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White House Blasts Fed Renovations; Natasha Sarin is Interviewed about Tariffs; Keia Clarke is Interviewed about Women's Sports. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired July 11, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Perhaps flooding the market. The president's tariffs aren't doing any of that. It's raising costs, uncertainty, which dramatically in -- affects investment that we need to grow the economy. And it's alienating our allies. Allies we need when the going gets tough.

But this is a whole nother ballgame. This is the president's political win. An affinity he has for someone else, perhaps because, you know, he understands what it's like to interfere with elections or attempt to. I was in the room on January 6th, so it's a little personal for me.

This will be a disaster with a country, Brazil, that we have a trade surplus with. He's using his own whims to actually drive up costs for Americans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Mike Quigley from Illinois, have a terrific weekend. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we are waiting for stock markets to open. You can see what the futures are doing right now as President Trump threatens that new 35 percent tariff on Canada.

And there are new threats by the administration against the Fed chairman.

That story and more, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:48]

SIDNER: All right, breaking overnight, a new twist in dramatic escalation in President Trump's trade war. He's now threatening to put a 35 percent tariff on one of our largest trading partners, Canada. It comes just ten days before the July 21st deadline for a trade deal that U.S. and Canadian officials had been trying to meet.

As for other countries, the president told NBC News yesterday, he may issue a blanket tariff between 15 and 20 percent.

He's also turning up the heat, turning up pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. White House Budget Director Russ Vought accusing Powell of mismanaging the Fed because of "costly office renovations" that Vought says are now $700 million over budget. Vought comparing the cost to upgrading the Palace of Versailles.

CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House with more on this.

The president himself has done quite a few fancy renovations to the White House. You've just heard from Vought, though, just moments ago. What is he saying about all this as he's threatening potential criminal action against Powell?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: That's exactly right. President Trump has long attacked, publicly and privately, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, but he says that he needs to move -- to move faster and lower rates quicker.

But this really marks a new intensification of this. Russ Vought, in this letter, is essentially accusing Powell of breaking the law because of that planned office renovation that is racking up high costs.

And our colleague Kristen Holmes reports that the president has installed three top loyalists on a federal government central planning commission. This is essentially the board that oversees these kinds of construction projects on federal buildings. They are now ratcheting up scrutiny on Powell.

Now, the Fed is an independent body, and there are major legal questions about whether the president has the authority to fire Powell. But this letter essentially shows that the White House is laying the groundwork, potentially, to fire Powell.

Now, I asked Russ Vought, the OMB director, about this multiple times, and here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSSELL VOUGHT, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: Look, this is about the the -- the -- the renovations that are occurring, the extent to which they are largesse. The -- the costs that we're talking about is now $2.5 billion. If you look at the actual Palace of Versailles, if you were to update those figures for where we, in modern numbers, it would be $3 billion. The capital was about $2.5 billion from all of its different buildings. From the founding of the country to 1982.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now this comes, of course, as the president is enacting major changes to the White House Rose Garden, along with Air Force One. But Vought was also asked three times whether the president still respects the independence of the Federal Reserve. He was unable to say so. He said, "that question is immaterial, and the president wants rates lower."

Now, Powell, for his part, has defended those renovations. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: There's no VPI dining room. There's no new marble. We took down the old marble, we're putting it back up.

There are no new water features. There's no beehives. And there's no -- and there's no roof terrace gardens. Other than that, you know. So, all of the -- all of the sort of inflammatory things that the media carried are -- are either not in the current plan or just inaccurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Powell's term ends on May 2026. The president, so far, is making clear that he would like him out. Powell says he's not going anywhere.

SIDNER: Yes, we'd just like to apologize. There was an audio that dropped out a little bit on Powell's comments there. But, Betsy Klein, thank you so much for that new reporting on what Vought is saying about Powell and those renovations this morning.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much.

Joining us right now is Natasha Sarin. She's president and co-founder of The Budget Lab at Yale. She also served as counselor to former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Thanks for being here. It's good to see you, Natasha.

Let's focus in. There's just been kind of a slew, if you will, of new tariffs threatened, promised, we could also say, in just the last -- I would even say just 24 hours really that I wanted to walk through with you to try to wrap our mind around where are we with this trade war.

[09:40:05]

First and foremost, what we heard, now he's targeting Canada again, promising, threatening a 35 percent tariff on imports from Canada. This is in the midst of negotiations over their trade deal, just as Canada had promised to rescind a digital services tax that Trump had been railing against. So, it seemed a concession. And then you have this.

So, is it clear to you, if this would go into effect now, what impact this new tariff would have?

