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Trump Claims U.S. has "Authority" to Take Control of Gaza; Hostage Families Urge Israeli PM to Uphold Ceasefire Deal Amid Fears it Will Collapse; Top Trump Allies Question Authority of Courts Blocking His Agenda; Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) Discusses About His Concerns to Elon Musk and DOGE; DOGE Staffer Rehired After Being Fired Over Racist Posts. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 11, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:04]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Executive ambition running up against the rule of law. The White House is moving at lightning speed to transform the federal government, but more judges are saying not so fast.

Plus, claiming authority. President Trump says the U.S. has the right to take over Gaza while relocating the millions of Palestinians who currently live there. He's also reiterating a Saturday deadline for Hamas to release any Israeli hostages and to quote, "let all hell break out if they don't."

And Greenland is still on the President's mind. While the President may want the island nation, does Greenland want anything to do with the United States? CNN's intrepid correspondent, Donie O'Sullivan, went there to find out for himself.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

President Trump pitching his controversial takeover plan for Gaza this afternoon during a meeting today with King Abdullah II of Jordan. The President reiterated his proposal for the U.S. to take control of the Gaza Strip. Trump saying the enclave could be what he calls a diamond for the Middle East and potentially a pathway to peace for the region. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not going to buy anything. We're going to have it and we're going to keep it and we're going to make sure that there's going to be peace and there's not going to be any problem and nobody's going to question it. And we're going to run it very properly and eventually we'll have economic development at a very large scale, maybe the largest scale on that site. And we'll have lots of good things built there, including hotels and office buildings and housing and other things. And we'll make that site into what it should be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, take it under what authority? It is sovereign territory.

TRUMP: Under the U.S. authority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's take you straight to the White House with CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, President Trump also had another stern warning for Hamas.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Boris, he did, and those grand plans there, you heard the President talking about, of course, will meet with the reality of the geography and history of the region. The king of Jordan sitting right there, he was obviously very pleasant and very cordial. He said, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. President.

He did allow the fact that Jordan would take a couple thousand young children who are stricken with cancer from Gaza, but he said the rest of this plan would have to be discussed with Egypt and other partners in the region. So, clearly, this comes one week after the President first made that proclamation at a press conference here at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Washington, and now we are a week later, and the king of Jordan certainly trying to put the brakes on this idea.

But the President was talking about the other unfolding timeline here. The ceasefire plan in the Middle East has been affected by all of this, but he issued a new warning on that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, I have a Saturday deadline, and I don't think they're going to make the deadline, personally. I think they want to play tough guy, but we'll see how tough they are. They either have them out by Saturday at 12 o'clock or all bets are off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, saying all bets are off, yesterday he said, all hell would break loose if the hostages were not released. So, Boris, there is no question the next several days of this week are going to be incredibly important for this ceasefire if it should hold, even as Israeli troops are gathering in the region. So, this is a true challenge for the President that goes far beyond the real estate deal he was talking about there in the Oval Office.

[15:05:03]

But again, sitting there with the king of Jordan, he said, again, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. President. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Jeff Zeleny, live at the White House, thank you so much.

We have to keep in mind that in the middle of all these talks are the 73 remaining hostages, men, women, and children held captive in Gaza for nearly 500 days now. Today, many of their family members are urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to uphold the ceasefire deal amid growing concerns that it will fall apart.

Joining us now is Eylon Keshet. His cousin, Yarden Bibas, was just released by Hamas on February 1st. But Yarden's wife and two small children are still being held in Gaza.

Eylon, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon.

I want to get your reaction to everything that you've heard there from President Trump saying that all hell would break out if Hamas did not comply with the scheduled hostage release on Saturday, and then Benjamin Netanyahu seeming to echo those remarks.

EYLON KESHET, MULTIPLE FAMILY MEMBERS TAKEN HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: Yes, I'm actually very scared about this notion because we've seen how rare and fragile these deals are. It took so long to make another deal after the last deal, and it can so easily fall apart. So, I and my family, we truly believe that we have to keep the deal going. Every party involved, Israel, the intermediaries, Hamas and, of course, the U.S., they must push to keep the hostages on coming back home.

If - and if the war restarts, we don't know how much longer it will be before we can make another deal. And my family and all the rest of the hostages don't have that time.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and to that point, Israeli officials believe that the remaining hostages are in even rougher condition than some of those already released. We actually heard one official tell CNN that they expect worse scenes. What goes through your mind hearing that?

KESHET: It turns my stomach. The last release was very hard to watch, to see their before and after photos. It just looks like something that was taken straight from the Holocaust, like people with their cheekbones very prominent, losing so much weight. I've heard and read that they've been through torture. They were strangled from their feet upside down.

