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White House to Provide Partial Food Stamp Benefits in November; Newark & Albuquerque Report a Lack of Air Traffic Controllers; Trump Says He Doesn't Know Who Binance CEO is After Pardoning Him; President Trump Says Maduro's Days Are Numbered but Doubts a U.S. War With Venezuela; Mississippi Mom Kills Escaped Research Monkey Fearing for Her Children's Safety. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 03, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:50]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The Trump administration confirmed it would provide partial food stamp benefits for November by tapping into the program's contingency fund. In a new court filing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will use roughly $4.6 billion from the emergency fund, which equates to about half of SNAP benefits for the month of November. Recipients, we should note, will not see the payments immediately. Millions of people already started missing their benefits this Saturday.

Amid all this government shutdown uncertainty, new CNN polling shows that roughly eight in 10 Americans consider the shutdown a crisis or major problem. It also shows that Americans are not happy with how President Trump is handling the shutdown. 61 percent say they disapprove of the job he's doing. With us now to discuss is Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos of Florida's Eighth District.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. So, you see the disapproval number there, as millions of Americans, some 42 million have lost their SNAP benefits over the weekend. The President attended a costume party at Mar-a-Lago. He touted the new marble and gold bathroom at the White House. He toured his private jet at Palm Beach.

[13:35:00]

I wonder if when you think of the SNAP recipients back home in your district, they feel that the White House understands the issues that they're facing right now, the strain that they're facing financially.

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS, (R-FL) FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, first, we all feel it. It's very frustrating right now. That's the reason I voted yes to keep the government open. We passed this bill out of the House in mid-September. Of course, Democrats are blocking it, as you know, in the United States Senate. I've seen a bunch of the interviews on CNN asking Democrats, well, why don't you help these folks out open up the government? Let's have a debate about healthcare. But that said, remember, the President was in China and throughout the Asian community and talking about restoring trade agreements between the United States and Japan, let alone China, which is a good thing to help our economy reduce those tariffs and make it a more vibrant world. That said, the president has said very clearly that what is -- what is the Democrat -- the Democrats are saying to us, give us or spend $1.5 trillion or we're not going to vote yes.

There was an election in 2024 and we made some changes in July that got rid of a lot of waste, fraud and abuse, and we don't want to bring that back into the system. But the president is very much willing to engage with the Democrats. But you can't ask for a $1.5 trillion ransom note in exchange for opening up the government for a couple of weeks. We want to have good talks about healthcare, smart conversations about SNAP because these people need it, 40 million. And the only folks blocking that are, at this point, Democrats in the United States Senate, in my opinion.

SANCHEZ: You've spoken about how there are folks out there that really need this money. I've heard administration officials lament that these judges have basically said that they were breaking the law by not using these contingency funds. And other Republicans suggest that folks that didn't have full pantries based on the SNAP benefits that they've been getting historically, should stop smoking crack.

I've heard less than empathetic remarks from folks on the right about SNAP recipients. And the president describes the majority of them as being Democrats, even though 14 or so of the top-20 states in terms of receiving SNAP benefits are actually red states. Do you think that there's something tone deaf about the way that those folks are talking about SNAP?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I'm not through with all the comments, but look, people are hungry. There's 40 million Americans on SNAP. I want to restore those. I also think long term, when you got to see that some people are abusing the system, fraud of course does exist, especially in that bigger program. But in the short term, we want to help out families. This is a very trying time. Remember the last four years, inflation went up radically on food prices, rent prices, gasoline prices, and we were elected, in essence, getting the majority in 2024 because people said that Biden plan didn't work.

Now we're finding out that the Biden healthcare plan didn't work either. So, I'm very sympathetic to those folks who are having a tough time with their SNAP benefits because it's important, they've come to expect them. I'm glad to see that there's some movement on that issue, but in general, we need to be able to sit down and, one, open the government. You just had your previous guest. We see right now where I live in Orlando, the vacation capital of the United States, there are big delays on flights and that means we're less safe.

Let's open up the government. You'll find Republicans like myself can't wait to have debates on SNAP, Medicaid, Social Security, any issue that people want to talk about. But let's open the government up, after all you and I, are paying for it. SANCHEZ: You spoke about facing issues with travel and air traffic control. Last time you were on CNN, you said that air traffic controllers should recognize when you're a federal worker, that when they have these political events happening, they know they're going to be paid on the backside. Many of those folks, even before the shutdown, six-day weeks, 10-hour days, there's a shortage of air traffic controllers. Do you think that kind of message resonates now when many of them are cornered in a tough place, not only having a hard time feeding their families, but getting worked to the bone?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, one is, I do think federal employees do get better benefits than most in the economy. But with that said, I think my own people who work in my office, they're not getting paid either. I have not taken my paycheck during this time period because I think we're all struggling with it. I do think that these things can be taken off the table. CRs shouldn't be necessary to keep the government open for one simple reason, you and I, every person watching the show pays taxes. They deserve the services they should be getting with those.