NATASHA SARIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMY POLICY: Well, so we, at The Budget Lab at Yale, have been trying to, in real time, keep pace with all of the tariff announcements that are coming out from the administration. What I can tell you is, as of late last night, effective tariff rates were around 18 percent. That's the highest they've been since 1934. That would translate to increased costs on the goods that Americans consume on the order of about $2,300 a year.

Now, just this morning, we're waking up to a new 35 percent tariff on Canada and also potentially increases in the baseline tariff rates on all countries. Trump has floated maybe a 15 percent or a 20 percent baseline.

And so, what you're seeing here is moving towards escalating and increasing tariffs relative to where we were previously. And it kind of raises the question of like what exactly is the end game here.

BOLDUAN: Exactly my question.

SARIN: Like, what are we trying to accomplish.

BOLDUAN: Exactly. When is -- what is enough and when is enough enough that it is just like, let's just say baseline is unclear. I mean, it has not been -- it has not been articulated what -- when enough is enough in terms of the -- the trade imbalance that they are looking at or when the imports -- it's not clear.

But to your point, then there's -- so -- and, wait, there's more. Then the president also said yesterday that he's going -- he's -- the new baseline is going to be 15 or 20 percent.

Here's the quote as he told it to NBC News. "We're just going to say all the remaining countries are going to pay, whether it's 20 percent or 15 percent. We'll work that out." If you read into that, the baseline right now has been 10 percent, right? The across the board tariff is 10 percent. So, what is that going to mean? And where does that leave -- really leave this trade war if -- now if -- you could say everyone across the globe and markets were prepared and settling into a baseline 10 percent. But what is this then do?

SARIN: So -- and I think a part of it kind of goes to where we started, which is, in just the last 24 hours, in just the last few days, you've seen tariff rates move pretty dramatically. And if you look at where we are relative to where we were in January, we've seen more than 60 different tariff announcements. So, effective tariff rates have gone up. They've gone down. There's been a lot.

BOLDUAN: It's felt like that. But putting a number on it is -- is -- is quite something.

SARIN: It -- and kind of like we're in a situation where, if you're thinking about not just the impact on consumers, but also the impact on businesses who are trying to make investment decisions, how exactly are they supposed to know where this is all going to land.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) and businesses were paralyzed.

SARIN: And it makes sense, right, because, should you move manufacturing to the U.S. if, you know, in a couple of months or a couple of weeks you're going to see tariffs go off on these countries and tariff rates be lower? Should you actually invest in, if this is really about China, should you invest in manufacturing in Vietnam or in India, because those are places that allow us to have sort of more of an allied relationship with respect to our trading partners.

And if this is fundamentally about revenue raising, if it's about the idea that we just had this massive deficit busting tax and spending bill last week, and we need to find revenue to sort of make up for that, well, then these tariff rates are high and they're just going to keep getting higher.

BOLDUAN: But then can you add into that, it -- there is a very explicit example of now it has nothing to do with economic policy and revenue raising when you're talking about Brazil.

SARIN: Totally.

BOLDUAN: So, you have this threatened tariff on Brazil. And with -- and the way the president lays it out, he's explicitly saying that he's using the tariff to try to help a political ally, saying nothing about economic policy. And the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil.

SARIN: And that's so -- so, I have really been sort of, as an economist, kind of frustrated by the focus of this administration on trade deficits because, you know, like, I run a trade deficit with Whole Foods, and it's good that I'm able to go there and buy food rather than having to sort of go and produce it myself. But if you do think trade deficits are this -- sort of this central focus, then putting a 50 percent tariff on a country where we've had a trade surplus for the last 15 years doesn't really comport with that type of an explanation. And kind of they're being explicit. It's really about other stuff.

And then that raises the question, if it's really about other stuff, again, how do you plan, how do you have any certainty when there's likely to be more and more sets of policy priorities that we're trying to use this one particular, really ill-suited tool to try and address?

BOLDUAN: Right. And remember, if you want to add, just as we close, with Canada, it was -- had to do with the fentanyl crisis as well. So, this is just a very good example of the administration does need to answer and clarify some of these questions at some point.

[09:45:04]

SARIN: Totally. And not just clarify, also explain why American consumers should bear the cost for all of this.

BOLDUAN: We will see.

It's great to see you, Natasha. Thanks for coming in.

SARIN: Thanks so much for having me.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, federal officials are on the hunt for a man they say shot an immigration officer -- at immigration officers during a raid at a California farm. We're getting new details just in about this confrontation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Professional women's basketball, as you know, seeing record breaking viewership and attendance.

[09:50:01]

The competition between new stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have helped usher in new fans. But behind the scenes, people like New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke are building a legacy for women's sports, breaking boundaries and changing the game for the better.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice over): Keia Clarke's love of the game began with these words from her mom.

