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Sources Say, White House Has Prepared Executive Order Dismantling Education Department; E.U. Leaders Meet for Crucial Talks on Ukraine and Defense; Trump Delays Auto Tariffs Amid GOP Pushback, Stock Market Pressures. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 06, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we do have breaking news. President Trump is expected to issue an executive order as soon as today that would dismantle the entire Department of Education.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And happening now, European leaders gathered at a crucial summit with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Can E.U. leaders fill in the gap left by President Trump after his decision to pull U.S. aid from Ukraine?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning, there's new DNA evidence discovered on one of the victims in the Idaho quadruple murder case.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking this morning was one hell of a headline in the Politico playbook. Look at that, school's out forever. Well, there it went. Moments ago, sources confirmed to CNN that President Trump is preparing to sign an order to eliminate the Education Department as soon as today. The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal who first reported this and saw a draft of the order say it will direct his new education secretary, Linda McMahon, to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Education Department.

The report says the draft order states, quote, the experiment of controlling American education through federal programs and dollars and the unaccountable bureaucrats those programs and dollars support has failed our children, our teachers, and our families.

Now, it is unclear how far this could go. We'd need Senate approval to completely shut down the department. Democrats would almost certainly block that.

Let's get right to Kevin Liptak at the White House for your new reporting on this. Kevin, what have you learned?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is a step that the White House has been preparing for for quite some time. Certainly, President Trump has been signaling since he was a candidate his intent to close down the Department of Education. But now we're learning he could put his signature on this executive order as early as today.

And what it would do, as you said, essentially direct Linda McMahon, who was just confirmed as the Secretary of Education earlier this week, to begin steps to close that agency. But it does, you know, make clear that she must do this to the extent that it is permitted by law.

And I think that is the acknowledgement by the White House and by the Trump administration that fully closing a department within the federal government will require Congress. It will require 60 votes in Congress to overcome a filibuster, which is certainly not the case right now. There are 53 Republicans. And so I think there's an acknowledgement that they will have to do this sort of bit by bit.

And what we have heard is that this will essentially involve moving elements of the Department of Education agencies. And, of course, this is a department that has wide preview. They administer billions of dollars in grants for poverty-stricken schools. They administer $1.6 trillion student loan program. So, there's a lot of money at stake here.

But what we heard from Linda McMahon when she was confirmed this week is that she is fully on board. She says that she is fully aligned with the president's vision to eliminate what she calls bureaucratic bloat inside the Education Department. And she calls this one final unforgettable public service to the people at that agency.

And it was interesting to hear President Trump, soon after he was sworn in, talk about the task that he was assigning McMahon. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I told Linda, Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job. I want her to put herself out of a job.

I want the states to run schools and I want Linda to put herself out of a job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: You know, already scores of Department of Education employees have been laid off as part of this wider effort to reduce the size of the federal government. Many more have been put on notice that they could be at risk for further layoffs. They call them reductions enforced inside the federal government. Obviously, all of this is part of the plan here at the White House, executed by Elon Musk, to seriously reshape the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy that has already generated some concerns among Democrats, certainly, but also among Republicans.

That was one of the reasons why Musk went up to Capitol Hill to meet House and Senate Republicans.

[07:05:01]

They want better communication. He gave them their cell phone number. He's setting up a hotline in order to hear their questions and concerns going forward. BERMAN: They did note the Constitution gives them the power to spend

and they may need to vote on this, all of it eventually.

Kevin Liptak at the White House, great new reporting. Thanks for sharing it with us. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Happening now Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is meeting with and thanking European leaders at a special summit in Brussels. The urgent meeting coming after President Trump paused U.S. aid to Ukraine. France's defense minister this morning announced that it would speed up the delivery of certain types of aid to Ukraine to make up for the U.S. pause.

It comes just a day after French President Emmanuel Macron said Europe was entering a new era where it needed to prepare for the possibility of the U.S. not to remain by our side, and that's a quote.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Brussels this morning. President Zelenskyy spoke just moments ago. What did you hear from him?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Look, I've been in Brussels now for the past almost 24 hours, over 24 hours. I've been meeting with diplomats talking with them, listening to them. There is a sense of abandonment here by the United States of the security that Europe feels and the protection it has in partnership with the United States, triggered by what's happening in Ukraine.

