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David Pasquino and Gabriel D'Alatri are Interviewed about Federal Job Cuts; Trump Pushes for Greenland Control; Katerine Legge Races in Nascar Cup; Growing Challenges to Trump Administration; Celebrities Fight Against AI Scams. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:33:02]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So today, Democratic senators are making moves to try and force the Trump administration to rehire veterans who have been fired as part of the mass federal layoffs in the DOGE efforts. This is new reporting coming from ABC News, saying that Democrat Senators Tammy Duckworth and Andy Kim are planning to introduce this new legislation. And according to ABC, what the bill would do is also not only force the rehiring, but also require the Trump administration to provide a quarterly report to Congress on the number of veterans removed from the federal workforce and the justification for their firing.

Now, veterans make up roughly 30 percent of the federal workforce and have been hit hard by these - this kind of - the slashing of the federal workforce so far.

We're joined right now by two veterans who are living this and facing this in real time. Army veteran David Pasquino, he was fired from his job with the Department of Veterans Affairs last month, and Marine veteran Gabriel D'Alatri, who was fired from his job at the IRS.

Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining me this morning.

You know, David, we're just learning and hearing about this new push by these two Democrats to get the government to rehire veterans like you. What do you think of that? And with everything that you've been through, are you ready to jump back in and head back to the VA?

DAVID PASQUINO, ARMY VETERAN FIRED FROM FEDERAL JOB: Well, thank you for having me, Katie.

I think that it's a good push. I think it's the right direction, especially after so many illegal firings by the administration and DOGE. I think that it would help protect our veterans and serve them better. And I would be willing to go back. I - my life has been one of service, and I'm definitely not done serving. So, I would be willing to go back and continue to serve.

BOLDUAN: Gabriel, some of the estimates are that several thousand veterans have been cut from their jobs throughout various agencies. What has this meant for you?

[08:35:00]

What has this felt like for you?

GABRIEL D'ALATRI, U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN FIRED FROM FEDERAL JOB: I mean, it's sad, honestly. I always thought that our country took care of its veterans. So, like when you hear that 6,000 of them got fired for just doing their job, it's disheartening.

I got the opportunity to meet David at the State of the Union. We were sitting right next to each other and we both had the same story, so we kind of connected there. And we both kind of feel the same way, just it's discussed in a sense.

BOLDUAN: And on that, I had seen that, that you didn't know each other before the president's address. You met under the strangest of circumstances, right, sitting in the gallery, watching a president's address and I'm sure neither of you probably thought you would ever be sitting at. And also facing really very, very similar stories in what you faced in how you were fired and the circumstances under which - which it was presented to you.

What has that meant, David, to you, to kind of, I don't know, find another level of brotherhood in in Gabriel?

PASQUINO: Well, it's been great. You know, like you said, Katie, that we connected at the presidential address to Congress and, you know, shared very many similar views. He is a veteran, just like myself, and disabled. And, you know, it's nice. It's nice to have, you know, brotherhood with another person who has shared a similar experience. I also have many coworkers that I still keep in contact with who were let go at the same time, and we all share that bond as well.

BOLDUAN: You know, Gabriel, there is a lot of talk about more cuts to come. We know that at the VA there are tens of thousands that are - employees that are expected to be cut from the VA. But at the IRS, it sounds like something similar is coming, that it's been described as a reduction in force would be coming soon.

Just - in just the work that you do and the work that you have done, knowing that a slap - like a cutting of the IRS workforce is coming in the midst of, I mean, let's be honest, tax filing season, I mean, what is that going to look like?

D'ALATRI: I mean, I've been - I've been out of the agency for two weeks, so I can't speak on it really. But it's - I assume it's going to look like chaos. I know everybody hates paying taxes. I do too. It's not a fun thing to do, but it's very necessary. The investment that you put into the IRS, they make a lot more money than you invest in them. So, I think it's a good idea to keep the IRS around. It's sad to see that it's getting cut. And I think - I'm hoping it doesn't delay peoples' tax returns, because I know a lot of people rely on their tax returns every year, especially families with children, maybe for clothes, food, extracurricular activities. So, it's going to be a big hit if they get cut like that.

