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CNN International: Trump Admits Tariffs Will Cause Some Pain For Americans; Trump Agrees To Pause Tariffs On Mexico For One Month; USAID Workers At Washington HQ Told To Stay Home. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired February 03, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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


[11:00:00]

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ZAIN ASHER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to viewers from around the world. I'm Zain Asher in New York.

Still to come here on CNN Newsroom, Donald Trump's trade war. The U.S. President has just agreed to immediately pause anticipated tariffs on Mexico for one month. CNN has a team of reporters across the latest for you. Plus, workers at the main office of USAID unexpectedly told to stay home today. This as Elon Musk calls the aid agency "a ball of worms" and says that President Trump agrees that it should be shut down. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington for talks with President Trump. Now, that means the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire talks. We will have very latest for you from the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

ASHER: All right. We begin this hour with some breaking news on the looming U.S. trade war with allies Canada and Mexico. Just moments ago, we got a stunning announcement. The White House says that President Trump agreed to hit pause on planned tariffs on Mexico for one month after a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum today. U.S. stocks opened 90 minutes ago, and after an early sell-off, they've recovered quite a bit after that announcement from Mexico that essentially the tariffs are on hold.

Mr. Trump signed an executive order Saturday, slapping tariffs on goods for America's three biggest trade partners, Mexico, Canada and China. He is using them to reinforce his demand that those countries curb the flow of migrants and fentanyl into the United States. The trade war could dent global growth. It could fuel inflation, since consumers will likely bear the brunt of import prices going up. The White House says that President spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier, and that they plan to talk again later on today. Trump admits, though, that the tariffs will cause some pain in the short term, he says, for Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We may have short term, a little pain, and people understand that. But long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world. We have deficits with almost every country, not every country, but almost. And we're going to change it. It's been unfair. That's why we owed $36 trillion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: The business world is weighing in on what it thinks the Trump tariffs and stock prices are sinking all over the world, although they have recovered here in the U.S.

Let's bring in CNN's Matt Egan for more on that. So, Matt, just walk us through the Mexican President's decision here to place essentially 10,000 additional troops on the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for the U.S. pausing tariffs for one month. Very different strategy compared to what Canada is doing, Justin Trudeau.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Zain, it does look like this U.S.- Mexico trade war might be over before it ever began. You see U.S. markets way off the lows. The Dow was only down 100 points, a quarter of a point. This morning, when markets opened, the Dow is down almost 700 points. The NASDAQ was down by two percent, cutting all of those losses significantly after the leaders of the United States and Mexico have announced this one-month pause to tariffs.

President Trump said that he had a very good conversation with the President of Mexico, and said that she has agreed to supply about 1,000 Mexican soldiers to the border to try to police the flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs into the United States. He says that there is going to be negotiations going on between U.S. leaders and officials in Mexico, as they try to reach a broader agreement here. Now, this has helped to boost the Mexican peso, which had been getting significantly hit. We saw Mexican markets. The stock market also turned around. And so, to your point, at least one element of this emerging trade war is being kind of put on hold here. Now, we're still awaiting these U.S. tariffs that are scheduled to go into effect in just about 13 hours on Canada, also on China as well. So, we've got to wait to see how that plays out.

But, Zain, this is a reminder of how, yes, tariff man is back, and so that does mean a return of tariffs, but it also just means a return of chaos on the trade front, right? I mean, tariffs are threatened. They're put in motion. Then they're taken off. They're scaled up, scaled down. There is exclusions. I mean, there is just so much uncertainty here for business owners, for investors, for economists, for policymakers. Everyone is trying to sort of get through it all.

[11:05:00]

But, one thing that we should not lose sight of here is that even just the threat of tariffs, there is a cost there, right, because all of that uncertainty can cause business owners to dial back investment, consumers to maybe spend less. Obviously, there is volatility in the market. So, maybe there is some good news here, if there is no tariffs put in place, at least from the U.S. on Mexico. But, wow, there is so much uncertainty. ASHER: Yeah, absolutely. And for now, we're talking about what's happening between the U.S. and Canada and the potential fallout in terms of a trade war between those two countries. Are Americans actually ready economically for what that looks like? I mean, we mentioned rising prices, potential inflation. Are Americans ready for that?

