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Trump Administration Plans Chicago Immigration Operation As Soon As This Week; Ex-CDC Directors: RFK Jr. "Is Endangering Every American's Health"; Xi Jinping Outlines China's Ambition To Reshape Global Order. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 01, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:50]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: This morning the Trump administration is confirming that it will expand its federal immigration operations in major U.S. cities, including Chicago. Now it comes days after CNN reported that the administration is planning that crackdown in Chicago as early as this week.

Here's what Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said when she was asked specifically about ICE operations in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Well, we've already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states making sure that we're upholding our laws, but we do intend to add more resources to those operations. We will continue to go after the worst of the worst across the country like President Trump has told us to do, focusing on those that are perpetuating murder and rape, and trafficking of drugs and humans across our country knowing that every single citizen deserves to be safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House with us this morning with the latest. And what more do we know about these plans, Betsy?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WRITER AND REPORTER: Well Bianna, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says that more resources are coming to Chicago as the Trump administration makes plans for the next phase of its immigration crackdown -- this time setting up a major enforcement operation expected to get underway in Chicago over the coming days, according to multiple sources familiar with the planning.

There are already plans underway to surge federal agents and to send armored vehicles to the Windy City. It is expected to get underway by Friday, September 5. Of course, those same sources caution that this is subject to change. Those plans are still quite in flux. Now this is expected to be larger in scale than the immigration

enforcement operations that we saw in Chicago early in the president's second term and it is expected, according to some of these sources, to mirror what we saw in Los Angeles earlier this summer. So we are expecting agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and potentially other agencies. But in a sign of how this could mirror Los Angeles they are also preparing for the National Guard to be standing by in the event a peacekeeping presence is needed.

But all of this setting up a political test for the city and state's Democratic leaders. We heard from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker warning that he has not yet heard from the Trump administration -- listen.

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GOV. JB PRITZKER, (D) ILLINOIS: They ought to be coordinating with local law enforcement. They ought to let us now when they're coming, where they're coming -- if it's ICE or if it's ATF or whoever it is -- but they don't want to do that either. And I must say it's disruptive, it's dangerous. It tends to inflame passions on the ground when they don't let us know what their plans are and when we can't coordinate with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: And over the weekend we heard from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson who signed an executive order that, in part, directs Chicago police not to collaborate with federal agents on immigration enforcement, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Things do appear to be moving quickly though, Betsy. Thank you so much.

[07:35:00]

Also new this morning, a stark warning from nine former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They're saying that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is endangering the health of every America.

In a new op-ed in The New York Times, leaders who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, write that RFK Jr.'s impact on the CDC and public health has severely weakened programs designed to protect Americans.

The piece comes amid turmoil for the CDC after the White House said it fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after less than a month on the job. That in turn prompted a string of high-profile resignations.

CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard joins me now for more on this. So Jacqueline, what else is said in this op-ed?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Bianna, these former heads of the CDC -- they condemn nearly action Kennedy has made so far this year. They write about how they have concerns about the way he downplayed the importance of vaccines during this year's measles outbreak. He has fired thousands of health workers. He's replaced all experts on the CDC's Vaccine Advisory Committee, and they mention how he has cited flawed research and how he's made some inaccurate statements.

And the former heads of the CDC, they say they worry how these actions could lead to residents of rural communities and in low-income communities, and people with disabilities -- they may have more limited access to health care. They worry about how there may be fewer resources for state and health departments and community health clinics. They worry about the impacts when it comes to having access to vaccines for children.

And one of the authors of this op-ed, Dr. Tom Frieden -- he told our colleague Manu Raju yesterday that this not about politics; this is about public health. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Look, this isn't about Democratic or Republican. This is about fact versus fiction. This is about protecting our health versus endangering our health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: And Bianna, the authors of this op-ed -- collectively, they have more than 100 years working at CDC. So this op-ed -- it really is unprecedented to see these nine former heads of CDC speaking out in this way.

