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USAID In Limbo As Musk Says Trump Signed Off On Shutting Down Agency; Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) On China Hits Back At U.S. With Retaliatory Tariffs; Today: NTSB To Release Data From Black Box Of Black Hawk Helicopter That Collided With Jet. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 04, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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


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[07:31:40]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning -- it should not be a big surprise -- stock futures dipping lower once again, this time after China hit back at the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs. Beijing doing this in response, of course, to President Trump's 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

Thank goodness we've got CNN's Matt Egan here. Those numbers don't look so terrible. They certainly don't look like what we saw 24 hours ago when Mexico and Canada were in the firing -- the line of fire. That has since subsided.

But what is being targeted in China? And when you look at that, how might that affect not just the markets but all of us?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well look, Sara, China is hitting back. Not shocking. Pretty predictable, actually. And yet, this is going to raise some concerns about a broader U.S.-China trade war.

So overnight China laying out their retaliatory tariffs. They said that on February 10 they're going to impose a 15 percent tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas that's coming from the United States, a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and some vehicles.

But that's not all. They're also going to impose new export controls on metals. They're adding two U.S. companies to a sanctions list, including the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. And they're launching this anti-monopoly Google investigation.

So when you put it all together this looks like a relatively measured response from China, right? They could have done more. And yet, this does open the door to a potential tit-for-tat situation because the executive order that President Trump signed the other day includes specific language that says that if China hits back then the president can up the tariffs as well.

So this is heating up -- the U.S. and China -- even as the North American trade tension, thankfully, are cooling down, right? With hours to spare yesterday Trump delayed for one month the tariffs on Canada, 25 percent, and the tariffs on Mexico as well. He says he's satisfied with some of the commitments that Canada and Mexico have made, although there is some debate over how groundbreaking those commitments are.

The Wall Street Journal put out an op-ed where they said that "Trump blinked --

SIDNER: Yeah.

EGAN: -- on the North American tariffs." And they said that "None of this means the tariffs are some genius power play." They said that the tax -- this "...25 percent border tax could return in a month if Mr. Trump is in the wrong mood, or if he doesn't like something the foreign leaders have said or done."

So look, Sara, clearly tariff man is back, right? The tariffs are dialed up, they're dialed down, they're paused, they're ramped up. So much chaos and confusion for consumers, for investors, and CEOs.

SIDNER: The market hates tariffs.

EGAN: Oh, the market hates that --

SIDNER: Yeah.

EGAN: -- completely.

So when it comes to consumers, and Americans consumers in particular, when you see things like oil and coal -- I mean, we're talking about energy prices potentially. What could they experience with this?

EGAN: Yeah. Look, even the president has acknowledged that there could be some pain from this trade battle. We've heard that from economists and trade experts again and again.

Now, to put a finer point on it, the Pearson Institute put out some new research where they said that the typical family is going to get hit by $1,200 per year. This is from the tariffs that were just imposed on China and the ones that could come in a month on Canada and on Mexico.

[07:35:00]

And look, the less money you make the more you're going to feel this. This research finds that if you are in the bottom 20 percent of earners this is going to eat up about three percent of your paycheck. If you're living paycheck to paycheck that is something you're going to notice. Much less -- just barely one percent of the top 20 percent of earners. And if you're in the top one percent you're not even going to notice this at all.

So just another reminder here, right? I mean, people are still hurting from high prices at --

SIDNER: Right. EGAN: -- the grocery store, rent --

SIDNER: A similar number.

EGAN: -- insurance. This could add insult to injury.

SIDNER: It is going to get rough if it doesn't get sorted out, Matt Egan.

EGAN: Yeah.

SIDNER: I think the other countries, like China and Mexico -- especially Mexico and Canada -- thinking with friends like this who needs enemies? Like, at this point, economically, this is a big deal.

EGAN: It is.

SIDNER: Matt Egan, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: I really appreciate it -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. New this morning the fate of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) hangs in the balance or maybe even beyond the balance this morning.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he is the acting head of the agency where thousands of workers have been told to stay home, and countless programs are on ice.

Let's get to CNN's Jennifer Hansler at the State Department. You've done great reporting on all this. Is it clear what's next?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well John, it's not clear what's next, but what is clear is it is already having an impact on the aid industry here in the United States and abroad, and that means American workers. These workers were already reeling from the impact of that foreign aid freeze that the administration put into effect less than two weeks ago, and now they are bracing for potentially more impact if the U.S. Agency for International Development is shuttered.

One person told me that people are already losing their jobs left and right because this foreign aid freeze that was put in effect did not only just pause future work it also immediately stopped a lot of existing work -- and it stopped the payment out to these organizations, to these contractors that employ hundreds if not thousands of workers.

And people might not know that these workers are based here in the United States. One D.C. trade association, according to a source, reports that its members have up to $350 million in unpaid bills, and that has forced them to furlough some 2,000 staffers.

