani was one of the great sponsors of terrorists in the world, one of the worst. Milley and Bolton were part of the team under Trump who took him out. They need that security. And what's going to happen the next time? Well, the next time, Trump tells someone, I think rightly, to take out a terrorist. They're going to think, well, I might be a civilian, just walking into a grocery store and these terrorists could come and get me. So, it's a terrible betrayal.
BERMAN: The chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee now, Tom Cotton, Scott, thinks it's a bad idea. He thinks that they needed this security. Mike Pompeo, Brian Hook, John Bolton, and I assume General Milley as well.
JENNINGS: Yes, I think a number of things can be true here. I'm worried for these people because they're clearly under threat. I would hope that the president might review the intelligence and understand that our enemies would love to kill American officials who did what Paul just said, which is take out a terrible terrorist. So, that concerns me greatly.
I'm not as worried about the security clearance stuff. I agree with Paul that Milley had a storied career. I also agree that he did say and perhaps do some interesting, if not questionable things regarding chain of command in our country's relationship with China and his relationship vis-a-vis the commander in chief at the conclusion of the administration, that's probably worth exploring, and so, I don't think that incident should go without notice.
But regarding their personal safety, I agree with what some of the senators have said, that if these people are facing active threats from our enemies, I mean, it would be a terrible blackeye to the United States if something were to happen to them.
BERMAN: All right, Scott Jennings, Paul Begala, a lot going on here. We have a lot more to discuss. But moving on -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Yes, moving on.
Coming up for us, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, on the ground and in the middle of immigration raids. What makes these operations different? We have new reporting.
And we also have a new interview JonBenet Ramsey's father, the evidence that he is now hoping could finally solve the cold case murder of his daughter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:23:19] BOLDUAN: I want to show you some new video coming in this morning showing immigration officers detaining workers during a raid at a Philadelphia car wash. It's one of many operations that we continue to see playing out in cities across the country.
The newly minted Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem she joined ICE raids that happened in New York. Noem was on the ground in the midst of it, posting pictures and commentary as law enforcement arrested a man accused of being the ringleader of a Venezuelan gang.
Now, in an interview with CBS, Noem was asked about what we know is an attempt to generate media attention around these ICE operations. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJOR GARRETT, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Some would say you want this spectacle to be filmed.
KRISTI NOEM, US HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It is not a spectacle. This is our nation's law enforcement judicial process. The scales of justice are equally applied to everybody. We want transparency on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: ICE reports it made nearly a thousand arrests in raids Tuesday.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRICILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: White House Deputy Chief-of-Staff Stephen Miller telling CNN on Tuesday that he expects interior arrests of undocumented immigrants to ramp up in the days and weeks to come.
When asked about quotas set for ICE field offices, at least 75 arrests per day, Stephen Miller saying that that was, "the floor, not a ceiling." Take a listen.
STEPHEN MILLER, DEPUTY CHIEF-OF-STAFF OR POLICY AND HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: So first of all, the numbers you cited are a floor, not a ceiling, very importantly, they're a floor. The goal is to arrest at least that many, but hopefully many more and the Department of Justice is going to be closely involved in providing the manpower to help achieve those objectives, as laid out in the president's executive order.
Yes, ICE is absolutely prioritizing terrorists, public safety threats and national security threats.
[08:25:10]
ALVAREZ: Now, that would suggest a dramatic uptick of arrests of undocumented immigrants in the days and weeks to come. Now, Stephen Miller, maintaining that they are prioritizing those arrests, but anecdotes have already been surfacing of some undocumented immigrants who appear not to have criminal records, who were also swept up over the course of these enforcement operations.
Of course, Trump officials have said that they are targeting public safety and National Security threats, but have left on the table that others could be picked up along the way.
Now, the Democratic Mayors Association is pushing back. In a letter, the president of the Democratic Mayors Association telling mayors the following that, "The first days of this administration have been tumultuous" and has called the raids a charade.
And this, as Democratic mayors across the country continue to brace for additional enforcement operations in their cities, as they also grapple with fear in the immigrant community.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Joining us right now to talk more about this is Democratic congresswoman from New York, Nydia Velazquez. Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming in.
I want to talk about what we know is has played out just this week. Is this high ranking member of a Venezuelan gang picked up in New York City, arrested in the Bronx, wanted for multiple serious crimes. This is when the new DHS secretary was also on the ground.
Look, everyone wants a guy like that off the street. How do you put this in the context of, you know, that is a good thing, right? I mean, what do you see in these operations?
REP. NYDIA VELAZQUEZ (D-NY): Well, look. We support removing criminals. Those who have an active warrant to be deported -- to be arrested and deported. And this has happened under the Obama administration. It has happened under the Biden administration and now under this administration.
But let me make it clear, 90 percent of immigrants do not have criminal records. Only of the minority that do have a criminal record, basically are for traffic violations.
And, in terms of Mr. Homan saying that this is about safety and safer communities. Let's be clear. When he's talking about going into schools, hospitals, churches and other sensitive places, these places have been considered safe havens because we don't want people to avoid seeking critical services.
Imagine if we are facing another pandemic and people are so afraid of going into a hospital seeking health services. This is not the right way to do it. And he is wrong. That is exactly what is happening now. Parents are afraid to send their children to school. People are afraid to go into churches. Doctors are worried about how to protect their patients and people are really afraid. Terrorizing community is not public safety.
BOLDUAN: I wanted to ask you, what are you specifically hearing from your constituents since these operations have begun to play out? We've heard from the border czar Tom Homan, saying that the priority is to first go after criminals, people with violent criminal past. We saw that with that picking up of that Venezuelan gang member. Are you seeing -- are you hearing from your constituents that others are being caught up in it as well? What are you hearing from constituents specifically?
VELAZQUEZ: Well, they are terrified. I had a meeting in my office in Queens, and people are asking me, you know, what assurances we have about sending the kids to the schools? They are really terrified. So, you see, what Trump and his allies are doing, they may frame their claims around crime, drugs and cartels, but it is clear that the mass deportation agenda will target millions of people who have no criminal records and this is not good for this community, the immigrant community, and by the way, they are even arresting American citizens like the Puerto Rican veteran in New Jersey and then yesterday, a family in Wisconsin.
So, this is an attempt to implement a mass deportation with total disregard of the status of those people that they are arresting.
[08:30:30]