Now, President Zelenskyy, when he came here, he had a huddle, 10- minute huddle with the European Union, president and council and commission chiefs. That I think gives a real sense of the way Europe and its leaders are trying to accelerate to prepare for their own defense. Zelenskyy, for his part, thanking the Europeans for standing with him at this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: During all this period and last week, you stay with us. And, of course, from all the Ukrainians, from all our nations, big appreciation. We are very thankful that we are not alone. And these are not just words, we feel it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: But the hard reality here at the European Union is that decisions that are made at high speed in the White House to cut back security support for Ukraine cannot be matched by the Europeans to fill those spaces at the same speed. And this meeting is all about agreeing how to get the funding $861 billion worth of additional defense funding. They're talking about how they will raise that money from the banks.

They haven't yet started talking about how they will spend it. This is the difficulty of the European Union. There are meetings after meetings after meetings for leaders. Even when they're working at speed, and they are working at speed right now, they just cannot match the changes that are coming out of the White House.

So, the consternation I was talking about there, writ large through the diplomatic community it's sort of Europe's capital, if you will, is real. There is a real concern. This meeting today will take another very important step forward. That's the anticipation, but it doesn't even get to where the money will be spent, what weapons they will buy, how quickly those weapons can arrive in Ukraine.

So, this isn't now -- it's not just about Ukraine and Ukraine's security, as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said, Europe faces a clear and present danger, right? That means something. That's what's going around here right now.

SIDNER: Yes, it is remarkable to sort of, you talking to these diplomats, worrying about the U.S. not being by their side, the longest, one of their longest allies.

Nic Robertson, thank you so much for your great reporting there in Brussels. Kate?

BOLDUAN: President Trump backing off some of his tariffs, at least for a moment, on Canada and Mexico. So, what does a one-month exemption for automakers mean for, well, automakers and for consumers? We've got more on that.

And breaking overnight, 15 people are injured when South Korean fighter jets accidentally bombed civilian homes during a live fire drill.

And American farmers left in the lurch after President Trump dismantles USAID.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want you to show them on paper how you're good for that operating loan and how you're going to pay it back. I can't pay it back with $8 beans and $6 beans and $3 corn.

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BOLDUAN: New this morning, the president's trade war is taking a slight detour today, at least when it comes to cars. After his economic team was adamant there would be no exemptions from the tariffs, the president is now open to one, allowing an exemption for the big three U.S. automakers, a one-month reprieve on the 25 percent tariff on all automobiles coming from Canada and Mexico.

So, this pause also comes a day after Ford, G.M. and Stellantis held a call with the president to make their case very clearly of how painful this tax would be all of the other across the board 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada. It's still in effect. Stocks rallied yesterday on the news looking at futures. Well, they're down right now.

So, what is this whiplash meaning for businesses across industries now?

CNN's Matt Egan has some new reporting on this, and he is here with us. What are you learning?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, look, we knew the tariff man, as the president has called himself, was back, but it turns out that the original is even more chaotic and confusing than the original. Rather, the sequel is more confusing than the original. You know what I mean.

[07:15:00]

BOLDUAN: I do.

EGAN: Every single week, there's new tariffs that are threatened. Some of them kick in. Others are pulled back at the last moment. Others, like the reciprocal tariffs and copper and steel and aluminum, they still loom. It's almost impossible to keep track of. You kind of need like a baseball box score just to decipher it all.

And this is really frustrating for business owners and CEOs who famously hate uncertainty, right? They're trying to figure out how much the cost of their goods is going to be. But they can't because tariffs loom, right. And they're trying to figure out whether or not need to hire workers or fire them. Do they need to raise prices or cut them?

BOLDUAN: Should they be in making many major investments? Should they, you know, like --

EGAN: Yes, it's impossible. There's actually an index that tracks trade policy uncertainty, and you can see it's basically through the roof. It's the highest since going back -- this is since the 1990s.

BOLDUAN: That is wild.

EGAN: It is. But this actually goes all the way back to 1960s. We couldn't fit it all on this chart. And it's higher than at any point since then, higher than Trump's first term, which makes sense because what he's doing, it's just so much bigger in size and scope than his first terms, right? He's already put tariffs on triple the amount of imports than he did during his entire first four years in the administration. We're not him two months in.

And I talked to a pet supply store owner in California, and he told me that, look, he's not a fan of tariffs, but it's actually the uncertainty that's almost worse here. He said, it's frustrating and stressful. He's trying to keep track of all the drama, but you can't keep up with it.