BOLDUAN: I want to play something for both of you, because it's gotten a lot of attention. And I think - I'd really like to know your views on it, because some of what we have seen is a generally dismissive view of government workers among administration officials and talking - when talking about the cut to the federal workforce, specifically when it comes to veterans. I want to play something that one of Donald Trump's close advisers said last week that encapsulates this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA HABBA, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: We have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work. That doesn't mean that we forget our veterans by any means. We are going to care for them in the right way. But perhaps they're not fit to have a job at this moment, or not willing to come to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's Alina Habba, who now works as a top counselor to the president.

Gabriel, what's your reaction to that?

D'ALATRI: So, I got that live on another news station last week, and it was - it's still disheartening to hear it now still. She's - she's wrong. I mean, I invite Ms. Habba to join me. I can take her and show her what I used to do at work. It wasn't something that you can sit at home and do and sit in a home office. I was a project manager for the IRS, so we were constantly - I was constantly in buildings all over the state of Connecticut. I ran all of the buildings in the state of Connecticut. So, you can't really do that from home.

So, I invite her to come with me one day if she would like, and I can show her all the facilities in Connecticut and what I did. And since I've been removed, I can show her probably how things aren't running up to par.

BOLDUAN: David, your reaction to that, and I guess what you would hope anyone in the administration or anyone else would know about your work and the work of veterans in the federal workforce.

PASQUINO: Yes, when I first heard that, I was definitely - I was definitely shocked and appalled by her flippant tone and dismissive attitude towards veterans. In my role in the - in the Department of Veterans Affairs, I was a human resources specialist doing recruitment and placement. Specifically, I was hiring the IT professionals that build, sustain and integrate the IT infrastructure for the entire VA, including the electronic medical health record system that we are - they've been trying to get up and running to communicate between DOD, VA, as well as civilian caretakers in VA.

[08:40:07]

Unfortunately, that's not an easy job. We sometimes have to review tens, you know, hundreds and thousands of different applicants. And it's not something that you just sit there and, you know, do in a day. As far as the return to work, I was more than willing to go back into the office five, six, seven days a week. I was willing to serve. It would have been a 45-minute round - a 45 minute drive one way, hour and a half and to the local facility. And I absolutely was committed and ready to do that. So, the fact that she thinks that we're lazy or not ready to return to the office, or anything of that nature is absolutely not true.

BOLDUAN: Well, it's great to meet you both. Thank you both for coming on and speaking out. Thank you so much.

PASQUINO: Thank you.

D'ALATRI: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, tomorrow, people in Greenland head to the polls to elect a new government. A key vote as President Trump is still pushing to take control of the Danish territory. He said just last week, during his joint address to Congress, that the U.S. would get it one way or another.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has more on what the people of Greenland are saying about Trump's determination to take over.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's an unlikely place for a geopolitical tug of war. Greenland, with a population of about 57,000, known for its fishing, natural resources and glaciers, goes to the polls on Tuesday. Something that in the past probably wouldn't have attracted a lot of global attention, but that was before Greenland caught the eye of U.S. President Donald Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.

PLEITGEN (voice over): It's a bold offer, especially since Greenland is a territory of Denmark, though its semi-autonomous with its own parliament, but it does rely on Denmark for about half its annual budget.

The U.S. already has a military base in Greenland, which plays a key role in missile defense and satellite communication. And Greenland is also the gateway to the Arctic, lying on the shortest route from North America to Europe, so its location is strategic.

But if forced to choose between the U.S. and Denmark, many Greenlanders say they prefer another option.

