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Trump Issues Travel Ban on 12 Countries; Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D- WI) is Interviewed about Musk's Comments on Bill; Hearing for Marcelo Gomes da Silva. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired June 05, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Plea for his return.

And hot exchanges on The Hill. The tough question President Trump's nominee for Veterans Affairs inspector general faced from Democrats.

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, breaking overnight, pay no attention to the Musk behind the curtain. Instead, the White House wants the focus to be on the onslaught of executive action overnight as Elon Musk attacks his legislative agenda. President Trump signed a new travel ban barring people from 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean from entering the United States. The president cited what he calls national security threats. You will remember the president did something similar during his first term when he barred entry from seven Muslim majority countries. That ignited protests and a very sizable legal battle. And ultimately it was repealed in 2021 by then President Joe Biden.

Speaking of the former president, the current president is taking new aim at former President Biden. He has directed the Justice Department to investigate Biden's actions as president, citing the former president's alleged, quote, "cognitive decline." The former president responded with outrage overnight, calling the investigation, quote, "ridiculous" and "false."

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House this morning where I'm hearing you do have some breaking news.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOURE REPORTER: Yes, there's some breaking news here now on the tariff and trade front, John.

We are learning now that President Donald Trump has been held -- or held -- it's unclear if he's actually currently on the phone or already wrapped up a phone call with China's President Xi Jinping. That's according to a source familiar with the matter. And they told our colleague Kevin Liptak that.

Look, I mean, this is a huge development in this ongoing, you know, discussion between the U.S. and China over really how to settle the escalating trade war between the two countries.

And this has been something really that Trump administration officials, but also the president himself specifically, have been wanting to happen for not just weeks but months now to get President Xi Jinping on the phone and speak directly with Donald Trump because really they believed that unlocking the kind of stalemate that has arisen between these two countries over trade matters and the presidents tariffs needed to happen but -- before they could do that.

And so, we're still waiting to see exactly what is coming from this. This is very much breaking news here. So, we're waiting to get updates and official confirmation from the White House. But we are learning, according to this source familiar as well, as we're seeing Chinese state media now beginning to report this as well, that it does appear that the president and Chinese president have been on the phone and are speaking.

BERMAN: Yes, I have to say, this is news to me. You speaking these words were the first I had heard of it, Alayna. And it's a big deal. It's a very big deal. And I know the markets, which open in 28 minutes, will want to get a readout of this conversation. Was it positive? Did it move the ball on any of the -- sort of the thorny issues between these two countries?

As we wait to get more information from that, again, the president did try to sign -- he did sign a new travel ban overnight. What's the latest on that?

TREENE: Yes, he did. I mean this ban is kind of a revival of what we saw him do during his first term. However, this actually goes farther than that one. His first ban during his first administration was a ban on seven Muslim majority or majority Muslim, excuse me, countries. This one now is really targeting countries across the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. Twelve countries having full restrictions over there people coming here to the United States, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Libya. And then there's seven countries as well where those people are facing partial restriction. That includes Cuba and Venezuela.

But look, this is something, John, that I know President Donald Trump has personally been wanting to do for several weeks now. We saw him kind of begin to take steps even in the first few days of this term. But he is saying himself now that he believes that the attack, the anti-Semitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, really sped up this process. Notably, though, of course, is that the suspect in that attack was from Egypt. It was an Egyptian national. Egypt is not on this list of the countries that is banned. So, more to learn as all of this kind of unfolds, especially whether or not this is going to face significant legal challenges, like that first travel ban of his did in his first term.

John.

BERMAN: Alayna Treene, we'll let you run back inside, find out what you can about this phone call between President Trump and Xi Jinping. Thank you for delivering the news and this breaking news. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot to get to. Joining us right now is Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

Senator, thanks for coming in.

Just, first, your --

SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-WI): My pleasure.

BOLDUAN: Your top line reaction to hearing the news of, we now know that the president and the president of China, Xi Jinping, are either on the phone or have been on the phone this morning.

[09:05:04]

A phone call that has been much discussed and anticipated obviously around so many things, but most specifically the trade war. No readout of what we know from it.