GOLODRYGA: And important to note that they all worked for both Republican and Democratic --

HOWARD: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: -- administrations, too. Highly unusual to see something like this take shape.

Are these former directors actually calling on Congress to do anything about it now?

HOWARD: They do. And in the op-ed itself here is what they write. "This is a time to rally to protect the health of every American. Congress must exercise its oversight authority over HHS. State and local governments must fill funding gaps where they can." The op-ed also calls on medical groups to continue to stand up for science and truth. They also call on the private sector to step up their community investments.

So this not only seems like a warning but a call to action, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. We'll see if we hear from those members of Congress anytime soon.

All right, Jacqueline Howard. Thank you so much -- John. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: With us now Republican strategist Melik Abdul, and Democratic strategist Meghan Hays.

I want to read a little more from this op-ed because it really is extraordinary.

It says, "What Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has done to the CDC and our nation's public health system over the past several months is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency and unlike anything our country has ever experienced."

Melik, I am curious -- and Bianna and Jacqueline touched on this -- the idea of Congress stepping in. You know, Sen. Bill Cassidy from Louisiana was a tough vote for RFK Jr. Other Republicans were tough votes.

What do you think they will do? Do you think they will stand up to what's happening now?

MELIK ABDUL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST (via Webex by Cisco): I don't think that Congress will do much. They haven't done very much at this point. And some of the things that RFK has done, and I do believe at this point that he's been a distraction for Donald Trump in ways that many people didn't predict.

You know, I never was a fan of RFK becoming the HHS secretary from the beginning simply because he was a Democrat-turned-Independent. So I didn't think he needed to be part of the cabinet. Not questioning anything around his qualifications.

But many people in this same community who were talking about RFK, these are the people who during COVID -- they kind of threw out a lot of things that we now know that weren't even scientific, whether that was about how far you have to distance yourself. Whether it was what type of mask did you wear. These were things that they were pushing very early on.

And in places like Washington, D.C. where you had to have a vaccine passport to even go into a restaurant, this was supposed to be based on science.

So there is a reason for people to be concerned about RFK. I expect Cassidy will raise some concerns. But there is also the knowledge that we do have now, and it really leans into why people are very hesitant when it comes to what the CDC says. They -- the CDC -- the scientific community took up what they during COVID if they really want to bring the trust back to the institution.

[07:40:00]

BERMAN: Meghan, is this bending or breaking with RFK Jr.?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION CONSULTANT: I think it's definitely breaking. I think that they're asking the American people to believe quack science and it's just not the way it works. I think that there are some things that RFK Jr. has done that are good. But it's like you take one step forward by taking food dyes out of our food, which is an extremely good and extremely positive step forward, and then you take 10 steps backwards by talking about getting rid of vaccines and how it doesn't work.

And so I just think that in losing these doctors who have given their entire lives to public health is I think really disastrous for our country moving forward. And I just think, again, like Melik is saying, it just continues to sow discontent and distrust with our institutions.

BERMAN: And I will say it could all come to a head this month because there are vaccine approval board meetings. We will see what they come up with under Secretary Kennedy, and we'll see what the reaction is to that.

Congress coming back to work. It's time to come back to work after the long summer recess. I'm glad someone got a break.

I do want to ask you because they left a day early for the summer break because Speaker Johnson didn't want people to have to vote on any Epstein-related issues. Well, there is this discharge petition by members Massie and Khanna -- a bipartisan discharge petition, which means that they could soon have to vote on this maybe. And the reason I say maybe is because I asked Speaker Johnson about this just the other day. Just listen quickly to this exchange.

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BERMAN: So the discharge petition from Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna -- I hope I'm using the right word -- will ripen soon?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, no, it's -- I don't -- I guess it would if they get the right signatures.

BERMAN: If they get the signatures --

JOHNSON: But --

BERMAN: If they get the signatures, it will ripen soon?

JOHNSON: -- it's not a moot point.

BERMAN: Oh.