KEIA CLARKE, CEO, NEW YORK LIBERTY: She put a ball in my hand when I was three years old, and she said I was going to do something special with that ball. It just so happens it fizzled out. I peaked as a basketball player my junior year.

SIDNER (voice over): Her basketball career did not dribble away. Instead, she became the CEO of the New York Liberty. And in 2024, Clarke and her WNBA team did something New York's NBA teams have not done in more than 50 years.

SIDNER: What was it like winning the championship? I mean, this is decades in the making. This is --

CLARKE: It's indescribable. I've often said, belief. I'm 15 seasons with the Liberty. I started at a pretty much entry level role.

SIDNER: Yes.

CLARKE: So, I can identify. And I know what it feels like to come in and feel like, is this all worth it? And when you win, and that confetti falls, everything feels worth it.

SIDNER (voice over): She says her team believes it's also worth standing up against the new political trade winds.

SIDNER: The current administration of the United States has been cutting everything it can when it comes to DEI, when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion. And you just mentioned that that was some of your core values.

CLARKE: We have always been representative of what's possible when you invest in women, when you highlight and elevate women of color, when you are supported by the LGBT+ community. It's in our DNA. There is no getting around it. And I think what's most, most, most inspiring is that our players use their voices for good. An activist-approach league of women who came together to try to bring justice to Breonna Taylor's name in the 2020 season. A league that's protested in -- in the past. A league that's vocal about who they are and what they stand for.

As a leader in this organization, in this league, I can't help but be business as usual.

SIDNER: And business is booming. All 12 WNBA teams are double digit year over year in attendance. Why do you think that is?

CLARKE: Net new fans is what we've always wanted. We wanted to get beyond the core audience. And I think the really special part of that is the novelty of the new faces that have entered this league.

SIDNER: You were 9-0, and then Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever showed up on your doorstep and took a game from you. What impact has Caitlin Clark made?

CLARKE: Caitlin is a generational player. She's impacted just about every facet of the game. And also the business of this game. When you talk about media coverage and viewership and ratings and ticket sales, she has absolutely been a catalyst for this league.

SIDNER (voice over): But the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry has brought out two unrelenting social issues, race and aggressive play in women's sports.

CLARKE: In terms of the issue of race, I think race is always going to be a part of sports. I really feel like the core audience, the players themselves, they're tuned in for the competitive nature. They're going to talk smack. They're going to bark at each other. There will be hard fouls in this league.

SIDNER: Yes.

CLARKE: And the video is there.

SIDNER (voice over): Clarke says the secret to her success.

CLARKE: I like to encourage other people very empathetically to get outside of their comfort zone, to stretch, to push.

SIDNER: That's really good advice. Is there anything else you want to say? You did mention empathy. Is that your secret sauce?

CLARKE: Most definitely. Most definitely. People show up and they show up better when they can show up as themselves, but they could also be unafraid to make mistakes. They can be unafraid to have, quote/unquote, a bad idea or have something flop. And I think it's that safety that I want to always have on the teams that I work on.

SIDNER (voice over): An integral part of the team doesn't even play ball, but she is a ball. Ellie, the elephant.

SIDNER: Big Ellie. Ellie is named after Ellis Island. OK. You have learned some standard sign language so that you can actually sign. Oh, that's -- see. Thank you. Thank you. I love it. That's true. You all have a mascot that has created a frenzy. People talk about Big

Ellie like that's a friend.

CLARKE: Yes.

SIDNER: How did you do that? What happened there?

[09:55:00]

CLARKE: Big Ellie was born out of really a desire to be innovative. We had a beloved mascot. We didn't need a new mascot. But we were entering a new chapter. And our move to Barclays. And, really, Ellie is about exactly what we want the fan to experience when they're at a game. Will it be fun? Can it be sassy? Will you dance? Will you feel seen?

SIDNER: What's been, for you -- you started in marketing and now you're in the -- the top dog seat, right? What's hard?

CLARKE: Today, what's hard is sustainability. How do we continue this incredible momentum.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Let me just tell you that I did have a little round of dancing with Big Ellie, but I was like, could you not?

BOLDUAN: Hello.

BERMAN: And it didn't make a video.

BOLDUAN: Why didn't --

BERMAN: It didn't make the video.

BOLDUAN: Excuse me.

SIDNER: It was hard. She's -- like, in that whole outfit. I don't understand how amazing Big Ellie is dancing in all that. It's -- but I got to tell you, the games are so exciting, going to Liberty games. I've been to a few of them. So exciting. I don't think they're more exciting than the boys games. I said it.

BERMAN: And they've won a championship --

SIDNER: And they've won a championship.

BERMAN: In the last 50 years, unlike the Knicks.

Thank you all for joining us. Have a great weekend. "SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)