MUTE EGEDE, PRIME MINISTER OF GREENLAND (through translator): We don't want to be Danes. We don't want to be Americans. We want to be Greenlandic. PLEITGEN (voice over): It's a question of identity that many

Greenlanders feel is at the heart of this election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to be independent. We need that identity for our people in the Arctic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope Greenland to get more out in the world picture. Right now it's just dependent on Denmark and the money we're getting from there.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Most of Greenland's main political parties support independence for Greenland, which can be declared if a referendum passes and the Danish parliament approves. But they differ on how soon that should happen, with one party saying Greenland should cut ties immediately.

PELE BROBERG, NALERAQ PARTY LEADER: Let's hope for a quick process, but as soon as we start that process, we have several other things that will start. One of them will be defense negotiations with the United States about the defense of Greenland when we are independent.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Trump's comments are also reverberating in Denmark itself, which recently said it will spend more than $2 billion to boost arctic security and admitted it had neglected Greenland's defense for years. It's a relationship that could soon change if Greenland steps up its pursuit of independence, or uses its leverage to negotiate a better deal with Denmark.

NOA REDINGTON, POLITICAL ANALYST: There will be a new government, and it will put a tremendous pressure on the Danish government to have a position, a real position in terms of if Greenland wants independence, what will the cost be?

PLEITGEN (voice over): Independence isn't on Tuesday's ballot, but the results could reconfigure Greenland's future, something the U.S. and many others will be closely watching.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Fred, thank you so much for that.

Let's turn to this.

Katherine Legge has accomplished something no woman has done before, or at least in seven years, competing in the Nascar Cup Series. She made her debut yesterday at the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona.

CNN's Coy Wire here with much more.

That is one thing I'd like to do against you. I'd like to race cars against you. That would be amazing.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, let's go. I've got a go kart track just up the road here in Atlanta, so, bring it, girl.

Listen, 44 years old. Katherine Legge says this felt like her first day of school. She spent 25 years in racing, raced in practically every type of car, Indycar, Formula E, but this was her first time in a cup series race, Nascar's top level. This type of car, it was a rough ride. She spun out twice, Kate.

[08:45:01]

First, early in the race without any contact, then later bumping off another car, taking out Daniel Suarez with her.

She did not finish the race, said they made some changes to the car the night before. Still, 17th woman ever in Nascar's top level, first since Danica Patrick. It was Christopher Bell taking the checkered flag, winning his third race in a row. He's rolling. He's the first driver in four years to pull off that feat in a cup series. As for Legge, she says she is keeping her head up. She's hungry for more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATERINE LEGGE, LIVE FAST MOTORSPORTS DRIVER: Baptism of fire. You know, I think there's a lot of positives to take from it. Obviously, there were mistakes made, but I learned so much and hopefully I get to come back and do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, let's go. Women's conference title game action. It's the dawn of a new day. Like "Groundhog Day" for coach Dawn Staley and her mighty South Carolina. They win the SEC women's hoop tournament again, a third straight now, ninth under Staley, dominating number one Texas, who hadn't lost since January 12th, 64-45. Chloe Kitts is your tournament MVP. Now the Gamecocks turn their sights to March Madness to make a run at repeating as national champs.

In the men's side, Michigan State capturing the Big Ten regular season title with a 79-62 drubbing of their rivals, Michigan. But the Spartans did not like that a couple of Wolverines were standing on the logo at midcourt as Michigan shot free throws. The game's still going on. Michigan State has a tradition where the seniors kiss the logo in their final home game. Afterwards, Michigan Coach Dusty May, he's defending his players, saying, hey, the game was still going on, man.

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DUSTY MAY, MICHIGAN HEAD COACH: I didn't know there was a tradition where they're shooting free throw, and we have guys standing half court. There's not a tradition that we can't stand at half court as the game's going on. So, I'm not familiar with that one. Is that a tradition?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: I'm just going to tell you right now, Kate, when we do our go cart race, I will start a tradition. I will stand on the logo that they have there at the finish line after I beat you in our race.

BOLDUAN: You can stand at that line and then you will see me blowing past you.

WIRE: Let's go. Bring it.

