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Trump Speaks at National Prayer Breakfast; Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) is Interviewed about Gaza; CIA Sends Unclassified Email to the White House; Job Seekers Struggle to Find Work. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 06, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Moments ago, President Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast. What he said about faith, foreign air traffic control and tinted windows.

The CIA turns over a list of employees to the White House in an unclassified document. Concerns among some that this puts them at risk, not just for their jobs, but maybe their lives.

And Elon Musk's team sets its sights on weather forecasts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What will happen to the life-saving weather warnings that so many depend upon?

I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning, President Trump speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast and promising to build a new high-tech system for air traffic controllers following last week's deadly mid-air collision that took 67 lives. He admitted that in his own private plane he is using a technical system from a foreign country because ours is, quote, "terrible."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We should have had the proper control. We should have had better equipment. We don't. We have obsolete equipment. They were understaffed for whatever reason. I guess the helicopter was high. And we'll find out exactly what happened.

Because we're all going to sit down and do a great, computerized system for our control towers. Brand new. Not pieced together, obsolete, like it is land-based. Trying to hook up a land-based system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You see him there acknowledging the staffing issues. And this is the final day that federal workers have to take a buyout

and voluntarily resign or be fired. So far at least 40,000 people have signed up to leave.

Trump, as you might remember, fired the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard and disbanded the Aviation Security Advisory Committee.

CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House with more on the president's message this morning.

Alayna, it was a bit of a mixed bag, and there were some very, let's say, interesting comments that he made during this Prayer Breakfast.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. And also for the beginning of it, Sara, he really stayed on message. You could see that he was reading from his prepared remarks.

What was interesting too is he repeatedly called for unity. It actually reminded me of what he was trying to do at the speech that he gave at the Republican National Convention over the summer after that assassination attempt on his life, where he tried to talk about wanting to bring both sides together. He did reference that assassination attempt in his speech, partly because we know, and I know this from my conversations with several people close to the president, that he feels like he is even more religious now because of that. He said, while reflecting on that to the crowd, that he believes in God, but he feels, quote, "much more strongly about it," while speaking today.

I do want you to take a listen, though, to some of the rhetoric he was using about how he believes Democrats and Republicans need to come together, and then I'll discuss it more with you on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we have to make religion a much more important factor now. We have to make it an important factor. And if we do that, it's going to be - our job is just going to be much easier. It unifies people. It brings people together. Democrats are going to be able to have lunch again and dinner with Republicans.

You have to get together. We really have to get together. We all know what's right and what's wrong. And there's going to be compromise on both sides. But we have to just do the right thing and we have to get together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now. Sara, there, as you heard him saying that, you know, Democrats and Republicans need to be able to have dinner together. They need to be able to meet together.

Of course, it's, you know, just having covered the president's campaign throughout the last two years, covering him for several years, though, this is in opposition to some of the rhetoric we know he uses to kind of be more divisive about Democrats and Republicans. But this speech really was much more unifying and trying to kind of set the tone, of course, the environment and the atmosphere was the National Prayer Breakfast.

[09:05:07]

Something that presidents have done going back to its founding by former President Eisenhower.

And so, this is something that I think, you know, he was trying to set the tone for the mood today, talking about unity and reflecting back on what happened to him in July.

Sara.

SIDNER: There was a few, though, shocking comments that - that may not be taken so lightly when he compared the plane crash in D.C. to two golf balls hitting each other, and how rare that would be. So, I'm sure there is going to be some fallout from some of the things that he said.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Sara.

Any moment now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be arriving to Capitol Hill. And just last night, the Israeli leader made clear that he is backing President Trump's proposal to, quote, take over Gaza, saying that Donald Trump's plan was a remarkable idea.

CNN's Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill tracking this one for us.

There is a lot going on, on Capitol Hill this morning, Lauren. What's expected with this one today?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, we expect that Netanyahu is going to meet both with John Thune, the Republican Senate GOP leader, as well as Speaker Mike Johnson. And, you know, one of the things that I think is really interesting going into this set of meetings is the question around what exactly is Trump intending to do in Gaza?