And the impact of this is expected to get worse if USAID is abolished. People expect significant reductions in the workforce there if this happens.

I want to read you a quote from Dany Bahar who is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development who said, "You're talking about thousands of people here and abroad, American companies that what they do is implement USAID programs. A lot of the money from USAID is helping foreign countries grow and develop stronger commercial ties with the U.S."

So people are bracing for continued fallout, continued ripple effects not only from that foreign aid freeze but for the potential abolition of this independent agency, John.

BERMAN: And Jennifer, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio just left for meetings with El Salvador and there were some, I don't know, interesting or unusual offers made by the El Salvadoran leader.

HANSLER: Well that's right, John. Rubio said that El Salvador had agreed to this -- what he called unprecedented agreement where they would house not only deportees from any nationality but also violent U.S. criminals. Rubio praised this potential agreement.

And the El Salvadoran President Bukele posted that they would take them for a small fee, which "...would be relatively low for the U.S. but significant for us, making our entire prison system sustainable."

But there are questions, John, if this is even legal to deport U.S. citizens to another country.

BERMAN: All right, yeah. Hard to understand how that would work legally.

Jennifer Hansler at the State Department. Thank you for your reporting this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): To my friends who are upset I would say with respect call somebody who cares. They better get used to this. It's USAID today. It's going to be the Department of Education tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is Republican Sen. John Kennedy speaking yesterday.

And this morning The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the president's team is weighing new executive orders to move toward completely dismantling the Department of Education. And sources also tell CNN the department put dozens of employees on paid leave this past Friday.

CNN's Rene Marsh has much more of this reporting, joining us from Washington. What are you learning Rene about these moves against the Department of Education?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, good morning.

Yes. At least 75 employees -- career employees at the Department of Education have been placed on paid administrative leave, and that is according to the union that represents career employees at the Education Department. And that number is a lowball number -- an estimate -- because it does not include employees who are also impacted but are not union members.

Now, many of them learned via email and then their work email accounts had been suspended. We do know that they will be paid for an indefinite period of time.

The Department of Education in a statement to CNN said that they are "...evaluating the staffing in line with the commitment to prioritizing meaningful learning ahead of divisive ideology in schools and putting student outcomes above special interests."

[07:40:08]

In other words, they're linking the latest round of employee purges to DEI.

But the union says that the job roles of employees placed on leave had nothing to do with DEI. One employee worked in a grant office. Another worked on integrating AI with education. Another was an attorney who dealt with discrimination complaints.

And the common denominator that these employees had were that they all attended this two-day training for diversity, equity, and inclusion that was required for managers and strongly encouraged for others during the first Trump administration. And then they did a refresher course under the Biden administration.

You know, I spent the evening speaking to several of these employees, many of them who have been at the agency for decades. Within the group there are veterans. Others have spouses who also work in the federal government. So this is certainly a time where the agency, as one put it, is paralyzed at this moment and they are certainly not serving the mission that they have for the American public, and they're just afraid of what's to come, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Rene, thank you so much for the reporting -- John.

BERMAN: All right. With us now is Congressman Pat Ryan, a Democrat from New York. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.

I want to go back to the tariffs if I can for just a moment because a lot has happened over the last 24 hours. And I want to read you two competing accounts of what happened, right?

The Wall Street Journal editorial board -- their headline was "Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs." "The president pauses after minor concessions from Canada and Mexico." But Karoline Leavitt, who is the White House press secretary -- her view is "Canada is bending the knee, just like Mexico."

So which is it?

REP. PAT RYAN (D-NY): Thanks for having me.

I mean, you said a lot happened. If you zoom out, at least with Canada and Mexico, very little happened. I actually in a rare moment agree with The Wall Street Journal that Trump got rolled here. The supposed wins that he's trumpeting, and his press secretary is trumpeting were already in place. I mean, you guys have reported on this as well. These were agreed to in the previous administration.

What gets lost in this is the impact on the American people, especially on the China tariffs you were reporting on earlier in an earlier segment. It's really important.

Look, my constituents -- the number one -- number one, two, and three concern of folks in the Hudson Valley of New York is affordability. Tariffs will undoubtedly drive up costs. You shared some of those numbers earlier. And people are living paycheck to paycheck.

This is the opposite of what Trump ran on and what the American people want. And my job is to stand up and fight against that and remind people whether it's going after agencies or introducing tariffs, these aren't theoretical things. These are going to hurt the American people, and that should piss us all off. And I think we're starting to see the American people in a very patriotic way say no way.

BERMAN: All right. What should piss you all off?