Yarden also talks about that he and Ofer, another one, at the beginning of the captivity, they kept them in a cage below the ground with almost no food, was completely dark, and damp and smelly, and no daylight for so many days. So, you must - everyone must understand that we don't have that time. No one had that time. And I'm afraid of what's coming next, but I know that each day that deal will be delayed, more people will die and more people will lose even more of their mental state and their physical well-being.

SANCHEZ: It's grueling to think about what condition Yarden's wife and those two small kids might be in. I do want to get your thoughts on whether you think the IDF bears any responsibility for this threat from Hamas, because they're blaming Israel, saying that Israel's violated the ceasefire agreement. What do you think?

KESHET: First, I think it's very complicated because both Hamas and some of the Israeli people, it's a very big system. And they are playing the blame game for over 16 months now. So, it's very hard to just point at very specific points and say, this is them, this is the other one, so I don't know. But I do know that it doesn't matter. I mean, it doesn't matter for us, the families. We need to get the innocent people back. Even if Israel makes mistakes, I'm not pro anything that threatened the integrity of the deal, and I'm not pro any mistake or anything that is not - on good faith.

[15:10:03]

But I do need to say that everyone involved needs to understand that a real terrorist organization kidnapped innocent civilians and kept them for over 16 months, and they must go home. It's that simple. It's fragile. We can't just always try to say, they're at fault, they're at fault. It doesn't matter. Our family members will still die if the deal won't continue. So, we must do everything we can to not let it fall and for the war to not restart again.

SANCHEZ: Eylon, when all the hostages are released by Hamas, and we are certainly hopeful that they will be, what do you want to see happen in Gaza?

KESHET: I just want the fastest and best way for peace. I think me and so many other people in Israel, and I'm sure in Gaza as well, just don't want anything that comes from religious fanaticism on both sides to make the war keep going. I just - we just want to live in peace and we want to feel safe. And we don't - and, again, we want to feel secure and defended wherever we are living and this is what I want.

I truly dream of the day that the Middle East will be a place that many people of many different outbringing would live at least in peace and even if not fully cooperating.

SANCHEZ: Sure, a lot of people obviously share that dream with you. I do wonder what you make of Trump saying that the United States should take over Gaza because for a lot of people that support Hamas and for Palestinians that do not want to leave Gaza, that would seem like a rallying cry. That would seem like something that would exacerbate tension. Do you read it that way? Do you think these comments from Trump are helpful?

KESHET: I think that there will be no solution that is one-sided. So, if we try to say this only if Trump says it and it's supposed to be something that, like, you accept it or else it's not going to do good. It must come from conversation and real effort at diplomatic relations. And because, again, we - there is so much hatred from Hamas extremists and other terrorist groups there. And we must be able to neutralize it, so we can have hope to live in peace.

If we continue down - like everyone involved, yes? Both sides, if it's only by military might and by war, I think the cycle will never end and I am really afraid of that.

SANCHEZ: Eylon Keshet, I always appreciate speaking with you. I certainly hope for the best for your family. Thank you for the time.

KESHET: Thank you. SANCHEZ: Still to come, the White House says it has secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher who was imprisoned in Russia. We have new details on his release and what this could potentially mean for a deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Plus, newly discovered documents on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The FBI says that after all these years, these decades, they found thousands of new files in a record search following an executive order from President Trump.

And a bit later, despite Trump's interest in taking control of Greenland, Denmark says the island is not for sale. We visit Greenland to talk to locals and hear what they think about Trump's comments. That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Don't go anywhere.

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[15:18:51]

SANCHEZ: President Trump is stepping up his attacks on the judicial system as his plans to overhaul the government face one legal setback after another. It's a major test of Trump's presidential power, but the question is just how far will he go to exert executive dominance in this battle of the branches?

So far, federal judges have blocked several Trump administration actions, including his efforts to end birthright citizenship, freeze federal funding, cut government agencies and shrink the federal workforce. But Trump claims, despite his Department of Government Efficiency has found billions in waste. Activists and highly political judges are standing in the way.

Trump's comments come as some of his top allies suggest he defy the courts and question their authority in blocking his agenda. Despite, actually, despite criticism of his moves, Donald Trump is standing by his ally, Elon Musk, who's driving much of this push to transform government.

Joining us now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California. He's a member of the Oversight Committee.

Congressman, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

[15:20:02]

You've known Elon Musk for more than a decade. You'd previously praised him, and now you've expressed concerns that he may be overstepping the Constitution. I wonder, fundamentally, what you think he's trying to achieve. If he's really on this quest to fix government, or if he's simply manipulating it to his own ends.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, I think he believes that he's going to root out all of the wasteful spending from government. And that's why, initially, I had said, if he has concrete proposals of reducing spending in the Pentagon, which is 56 percent of the budget, then I would work with him.