And, you know, I've seen publicly Republican senators and GOP leaders trying to downplay these comments, trying to argue that, you know, this is just an idea that Donald Trump is floating. But privately, we do know that yesterday, during a closed Republican lunch, Steve Witkoff, who is the envoy to the Middle East, did face a lot of questions from Republican senators who wanted to know answers. I mean what does this plan mean for U.S. troops? What does this plan mean for dealing with Palestinians who already live in Gaza? What does this plan mean for U.S. taxpayer dollars?

You know, following this lunch, John Kennedy, a Republican from the state of Louisiana, said in his natural lifetime, in my natural lifetime, he was never going to be voting to make sure that U.S. taxpayer dollars were going to rebuild Gaza. So, I think that that is one area where you can expect that there is going to be a lot of questions in these private meetings. But, obviously, this is an opportunity for Republican lawmakers who now control both the House and the Senate to have conversations with Benjamin Netanyahu, given some of the rocky relationship in the past between the Biden administration and Netanyahu.

BOLDUAN: Lauren, thank you so much, as always.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: With us now is Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

How much would you be willing to pay for Gaza?

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Well, I think what the president is saying is, first of all, you've got bomb disposal that has to be taken care of. America has some of the best bomb disposal privateers in the world. Our construction engineers are the best. Our electricians are the best. I think we could get in there and rebuild that and maybe offer those folks there a little better life.

Currently right now some of them don't have water. And the reason they don't have water is because the terrorists dig up - they take the pipes and turn them into missiles and shoot them back at Israel. That's a known fact.

So, I think a lot of things need to happen. I think what President Trump is saying, it's not going to be an American territory. I believe he's saying, let American capitalists get in there and turn that - that area around.

BERMAN: Well, he wasn't talking just about bomb disposal. He was talking about a long-term ownership position. Those were his exact words two days ago. And this morning, just a short time ago, he said, "the Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States." Turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion.

BURCHETT: Well, yes.

BERMAN: I'm just asking you, how much of the U.S. budget do you think should be devoted to that?

BURCHETT: Again, if y'all want me to talk, I will. But that - what he was saying, in my opinion, was that Americans possibly have ownership in it, just like the Chinese have ownership in farm property in this country and vital property near our military installations. I don't hear anybody raising Cain about that. We ought to have the same opportunity there as the Chinese have in this country, and that's plenty. And I believe if capitalism took over over there, and maybe democracy, you would see a change. But what we're doing right now is not working. It hasn't worked since

biblical times. And we know that. So, maybe we could try something a little new and get a different - a different answer.

BERMAN: I hear what you're saying. Would you be willing to commit U.S. taxpayer dollars to ownership of parts of Gaza?

BURCHETT: We're in over 30 countries right now, and I dare say most - most congressmen couldn't find them - find some of those countries on the globe. I don't - I don't want our military over there. I don't want boots on the ground. That gets our people killed and gets into another conflict, which we don't need to be in and we can't afford.

I think, again, if American entrepreneurs want to invest over there, I think it's a great opportunity, and I think it could turn that area around for those folks over there and get rid of some of their worthless leadership because the leaders of Gaza are not in Gaza, they're in Qatar and other areas.

[09:10:06]

They're billionaires. And those people there are living without just essentials. And they continue to do that. They continue to preach hate. They don't want change because if you get change, they're out of power.

BERMAN: What would -

BURCHETT: And that young man - go ahead.

BERMAN: I'm sorry, what would you do with the Palestinians who don't want to leave Gaza?

BURCHETT: I'd let them stay there. Let them - maybe they would become entrepreneurs. Maybe we could - we could offer them opportunities in a - in a job market instead of just being cannon fodder for a bunch of old, rich billionaires that continue to stay in power because they're - they continue to be funded. And this gives them an opportunity at something a little better in life, I think.

BERMAN: And, Donald Trump, the president, continues to talk about relocating Palestinians in Gaza. He mentioned Jordan. He mentioned Saudi Arabia. Do you think the United States, would you be willing to accept some Palestinians relocated from Gaza?