RYAN: That the President of the United States in a pursuit of power for himself and more wealth for the folks in the front row of his swearing in, which are the richest people in the world, is hurting everybody else. Hurting the American people -- blustering and making threats, sowing chaos and division all while he's allowing the most powerful and rich person in the history of the world, Elon Musk, to have access to our personal, private data in an unprecedented, unconstitutional way. And we need to be out there talking about that but connecting it to everybody's lived lives and the financial pressure this is going to put on us.

BERMAN: So you say we need to be out there talking about it. I assume you're talking about Democrats. Because people have come to you over the last weeks and months because you're in a swing district in New York and you outran Vice President Harris by, what, like 11 points there. So people are asking you how'd you do it? How'd you do it? What's the way? And you've been talking about elites. What do you mean exactly?

RYAN: I mean, Elon Musk, who no one elected, having more power than cabinet appointees, literally being seated in front of them. And President Trump chose to put his own -- these ultrawealthy donors that he's now beholden to ahead of his own cabinet, which is confirmed constitutionally by the Senate. And that's going to be harmful to the American people. That's not just something that should theoretically bother us; it's going to hurt people's lives.

And I think that we have to be clear. When there are villains, we have to talk about them -- and I think at this point that is Mr. Musk. And we have to talk about heroes, which are the American people.

And so when you said who should be talking about this it's not just Democrats. Every American who believes in our Constitution and the values that I risked my life in combat 27 months to defend should be out there regardless of party. This is a moment -- and we saw this in the first Trump administration -- where we will see a broader coalition stand up and say this is not who we are as a country.

[07:45:00]

BERMAN: Do you think -- and I -- there you say it's more than just Democrats. Do you think House Democrats have found their footing?

RYAN: I think we need to show the urgency.

Certainly for me it's been very urgent calling out specific impacts on my constituents. For example, just over the weekend the VA hospital in my district, which I also go to as a veteran, announced they're closing 20 beds of inpatient veteran health care beds for those struggling with addiction and mental health because of the Trump hiring freeze. That's outrageous and it's also, by the way, exactly what they outlined in Project 2025, as is going after all these other agencies.

And we need to call that out but make it real and talk about these local impacts.

BERMAN: On that note -- and we're going to talk about this a little bit later, too -- but Waffle House just announced they're putting a 50-cent per egg surcharge on their menu. And a lot of this has to do with the bird flu outbreak and the fact that egg prices have gone up because of that. But I can think of a time a year and a half ago where a 50-cent surcharge on eggs from Waffle House would have been 24-hour headlines --

RYAN: Right.

BERMAN: -- on a certain news network.

RYAN: Well, and regardless of what the headlines are, the lived experience of my constituents and the American people is they're being further and further harmed, whether you're trying to buy food for yourself or you're a small business owner.

My favorite diner in the district -- I was talking about -- with the owner about how harmful the rising cost of specifically eggs have been. And these tariffs will only make that worse, and any business owner knows that.

And so it almost defies just the logic of normal Americans that this is what he's doing, and we have to call that out.

BERMAN: Congressman Pat Ryan from New York. Great to see you.

RYAN: Thanks.

BERMAN: Thanks for coming in.

RYAN: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: Sara.

SIDNER: As John and the congressman were just talking about back from the dead, more than 20 years later, "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" could be returning to TV. Who will and who won't be back next year?

That's not what they were talking about. They were talking about eggs but that went away. And so I caused confusion. You're welcome.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:51:50]

BOLDUAN: Today investigators with the NTSB -- the National Transportation Safety Board -- are expected to release new data from the Army helicopter involved in the deadly midair collision near Washington's Reagan Airport. Investigators have been analyzing the helicopter's so-called black box since it was retrieved from the Potomac River, and we could learn more from that today.

Also, the recovery operation in the Potomac continues this morning. The first pieces of wreckage were removed yesterday, and divers are also working to remove the last bodies from the water of the 67 people who were killed in that tragedy.

CNN's Gabe Cohen is at Reagan National Airport following all of the latest moves in this investigation. What are you learning, Gabe?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kate, let's talk about that helicopter black box for a moment because hopefully it is giving investigators the flight data and voice recordings that they need to get a much clearer picture of what exactly was going on on that Black Hawk just before this crash and hopefully, answer some of the big questions that we still have.

For example, we know that the early data from the black boxes on the jet indicate that the crash happened at an altitude of about 325 feet. That is well above the 200-foot limit for helicopters along that route on the Potomac. Investigators are going to want to know why that helicopter was flying so high.

We also know that on air traffic audio from the night of the crash you can hear the pilots on the Black Hawk give a verbal confirmation to the tower that they can see that American Airlines flight and that they planned to pass behind it. And yet, we can see the crash with seemingly little evasive action.

So it begs the question were they looking at lights on a different aircraft? What exactly was the source of confusion there? Kate, we do not know at this point but those are the types of answers that investigators may get from flight data and voice recordings on that black box. And we also know that investigators have been gathering a lot more radar data because they want to make sure that the air traffic controllers who were in the tower the night of the crash were actually getting the altitude of the helicopter in real time as this happened.