And this is purely a political game. I was shocked that the Democrats are continuing this for over a month now to stop these folks from getting paid, the military, air traffic controllers, just the basic things that make government work every day. But in general, we should not have government shutdowns like this. Basic things have been agreed to. Let's move forward with a debt budget we're working with prior.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, while we have you, I do want to ask you about something the president said on "60 Minutes" last night as he's accusing his predecessor of having abused his pardon power. What's your reaction to his admission that he doesn't actually know someone that he's part, the Founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao. He pleaded guilty to money laundering and prosecutors accused him of having caused significant harm to U.S. national security. I mean, do you think the president should know who he's pardoning?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, we need you (ph) about the auto pen from the previous administration. I think President Biden pardon over 4,200 people. President Trump in his previous term pardoned 238, pretty this big disparity there.

[13:40:00]

That said, I don't know all the working facts candidly on this case. I do know this, the president of United States has done a remarkable job in his first 10 months in office in securing eight peace treaties. We've lowered the interest rates. We've secured the border. We have record stock market. I feel pretty good about where the economy is moving. What we need to do is open up the government.

SANCHEZ: Do you feel comfortable with the notion that he pardoned someone who he says he knows nothing about, given that two years before he pleaded guilty, he helped facilitate a multi-billion dollar business deal for Trump's family?

HARIDOPOLOS: Again, I don't know all those working parts, but these are issues where we all need to look at the pardon issue in general. What I was really concerned about in the last four years is that Joe Biden used an auto pen, you saw a lot of people were pardoned before even a case took place in the January 6th incident. That said, I'm focused on can we please open the government? I mean, there's no benefit now. Everyone has made their political points. Let's move forward and get the government open because, as you put it perfectly, people are hungry, air traffic controllers are working without pay, and men and women in the military are working without pay. In a realistic sense, they work paycheck to paycheck. And it's a frustrating thing to go through, especially when we know we can work these things out in the long term.

SANCHEZ: I just want to point out for a fact, the former president has stated that he is aware of the folks that he's pardoned. That's the messages he's --

HARIDOPOLOS: That's what he said today. That's correct.

SANCHEZ: Congressman Mike Haridopolos, thank you so much for the time. We appreciate it.

HARIDOPOLOS: Thanks, Boris. Good to see you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come on News Central, new rhetoric from President Trump discussing the U.S. conflict with Venezuela and the risk of escalation. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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[13:46:18]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Despite a huge U.S. military buildup near Venezuela and multiple military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, President Trump is now downplaying the possibility of the U.S. going to war with Venezuela. During a wide ranging interview on "60 Minutes" last night, Trump also predicted that Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro would not be in power much longer and refused to rule out land strikes on the country.

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NORAH O'DONNELL, HOST OF "60 MINUTES", CBS: Are we going to war against Venezuela?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I doubt it. I don't think so.

O'DONNELL: Are Maduro's days as president numbered?

TRUMP: I would say yeah, I think so. Yeah.

O'DONNELL: And this issue of potential land strikes in Venezuela, is that true?

TRUMP: I don't tell you that. I mean, I'm not saying it's true or untrue, but I wouldn't --

O'DONNELL: Why would we do it?

TRUMP: I wouldn't be inclined to say that I would do that.

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KEILAR: We're joined now by retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, who is a CNN Military Analyst, and he made those comments after another one of these strikes on an alleged drug boat. Take us through the bigger picture here.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, so this is what the strike would look like, Brianna. They're basically hitting something that's very dark here. But what we're really looking at is all these assets. You have the USS Gravely right here, which is in Trinidad and Tobago. You have these other assets, the Stockdale, the Chimo, the USS Lake Erie, all of them are right here in the Caribbean. And one of the key things is this. We've got aircraft stationed here in Puerto Rico.

We've got assets deployed throughout this region that is at Lesser Antilles. This is Port of Spain, it is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. This is where the Gravely was last in port and all of these areas, this right here is the Venezuelan coastline. So this would be the area that we would be focused on if we were actually going to go into Venezuela. Just one last thing, this right here is the Panama Canal and shows you exactly how all of these sea lanes kind of come together in this particular part of the world.

KEILAR: So those are a lot of assets that are now in the Caribbean. What's on the way?

LEIGHTON: So what's on the way is, well, we've already got F-35s in Puerto Rico like these, but what's on the way is the USS Gerald R. Ford and its carrier battle group. So you've got the Ford itself, which is the aircraft carrier. You've got the USS Mahan, the Bainbridge, the Winston S. Churchill. These are Aegis Destroyers that can actually do some things that are quite impressive. But also, as part of the Ford Carrier Battle Group, you have the F/A-18. So this aircraft has not only precision guided capabilities in terms of its munitions, it's got a cannon -- 20-millimeter canon on board, and it can use mines and rockets, and it can go after all kinds of targets, particularly in a ground attack mode, as well as conduct combat air patrols.