BURCHETT: We already have Palestinians in America. And some of them are the finest people that I know. They live in Knoxville, Tennessee, and they're wonderful Americans. If they want to assimilate and become Americans, but if they don't, if they want to bring terrorism and hatred and things like that in this country, I don't think we should.

But we have a pretty good record with - with Palestinians, at least in - in - in Tennessee. So I - I - I welcome them.

BERMAN: So - so you would add the U.S. to the list, along with Jordan and Egypt, that the president is talking about in terms of relocation. BURCHETT: If they had sponsors, if these people were not - if they

weren't terrorists, if they weren't were - who - yes, that - for destruction of our country, yes. But that's the problem you're going to have. There's a pretty good litmus test that they should follow. And unfortunately, we haven't been doing that in the past. I mean, we have 14 million people in our country. We don't know where they are. We have - we have members of the Taliban. We have Chinese communist spies working out of the capital. I mean, you know, we've got these people all over the place. We need to provide a legitimate litmus test for those folks.

BERMAN: So, Congressman, I want to ask about some statements you made in various interviews and help us to understand what you've been saying. You've been talking - you've been talking about extraterrestrial life on planet earth. One of the things you said in an interview, you talked about a conversation you had with a U.S. admiral. "They tell me something's moving at hundreds of miles an hour underwater, as large as a football field, underwater. This was a documented case and I have an admiral telling me this stuff."

What do you believe exists on earth in terms of extraterrestrial life? And what have you seen proof of?

BURCHETT: Well, there's some things I've seen proof of that I can't discuss. And I've - and I've urged the White House to disclose these things. You know, they - they can spend hundreds of millions of dollars researching something, and now they're - and then you have one group telling us they don't exist. And I have the best pilots in the world telling me, Tim, this thing was 14 feet from my canopy and he went right - and he did this.

And I, you know, I've seen things that I wish the public could see. There's just a lot of unknowns. And again, they tell us they don't exist, but then they issue redacted reports and they're still studying every - almost every one of our alphabet agencies has - has that. And we had testimony that said they have a recovery unit. Now, what are they recovering? I'd like to know. It's our tax dollars. We have a right to know. And when - when government thinks that we're - we're - we can't handle what's going on out there, that's when government's gotten a little too big, and we need to cut their wings off.

And right now they're spending - our Pentagon has got all this dark money. You have the alphabet agency studying these things. One group will tell you they exist, the other one don't - doesn't. I just think it's time that we have total disclosure. And you all in the press ought to be for transparency and disclosure. I don't see a problem with that.

BERMAN: I - look, I'm all for transparency and disclosure. If - if you know something about extraterrestrial life, I wish you'd tell me.

Representative Tim Burchett, thank you for being here with us this morning. I appreciate the discussion.

Sara. SIDNER: All right, an unclassified email sent to the White House

listing the names of people hired by the CIA over the last two years. Top Democrats calling it a risk to those workers, potentially a risk to their lives and to national security. All right, that story is ahead.

Also, the NOAA provides life-saving information to Americans during severe weather. We're talking hurricanes, tornadoes, you name it. But now Elon Musk has that agency in his sights for cuts.

Plus, get this, a former HR executive making over $200,000 a year is now working as a bathroom attendant after a whole year of hunting for a job. But with news headlines boasting a very strong job market, why is it still so tough for some to find good work? Those stories ahead.

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BOLDUAN: An absolute unnecessary counterintelligence risk. That is the warning today from one top Democrat, as the concern is growing over the national security threat just triggered potentially by a new move from the White House. The move is this, ordering the CIA to send an unclassified email. And inside that email, the first name and last initial of every CIA staffer hired in the last two years. And the CIA complied. The fear now is, well, foreign hackers and new threats against Americans in the United States and overseas.

CNN's Zach Cohen has much more reporting on this. He's back with us.

Zach, what's the latest on this?

[09:20:01]

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Kate, the CIA sent this list of names to the White House as part of its broader effort to comply with Donald Trump's executive order to downsize the federal workforce. And look, this - what's really unusual and unorthodox is, is about the way that they transmitted this information, these names, the first names and last initial of these employees. Employees who are relatively new hires have worked at the CIA for two years or less. It includes anyone from analysts, to people that are in their training program, to eventually go undercover and be deployed to various hotspots around the world.

