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Trump Administration Warns Sanctuary Cities Should Expect Action This Week; U.S. Proposes New Terms for a Mideast Ceasefire; ICE Launches New Operation in Massachusetts; Workers Detained in Georgia ICE Raid to Return to South Korea; GOP Leaders Won't Help Representative Massie as Trump Plots His Ouster; Carlo Acutis Becomes First Millennial Saint. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 07, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

BURNETT: Thanks to Elle Reeve for that reporting, and thanks so much to you for being with us this weekend. The news continues now on CNN.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And tonight the Trump administration says it's preparing for more immigration enforcement operations this week. President Trump's border czar Tom Homan telling CNN's Jake Tapper that, quote, "most sanctuary cities should expect to see action this week." Chicago in particular, bracing for federal action. Yesterday, Trump posted a warning, quote, "Chicago about to find out why it's called the Department of War," his new name for the Department of Defense.

And earlier this week, the Trump administration raided a Hyundai car making plant in Georgia, detaining 475 people for immigration violations.

Let's go now to CNN White House reporter Alayna Treene.

Alayna, as we look to this new week, what kind of immigration action are we expecting?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, similar to what we heard Homan tell CNN's Jake Tapper, I'm hearing that in my conversations from White House officials as well, that this Chicago operation, of course, it is on the heels of that operation we saw in Los Angeles in June, where you saw ICE and Customs and Border Patrol personnel really carry out a massive immigration raids throughout the city.

You also saw the president calling the National Guard for that. That is the model for what they are going to be doing in Chicago. I'm also told, Jessica, that the same type of agents from ICE and CBP, all of them trickling in to the city in recent days.

But I want you to take a listen to how Homan put it to Jake Tapper just about the kind of scale that we are looking at here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: So should we expect action in Chicago this week?

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: Absolutely. You can expect action in most sanctuary cities across the country.

TAPPER: Are we going to see more large scale raids on businesses where so many employees are not in the country illegally, even if they haven't committed violent crime? And what more can you tell us about the Hyundai raid?

HOMAN: The short answer is yes. We're going -- we're going to do more work site enforcement operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, again, Jessica, what he is saying there, the border czar Tom Homan, is essentially, again what I'm hearing from Trump administration officials, which is what we saw in Chicago is going or what we're seeing in Chicago is going to be carried out in other sanctuary cities as well. We know that Boston and Massachusetts are another target that the administration is working on, and has their sights on ramping up in the coming days.

But also what we saw with that plant, that Hyundai plant in Georgia, one of the most aggressive raids that we've seen this administration carry out. 475 people were arrested, most of them Korean nationals. But I do think it's important as well to keep a picture of why they're doing this. This is obviously been one of the core goals of the administration from the start. Even if you look back on his campaign, this is what he talked about.

But it's also something that they recognize. They really want a message on, particularly as we're learning, you know, less or news that's not as good for them when it comes to the economy. A lot of people want the attention to be on immigration, to be on crime. And that's exactly what some of this is about.

And one other thing, Jessica, that is important to note, as I brought up the National Guard earlier, but that is really something that has been a huge focal point around a lot of the conversation of this, particularly from Democrats and other lawmakers like the Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. He is saying it is not up to the president or the White House to call the National Guard to Chicago. He said it's his power as governor to do that.

Of course, we did see them calling the National Guard to Los Angeles, something a judge later said that was illegal, essentially that the president didn't have the authority to use military for law enforcement purposes. When it comes to Chicago in my conversations, officials here tell me essentially that they are reserving the right to call in the National Guard. Homan said something similar to Tapper this morning, and that they'll do so if some of the protests around this immigration operation get out of hand. So stay tuned potentially for some of that. DEAN: All right. Alayna Treene, with the very latest reporting on what

we might expect this week. Thank you so much.

And we're joined now by CNN chief political analyst and former senior adviser to President Obama, David Axelrod.

David, thank you for being here on a Sunday evening. We really appreciate it. You were coming to us live from Chicago. That's where you live. That's where you're from. Local leaders there, including the governor, J.B. Pritzker, have pushed back hard on any potential federal presence there.

How would you be advising them beyond what they've already done? And how do you see this playing out, as we are likely to see some sort of operation there in the coming days, weeks ahead?

AXELROD: Well, first, let me say that Tom Homan says, well, we'll bring in the National Guard if there -- if things get out of hand. If the president of the United States is putting up posts like the one he did yesterday in which he talks essentially about war in Chicago, now, you know, the Department of War headed for Chicago and so on, how does that cool the situation down?