EGAN: Well, it's really important to stress that what President Trump is threatening to do is just so much bigger in size and scope than really anything he did in terms of tariffs during his first term in office. Right? This is a really big gamble. And to your point, everyone is a lot more sensitive about the risk of higher prices now, right? Consumers, people are paying so much attention to what they're paying at the gas pump, what they're paying at the grocery store, the housing affordability crisis. All three of those things could get worse if these tariffs on Canada go into effect, and on China. Investors are more sensitive to shifts in prices. Obviously, central bankers are.

There is a risk that if there are tariffs that go into effect, that that's going to cause the Federal Reserve to be on hold for longer, right? Not cut interest rates anymore this year, and that could obviously keep borrowing costs, mortgage rates, credit cards, car loans, all higher.

And don't forget, we're also talking about a really closely integrated North American economy between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, especially in the auto industry, right? There is no such thing really as an all- American car. Every car has parts that are made in different countries, and now all those parts could face tariffs. That's why researchers have said that this 25 percent tariff that was set to go in effect on Mexico, and is still set to go into effect on Canada, that it could lift the cost of an average car sold in the United States by $3,000, Zain.

So, yes, there is this risk of higher prices, and if we've learned anything in the last few years, it's that Americans do not like higher prices. Back to you.

ASHER: Yeah. We certainly have learned that. Matt Egan live for us there. Thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks.

ASHER: Let's bring in Ravi Agrawal, the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy Magazine. Ravi, good to see you again. Just walk us through your thoughts on Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican President's decision to essentially appease the President here and sort of give him 10,000 additional Mexican troops on the U.S. border with Mexico in exchange for relief when it comes to those tariffs. Is that a smart strategy by the Mexican President, do you think?

RAVI AGARWAL, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE: I mean, it's certainly better than trying to face down 25 percent tariffs. And in many ways, this is we're emerging an era of reality TV presidency where right down to the wire Trump and his team will strike deals with various leaders, having warned chaos, and this last-minute deal, whatever it actually is, it sounds like it is a lot, 10,000 troops on the border. But, does that mean that cartels that have been sending over a lot of fentanyl and precursors for fentanyl, does that stop entirely, or does the Trump team get to sell this as a win, having used tariffs as a foreign policy cudgel?

I think there is a longer term worry here as well, other than the uncertainty which your reporter was pointing to, and that is rules and norms. Tariffs were not meant to be used as a cudgel in this form to beat allies into submission, and it creates a sense of fear, a sense of risk, and companies will already be looking to reorient their supply chains, if need be. And other countries, Europe, for example, has struck a range of free trade deals with South American countries. In Asia, there are countries looking to strike their own free deals as the United States turns protectionist. So, in many ways, even though we're looking at these short-term wins for the Trump administration, there is a longer-term cost.

ASHER: And just in terms of President Trump's goal here, I mean, obviously, as our previous reporter Matt Egan was just saying, that Americans right now are very sensitive to higher prices. Donald Trump campaigned on bringing down the cost of living for a lot of Americans. If his goal was to say, look, I'm upset about fentanyl being brought into the United States, I'm upset about the amount of illegal immigration into the U.S., I'm upset that the U.S. is being taken advantage of economically, from his perspective, what are some of the other ways that he could have gone about this, as opposed to weaponizing tariffs?

AGARWAL: So many other ways, I mean, diplomacy, for starters. I mean, his team may argue that diplomacy has failed so far, but not with them in power.

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I mean, he could have made the case that there could have been other talks to be had, other aid to be given to Mexico for it to be able to combat its own internal crime situations, the cartels that are producing fentanyl. Mexico doesn't want this to be the case either, to be clear. Mexico is not a criminal state. So, there were many other routes to do this. We don't know whether this outcome of having used tariffs as a foreign policy cudgel, we don't know that it's necessarily going to slow down the supply of fentanyl into the United States. All we know is that this is what the Trump team is saying that it will do. I mean, the -- as with so much of the noise of the pace of news right now, the detail is something that we will have to examine and see many months down the line.

ASHER: And just in terms of the U.S.'s relationship with Canada, you've got Justin Trudeau essentially urging Canadians at this point in time to choose Canadian products. You've got the premiers of a lot of Canadian provinces essentially saying they would be removing American alcoholic brands from shelves. Explain to us what the fallout is for not just Canada in all of this, but American companies that are operating in Canada as well. AGARWAL: Oh, immense for a lot of these companies, which have integrated their supply chain so deeply with Canada, its second biggest trading partner, huge importer of American goods, the cultural ties, a lot of that takes a big hit. There is a huge soft power hit as well. And these things, if you strike, let's say when Trump and Trudeau speak later today, let's say, hypothetically, they strike some sort of a deal that appeases the Trump team and allows them room to move back these tariffs that they've threatened, that doesn't mean that the sentiments that have been hurt. That doesn't go away.

