Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Pentagon Plans to Remove Transgender Service Members; Trump, UK PM Starmer to Meet at WH for Critical Talks on Ukraine; Child in West Texas is First U.S. Measles Death in a Decade; Weekly Jobless Claims Jump to 242k, More Than Expected; Mass Firing as Trump Admin, DOGE Work to Reshape Government. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired February 27, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:03]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get over to CNN's Natasha Bertrand. She's got much more on this for us.

Natasha, what is the latest on this? What are you learning here?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, the Pentagon laid out its policy regarding transgender service members in this court filing on Wednesday night. And while it is pretty sweeping, it does have a few exceptions, including if there is, quote, "a compelling government interest" that directly supports warfighting capabilities and if the individual is willing to adhere to all standards, quote, "associated with the applicant's sex."

Now, a service member will also be able to be retained if they demonstrate, quote, "36 consecutive months of stability" in their sex with no, quote, "clinically significant distress" or impairment and if they can prove that they have, quote, "never attempted to transition" to any sex other than their own and if they are willing to adhere to, quote, "all applicable standards" relating to their sex.

But even with those exceptions, this policy is far stricter than the transgender ban that was implemented during Trump's first term. Under that ban, troops who had joined before the policy took effect could be grandfathered in, basically, and continue serving.

But the policy made public on Wednesday directed that service members being separated under this new policy will be considered non- deployable until they are removed from service. And the policy adds that, quote, "the department only recognizes two sexes, male and female. An individual's sex is immutable, unchanging during a person's life. All service members will only serve in accordance with their sex."

Now, to give you a sense of how many people this could impact, as of 2018, there were roughly 14,000 transgender troops serving. And one service member, Air Force Master Sergeant Logan Ireland, who has served openly as trans for about a decade, said on Wednesday that removing trans troops would, quote, "create significant operational gaps that could take over a decade to fill, undermining the readiness and effectiveness of the armed forces."

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Natasha, thank you so much for the update.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you.

Major questions this morning on the future of Ukraine, as well as the U.S. relationship with Europe. As British Prime Minister Keir Starmer comes to the White House. In just a few hours, Starmer expecting to meet with Trump, hoping to win Trump over when it comes to security guarantees for Ukraine.

With me now is Max Bergmann, Director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Thank you so much for joining us. I just want to sort of look at the big picture here. Judging from the past U.S. policy with Russia, can you fathom that a U.S. ally has to push a U.S. president away from a friendly relationship with former KGB operative turned President Vladimir Putin?

MAX BERGMANN, DIRECTOR OF EUROPE, RUSSIA, & EURASIA PROGRAM, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, it's -- it's quite a stunning reversal. You know, the -- the Russians, the Soviet Union has been probably our main adversary over the last hundred years. There's been a brief gaps in that during World War Two and during the 1990s. But Russia has been America's major adversary. And I think what the U.K. is trying to do is, in some ways, to be the bridge between the U.S. and Ukraine, also the U.S. and Europe.

Yesterday, Donald Trump said that the European Union, something that we really helped create after World War Two, was our adversary. So I think this is going to be a very tricky meeting for Keir Starmer.

SIDNER: Let me ask you what you keep touting with Ukraine, although Ukraine's president says they just have a framework. Trump says the deal is all in all done. What -- what does this mean?

BERGMANN: Frankly, I don't think it means very much. I think in some ways it's more of a symbolic deal. It's -- it's essentially a deal on paper. Right now, the -- the minerals that this deal would -- would -- would capture aren't out of the ground. Ukraine would have to the mines would have to be built in Ukraine that can take more than a decade. And you're not going to start building those mines until the fighting stops.

I think Ukraine initially offered this this deal to the Trump administration, hoping it would entice the Trump administration to keep providing military support to Ukraine. That didn't work. And I think the Ukrainians, once the Trump administration really turned the screws on them, decided this there wasn't enough there to really fight, fight about and push back on the United States. SIDNER: We're just now hearing this from Putin. Putin saying they have that they've taken from Ukraine and that they're not -- that is a non- negotiable. Trump has dismissed the idea of U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine. So what is there left for Trump to push Putin to do?