[18:05:13]

And all you can conclude is they want a confrontation so that they can bring in the National Guard into the city. And it's really destructive. The casual kind of slandering of the city. I'm sitting outside, I can hear the sounds of the Taste of Chicago, which is a great festival we've had here. We've had a really, you know, there's so many wonderful things going on in the city. We do have a crime problem as many cities do.

It's not as serious as, say, Memphis or Saint Louis, or perhaps Cleveland. This is the city the president has chosen to talk about. But this is a great city. And why is he coming here? Well, Tom Homan was here in December. December, and he spoke where? At a Republican Party function, a fundraiser for the Republican Party, and he said, your governor sucks and your mayor sucks. And we're going to come there first.

So this is all about politics, and it should be put in that perspective. If the president wants to help you say, how would I advise the mayor and the governor? If the president wants to help reduce violence in the city and there's some neighborhoods in the city where that is very much necessary, then do the things that would help. They cut $800 million from violence intervention programs that have actually been successful in bringing down violence in Chicago.

We could use more police. Take the money you're going to spend on shipping in National Guard for what will essentially be a reality show, and use it to actually fund more police. Get serious about the interdiction of guns that are being trafficked into our city. Half of them come from Indiana. And instead, they've cut the ATF, and they're turning their back on those kinds of enforcements. So, there are things that they could do, and the city and state should

partner with them on those things. But that's not what the president is offering.

DEAN: We had some new polling today from various outlets, including CBS News, and on that poll, they showed that the majority of Americans are not in favor of National Guard deployment to cities. And yet, while Trump is still upside down on favorability overall, his favorability rating went up in this poll from the last time it was taken. And Republicans overwhelmingly support him, especially when it comes to this sort of action.

As a Democrat, as someone who wants to win in 2026 and 2028, what do you do about all of that?

AXELROD: Well, look, you know, when I saw the dismal jobs numbers on Friday I thought, boy, he's going to -- he's going to turn the dial on crazy up because that's what happens when he is in a political bind, whether it's the Epstein files or bad economic numbers, he goes to his go-to plays and those go-to plays are immigration and crime. So I'm not surprised to see what's happening.

And I don't think -- I do think it's helpful for him with his political base. I don't think it's helpful to him outside of his political base. The number I'd be looking at are independents in this country who have a negative view of the president and negative view of this. And most Americans don't want to see the military being used in American cities or the normalization of the use of the military in American cities.

So, you know, we'll see how this all plays out. But it may be that the president will hit the gas pedal so hard that he ends up crashing into a wall here.

DEAN: And looking ahead, I know you've met with the New York City mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani. You've been to his campaign headquarters, and you've talked a little bit about what you thought. There is, of course, again, looking ahead to the midterms and beyond, a big question for the Democratic Party continues to be, what is the way forward?

And I'm curious having witnessed a lot and been through a lot, what you think about Mamdani and how the Democratic establishment has responded to him.

AXELROD: Well, Mamdani's nomination was interesting to me because he focused like a laser on one issue and just one issue, which was affordability in New York, which is a huge issue there. But it continues to be a huge issue around the country. And despite what the president says, costs are not going down. Costs are going up. Now we have a slowing economy and costs going up.

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And, you know, so people have not gotten the relief that they were hoping for and they were promised by the president. I thought Mamdani hit that issue very, very hard. And people may, you know, debate and discuss the proposals that he's made to deal with that issue, but he's certainly raising the right questions as to how the Democratic establishment and the political establishment in New York has reacted.

You know, I think that it is -- it is very unattractive and not very productive if your message is, we are worried about this young guy and so what we want to do is get behind the former governor, who was disgraced and had to leave office and has been around in politics for a million years, who is now trying to make deals with President Trump to try and narrow the field so he has a better chance to beat Mamdani, running as an independent, having lost in the Democrat party. I'm talking about Andrew Cuomo.

What message does that send? What message does it send to all those young people who came out in the primary, many of whom never participated before because the issue of affordability really touched their lives? What does it say when they see the establishment in New York saying, yes, let's go for the sort of disgraced, you know, candidate of yesterday because we're afraid of something new, we're afraid of this new energy?

I think that has a -- I think that's a bad strategy. I don't think it's going to work. My sense is that he's probably going to win that election. And instead, I think people ought to work together in that city to see how they can make the city stronger and, yes, more affordable for all its citizens.