When you have Canadians booing at Americans or American songs or the National Anthem, that isn't going to change overnight. If you have Canadian businesses that are looking to reorient what they serve their consumers, that doesn't change overnight. Soft power doesn't change overnight. Trust doesn't get built overnight. So, there are a lot of longer-term ripple effects.

We're in uncharted territory. I mean, in generations, no one has used tariffs as a foreign policy cudgel to this extent and degree. So, there is no playbook for even trying to understand what it does to a country and to the global system that was built around it, and I should add, built in part by the United States, which helped set up the WTO and these are flouting WTO rules, which helped set up the very international system, the rules and norms that America has backed and professed, all of that is under threat here.

ASHER: Yeah. We haven't seen anything like it, as you point out.

Ravi Agarwal live for us there. Appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

All right. The U.S. Agency for International Development faces a very uncertain future this morning. In a conversation on X, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk says that President Donald Trump agrees with him that USAID needs to, quote, "shut down". The agency's main office in Washington is closed today. Multiple sources are saying that employees were told via email to remain at home. The agency established under President Kennedy back in 1961 overseas programs to fight poverty, treat diseases, and respond to natural disasters around the world.

Let's bring in CNN's Chief Security Correspondent Alexander Marquardt. He is joining us live now from Washington. So, Alex, just explain to us the international fallout. I mean, this is obviously the U.S.'s s agency that deals with international development around the world. What are the global consequences if USAID is shut down, even if it is absorbed into the State Department?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: They're massive, and we've already started to feel them. I mean, this is an operational agency. This is an agency that goes around the world. It's not only the biggest supplier of food aid around the world. They do all kinds of things, all kinds of different programs, medical programs, therapeutic programs, educational programs.

And so, what I've been hearing from current and former USAID officials is, if this is -- if the agency is absorbed by the State Department, state doesn't have the operational capability, the expertise, the training to do what it is that USAID does. Now, remember, Zain, when Trump took office, he issued an executive order putting a freeze, a global freeze, on almost all aid around the world, with some exceptions, including for some humanitarian aid. But, even in the first few days, even if programs were then later exempt, like feeding programs, a variety of life-saving emergency programs, the confusion and the chaos and the uncertainty led to this sort of sputtering of different programs that really endangered lives, according to the people I spoke with.

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There were questions about the PEPFAR program, which has helped save millions of people around the world since George W. Bush stood up during his presidency, that deals with HIV and AIDS. There is a program in Afghanistan that helps some 145,000 women who have been victims or are dealing with sexual violence. It's those kinds of things that, even if those programs are allowed to continue, even the biggest, the smallest halt, rather, could really do some damage.

So, there will be a lot of exceptions and waivers that are given for more and more U.S. aid (ph) over time, but there will be a lot of programs also that will grind to a halt, and there will be severe consequences around the world. No doubt this is a seminal moment for the U.S.'s role in the world, questions about how it will be seen around the world, how much this administration wants to participate in helping people around the world, and that also raises questions, according to a lot of people I've been speaking with, about American national security, if they do away with this very important tool of what's known as soft power.

ASHER: Just in terms of the reaction politically, I mean, what have Democrats been saying about the U.S. administration essentially now getting rid of USAID?

MARQUARDT: Well, there has been a lot of outrage, and we're expecting to see a number of Democratic lawmakers actually go down to the USAID headquarters in just under two hours' time, where they will really highlight this. And of course, they see Elon Musk as essentially the henchman who is leading these efforts. They are talking about, essentially echoing what I was just saying, about the operational needs, the effectiveness of USAID, and how that would end if USAID were to be absorbed by the State Department.

It's going to be a remarkable scene, I think, because you have all of these USAID officials who have not been able to go to work today, who were told to stay home. They've been blocked from getting inside their agency. There have been all kinds of changes on the inside. Pictures have been taken down. Signage has been taken down. All the signs are there for essentially USAID to end, as we have known it since the 60s. This was an agency that was created by congressional statute, and only an act of Congress can officially do away with it.

So, even this move, if Trump tries to attempt this, to have USAID an independent agency put under the State Department, that raises all kinds of legal questions. And so, that's what I think we're going to be hearing today, and going forward, from these Democratic lawmakers. I should note, we're not hearing very much, if anything, from Republican lawmakers. Zain.