So clearly, a lot of pieces are still coming into place and hoping we get an update from investigators on all of those strands a little bit later today.

BOLDUAN: And Gabe, some of the reporting you brought to us yesterday was that the -- they were bringing in this big -- that massive crane we're showing pictures of to start taking some of the wreckage out of the water -- removing it from the water.

What's the latest on that effort?

COHEN: Yeah. So that crane is just behind me out in the Potomac a few thousand feet. They started this salvage operation yesterday. They removed one of the jet's engines as well as a large, jagged piece of the fuselage. They are expecting to be able to remove the jet's cockpit a little bit later today. So they have made quite a bit of progress.

[07:55:00]

The goal is not just removing the wreckage, it is also finding the 12 of the 67 victims who have not yet been identified and recovered. We know that 67 people died in this crash and families right now, Kate, are grieving, planning funerals.

We heard from Andy Beyer, a father and husband in Virginia who lost his daughter Brielle, 12 years old, and his wife Justyna in the crash. Here is what he told our colleague Kaitlan Collins last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY BEYER, LOST WIFE AND DAUGHTER IN D.C. PLANE CRASH: I go through these moments of, like, extreme, like, sadness and tears. And then I get flat and numb. And, you know -- and then I feel guilty that I'm not just crying all the time, you know. But it's just -- it's just been hard.

They deserve to be remembered. They deserve to have their story known to the world. I mean, everyone dies, right, and they live on in -- through our memories. And I want people to have a memory of them so that they live on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And Kate, I spoke over the phone to Andy Beyer yesterday. He has a young son, I believe 6 years old, as well.

So these families are juggling the grief that they're feeling and taking care of other loved ones. We saw this powerful moment on Sunday where a large group of them gathered at the end of the runway at the wreckage site. They're feeling so much Kate and still waiting for answers on the investigation, as we all are.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, absolutely. It's so tragic.

Gabe, thank you so much for your continued reporting on this -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, as we just noted, a new major surcharge at Waffle House. The popular restaurant chain says each egg ordered will now cost an extra 50 cents. Waffle House says the nation's ongoing egg shortage caused by the bird flu is behind the temporary price hike. Egg prices jumped after a resurgence of the virus killed millions of egg-laying hens last month.

This morning Gerber is pulling its "Soothe 'n' Chew" teething sticks from stores after numerous complaints that young children were choking on them. One baby ended up in the E.R. The teething sticks were sold online and across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The recall covers the strawberry, apple, and banana flavors. Consumers can return them for a refund.

So big news this morning for vampires and those who seek to vanquish them. A reboot of "BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER" is said to be in the works. The Hollywood Reporter reports the new Buffy will focus on a new slayer. Original star Sarah Michelle Gellar reportedly will also appear in the reboot. The rumored Hulu project is described as the next chapter in the Buffy-verse. No word yet on when that next chapter of the Buffy-verse will launch, Sara.

SIDNER: I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure you are too, John Berman.

BERMAN: Yes, very much.

SIDNER: All right. We are standing by for a critical White House meeting later today between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting will be Trump's first in-person sit- down with a foreign leader this term and the stakes are incredibly high with the Gaza ceasefire right now in the balance.

CNN's global affairs analyst Kim Dozier is joining us now with her expertise. Thank you so much for coming in this morning for us.

What, if anything, do you expect to come out of this meeting when it comes to Gaza and the fragile ceasefire and hostage release that we are now seeing?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, outwardly, President Trump has said some things that would make Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu very pleased. He has hinted that he wouldn't mind an expansion of Israel's territory into the West Bank. He has said openly -- he's called for Palestinians to be essentially expelled from Gaza while the place is rebuilt and taken in by Egypt and Jordan, which both of them have rejected.

But the tensions will lie in the fact that Netanyahu believes that the war has to continue in Gaza. Trump wants it over with so he can switch to an expansion of the Abraham Accords between, for instance, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

SIDNER: Yeah. Look, every modern president before Donald Trump has tried to usher in or at least back the idea of a two-state solution, which has been the United States' policy on Israel and the Palestinian territories.

And you just mentioned in his own words Trump said look, Israel's a pretty small piece of land, and he hinted that he wouldn't object to Israel taking over the West Bank.

Is the two-state solution dead with Netanyahu at the helm in Israel and if the U.S. and Donald Trump no longer makes a two-state solution its policy?

DOZIER: It could be if not for Saudi Arabia sticking to the two-state solution as the only way it will move forward with any sort of rapprochement Israel. So Trump is going to have to get educated about that. Netanyahu is going to come in with some compelling stories of how the hostages have been treated.

Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy, has been spending time on the ground with hostage families.