JOHNSON: It's not even necessary. I mean --

BERMAN: You don't think it's going to happen?

JOHNSON: Well, there may be a floor vote of one measure or another. We have our own resolutions to do all this, but I don't -- it's sort of not necessary at the point because the administration is already doing this. They're turning it over.

BERMAN: So -- (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The way he talked about that Meghan -- it's not necessary at this point -- one wonders if this will come to a simple up or down vote. What do you think?

HAYS: I mean, I think the reason they left in the beginning of August, early, was to get -- to not have to deal with the Epstein files in general. And that's exactly the opposite of what they're coming back to.

The Oversight Committee has -- is having people testify. They having Acosta come in and testify. There's more papers being released. They have gotten the administration to release some of the files -- or the transcripts from going to see Ghislaine Maxwell.

So I don't know that this will ever reach the floor, but this is definitely a story that's not going away and a problem that's not going away for Donald Trump.

BERMAN: What do you think, Melik?

ABDUL: I don't think this is a problem for Donald Trump at all. We look at the polling on this and we see that the interest in the Epstein case -- it actually has gone down significantly, in part because of what Donald Trump has been doing on his crackdown on crime.

But I do believe that this is something for the media. This is something for people who are in opposition to Trump to kind of amplify this. And we know that if Donald Trump -- if there was any evidence that Donald Trump or even anyone around him at this point was connected to Jeffrey Epstein in any type of nefarious way, the Joe Biden administration absolutely would have turned that over.

So, Thomas Massie and maybe other members of Congress -- they are playing to a constituency within the Republican base who do believe that there is something there, but I'm not convinced that there is anything there. And again, if it were we would have already known it.

BERMAN: Yeah. The only thing that I would dispute is that this is not a media-driven story. This was a story -- well, except to the extent that it was conservative media for years and years who were pushing them when Dan Bongino was doing podcasts and the like. That's where the outrage came when the administration said it wasn't going to release anything more at the beginning of July. And that's what I think caused the two months of mayhem that we saw over that.

I do want to get one last question in Meghan. As Congress does come back there could be a shutdown. Once again discussions of a possible shutdown at the end of the month. I don't want to get into the intricacies of what could cause it but the bottom line here, Meghan, there are questions about how much Democrats should fight over this. In other words, be careful what you wish for in terms of a government shutdown.

What do you think Democratic voters want to see? HAYS: I don't think you should shut down the government unless you have to open it back up. And unless Democrats have that leverage to open the government back up, they should not be going to shut it down.

But all of Congress should be focused on how to lower costs. I think that's what's getting lost here is costs are still rising. Tariffs are causing undue impacts on people that are just creating more burdens for families. And I think that is what Congress needs to focus on is lowering the costs of health insurance and lowering the cost food, and housing, and they are not doing that.

So again, unless they have a way to open back up, they should not shut down the government.

BERMAN: All right, interesting.

Melik Abdul, Meghan Hays, great to see both of you. Happy Labor Day to both of you. I appreciate it -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Ahead, it may be the unofficial end to the summer, but the heat is sticking around. We'll tell you what you need to know to stay cool.

And terrifying moments as a lost child was walking on an elevated monorail track at Hersheypark. We'll show you the moment a Good Samaritan leapt into action to save him.

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[07:49:30]

BERMAN: A heat advisory is in effect for Southern California with temperatures expected to climb toward 90 degrees in the Los Angeles area.

Let's get right to CNN's Allison Chinchar for the latest. Could see some records here, Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, that's right. I mean, hey, look, it's the official end to summer so why shouldn't it feel like it in some of these places? And we're absolutely going to have that in terms of the West Coast.

Again you can see a lot of the red and the orange on the screen, and it really is kind of hyper focused across the western half of the country. Now that doesn't mean that other areas won't be getting any heat; it's just that's where it's really going to be focused on.

[07:50:05]

Now in addition to the rest of your holiday forecast, we do have some showers down here along the Gulf Coast and really up and down much of the central tier of the U.S.