ASHER: All right. Alex Marquardt live for us. Thank you.

All right. Still to come, crews are recovering wreckage from last week's deadly midair collision in Washington. We'll have a live report for you on what they're hoping to learn. Plus, the new U.S. Secretary of State meets with the President of Panama, just after Donald Trump doubles down on his threat to take back the Panama Canal.

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ASHER: Welcome back. The NTSB says the data retrieved from the black box of the Army helicopter involved in last week's midair collision will be released later on today. This comes as crews are beginning to remove large sections of the wreckage of the American Airlines flight. The plane and Black Hawk helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport on Wednesday, killing everyone on board both aircraft. Investigators are hoping to learn a little bit more about the altitude of the helicopter, as well as staffing at the control tower.

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JOHN DONNELLY, CHIEF, DC FIRE AND EMS: I'll tell you this. The questions I have is, what was happening inside the tower? Were they understaffed, and the position of the Black Hawk, the elevation of the Black Hawk? Were the pilots of the Black Hawk wearing night vision goggles? Did it affect their peripheral vision or their perception?

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ASHER: Still so many questions that crews, investigators, rather, do need to get to the bottom of.

Joining me live now from Reagan National Airport is Gabe Cohen. So, Gabe, at this point in time, crews are still focused on removing and recovering the fuselage and the wreckage of that American Airlines jet from the Potomac River. What more can you tell us?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Zain. That salvage operation is well underway this morning. We have already seen that massive crane out there in the water lift out a jet engine, and we expect there could be more pieces of the airplane that come out throughout today. We know that dive teams have now recovered and identified 55 of the victims in this crash. That means 12 people are still missing out there somewhere in the water, and what crews are hoping is that as they start to remove pieces of the wreckage, they are going to find and be able to recover those additional victims. I asked the fire chief here in Washington, who is leading this operation, how confident he is that he is going -- he and his team are going to be able to find each and every one of those victims. Here is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNELLY: So, it is my belief that we're going to recover everyone. If we knew where they were, we would already have them out. So, we have some work to do as the salvage operation goes on, and we will absolutely stay here and search until such point as we have everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And Zain, as for the investigation into what actually caused this crash, over the weekend, we started to see investigators putting some of the pieces together as part of the investigation. They released some of the preliminary data from the black boxes that were on board that jet. A couple key findings. One is that it appears the plane may have been pitching up at the last second before the collision, which could indicate that the pilots who were on board the plane saw that helicopter in those final seconds, tried to avert a disaster, but it was just too late.

Another key finding is that it appears at the time of the crash, the plane was flying at an altitude of around 325 feet. Now, why that is a critical detail? Along that helicopter route, on the Potomac, helicopters aren't supposed to be flying above 200 feet, and if, in fact, the helicopter, that Black Hawk was at 300 plus feet, investigators are going to want to know why. We are likely going to find out a little bit more later today. The NTSB expecting to brief us on data from the black box on that helicopter, on the Black Hawk. We will see if the data lines up with what they were seeing from the plane.

Zain, still a lot of questions, more so than answers at this point. But, as you can see behind me, that crane out there in the Potomac work well underway to get the wreckage out of the river.

ASHER: You bring up an important point, Gabe, just about the altitude of the Black Hawk helicopter. As you mentioned, we are going to likely get much more information from the black box from the Black Hawk helicopter. Just explain to us what more details we expect to get as data from the black box is retrieved.

COHEN: Well, that is a good question. Altitude is a key point. Also, any voice recordings from on board the Black Hawk, which we don't know if we will get today, but that may tell a bit of a story about what exactly the pilots and personnel who were on the Black Hawk were seeing. Remember, air traffic control that night repeatedly called out to the Black Hawk to make sure that they were seeing the aircraft that was about to land on Runway 33. And they did get that verbal confirmation from the team on the Black Hawk that they saw the aircraft.

So, at this point, speculation has been that perhaps they were looking at something else, that they were confused looking at a different aircraft in the distance.

[11:25:00] We don't have those answers, though, Zain, at this point. Hopefully, those recordings from the black box and any other technology that's on board the helicopter may answer some of those questions.

ASHER: All right. Gabe Cohen live for us there from DCA. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right. Five people remain hospitalized following the deadly medevac plane crash in Philadelphia. Three of those in hospital are in critical condition. Investigators have the cockpit voice recorder and hope it will help them understand what exactly took place. 22 people on the ground were injured in Friday night's crash, including a number of children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDRE HOWARD, SON INJURED BY PLANE DEBRIS: My son, also same name as me, Andre Howard, tells his little sister, get down, and he grabs her. I hear the glass at her turn around. There is a piece of metal sticking out of my son's head.