BERGMANN: Well, I think one of the bizarre aspects of this negotiation is that the United States has given away a lot of the things that it could offer Russia, such as diplomatic acknowledgement and recognition. We've already sat down with the Russians in Saudi Arabia. And the United States has indicated that it's not going to support Ukraine militarily going forward.

[08:35:06]

I think the only way to really bring Putin to the table is by force. And I would have recommended that the U.S. keep providing military aid to Ukraine, demonstrate to Putin that he cannot win this war on the battlefield. And unfortunately now, I think he thinks he either can win it on the battlefield or get a ceasefire that essentially weakens Ukraine, prevents Ukraine from getting military aid, prevents European forces from being in Ukraine. And all the while, Russia just builds up its forces as it prepares for what would be round three of this war. This is round two. And Putin in a few years would go again. And Ukrainians know that. And that's why they're simply not going to agree to a bad deal for them.

SIDNER: All right. So ultimately, do you think a peace agreement can even happen without the United States?

BERGMANN: Actually, I think it can. I think in some ways we're making ourselves fairly irrelevant in the entire conflict, because once you stop providing military aid with the destruction of USAID, we've already stopped providing economic and development assistance to Ukraine. Ukraine was the largest recipient of our development aid.

So, you know, we don't have that much leverage now over the Ukrainians. And as for Russia, Russia and the U.S. could strike a deal. But there is this thing called Europe. They have resources. We've been wanting them to step up and do more. And they have in response to this war. And they have the resources to ensure that Ukraine doesn't lose the war and can continue fighting. And I think that's what they're going to do.

So actually, I think the way I see this progressing is the United States sort of sidelines itself, alienates us from Europe and Ukraine. And the Europeans and Ukrainians eventually have to sit down with the Russians to negotiate something. But that's not going to be, I think, for a very long while.

SIDNER: That is quite a thing to say, that the United States is making itself smaller on the world stage. But that is what you say is happening. Max Bergmann, thank you so much. I really appreciate you this morning.

All right. Fired federal workers are speaking out about how these mass layoffs are impacting the work they used to do and the real impact on their lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:41:59]

BOLDUAN: So this morning, a tragic milestone in the ongoing measles outbreak. The first U.S. death from measles since 2015 has now been reported, according to a Lubbock, Texas spokesperson. This death was a school aged child who had been hospitalized with measles and was not vaccinated.

This outbreak is also still growing. The case count in Texas has now risen to 124 confirmed measles cases, up 34 from just last week.

Joining me right now is Dr. Peter Hotez, Co-Director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital.

It's good to see you again, Doctor.

Here is what the limited amount of information that we know about the patient who died. School-aged child was already in the hospital for measles and was unvaccinated. Knowing that and knowing little more, what are the questions that you have right now? And what does this moment signify?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT AT TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Well, you know, the first reaction, of course, is what a horrible tragedy. I mean, this is a school-aged kid. This child did not have to die. This -- the measles vaccine, the MMR vaccine, a single dose, 90% protective against measles, two doses, 97%.

Measles is one of the big killers globally. And the only way to really prevent this is to ensure wide-scale vaccination. Unfortunately, here in Texas, we have a very aggressive anti-vaccine lobby that actually receives PAC money, Political Action Committee money to -- for some of their work. And the consequence is predicted and predictable. We've had very low vaccination rates in many parts of the state, particularly in West Texas. So this started in a Mennonite community. There's no religious prohibitions against vaccination. They just, you know, an anti-vaccine activist groups got to them.

And so it started there. Now it's spreading in other parts of West Texas, where vaccination rates are also low, and now across the border into New Mexico. It may move up into Oklahoma. And this thing still has a lot of momentum behind it. I think we're still in the early stages. And the number -- the official numbers, over 100 are probably a fraction of what's really going on.

You know, some of my colleagues are saying, you know, on the ground, they're saying maybe a couple of hundred, a couple of hundred cases or more. And this is continuing to accelerate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, I mean, literal, the sad, very definition of tip of the iceberg of what we could be looking at if they don't get a handle on this. And in the midst of this, the Health and Human Services Secretary, RFK Jr., he was asked about the outbreak and this death just yesterday. He says they're following the outbreak. And then he said this. Let me play it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year. In this country last year, there were 60. So it's not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.