But the big story out West is certainly going to be the heat. We've got a lot of areas under heat alerts and, in fact, both heat advisories and also some excessive heat watches and warnings going on.

In Southern California this is where we're going to be looking at those temperatures that are about 10 to 15 degrees above normal. But that's also going to be the case for Oregon as well as Washington State.

Looking at Sacramento, specifically, the average this time of year in this area is about 91 degrees. We will spend every single one of the next four days well above that. We don't start to see those temperatures coming back down closer to normal and even below normal until we get into the next weekend -- just in time for the first full weekend of fall.

Here's a look at some of these high temperatures. Again, you can see several triple-digits up and down the West Coast. The key thing to notice is that for a lot of these you're talking 10, even in some cases 15 degrees above where they normally would be. And it's going to last for several days.

The other concern for some of these parts is that the overnight lows are not going to cool off as much either, and that's really what you need are those overnight temperatures to get low enough to really allow your body to cool off.

Now the eastern half of the country is going to be quite the opposite. This is where you see the blue on the screen indicating that the temperatures here are actually going to be a little bit below normal. Now in some cases that's because you are looking at those temperatures to be combined with some showers and thunderstorms. But otherwise, again, you could also just be looking at some nice cloud cover helping to keep some of those temperatures a little on the cooler side.

Seventy-nine for the high temperature today in Raleigh, 80 in Atlanta. Only topping out at about 83 degrees in Indianapolis. So kind of enjoy these nice milder temperatures while they last.

BERMAN: It has been beautiful in the northeast. We could use some rain, but it's been beautiful.

Allison Chinchar, thank you very much -- Bianna.

CHINCHAR: You can't have everything.

GOLODRYGA: All right. This morning brand new video shows the moments after a small aircraft lost engine power and flipped into the ocean just offshore missing a crowded beach. And rescuers responded within minutes and raced to save the pilot who was still trapped inside. He survived by breathing from a small air pocket until rescuers managed to pull him out. Lucky guy.

Also, terrifying moments at Pennsylvania's Hersheypark all caught on camera. A child was seen walking on a monorail track nearly 100 feet in the air on Saturday. The panicked crowd below was trying to help him make his way to a safe spot. One man ended up climbing onto a roof and helping the child down. He said his "dad instincts" kicked in, thankfully. The child was safely reunited with his family. Hersheypark said the monorail was closed at the time.

And three Scottish brothers set a new world record for the fastest row across the Pacific Ocean in just 139 days. Now they covered 9,000 miles from Peru to Australia, surviving storms, low food supplies, even a terrifying moment when a wave swept one of the brothers off board. They reached a coastal city in northeastern Australia Saturday. And throughout their journey, they raised more than $1 million to help bring clean water to Madagascar.

Quite a worthy cause, John. It makes me feel lazy though given what I did this holiday weekend.

BERMAN: I mean, it is a worthy cause and a good workout. I don't know if it sounds like a lot of fun.

GOLODRYGA: They're smiling.

BERMAN: I mean -- I think they're smiling because they made it. Like, finally, I don't have to row for one day.

GOLODRYGA: Ah, good for them. They raised a lot of money though.

BERMAN: All right. Congratulations to them.

All right. This morning new comments from Chinese leader Xi Jinping who took a veiled dig at the U.S. as he promoted his vision of a new global order. Xi told leaders at a major summit, "The house rules of a few countries should be imposed by others." He said more as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): We should advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization and make the global governance system more just and equitable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: But truly interesting is who was there rubbing shoulders with Xi. Russia's Vladimir Putin and India's Narendra Modi all shared a laugh with the Chinese leader on the sidelines -- really almost literally rubbing shoulders. For Modi, it was his first trip to China in seven years.

Let's get right to CNN's Ivan Watson who is in Tianjin, China with this rather extraordinary summit -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and it's wrapping up now. The leaders of countries from across the Middle East and Asia have been gathering in this huge building here where they boast that they represent nearly 50 percent of the world's population. We're starting to see their motorcades leave now John.