LASHAWN HAMIEL, SON INJURED BY PLANE DEBRIS: As a mother, what am I supposed to do? But, he is good. He is pushing through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Seven people, including the six Mexicans on board the air ambulance, were killed. The flight operator confirmed the identities of the four deceased crew members pictured here. A young patient and her mother, who were returning to Tijuana, Mexico, also died as well.

Investigators in Texas are looking into why a United Airlines jet caught fire on the tarmac on Sunday. Passengers on board the plane, which was due to take off from Houston to New York, were told to evacuate the aircraft when a fire broke out. A video shot by a passenger shows smoke and flames coming from a wing. All of the 104 passengers and five crew got off the plane safely.

All right. Still to come, Israel's Prime Minister is in Washington to meet with President Donald Trump with talks on the Gaza ceasefire set to enter a critical new phase. That story next.

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ASHER: All right. Welcome back. You are watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Zain Asher in New York.

We return now to our top story. In an 11th hour agreement to delay U.S. tariffs on Mexico, U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced the 25 percent tariffs on Saturday, says he agreed to put them on hold for one month after speaking today with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. He says she promised to send an additional 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the U.S. border to help stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal migrants into the U.S. Earlier, The Wall Street Journal editorial board, not known for its criticism of Mr. Trump, had called the threatened tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, "the dumbest trade war in history". It says, "Leaving China aside, Mr. Trump's justification for this economic assault on the neighbors of the U.S. makes simply no sense."

[11:30:00]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also talked to President Trump today, and the two leaders plan to speak later on as well. Canada has promised it will impose its own tariffs on U.S. goods in response to Trump's promised tariffs.

CNN's Paula Newton is in Ontario with more.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Canada is certainly retaliating with tariffs of its own. It's brought out a list worth about $30 billion Canadian already. Those are ready to go this week. More than $100 million more tariffs, though, ready to go in three weeks. Now, look, Canada is saying we didn't want to do this. We've been trying to negotiate for weeks, but think about this. Until Monday, Justin Trudeau did not know that he could even get the President on the phone.

And so many of these details have been met with really feeling of betrayal here in Canada, and that has led to many people saying that they are canceling America. They want to buy Canadian, and they really understand that, sure, given a trade war with the United States, they absolutely cannot win it, but they do want to stand up for what they say is an existential crisis, especially to their way of living.

Now, I'm here in Oakville, Ontario, where there is a Ford assembly plant. There are so many communities like this all over Canada that are so profoundly linked to the American economy, and they're wondering now, economically, that if the Trump administration goes through this -- with this, really what the future will hold. Experts certainly have tried modeling this. It will lead Canada likely into a recession, the loss of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of jobs. But, perhaps more crucially, they are looking at completely realigning their relationship with the United States.

Paula Newton, CNN, Oakville, Ontario.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Let's take a look at some international headlines that we are following for you today. In northeastern Australia, deadly flood waters rose for a third day on Monday. One person has drowned, and thousands of residents are under evacuation orders, mainly in coastal areas. The flooding was triggered by record rainfall. North Queensland got an entire summer's worth of rain in just a few days.

The Greek island of Santorini has been struck by 200 minor earthquakes in recent days. The tremors have forced schools to close on the popular tourist island, and authorities have advised residents to avoid large indoor gatherings. The island, which sits on several fault lines, is actually no stranger to earthquakes. It is also in one of Europe's most active volcanic fields.

And the trial of former Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales over the unwanted kiss he planted on a female football player has started in Madrid. Rubiales is charged with one count of sexual assault and one of coercion. He kissed Spanish football star Jennifer Hermoso during the celebrations after Spain's women won the World Cup back in 2023. Hermoso testified today, saying the moment tainted one of the happiest days of her life. Prosecutors are seeking a two and a half year prison sentence.

The new U.S. Secretary of State has just arrived in El Salvador, the latest stop on his first international trip. We're just waiting for him to exit the plane. You see the aircraft there in El Salvador. This visit is basically to push El Salvador to start accepting deported foreign nationals, particularly from countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua. This comes on the back of Marco Rubio's trip to Panama.