KEILAR: I want to ask you about a post from the president this weekend where he said that "he's ordering the Pentagon to prepare for possible action in Nigeria." He criticized what he called the mass slaughter of Christians in the country, saying the U.S. would immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria. He warned the government there to move fast. Nigeria, by the way, has repeatedly denied the accusation of violence against Christians. But can you talk to what's happening in the region and what possible action might look like?

LEIGHTON: Yeah, so one of the things here is -- to note is that, Nigeria has about 235 million people, about evenly split between Muslims and Christians. The vast majority of the people who are actually impacted by the violence, which generally happens in the northern part of the country, are actually Muslims. There are Christians that have been impacted by the attacks by affiliates like, I'll just use the abbreviation for Boko Haram in this area right here, shows that they are basically coming in from the north.

[13:50:00]

And one of the key things here is this is not the only thing that's going on in this part of the world. So just a little bit to the northwest of Nigeria is the country of Mali and one of the key factors that's happening here, the capital Bamako is actually being surrounded right now by Islamist terrorist forces that are affiliated with Al- Qaeda. They are taking over this vast country. The French have left the country. The Russians are there but they're not helping the government that they're allied with. So, the real area that we're supposed to be focused on is really Mali and not Nigeria.

KEILAR: That's a really interesting point. Cedric, thank you for taking us through both of those. Really appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: Good (ph), Brianna.

KEILAR: Boris?

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour, a woman in Mississippi says she shot and killed an escaped research monkey because she worried it could harm her kids. It had been on the loose since Tuesday after a truck carrying 21 of the monkeys overturned on a highway. Jessica Bond Ferguson says she killed the animal after her son spotted it running in their yard early Sunday. Ferguson said she'd been warned the animals carried diseases and that she "Did what any mother would do to protect her kids." Two of the escape monkeys are still on the run.

Also, a Harvard Medical School lab is now reopened after an explosion over the weekend that investigators say was intentional. Officials are now looking for two masked people who were seen on surveillance video running from the building after a firearm alarm went off. The FBI is helping in the investigation.

And recovery efforts are underway as Jamaica continues to clean up after Hurricane Melissa. This drone video shows what was left behind after one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded tore through the island last week, Local officials in Jamaica say the storm killed at least 28 people. That brings the death toll to at least 59 across the Caribbean. That number may continue to go up as rescue workers reach remote communities cut off by some of the damage.

Still ahead on "CNN News Central," the FBI naming two suspects in an alleged Halloween terror plot, the latest on the investigation after a quick break.

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[13:56:49] KEILAR: We're following Breaking News out in Michigan where federal authorities charged two suspects in connection with an alleged terror plot. Mohmed Ali seen in the gray t-shirt and Majed Mahmoud in the black shirt, both facing terrorism related charges that carry a 15- year prison sentence if they are convicted. The alleged plot unfolded in an online chat room that was uncovered and monitored for months by investigators.

SANCHEZ: CNN Correspondent Leigh Waldman is on the ground in Dearborn, Michigan. Leigh, what more can you tell us about these suspects and the charges they're facing?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just got our first view of those suspects moments ago in this courthouse behind us. Both Mohmed Ali and Majed Mahmoud were shackled, still wearing their street clothes. They sat with their hands close together and made several glances to the gallery that was packed with people eager to see what happened in this courthouse today. But that criminal complaint that was filed, more than 70 pages long, gave us those details we've been looking for over the weekend about this alleged terror plot that was stopped by the FBI.

Both these men are just 20-years-old and according to authorities, they were planning an ISIS-inspired attacked to happen on Halloween. It was on the scale -- possibly on the scale of the 2015 Paris terror attack that killed at least 130 people. Now, we know according to that complaint, that both Ali and Mahmoud both bought AR-15 style rifles with Mahmoud purchasing more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition.

Now reading further through that complaint, we also are learning a bit more about what the target of this attack might have been. They said that these men traveled to Ferndale, Michigan, which according to that complaint, is home to several bars and clubs that in "intentionally attract members of the LGBTQ community." Now we know back -- a few years back, there was an attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida that ISIS had claimed responsibility for in that attack.

We know that both of these men are going to be detained for at least a week when we have another detention hearing. We'll see them back in court a week from today. And if they are found guilty of these charges, they could face a maximum of 15 years in prison and up to a quarter million dollar fine.

SANCHEZ: Leigh Waldman live for us in Michigan, thank you so much. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

KEILAR: SNAP lifeline, the White House will provide some food stamp benefits this month, but they won't be the full amount that millions of American families count on for meals.

SANCHEZ: Plus, a political sneak preview. Voters heading to the polls tomorrow and pundits are watching several key races to see what they could tell us before next year's midterms. And amateur thieves staging a professional heist, what we're learning about the criminals accused of stealing jewels, millions of dollars worth of jewels from the Louvre. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

KEILAR: We begin with Breaking News, the White House now