We're watching it. And there are about 20 people hospitalized, mainly for quarantine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:45:05]

BOLDUAN: So we'll get to the quarantine bit in a second, because that is -- that is inaccurate. But when he dismissed this as not unusual, what's your reaction to that, Doctor?

HOTEZ: Well, the answer is we eliminated measles in the year 2000. But in the last few years, we've seen the spillover of anti-vaccine activism from COVID-19 vaccines, where my estimate is 200,000 Americans needlessly died because they refused to COVID vaccine. They were victims of anti-vaccine activism.

Now, it's spilling over to childhood immunization. So we had a fourfold rise in measles outbreaks from 2023 to 2024. He's right. We had 16 last year. We had four the year before that. And now we already have four in just the first month or so of this year.

So this will continue to accelerate. And by the way, when you look at the numbers of cases, they're rising steeply. You know, we're going to be looking at several hundred kids most likely infected with measles, multiple, multiple hospitalization.

These kids are sick. Remember, 20% of measles cases, if you're unvaccinated, require hospitalizations. And they're not there for quarantine. They're there because this virus, when it gets into the blood, goes to the skin. That's what causes the measles rash. And then around the same time, it can go to the lung and cause measles pneumonia, which is often the cause of serious illness, which requires an ICU admission, sometimes intubation. In the case of this child, this child perished. This child lost his or her life.

It also causes severe dehydration from measles, diarrhea, and the list goes on. Neurologic involvement, hearing loss, sometimes visual loss. And this is an awful, awful infection. And the fact that we've allowed it to come roaring back like this in Texas is just unconscionable. It never had to happen, never should have happened.

BOLDUAN: And on that basic fact that he's completely misstating there, which we then learned that most of them were in the hospital for quarantine, Dr. Lara Johnson, the Chief Medical Officer at Covenant Children's Hospital where this child died, she disagreed with that saying, quote, "We don't hospitalize patients for quarantine purposes." So that is where we are today. Dr. Hotez, thank you very much.

Sara?

SIDNER: Breaking just moments ago, jobless claim numbers are in. It's not good. First time applicants for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week. CNN's Matt Egan is joining me now.

This -- does this show that we're having a little problem here in the labor market?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: It might be. It might be an early sign of stress that is starting to bubble up in the labor market. And we know there could be even more stress coming because the federal government is laying off tens or even hundreds of thousands of workers.

So these new numbers just out show that the number of people filing for first time unemployment benefits rose significantly for the week ending February 22nd. It increased by 22,000 to 242,000. Now, that is more than expected. And it's the highest level in 11 weeks.

Now, I do want to stress that these weekly numbers, they can be a little bit noisy. They can go up and down. So we do need to kind of wait to see how the next few weeks go to see if this is the beginning of a new concerning trend or not. It is a little bit difficult to parse out exactly why claims have moved higher. One thing to note is that the District of Columbia did say that jobless claims there increased. So that could be a sign of some of the beginnings of the layoffs that are taking place as Elon Musk and DOGE try to cut costs there. It's hard to say for sure. We're going to have to wait to see how the next few weeks play out.

There has also been the last two weeks an increase in the number of federal civilian employees who are beginning to request unemployment claims. So, again, that's another thing to watch for. Interesting data point from LinkedIn has found that the number of people who are applying for jobs in the D.C. Baltimore area had increased pretty significantly in the last few months, especially among government workers. Again, some of that could be because there's a change in power. Some of it could be because of all these federal layoffs. And I would just point out, Sara, look, this is not happening in a vacuum. Investors, economists are getting a little bit more concerned about a possible slowdown in the economy. And I don't think today's numbers are going to help those concerns.

SIDNER: Not at all. But as you said, to be a trend, it has to happen several times to see what is really going on in the labor market.

EGAN: Exactly. We've got to watch these numbers closely.

SIDNER: I know you will be. Thank you so much, Matt Egan.

All right, straight ahead, the sudden uncertainty job future for many federal workers. And you just heard Matt talking about. We will speak with one woman who just lost her job about how it has created so much turmoil in her life. And we'll have the latest on the breaking news this morning, the death of actor and Oscar winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog.