Is it, from your perspective, your reaction, good news that the two leaders are on -- are -- are talking?

BALDWIN: It's always good news when we have bilateral and multilateral discussions, especially around the president's decision earlier this year to do across the board tariffs.

I talked to a small business person in Wisconsin who had a shipment coming over from China. $60,000 of inputs for his manufacturing process. He was going to face a $100,000 tariff on that. He had to take out a loan at 9 percent interest to cover the tariff. Then this up and down volatility where the president brings it back down from 145 percent to 30 percent. Yes, the American people, businesses in my state, farmers in my state, consumers in my state want a dialog going on to have some end to this volatility.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And so, we will stand by together all to hear a readout from that.

Let's turn to the issue that is squarely in the hands of the Senate right now, which would be the president's domestic agenda bill. The CBO released its final estimate that it would spike deficits by $2.4 trillion over ten years, leave almost 11 million people, more people without health insurance.

On the flip side, it will release trillions of dollars of -- in tax cuts. Republicans dismiss this analysis and say that it ignores the economic growth that will come from their policies. The house speaker saying we're not buying the CBO estimates.

You say what?

BALDWIN: Look there are inconvenient facts. And this president has a tendency to ignore inconvenient facts, but they are facts. I'm not going to get into a he said she said about it. But look, the total tax cuts come to about well north of $3 trillion.

$2.4 trillion will be put in the deficit and the debt and the rest are coming from massive cuts to health care and nutrition assistance programs for the most vulnerable.

The same CBO estimates that 16 million people will lose their health care. About 10 million from Medicaid. The remainder from folks who will no longer be able to afford to pay the premiums for their Affordable Care Act marketplace plans. And in excess of 3 million people will lose nutrition assistance, food -- food stamps, the SNAP program.

This is not a reflection of our values. And I can tell you, my phone is ringing off the hook. Literally thousands of people are calling in. And I hope they're doing the same for my Republican colleagues, who I think are finding that this bill is massively unpopular as the American public learns what's in it.

BOLDUAN: Senator, one of the people saying, call your senator and call your congressman is Elon Musk. I mean he's called the bill an abomination. And this -- what he's telling people, all of his followers to do now.

We just learned that House Speaker Mike Johnson says he's about to jump back on the phone with Elon Musk.

Let me play what Johnson said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Elon's a good friend. We texted late last night. We're going to talk this morning. I just want to make sure that he understands what -- what I think everybody on Capitol Hill understands. This is not a spending bill, my friends, this is a -- a -- a budget reconciliation bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What sticks out to me is this question is, how much influence and how worried are they -- are Republicans about the influence of Elon Musk here? Do you think he has influence over this process? Are you hearing that from senators?

BALDWIN: Yes. Well, let me tell you what I hear from Wisconsinites. Wisconsinites do not appreciate billionaires who are unelected coming in and messing with our democracy and trying to set policy. But even a broken clock is wrong twice -- is right twice a day, as they say.

And so, look, the -- as to the dialog between Speaker Johnson and Elon Musk, you know, Speaker Johnson is saying that this is not a spending bill, but there's something called tax expenditures. And that's exactly why we're seeing the CBO put out their score that says this will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. They are going forward with these massive cuts, including terminating health care for 16 million Americans in order to pay for these tax expenditures that disproportionately benefit the top. [09:10:14]

BOLDUAN: Senator, I do want to ask you about the lead crisis that's been playing out for months now in Milwaukee schools. It's not only an issue for Wisconsin. What's happened matters to everyone and how it's being handled.

For months, the city of Milwaukee has been grappling with this lead crisis that forced multiple schools to close. Some students testing positive for high levels of lead. And the Health and Human Services secretary, RFK Jr., has faced a lot of questions. He said a team was on the ground to help. That has been disputed. And he just told CNN, I want to play for you because he mentions you. I want to play what he said just late last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I can't tell you how many right now.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: So what -- I mean this is from the Milwaukee health commissioner and Senator Tammy Baldwin.

KENNEDY: We have 82,000 or 62,000 employees.