I want to bring in Jennifer Hansler, who is joining us live now on this. So, just walk us through what came from this trip. Obviously, President Trump has said that there is unwanted or too much Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. What came from Marco Rubio's visit to that country, Jennifer?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Zain, the Panama Canal was certainly front and center of the agenda during the Secretary's stop in Panama City yesterday and earlier today, and it seemed like they had made progress on sort of moving forward this agenda of trying to have less Chinese influence over that key waterway. After Rubio met with the Panamanian President, he came out and said that they had made adjustments to try to address the U.S. concerns. He said that Panama would not be continuing with the Belt and Road Initiative. They would not re-sign that memorandum with the Chinese government, and he also indicated they could possibly end their engagement on that Chinese development project early.

However, we heard from the President of the United States last night kind of doubling down on this desire to take over that key waterway, something that the Panamanian President said there is no question that Panama has sovereignty over President Trump last night, re-upping the concerns of Chinese influence over that waterway, vowing that they would retake control, or else there would be consequences.

[11:35:00]

Now, it's unclear what sort of consequences he is teasing here, but it seemed to go in the face of the diplomatic progress that Rubio seemed to make on the ground there, Zain.

ASHER: And just in terms of the reaction in Panama from local -- from the locals essentially seeing Marco Rubio in their country talking about perhaps the U.S. taking control of the Panama Canal. Again, obviously, a lot of people in Panama remember a time when the U.S. did actually have control over the Panama Canal. Just walk us through the local reaction there on the ground.

HANSLER: Yeah. It's not likely to be welcomed there, Zain, because this is something that Panama said, this is their waterway, that they have regained control over the United States, and they're willing to work with the U.S. government, but they say that this belongs to the country of Panama. Now, we'll see if there is any further reaction on sort of this U.S. effort, as Rubio continues his travels throughout the region. As you can see, he just landed in El Salvador, and this is part of a wide swing through the region to try to also focus on the key issue of migration. This is something that Rubio said will be a top priority.

And when he spoke earlier today, Zain, he had a bit more nuance about the issue of migration than we've heard from the U.S. President. He wasn't necessarily demonizing the migrants who are coming to the United States. He said there is often a reason why. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We recognize that many of the people who seek mass migration are often victims and victimized along the way. It's not good for anyone. The only people who benefit from mass migration are traffickers. And so, this is a program that shows how cooperating with our strong allies here in Panama can help to stem the flow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: So, Rubio has said they are trying to work with their neighbors in the region, the governments there, to try to address the root causes, as well as to stem the migration before it even reaches the United States. Zain.

ASHER: All right. Jennifer Hansler live for us. Thank you.

Under the terms of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, talks on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire are supposed to begin no later than today, but Israel has yet to unveil a negotiating team for the talks, let alone send them to Qatar or Egypt, the two key mediators.

Instead, Prime Minister Netanyahu is in Washington, getting ready for his meeting tomorrow with President Donald Trump. He says he will confer with Mr. Trump's Middle East envoy, real estate developer Steve Witkoff, about Israel's positions on the ceasefire. Mr. Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to be invited to the White House during the second Trump administration. Prime Minister Netanyahu says the decisions Israel made in the war have changed the face of the Middle East. He says that, with the help of President Trump, they can, quote, "redraw the map even further".

Here is our Kevin Liptak with more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Prime Minister Netanyahu is now here in Washington ahead of these talks with President Trump. And I think the timing here is critical. Today is the day that negotiations are set to begin on the second phase of that ceasefire for hostage deal in Gaza, with the goal of reaching a more permanent truce in the enclave. And I think Netanyahu very clearly wants to speak with Trump before setting out in earnest on those negotiations, essentially trying to ascertain where exactly Trump stands before negotiators sit back down at the negotiating table and try and hammer out a more permanent truce.

Now, of course, Donald Trump has said that this ceasefire is essential. In fact, he has taken credit for it by, saying, coming into office, that the two sides needed to reach an agreement, or there would be all hell to pay, in his words. But, at the same time, I don't think he has been necessarily as specific as some of these negotiators are looking for, as they work to hammer out the terms of the next phase of these negotiations.

And so, that will be an intense topic of focus for Netanyahu while he is here in Washington. He is due to meet today with President Trump's Middle East negotiator Steve Witkoff, who has been very intimately involved in these talks over the last several weeks. He just returned from the region, including a visit to Gaza itself to sort of assess how the ceasefire had been implemented so far. Netanyahu will also meet with lawmakers while he is here in Washington, all sort of trying to suss out the American position as these talks move forward. So, that is the Gaza portion of these talks, the sort of nitty-gritty of how they move things forward.