DEAN: Yes. And there is this question I think some of them are concerned about the fact that he's a Democratic socialist. Some have been concerned about his views on Israel and some of the language he's used. But what message would you say to some of the other -- and in a funny twist of fate, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who lead the Democrats on Capitol Hill, both from New York, but have not endorsed.

What do you say to them?

AXELROD: I say, I think they're making a mistake. And, you know, yes, I know that there are concerns about Democratic socialists and all of the things that people associate with that -- ironic thing about it, Jess, is we're living in a time where the president of the United States has told companies give the government 10 percent of your business, where the president of the United States has said, we're going to tell you how you should run your personnel issues or your personnel decisions in your companies.

I mean, we are -- the odd thing is this is -- this is socialism in many ways. Back in 2009, when I worked for President Obama, we intervened to save the American auto industry. But -- and we took a piece of GM and Chrysler with the expressed pledge that as soon as they were stabilized, we would get out of it because we didn't believe that the government should be owning businesses.

This president has proclaimed that the government should, so if they're worried about socialism, they should focus their attention on that, unless all they're interested in is a system in which they think they can get an edge because of their relationship with him. DEAN: All right. David Axelrod, great to see you. We really appreciate

your time.

AXELROD: Good to see you, Jess. Thanks.

DEAN: Still to come, President Trump giving Hamas an ultimatum as the families of the Israeli hostages in Gaza grow desperate, demanding action from both Israel and the U.S.

Plus, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy sending a strong warning as Russia launches a massive attack on Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, striking a government building for the very first time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This is a clear sign that Putin is testing the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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DEAN: Donald Trump has a message for Hamas. This is your last warning. His comments come as the U.S. offers new terms for a ceasefire. According to Israeli officials, the deal calls for Hamas to release all hostages and Israel to freeze its assault on Gaza City. President Trump posting, "The Israelis have accepted my terms. It's time for Hamas to accept as well." And we just learned Hamas has said that it has received that proposal, but stressed any deal would require commitments from Israel.

Let's have Jeremy Diamond take a further look.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, a new American ceasefire and hostage release proposal aims to get all of the hostages back home and ultimately end the war in Gaza. The United States has put a new proposal on the table, calling on Hamas to release all of the 48 remaining hostages held in Gaza on day one of this proposal in exchange for a ceasefire and Israel halting its latest assault on Gaza City. Both sides would then enter into negotiations to end the war, and President Trump would guarantee that a ceasefire would hold as long as negotiations to end the war continue.

Now, this is significant because this is the first U.S. proposal since the United States withdrew from the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations in late July.

[18:20:04]

And on social media, President Trump has posted saying, "The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning. There will not be another one." Now, the Israelis, for their part, have not confirmed that they have

actually agreed to this proposal. But we did hear from the Israeli prime minister's office and they said that Israel is, quote, "seriously considering President Trump's proposal," and that they said that it appears that Hamas will continue in its refusal.

We have yet to hear back from Hamas in terms of what their response to this latest proposal will be, and that is indeed the question, how will Hamas respond? And it is important to note here that this proposal, under this proposal, Hamas would essentially be giving up all of its leverage up front, relying only on assurances from the United States that a ceasefire would hold as long as these negotiations to end the war actually continue. But Israel would not have to commit to an end of the war up front, which could ultimately become somewhat of an impasse here.

These negotiations to end the war in Gaza will likely be extremely contentious. Israel is insisting on maximalist terms to end the war, including, of course, the release of all of the hostages. But beyond that, they want to see Hamas out of power in Gaza. And they also critically want to see Hamas completely disarmed, which has been a red line for Hamas, the militant group inside of the Gaza Strip.

It's important to note that previously we were talking about temporary deals for only some of the hostages, and even under those terms, Hamas would be getting, you know, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from certain parts of the Gaza Strip. That is not something that we're seeing here yet, but there are a lot more details still to be revealed. And also, clearly that this proposal would likely be subject to negotiation itself.

We will see whether it can jumpstart the process once again of trying to get some of those hostages home and ultimately ending this war in Gaza.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

DEAN: Jeremy, thank you.

And we are joined now by CNN global affairs commentator and former deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

Sabrina, thanks for being here with us. The president says Israel has accepted these terms. We now know that Hamas has just said that they have indeed received them. But do you see this going forward beyond where we are right now?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: You know, I think it remains to be seen. I think Jeremy laid it out pretty clearly that Hamas would have to give up all of their leverage up front in this deal which I don't see them agreeing to. But we've seen these deals come and go. We've seen counter-proposals from both sides go back and forth and ultimately end in failure.