But he has now crossed the line. He is stopping payments unilaterally. Congress has the power of the purse. And some of the payments that were stopped were for Medicaid. We don't want unelected officials having the power to stop veterans' benefits, Medicaid or other programs that people rely on. And what I've said is, if you have really ideas for cutting government, come to Congress. Show the American people. Force Congress to vote on it.

SANCHEZ: He has rejected that call to come to Congress. You actually missed the first vote to subpoena him, but you've since demanded that he appear. What would you ask Elon Musk if he were to testify before Congress?

KHANNA: I would say, what are the proposals of where you want cuts? Why aren't you starting with the Department of Defense? You're starting with USAID, that's 0.1 percent of the federal budget. Why not start with Department of Defense? That's 56 percent of the budget. And why not make sure that Congress is having up or down votes on these cuts? Will you guarantee that you will not stop payments to any American on Social Security, on Medicaid, on veterans' benefits without the authorization and vote of Congress?

SANCHEZ: Do you think he sees Congress as simply inefficient and what kind of safeguards or accountability might be in place to have oversight over what he's doing?

KHANNA: I do think he sees Congress as inefficient. I get many Americans see Congress as inefficient. But you know what's not efficient? The United States Constitution. That's what's at stake. And you can force up or down votes on Congress. Have the most outlandish spending, wasteful spending that you've discovered, and force Congress to vote on it.

I acknowledge that there's wasteful spending. I agree that we need to root it out. But you have to vote in Congress on it. Congress has a lot of power. We - they're going to need our votes to increase the debt ceiling. They're going to need our votes in terms of keeping government open. And I believe that our leaders need to demand that anything Congress authorizes and appropriates will be spent by the executive branch, because millions of Americans are relying on these benefits and services.

SANCHEZ: Largely, Republicans have supported some of these moves from Elon Musk. With Republicans in control of both chambers, is there much Democrats can do, other than call on leaders in Congress to act, to keep him accountable, to place safeguards and oversight on what he's doing?

KHANNA: Well, I have a lot of confidence, actually, in the courts. They haven't been good on women's rights and voting rights, but they have shown in the past that they will uphold the separation of powers. The courts rejected Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. I'm confident that the Supreme Court will affirm Congress as having the power of the purse. Our leaders, the Democrats, have the ability on the debt ceiling, where they're going to need Democratic votes, to say, fine, we will give you the votes, but you need to make sure first there's an ironclad agreement that you're going to spend the money Congress appropriates, especially when we're talking about people's Social Security, when we're talking about Medicaid funding, when we're talking about veterans' benefits, when we're talking about funding for ...

SANCHEZ: Sure.

KHANNA: ... public schools and working-class neighborhoods.

SANCHEZ: Have you gotten any indication of what Musk may target next?

KHANNA: Well, we know that he's targeted USAID, and that is money that is going to prevent kids in Africa from ...

SANCHEZ: Right.

KHANNA: ... dying from malaria and AIDS. We know that he's targeted the Department of Education, where it's funding for decent public schools and working-class neighborhoods. My hope is he'll turn to the Department of Defense, where you have the vast majority of spending and you have five primes that basically are charging billions of dollars in excess, and we'll see what he does there.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it seemed like President Trump certainly wanted him to do that. Congressman, I want to pivot and ask you about something else that Musk tweeted that was actually echoed by Vice President Vance.

[15:25:00]

The Wall Street Journal found a social media account tied to a Doge associate that had posted numerous racist remarks, among them one that I think may hit close to home for you. He wrote, quote, "'Normalize Indian hate.'" You're, of course, the son of Indian immigrants. The staffer resigned and then was rehired, with Musk and Vance arguing that he should be forgiven for those posts. Do you forgive him, Congressman?

KHANNA: Well, as you know, I had an exchange back and forth with the Vice President on this. It's sad to me, because I was born in Philadelphia, I grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in the '70s and '80s, and I never experienced that kind of explicit racism. What I said to the vice president is, okay, he's a 25-year-old kid. He's put, normalize Indian hate. He's put that he wants to repeal the Civil Rights Act that Dr. King fought for on social media.

If you're going to rehire him, ask him to retract those statements and apologize. I didn't think that was asking too much. I was willing to extend grace to give this young man a second chance, but the Vice President sort of unloaded at me, attacked me, said that I disgust him, and he still has not answered whether this person has been rehired and whether he's going to retract those deeply offensive statements. SANCHEZ: We'll see if they express contrition. Congressman Ro Khanna, live on Capitol Hill, thanks so much for being with us.

KHANNA: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, the FBI says it's discovered thousands of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This after decades and decades of insisting we'd seen most, if not all of it. That story next.

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