Of course, I would just note that some of this is probably a feature, not a bug of the Trump strategy, right? Because he views tariffs as a way to leverage other countries, right, to pressure them. And by keeping everyone guessing, that's a way to sort of maximize that leverage.

But, look, it's starting to show up in the economic data. It's starting to show up in markets, right? We saw the private sector hiring slowed sharply last month. Mark Zandi, he told you just the other day that it feels like the economy is gagging on the uncertainty, and he said that the longer that this uncertainty hangs around, the more likely the economy is going to start choking on it all.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, let us see what today brings. Let us see together. Futures down right now, and we'll see what happens when the bell open when the when markets open.

Great to see you, Matt. Thank you.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: John?

BERMAN: All right. March bringing madness early this year, the major upset overnight that's having a big impact on bracket predictions this morning.

And this morning, brand new DNA evidence in the killing of four Idaho college students. Why defense attorneys are hoping the jury never sees this.

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SIDNER: The Cleveland Cavaliers headed to the playoffs. The Cavs pulled out a win over the Miami Heat last night, which means they are the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot.

CNN Sports Anchor Andy Scholes, how did it go down, buddy?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, you know, Sara, we all remember those great LeBron Cavs teams, right? But this year's team is actually on pace to have the best record in Cav's franchise history right now. They leave the entire NBA with a record of 52 and 10 on pace to win 69, but they needed a fourth quarter come back to beat the Heat last night.

Cavs were down seven with six to go, but they didn't close the game on a 19-7 run. And Evan Mobley's alley-oop slam would put the Cavs up for good right here as they go on to win 112-107. Cavs, they keep their third double-digit winning streak of the season going. They've now won 12 in a row. Donovan Mitchell led the way with 26 and here he was after him being the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONOVAN MITCHELL, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS GUARD: It's an honor, you know, it's a sign of our hard work as a group. But at the end of the day, it don't really mean much. You know what I'm saying? Like this is -- it's great to be in the playoffs, but, you know, when we -- you know, when we started this, and when I came here and when we signed, like this wasn't -- the playoffs wasn't the goal, you know? It's just another step, another step on our journey. You know what I mean? And I'm definitely happy to do it in front of the home crowd. You know, we got a lot more to accomplish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. Hockey, Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin inching closer to the great one's all-time goal record. Capital's legend scoring here in the third on the power play to tie the game. Ovechkin now has 885 goals in his career. He now needs 10 goals in 18 games to break Gretzky's record this season. The Capitals, they went on to beat the Rangers 3-2 in overtime.

And finally, a great one in the SEC last night, Ole Miss' Jaemin Brakefield's going to get the put back to go here to put the Rebels up two with seven seconds left. Tennessee then trying to tie it, but Igor Milicic misses at the buzzer. Ole Miss pulls off a huge upset beating fourth ranked Tennessee 78-76.

Now, the P.A. announcer was imploring the fans to not rush the court, but some students still did before more eventually joined.

Now, he was trying to get them not to rush because it is a huge fine in the SEC for rushing the court or field. And Ole Miss already was fined $350,000 for storming the field after they beat Georgia back in November, Sara. If this is deemed to be a third offense, it could cost the school a half million dollars, and all of that money would go to Tennessee.

So, you know, the Volunteers, they might not get the one seed because of this loss, but they could get a half million dollars, which is not a bad consolation, right?

SIDNER: They actually end up winning in the end.

Back to the Cavs quickly, I love an alley oop. In my dreams, I can do it. I think about it. I dream about it. I know it's never going to happen, but that's my favorite play in basketball. So, I just need to tell you that.

SCHOLES: I do wonder what that feels like.

SIDNER: Right. I think it feels good. What doesn't feel good is what half a million dollar fine, yikes.

[07:25:00]

Andy Scholes.

SCHOLES: We'll see. We'll see if that comes your way.

SIDNER: Ole Miss wins the game. Thank you, doll. Kate? BOLDUAN: The policy is flawed. You tell a bunch of college students who may or may not have been having beverages, that like please --

SIDNER: Don't do something.

BOLDUAN: If you rush the court, it's going to cost us their like game on challenging something.

SIDNER: Yes, like exactly. That is not going to cost them, although it might in their tuition.

BOLDUAN: I mean, well, he tells, you guess (ph).

All right, coming up for us, we have breaking news this morning, President Trump preparing to sign an executive order to officially dismantle the entire Education Department. So, what now we have new reporting coming in.

And arrests in New York as police remove pro-Palestinian protesters staging a sit-in at Barnard College.

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