And I think the enduring image is of those leaders of three of the world's largest countries -- Russia, China, and India -- looking pretty cordial and happy together, and all agreeing that this a time of global uncertainty and they're all calling for some kind of newer, fairer system of government.

[07:55:00]

A lot of digs taken at what they describe as a world order that's been dominated too much, they argue, by the U.S. since the collapse of the Soviet Union. And Chinese leader Xi Jinping complaining about bullying.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, saying that this kind of Atlantic Eurocentric world order -- these institutions are outdated. Of course, he's complaining at the same time as his military is nightly bombing cities in Ukraine in a war that he only described here as a crisis.

It is notable that the prime minister of India was here. He skipped last year's Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in part I think because of the fact that India and China's relations have been pretty bad. About five years soldiers from India and China were beating each other to death in skirmishes in a disputed border region in the Himalayas.

He's clearly here mending fences and still stinging from the fact that the Trump administration just days ago imposed 50 percent tariffs on India -- much higher than on India's archrival Pakistan. And that's seen by many Indian experts as stabbing India in the back and a U-turn on decades of growing U.S.-Indian relations.

Watch this place closely because in a couple days' time China will go from flexing its diplomatic muscles to flexing military muscles with a huge parade -- military parade in Beijing. It will be attended by none other than Vladimir Putin and also the leaders of North Korea and Iran -- John.

BERMAN: Yeah. High, high symbolism there.

Ivan Watson, great to have you. Thank you very much -- Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Joining me now is CNN senior affairs analyst Kim Dozier. If there's anyone who loves a military parade, Kim, we know it's Vladimir Putin. He's conducted on every year in Moscow and now he's going to be there with Xi Jinping on Wednesday to watch China's.

To pick up on what Ivan said about Putin's statements, here's what he said today at the summit and how he described the SCO, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He said, "It's a system that could replace the outdated Europe Central and Euro-Atlantic models and would take into the account the interests of a maximum number of countries and would be truly balanced."

Putin has long been pushing for a multipolar world order -- one that is less focused on the U.S. and a unipolar world dominated by the U.S. being the global superpower.

Is he getting that wish come true now?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN SENIOR AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, what we're seeing is this formation of this Eurasian bloc that is strengthening its ties economically, militarily, diplomatically, and China is in the lead.

You know, China wants to conquer the world through trade, through markets, vice, through force, and replace the U.S. as the leading global power. And it's taking advantage of this moment when Trump has alienated people -- so many nations, including India, which was becoming an ally. Whereas, in the previous White House administration the Biden administration had used market forces and joining together to try to discipline China and Russia.

In this case, however, we see that sort of method being thrown out the window and now these tariffs producing a fusion of nations that haven't always had the West's best interest at heart, especially as we see with the war of aggression in Ukraine.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and Modi making his first trip to China in some seven years coming after the U.S. --

DOZIER: Yeah.

GOLODRYGA: -- slapped an additional 50 percent tariff on India for purchasing Russian oil and gas. And yet, we saw those striking images of Modi not only sitting on Putin's motorcade for an hour for a meeting prior to walking in and meeting with other world leaders, but they walked in hand-in-hand. The two countries have long had a close history dating back to the Cold War in the Soviet Union era.

But do you envision this being an opportunity not only for Modi to get closer with Xi Jinping but also with Vladimir Putin? These sanctions appear, at least optically, to only be bringing these two closer. They not only buy Russian oil and gas, we should note they also buy arms from Russia.

DOZIER: Yeah. Russia and India have always historically had close ties because Russia has time and time again helped India out militarily. Much of India's military manufacturing systems are based on Russian models and need to be resupplied by Russia.

But what you also have is this new pressing together of the two sides because while India had been taking advantage, yes, of cheap Russian crude, India sells that Russian crude onwards to the European Union, which has double the amount that it buys from India.