BOLDUAN: You should see this hair in the wind of a go cart.

WIRE: Me too, girl.

BOLDUAN: I love you. Oh, I love you, Coy. I love a little Michigan- Michigan State rivalry too. That's good stuff. Thanks, buddy.

WIRE: You got it.

BOLDUAN: I love that man.

SIDNER: And coming from Florida, I will just crash into the both of you. So, just FYI.

BOLDUAN: Sara!

SIDNER: Nobody's winning because I'm going to crash into you.

BOLDUAN: I'm definitely not racing Sara.

WIRE: Oh, you will be in trouble, girl.

BOLDUAN: I cherish my life too much to race against Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thanks, guys.

All right, this is a cool story. After 99 years, an extremely overdue library book in New Jersey finally returned to the shelves.

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MARY COOPER, RETURNED OVERDUE BOOK: Thinking this had to have been taken out by my grandfather. Were supposed to be returned 3/31/26. And, unfortunately, he passed away the next year.

I said, I have to return this book to the library. I was sure they would like to have it back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Thank goodness she didn't have to pay a fine for that. Ninety- nine years would be a big old fine. Mary Cooper found a library book borrowed by her grandfather, as you heard there, in 1926. The book's name? "Homemade Toys for Girls and Boys." It was stamped by the Ocean County Library. Cooper said her grandfather likely checked it out to make toys for his kids. And the book will now be displayed in a locked case for all to see because, get this, the library is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. That is super cool.

All right, ahead, judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans are pushing back on president Trump's effort to remake the federal government. More on their message from the bench. That and more stories, ahead.

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[08:53:02]

BOLDUAN: An American president is not a king. That is a quote from a federal judge in Washington late Thursday. And it really reflects a growing number of judges speaking up and pushing back against the Trump administration's aggressive moves to shrink the federal workforce and purge the federal government.

CNN's Joan Biskupic is tracking all of this. She's joining us now from Washington.

Joan, what are you hearing about all of this?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Morning, Kate. Good to see you.

You know, more than 100 cases have been filed against the Trump administration initiatives. You know, the funding freezes, the personnel cuts, the immigration policies. And we've noticed a pattern among some of the judges hearing these cases to go beyond the case at hand, to talk more broadly about what the Trump administration is doing.

And let me just tell you a couple of them. A judge in Seattle said the rule of law is, according to President Trump, something to navigate around or simply ignore. Whether that be for political or personal gain. You mentioned that a judge in Washington, D.C., had said an American president is not a king. And then just last Thursday, we had a judge in Rhode Island say, "this is what it all comes down to. We may choose to survive as a country by respecting our constitution, the laws and norms of political and civic behavior, or we may ignore these things at our peril."

And I'll tell you what's noteworthy here is, that's actually controversial, Kate, even within the judiciary. I talked to some current and retired judges about this emerging pattern, which I wanted to just say, to be sure it is rare right now among the judges, but it seems to be increasing. And judges are watching this with trepidation because there is a culture of judicial reserve and restraint. And some think - some have been heartened by judges speaking out, putting some check on the executive branch. And - but some think that judges should, you know, kind of be more restrained, especially at this time of polarization.

[08:55:06]

So, there's a real conflict here. And as you know, we're really watching to see overall what kind of check the third branch is going to be on the executive branch, on President Trump, when we've already seen that the legislative branch, the Congress, controlled by Republicans, is really essentially in league with the president right now. And there is the separation of powers that's intended to have a check and balances. So, it's not just that we're seeing these protests from the bench in lower courts, but we're also seeing that that itself is stirring some controversy, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joan, thank you so much for your reporting.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, new this morning, singer Celine Dion is warning her fans about AI-generated songs that are circulating the internet, and she's one of many celebrities who have been mimicked online through the use of AI and deepfakes and scam artists are using their likenesses to convince people to empty their wallets.