I think what Trump and Netanyahu will also discuss in the Oval Office is the bigger picture, is talking about this broader normalization push between Israel and in particular, Saudi Arabia, that could try and reshape the region fundamentally. This is something that the Biden administration had been pushing for before he left office. And you'll remember that Trump, during his first term, sought out normalization agreements between Israel and a number of Arab and Muslim countries, and it's something that I think he will want to continue, now that he is in office.

[11:40:00]

He has said publicly that he is in search of a Nobel Peace Prize. This could be an area of fruitfulness for him as he seeks that out. Now, obviously, these two men have a much warmer relationship than Netanyahu did with President Biden. By the end there, that relationship had grown incredibly strained. It is an important point that Netanyahu will be the very first foreign leader that Trump hosts here at the White House since he took office.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: The UN Agency for Palestinian refugees says that shocking scenes in the West Bank are putting the Gaza ceasefire at risk and could herald a new era of escalation in the violence. It says in the Jenin refugee camp, the basics of life are now gone.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

ASHER: The Israeli military detonated these huge explosions in the camp. The mayor of Jenin says 120 buildings were destroyed, and 15,000 people have been displaced. Israel launched a major offensive in Jenin just after the Gaza ceasefire began, saying it was targeted -- it was targeting, rather, terrorist infrastructure. Israel routinely blew up entire buildings in its assault on Gaza, but rarely has it done so in the West Bank. It says its troops will remain in Jenin once their operation is over, a significant new policy. Jenin's mayor said that statement was worrying and that it raises many questions about the future of the West Bank.

All right. Still to come, FBI agents assigned to investigate the January 6 insurrection could soon be punished by the new Trump administration. We will explain just ahead. Plus, thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. have just lost their legal status. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon takes a closer look at what's next for them.

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ASHER: The Trump administration is moving quickly to try to rid the Department of Justice and the FBI of people it regards as its enemies. Multiple sources tell CNN, the Justice Department is instructing thousands of FBI employees to provide information about their work investigating the January 6th insurrection. President Trump has falsely accused agents of committing abuses in their court-ordered search of his Mar-a-Lago home and their treatment of capital rioters.

Listen to what Andrew McCabe, the former Deputy Director of the FBI and now CNN's Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, had to say about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR, FBI, & CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's absolutely disgraceful. These are people who are civil servants. They enjoy the protections of the Civil Service Program.

[11:45:00]

The FBI has an extensive process of, if there are allegations of misconduct against specific employees, those things are investigated. They are given due process, and ultimately, the Office of Professional Responsibility administers an adjudication. Nowhere in my entire 21- year history in the FBI did I ever see anything like this, where employees are literally being rounded up for political reasons, for cases they did their lawful and expected work on. It's absolutely ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN's Josh Campbell is tracking this story. I should note that Josh is also a former FBI agent himself. He joins us live now from Los Angeles. So, Josh, what is your -- as a former FBI agent yourself, what is your view on this? I mean, Donald Trump promised to strike back at the Justice Department, and now he is delivering.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And as we just heard from Andy McCabe there say that the FBI has a process in place within the Justice Department to actually investigate agents if there has been wrongdoing, there is no indication of that here. You look at all those January 6 cases, over 1,000 people who eventually were charged, those were handled by courts and juries and these outside entities.

And so, you talk to FBI employees now. I'm talking to a lot of sources who say this is Donald Trump's campaign of retribution against agents who previously investigated him, and there is great alarm inside the FBI right now, particularly because of this survey that went out to employees, basically demanding information about what role they played in investigating that January 6 insurrection. They say that this is only leading in one direction, and that is the likely mass firing of agents and analysts who took part in that.

Now, interestingly, the FBI Agents Association, which represents thousands of FBI agents, put out a message, and I'll read part of that. They are basically telling members, don't leave voluntarily. The email says, "Do NOT resign or offer to resign. While we would never advocate physical non-compliance, you need to be clear that your removal is not voluntary." They go on to say that "Employees carrying out their duties to investigate allegations of criminal activity with integrity and within the rule of law should never be treated as those who have engaged in actual misconduct."

So, again, a lot of angst, a lot of uncertainty inside the FBI tight now. The Donald Trump administration and the Justice Department recently cleared out the entire executive level of the FBI, and employees there feel -- fear that line level career employees are next.

ASHER: It's also interesting, because this sort of contradicts everything that Kash Patel said during his confirmation hearings, especially where he was asked about retribution. He said that he wouldn't be retaliating against sort of potential Trump political enemies. Take us through that.