But look, the CIA is an agency that prioritizes and puts a premium on secrecy, and that's what is prompting concerns that sending this information via an unclassified email could put those individuals at risk. Foreign adversaries, we know, have consistently tried to target these unclassified email systems. OPM, the Office of Professional Management, the one where - that received this list of names, has specifically been targeted by several foreign adversaries in the past.

So, you know, Democrats and our sources are really raising concerns that this could have a really significant national security impact, as well as an impact on the professional and careers of these individuals. One source was describing that the risk could be so great that the CIA may decide that it's not willing to send these people overseas as a result of these names potentially being disclosed. So, all this really swirling.

Take a listen to what Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, had to say when he was asked about this news just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Certainly the ones that are operational, the case officers who are operating in very, very dangerous places around the world, they are living undercover. If they are discovered, and especially those that don't have diplomatic immunity, I mentioned them earlier, you know, it can - it can be curtains for them.

It's just not that hard to convey classified information from one government department to the other. So, we've put a lot of people needlessly at risk here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, the CIA saying it's just doing what Trump directed them to do, trying to comply with this executive order. Himes, obviously, and other national security officials said that this was an unnecessary counterintelligence risk.

BOLDUAN: Zach Cohen, thank you for that reporting.

John.

BERMAN: All right, quote, it's impossible to unbreak the egg. New concerns over the privacy of U.S. citizens as Elon Musk's team gets access to sensitive Treasury information.

And this morning, new lawsuits after the president signed a new executive order banning transgender women from playing in women's sports.

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[09:27:07]

SIDNER: New information in just moments ago, new data shows first time unemployment claims bounced back last week, 219,000 people filed initial claims. That is still a near pre-pandemic level.

That reporting coming as all eyes will be on the first jobs report of 2025, set to release tomorrow. Economists estimate 170,000 jobs were added last month, with the unemployment rate expected to hold at about 4.1 percent.

And while the data might be strong, some people who are looking for work, still struggling to find good jobs.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkovich is joining me now. The job market, as we've seen over time, appears to be fairly solid,

right? But you're looking at some things in a particular case that - that is really stunning because you're hearing from people who are actually experiencing trying to get jobs, and it's not going well.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: No, it's not going well. And on your show all the time we report these robust, strong job numbers.

SIDNER: Yes.

YURKEVICH: But we're seeing under the data that there are more people on long term unemployment. It's taking longer for people to find jobs. There are fewer jobs available, especially in the white collar sector. So, tech jobs, professional business services, we're not seeing hiring in those sectors.

So, I spent the day with a job seeker, a woman in Brooklyn, who talked about the fact that this is the worst jobs market she's ever experienced.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANE EVANS, JOB SEEKER: This is what I'm doing now. In the middle of the week, in the middle of the night, working at a catering hall, and minimum wage and begging for tips. But this is only temporary, right? It's only temporary.

YURKEVICH (voice over): On paper, the jobs market appears strong, but it's getting harder for people out of work to find new jobs, especially those looking for high paying, white collar positions.

Since the end of 2022, the number of people looking for work for more than six months is up by 45 percent.

YURKEVICH: Right now we're on our way into deep Brooklyn to meet with Diane Evans. She's 59 years old. She's been working in the HR industry for 35 years. But about a year ago, she was laid off from her job, where she was making over $200,000 a year. And since then, she's only been able to find one job, that's working at a catering hall as a bathroom attendant.

When you see the headlines, strong numbers, hundreds of thousands of jobs added, what do you think when you see that?

EVANS: That's not the reality that I see. That's not what I'm living.

YURKEVICH: How would you compare this job market to all the other job market cycles that you've been through in your career?

EVANS: I've never seen anything like this. They call it the white collar recession. So, it's like middle management and that kind of level.

I'm just not getting the traction that I think I should get based on the amount of work I'm putting in. [09:30:03]

It's crazy. I've applied to over 1,000 jobs in a year, which is crazy.

YURKEVICH: And what is your success rate out of.