[08:50:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE HACKMAN, OSCAR WINNING ACTOR: If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. In my book, we're going to be winners.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: California's Governor Gavin Newsom has directed the state's parole board to investigate now whether Erik and Lyle Menendez would pose a public risk if they were released from prison. The brothers have been behind bars for more than 30 years, serving a life sentence for the murders of their parents back in the 80s. Newsom's currently considering a request for clemency based on new evidence that they say has surfaced recently.

The L.A. County District Attorney, though, says he opposes the brother's request for a new trial. He's saying that the claim of new evidence showing their father sexually abused them, quote, "does not constitute self-defense."

Also this morning, right wing influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, they're on a private plane headed back to the United States after prosecutors lifted a travel ban imposed on them.

[08:55:11]

The brothers were arrested in Romania in 2022 for human trafficking. They're also charged with forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

Andrew Tate's also faces an additional charge of rape. The decision to lift the ban reportedly came after the United States put pressure on Romanian authorities.

Former child actor -- former child star actress Michelle Trachtenberg, she's died. She was just 39 years old. Police say the actress was found dead inside a Manhattan apartment Wednesday morning.

A source with the NYPD tells CNN that she had recently had a medical issue and her death appeared to be related to natural causes. Trachtenberg was known for films like "Harriet the Spy" and shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Gossip Girl."

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. President Trump's ringing endorsement of Elon Musk at the first cabinet meeting made very clear he is totally supportive of those mass federal firings. The fallout from DOGE and its mass terminations are very real. American families are being hit hard.

Carolyn Corrigan worked for the CDC until she got that notice. That she was being terminated. She joins us now.

Thank you so much for joining us. What have you been forced to do because of your unexpected firing at the CDC?

CAROLYN CORRIGAN, FIRED FROM FEDERAL JOB: Well, I lost the only income that I have. So at this point, I applied for unemployment and I've applied for social services like food stamps and Medicaid. I have no income and I am a single mom with two kids. And now I -- you know, it's just devastating.

SIDNER: You have a congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, making realist versions against federal workers, saying they shouldn't be getting a paycheck, that they are not doing any real work. What do you say to a congressperson who is making these claims?

CORRIGAN: Well, number one, she's a federal worker herself. So if that's the case, then she shouldn't be getting paid. You know, federal employees, we're real people with real families. We work. If we didn't work, you wouldn't. The American public would see that because the government wouldn't be moving.

And, you know, we dedicate our lives, our career, our knowledge to serving the American people. I think that, you know, with the upcoming rifts and probably furlough, it's going to be felt by everyone.

SIDNER: How did you find out that you were being fired?

CORRIGAN: I got an email on a Saturday, which is my regular scheduled day off, and it just said, read this immediately. And that body of the email said, read the attachments. Thank you for your service. And then in the actual letter of termination, you know, it said that I was letting -- I was -- excuse me, I was being let go because I had poor performance, but I've worked for the government for almost 10 years. I've never had a negative appraisal, no corrective actions, never been on a performance plan. And I had 66 days left.

SIDNER: Do you think it was just lying? Do you think that that was just a flat out lie to try and make it easy for them to fire you?

CORRIGAN: Yes. In my case, I do believe that was a lie. I have documentation that shows that I wasn't in any way a poor performer.

SIDNER: Donald Trump has given a ringing endorsement for Elon Musk, saying he wants to see more firings, even bigger mass firings. What would you like to say to the president and Elon Musk as they continue to try and wipe out a huge portion of the federal workforce?

CORRIGAN: I guess for me, I would just like to say that it goes against everything that they're saying or that they did say. You know, they don't want people on government handouts. Well, you're forcing our hands. And with the uncertainty of that, with budget cuts to those programs, what happens to American people? I mean -- it's not this is people from all parties. So it affects everyone. SIDNER: Carolyn Corrigan, thank you so much. I know it's hard to talk about these things. It feels really, really, really devastating when anyone loses a job, but to lose it with something like a poor performance review, which you hadn't ever gotten, makes it that much harder. Something that you say was just a complete lie. Really appreciate you coming on and explaining your story to us.

CORRIGAN: Thank you.

SIDNER: All right. A new hour of CNN News Central starts right now.

[09:00:05]