CAMPBELL: Yeah, absolutely, and that is what a lot of FBI employees are pointing out, that the new nominee to be Director of the FBI, obviously a Trump loyalist, who has been very intertwined with Trump's political operation, was asked just about this very thing because he had previously mentioned on a podcast that he had some type of enemies list out there that he would be going after. But, listen here to what he told Congress during his hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE: Every FBI employee will be held to the absolute same standard, and no one will be terminated for cases. All FBI employees will be protected against political retribution.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): They deserve --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: They won't be terminated because of cases that they work. Of course, this looks to appear very different. The question a lot of FBI employees have is, is he even in the know? Does he know what's going on right now, or something more sinister at play here? Did he have information about what the Justice Department is trying to do? A lot of unanswered questions right now. But, his confirmation vote is scheduled for the not too distant future. Still waiting to see whether Congress, particularly congressional Democrats, come out forcefully to try to demand more information. A lot still yet to be seen here, as employees fear mass firings on the horizon, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Josh Campbell live for us. Thank you so much.

CAMPBELL: You bet.

ASHER: All right. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is traveling to the U.S. southern border today. In El Paso, Texas, Hegseth is set to meet with military members who are working to support the Trump administration's crackdown on the U.S.-Mexico border. This comes after the Pentagon's announcement on Friday that it is preparing to deploy around 1,000 additional active duty troops to help border protection efforts. Hegseth's visit to the southern border comes after the Trump administration revoked the temporary protective status for thousands of Venezuelan migrants in the U.S.

Here is our Stefano Pozzebon with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: President Donald Trump's decision to terminate temporary protective status for thousands of Venezuelan migrants on Sunday was widely expected. CNN had reported on the plans on Saturday, and yet, Sunday's decision will have enormous impact for migrant communities and families, especially in Florida, which is a state that Donald Trump famously carried in the November election. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, explained the decision was made because of the program was, and I quote her words, "abused", and that the Venezuelan Government had taken advantage of the protection status to send criminals and mentally ill to the United States. She said this without offering any proof.

[11:50:00]

Venezuela is home to one of the largest migrant diasporas in the Western Hemisphere. According to the United Nations, almost eight million people, and that is about 25 percent of the total Venezuelan population, had left the country under the rule of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, mostly because of the deep economic and social crisis in the South American country. Over half a million of these migrants now reside legally in the United States, and many of them have been touched by this revocation of a temporary protective status. While it's unclear exactly how many migrants and migrant families have been touched by Sunday's decision, most of them will have until April to either relocate or they will be at risk of deportation.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ASHER: All right. Last night's celebration at the Grammys brought some

surprise looks for winners, including Queen Bee herself, who got her very first album of the year. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. The first hearing in a legal showdown between actress Blake Lively and actor and director Justin Baldoni is set to take place in New York right now. The two stars are not expected to be present at the pre-trial conference. Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. He responded by actually filing a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of extortion and invasion of privacy. Over the weekend, Baldoni's legal team published documents and texts related to the case online. He says she tried to take control of the movie they made together, "Ends with Us." Lively starred in film while Baldoni was her co-star and director. The trial is set to begin in 2026.

All right. Before we go, one more thing. While the Grammys celebration honored some of music's biggest star, it was Queen Bee herself who dominated the awards, much like she does the hive. Check out Beyonce when she hits center stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Grammy goes to Cowboy Carter

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Despite being nominated four times previously for Album of the Year, this was her very first win in that category. Beyonce also became the first black woman to win the Grammy for Best Country album. While accepting that award, she had a message for all artists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEYONCE, WINNER, ALBUM OF THE YEAR AND BEST COUNTRY ALBUM: Wow. I really was not expecting this. Wow. I want to thank God, oh, my God, that I'm able to still do what I love after so many years. I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists, and I just want to encourage people to do what they're passionate about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Kendrick Lamar was also a big winner with his chart-topping track "Not Like Us". He swept all the categories. He was nominated in taking home Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Music Video. Chappell Roan was crowned Best New Artist. In her acceptance speech, she called on the music industry to reform its healthcare coverage for emerging artists.

[11:55:00]

The California wildfires played a role in last night's itinerary as well. The show started with host Trevor Noah telling everyone the ceremony would be a celebration of the humanity and spirit of survival. The whole night, the Grammys honored emergency workers and helped raise $7 million for charities involved in wildfire relief.

All right. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Zain Asher in New York. Stick with CNN. I'll have much more with our show One World after this short break.

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