COLLINS: Yes.

KENNEDY: I -- and I -- all -- you could hear -- read my -- my other exchanges with Tammy Baldwin and the -- you know, anyway, I'm not necessarily believing what Senator Baldwin is --

COLLINS: So, you're disputing and saying that there are more than one CDC employee on the ground?

KENNEDY: I -- like I said, we have 62,000 employees. I'm not sure how many we have deployed to Milwaukee. I'm happy to check and give you that information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Senator, what is the truth here? Why is this so hard to come by?

BALDWIN: Look, the truth is that Secretary Kennedy fired every expert who works in the childhood lead mitigation unit at the Centers for Disease Control, the CDC. So, when Milwaukee, in response to the closure of six schools and the displacement of 1,800 school children, applied for technical assistance and for a team to help respond to this emergency, there was no one there to answer the call, and their application was denied. There's email documentation of saying, we're sorry, we cannot -- you know, we cannot accept this application, there are no employees left in this division.

And so, Secretary Kennedy is either lying or he doesn't know what's happening in his own department. And I don't know which is worse.

BOLDUAN: We will follow up.

Senator, thank you for coming in today. Appreciate your time.

BALDWIN: Thank you for having me.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ICE was looking for his father, but now an 18-year- old Massachusetts student is in ICE custody. His family and community begging for his release as he faces a judge this morning.

Also, more breaking news for you. Minutes away from the opening bell. And we are just learning that President Trump and Chinese President Xi are speaking on that stalled trade negotiation. More on that story ahead.

Plus, thousands of gallons of diesel spill into Baltimore's inner harbor. How bad is the damage, and who is to blame for this?

Those stories, ahead.

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[09:17:13]

BOLDUAN: Today a hearing will be held for the Massachusetts high school student who was detained by ICE. His family is also now pleading for his release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

: I love you, my son. We need Marcello back home. It's no family. We feel (ph) out here (ph). We love America. Please, bring my -- my -- my son back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to give him a hug back when he gets back. But, ICE, please, get him out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Marcello is Marcelo Gomes da Silva. He is 18 years old. He was detained after a traffic stop on his way to a high school volleyball practice. The Department of Homeland Security acknowledges that he was not the target of the stop. His father was, who you saw in that video. But still, Marcello was taken into federal custody. The family's attorney says Marcello came to the United States lawfully from Brazil on a visitor visa, and then got a student visa. She says he has no criminal history, and now his local community is rallying around him, demanding his release and raising money to try to help pay for his legal fees now.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is tracking all of this for us.

What's the latest here?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're going to be watching very closely, Kate, later this afternoon as Marcelo makes his first immigration court appearance in which his attorneys expect to ask a judge that he be released on bond.

We heard from his attorney, Robin Nice, on CNN yesterday saying they do not take issue with the validity of the order to remove him. They do take issue with the detention of a high school junior, who may be 18 years old, but as they insist, he has no criminal history, he has deep community ties and it is his intention to explore the asylum avenues to actually petition for legal status if he has that opportunity.

The way DHS has put it, as you just touched on a little while ago, was this past Saturday, when Marcelo and a couple of other teammates were headed to volleyball practice, immigration officials initiated a traffic stop. They had received reports from local authorities. They say that his father, that Marcelo's father, had been driving recklessly and was in the country illegally. They conducted a traffic stop. Instead of finding the father behind the wheel, they find the son. They detain him. And that's what leads us to this moment.

We heard a little while ago from Marcelo's father in that video that they recorded in Marcelo's bedroom. Also heard from one of his younger siblings.

Let's hear from his mother, Diane, now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAINE, MARCELO'S MOTHER: My name is Diane. Marcelo's mother. Please bring my son back. I miss you, my son, so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So, remember, it was this past January that the Trump administration expressed its interest in really widening their scope to just beyond undocumented people with a violent criminal history. And as Tom Homan put it in his own words, if you're in the country illegally, you've got a problem.

[09:20:02]

So, he said that necessarily you don't have to have a criminal record to be targeted by his immigration officials. And it seems that that's the case.