I think what the important thing here is that both sides agreeing to some type of agreement when it comes to the hostages. Ultimately that is the most important aspect, that, of course, Israel wants to see hostages returned home, but Hamas also wants to see an exchange of prisoners released that are in Israeli custody. Again, it really remains to be seen. And I think there's a lot of red lines in the proposal that Jeremy outlined that both sides might not accept at the end of the day, but a lot still remains to be seen, as it's early in this -- in this new proposal.

DEAN: Yes. And look, this news appears to -- this whole thing seems to have been closely coordinated with Israel. We heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu quite quickly. He made that statement.

How do you read that, fitting that in with the timing also of Israel preparing to ramp up its attack on or its attacks on Gaza City, and also some other countries preparing to recognize a Palestinian state this month? How do you put all of these pieces together?

SINGH: Yes, all of this is coalescing on a very interesting timeline. And as you mentioned, the U.N. General Assembly meeting is happening this month, and you're going to see some countries that are part of the G7 declare their support for a Palestinian state. So I think with this new ceasefire deal that, you know, the president announced and he said that Israel has agreed to, it shows U.S. support for Israel and strength behind Israel.

But at the end of the day, Israel has really isolated itself on the world stage with many different countries coming out in support of Palestinian statehood because they don't like what they're seeing happen within the Gaza Strip. And, you know, of course, CNN has showcased this very well. You're seeing imagery of starving, you know, men, women and children waiting in these -- in these lines.

That's something that has really rocked international communities all around the world. So it's all coalescing in interesting time, especially when Israel is about to ramp up operations in Gaza.

DEAN: Yes. I also want to ask you, as a former deputy press secretary for the Pentagon, the president this week signing this executive order renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

[18:25:06]

Just a note that an official name change would require an act of Congress. But there have been some signs replaced nonetheless. You know, oftentimes you say a name is just a name, but as someone who's worked there at DOD and within the walls of the Pentagon, what do you think this means?

SINGH: Well, I think it really shows misplaced priorities. I mean, this is coming at the end of the week when we've just seen Vladimir Putin and the leaders of China and North Korea come together in China for a meeting and to celebrate a celebratory parade. So you're seeing this new world order sort of emerge that's willing to challenge the West. And of course, you know, on the heels of more deployments of National Guard to our cities.

You're also seeing, you know, I think, of course, as we were just talking about the war in Gaza raging and then, just overnight, you know, a very complex attack in Ukraine by Russia. So, you know, renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War, it's like, what are we doing here? Why are we spending our resources on things that's probably going to cost billions of dollars to rename when we should be really focused on our priorities and what Donald Trump wants to do is end these endless wars as well?

DEAN: All right. Sabrina Singh, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

SINGH: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, more immigration arrests taking place this weekend with federal ICE agents now targeting the city of Boston. We are live with new details as Democrats push back on the Trump administration, which is pushing ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:02]

DEAN: The next location in for President Trump's immigration crackdown, Massachusetts. The Department of Homeland Security says it's launched Patriot 2.0. It claims to be targeting criminals in sanctuary cities. The Trump administration blames Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for policies that DHS claims that track and harbor criminals and while the governor of Massachusetts is calling the Trump operation political theater.

Leigh Waldman joins us now more with the details.

Leigh, this is the latest city to see something like this. Tell us more about what's happening.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, you're exactly right. The latest in a string of cities here. This immigration crackdown is coming just a few weeks after the Trump administration started talking about major operations happening in the city of Boston. We got a statement from DHS to us today, and it says, "ICE launched Patriot 2.0 to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens living in the state of Massachusetts following the success of Operation Patriot in May."

That previous Operation Patriot resulted in nearly 1500 arrests. Now, that statement went on to blame Boston's Mayor Michelle Wu and the police department and the city itself for its so-called sanctuary city policies. We heard also from Wu today. In her statement, she said, "For months, ICE has refused to provide any information about their activities in Boston, refuse to issue warrants while we hear reports of ICE agents taking parents as they're dropping their kids off at school. That does not make our communities any safer.

In that statement she also reiterated that Boston Police and local resources will not be used to aid this federal effort that's happening in their city. We also heard today from Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, who said that it's not being criminals who are arrested, it's regular people. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MAURA HEALEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We've seen construction workers, nannies, landscapers, you know, health care aides. These are the people who are being taken in these huge numbers, taken away from their families. And, you know, it is not the kind of effort that Donald Trump said it was about. But again, this is about show. It's about a show of force. It's about political theater.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: And, Jessica, it's important to keep in mind that all of this is happening in the middle of Boston's mayoral race. Those primaries are slated to happen on Tuesday.