CNN's Hadas Gold is explaining how celebrities are fighting back to try to protect themselves, but also to protect you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE HARVEY, HOST, "FAMILY FEUD": And now it's time to play -

CROWD: Fast money.

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Steve Harvey is best known as a man who runs game shows and awards money.

HARVEY: Well, that's $20,000, y'all.

GOLD (voice over): But after decades in the spotlight, his likeness and voice are now being used by scam artists who are utilizing AI to trick his fans into giving their money away.

HARVEY: I've been telling you guys for months to -

GOLD (voice over): Like this Medicare scam viewed millions of times. With over 100 million TV viewers and social media followers -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you so much.

GOLD (voice over): Harvey is among a growing number of celebrities speaking out, backing new legislation and technologies that aim to protect a celebrity's image.

GOLD: How does this affect you when your image is used in things like scams?

HARVEY: See, see, that's hurtful because, you know, look, I've prided myself on my brand being one of authenticity. I don't want fans of mine or people who aren't fans to be hurt by something because I said go do it, and it wasn't even me.

GOLD (voice over): Several new pieces of legislation aimed at combating deepfake AI are now being considered by Congress.

MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY: I'm here with you today with a common goal. GOLD (voice over): First Lady Melania Trump has thrown her support

behind the Take It Down Act, which aims to criminalize non-consensual AI-generated deepfake and revenge porn.

Another bill, called the No Fakes Act, aims to hold creators and platforms liable for unauthorized AI-generated images, videos and sound. It's garnered the support of the Recording Academy, the Screen Actors Guild, the Motion Picture Association and major talent agencies.

HARVEY: It's freedom of speech. It's not freedom of make me speak the way you want me to speak. That's not freedom. That's abuse.

GOLD (voice over): Harvey wants legislation to include harsh punishments, including financial penalties and even jail time.

HARVEY: If you make money off lying to people, scamming people, then I think that's - that's worthy of a fine and some time.

GOLD (voice over): Harvey now uses a new platform called Vermillio to help him track and request takedowns of the ever growing number of deepfakes of himself popping up every day.

DAN NEELY, CEO, VERMILLIO: So, back in 2018, there were maybe 19,000 pieces of deepfake content. Today, there are roughly a million created every minute. So, trying to find and play this game of whack-a-mole is quite complex.

GOLD (voice over): Vermillio CEO Dan Neely says deepfakes can run the gamut, from AI chat bots acting as a famous person, to AI-generated phone calls that mimic a celebrity's voice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's called big ole freak.

NEELY: We have his name, image and likeness. We've then taken that and turned it into something that we call fingerprints. So, fingerprinting is a way in which we go and look at various things that are in a piece of content. So, an image of you is made up of millions of pieces of data. We use those data - pieces of data to go and find where it exists across the internet.

GOLD (voice over): There are limited legal recourses for celebrities battling deepfakes of themselves. Vermillio automates the cumbersome process of sending platforms takedown requests. As the technology improves at a rapid pace, celebrities are now agitating for Washington to keep up.

HARVEY: I mean, why wait? How many people we got to watch get hurt by this before somebody does something?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: And I'm told that the No Fakes Act will be reintroduced in Congress in the coming weeks. But one change that the senators behind this bill, which is a bipartisan bill, hope to have, is to bring these online platforms on board with them. They're the ones that are going to be potentially facing fines as a result of this legislation. But I'm told by a source familiar that they hope that the legislation will still retain its teeth while being workable for these platforms.

Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, it would be the first major legislation up against social media platforms. So, it sounds like something that makes sense if they're taking people's money using deepfakes.

GOLD: Exactly. This is so important for the celebrities, but also for everyday people -

SIDNER: Everybody, yes.

GOLD: Who are facing things like deepfake porn and deepfake - you know, we've seen so many stories like this where somebody's image/voice has been used against them.

[09:00:00]

SIDNER: Right.

GOLD: And this will at least finally put some sort of penalties behind that.

SIDNER: All right. Hadas Gold, thank you. Great reporting. It was great.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.