But look, the reality is, this is also a reminder of families potentially being torn apart. And now a young man, who's 18 years old, now finding himself in custody, just trying to get back with his family. So, we'll find out today if that will happen, if a judge will grant him bond or if he will join so many others in ICE detention until his immigration case plays out, facing the real possibility of deportation.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and the response from the community is something that is so noteworthy.

SANDOVAL: There's tremendous support in the community.

BOLDUAN: Tremendous.

SANDOVAL: Including from those who have played on the court with him, on the volleyball court.

BOLDUAN: On the volleyball court.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Polo.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

This morning, President Trump signing a sweeping travel ban from several countries to the U.S., citing security risks. The president's new ban is set to take effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. It includes citizens from 12 countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. Those from seven other countries will face restrictions.

Joining me now, CNN national security analyst Carrie Cordero.

I do want to ask you this, 12 countries are banned, seven countries partially banned. And one reason mentioned for the ban is the percentage of people overstaying their U.S. visa.

This comes on the heels, of course, of the Colorado anti-Semitic attack where the suspect overstayed his visa, according to authorities. But he's from Egypt. And, curiously, Egypt's not on the list. So, what is going on here in your mind?

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I think there's a few things, Sara.

So, first of all, obviously, immigration enforcement is a central piece of the Trump administration's national security policy. They've made that clear in every possible way. And this particular order follows on efforts that they tried to do in the first administration. They had a few false starts in terms of orders that then were halted by the court, but ultimately they were able to get a modified version of their restrictions through. And so this time they are more prepared. I suspect that they had much of this new order sort of drafted, ready to go, perhaps the particular environment of this individual engaging in this attack in Colorado prompted them.

Why specific countries might not be on the list, for example, Egypt, we have to take into account that there also are foreign policy considerations that go into these types of orders. So, if, for example, Egypt is a country that the administration in other contexts, for example, Middle East security, potentially the war in Gaza, needs to have a dialog with and needs to be engaged with, then there could be superseding, bigger picture foreign affairs reasons not to include that on the order. SIDNER: I just want to go back to something that you said because

Trump has done one of these sweeping travel bans before on majority- Muslim countries. It did, of course, end up in court, as you mentioned. Ultimately, Biden lifting those bans.

Did we ever get a concrete answer from the courts on whether these bans as a whole are legally sound?

CORDERO: Well, the Supreme Court generally tries not to make big sweeping proclamations. So, what it's going to do is it's going to look at the specific order before it. And so that's why each variation of the order in the first administration went up through the courts. Decisions were made, went back down through the courts, and then a modified version. So, I don't think we would get in this case either an order from any court, including the Supreme Court, that says, overall, a president can't limit immigration or entry from certain countries because generally the courts are pretty deferential to the executive when it comes to national security matters.

But certainly this order, I expect, will be challenged, if it hasn't already been this morning, by constituents. And so, I would expect this order will go through a litigation process as well.

SIDNER: I do want to ask you about one of the reasons that what -- that is being cited for this travel ban, particularly to the partial travel ban that many of these countries citizens overstay their visa. Is that something that the courts would look at, that specific reasoning, for these bans?

CORDERO: Yes, I mean, the courts will be looking to the specific reason whether it is compliant with immigration laws that currently are on the books. A lot of what the administration, in my judgment, is trying to do is they are pushing the envelope as far as they can with respect to the current laws that exist. So, the courts are going to take a narrow approach. They're not going to try to overturn a president's, any president's authority to effectuate immigration policy. What they're going to do is look at whether the specific contours of this specific order are in compliance with the Constitution and the current immigration laws.

[09:25:01]

SIDNER: Carrie Cordero, thank you so much for coming on and taking us through that. It's a complex situation here. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: We are just a few minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. You can see market futures up a tick. This coming on the breaking news we just heard that President Trump is holding a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This as there continues to be this trade standoff between the two countries. The market on edge, waiting to find out what happened during that call.

And then they make Pampers, among other things. Now, the company that does that says they will slash 7,000 jobs over the next two years, citing the president's -- one of the reasons as the president's tariffs.

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[09:30:00]