DEAN: All right. Leigh Waldman, thank you so much for that.

The South Korean migrants taken into custody in Thursday's massive raid in Georgia will soon be on a flight back to their home country. That is what a South Korean presidential staffer is saying. They add negotiations for a chartered flight are still ongoing.

The workers were among the 475 people detained when ICE agents raided a Hyundai plant. Trump's border czar telling CNN this raid is a sign of things to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOMAN: What ICE is doing every day on these operations and this worksite enforcement operation also helps us give a secure border because those who are thinking about coming to the United States illegally know that -- knows that this administration is applying consequences. That's the part of the reason we have the most secure border. So yes, you're going to see a lot more worksite enforcement operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: All right. Rafael Romo joins us now from Atlanta with the latest on this.

And what is the latest, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, South Korean officials say they moved swiftly to protect their citizens while likely trying to avoid damaging their country's crucial relationship with the White House. Officials from the Korean embassy in Washington and the consulate in Atlanta negotiated with U.S. officials to secure the release of about 300 detained workers who will be returning home to South Korea on a chartered flight.

They were among 475 people detained in the raid. A top South Korean official also said that some administrative procedures remain before the flight can leave. The South Korean presidential chief of staff said earlier in Seoul that his government will implement measures so this kind of incident doesn't happen again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KANG HOON-SIK, PRESIDENTIAL CHIEF OF STAFF, SOUTH KOREA (through translator): To prevent a similar incident in the future we will work with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and related companies to review and improve the residency status and visa system for travelers on U.S. related projects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:35:12]

ROMO: And Jessica, you may remember that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visited the White House less than two weeks ago and President Donald Trump is planning a South Korea trip next month, according to three Trump administration officials.

South Korea is the U.S.'s sixth largest trading partner. Bilateral trade last year totaled $242 billion. That's why, according to CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, the South Korean government has been trying to manage this crisis without angering Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think South Korea like, you know, many of our allies in Europe are more looking for ways to manage conflict with Trump than to engage in confrontation with him. So I'm not sure how hard they push back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The two companies affected by the raid reacted over the weekend. LG Energy Solutions' chief human resources officer said that, "The prompt release of the detained individuals is our top priority right now. As the South Korean government is also making every possible effort, we will do our best to ensure their speedy and safe return."

Meanwhile, Hyundai said, "The company is committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations in every market where we operate. This includes employment verification requirements and immigration laws."

When the construction of the plant was announced in 2022, Jessica, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp touted it as a $5.54 billion investment, a number that later grew by $2 billion. His office said last year the project was bringing about 8500 jobs to Georgia's coastal region -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Rafael, thanks so much.

And coming up, President Trump threatening to oust one of his own. The growing feud between Trump and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, and why House Speaker Mike Johnson says extending an olive branch to his fellow Republican is proving, in his words, very difficult.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:41:47]

DEAN: If President Trump wants to push Republican Congressman Thomas Massie out of office, it appears House GOP leadership will not be coming to Massie's aid. He's a hard right conservative from Kentucky who has shown he's not afraid to break with the president or his party on issues where he disagrees with them. And that has Trump searching for a candidate to send Massie packing.

Let's bring in CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju to take us behind the scenes of this escalating feud.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: For years Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, has been a persistent thorn in Donald Trump's side. He's a conservative member, libertarian minded member, often breaks from the party leadership on issues of debt and deficits and spending. This year, it has intensified dramatically after Massie became a leading opponent of Trump's signature domestic policy achievement, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Massie railing on the debt and deficits projected to increase as a result of that new law. Trump very much did not like that. He also did not like the fact that Massie is leading the charge to release all of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump wants that issue gone. He does not want this effort to succeed. And Massie is trying to get enough Republican support to force a vote in the full House on this issue.

Even last week, appearing on Capitol Hill with victims of Epstein's crimes, that drew a lot of attention about this effort and kept the issue in the news to Donald Trump's chagrin. But I caught up with the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, about what is happening now, which is Donald Trump plotting Thomas Massie's ouster in his primary next year. Trump, we are told from our sources, met with a possible Massie primary foe earlier this summer. And Republican leaders like Mike Johnson are making clear they don't plan to help Massie in that primary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Mr. Speaker, do you think that Thomas Massie deserves to be reelected?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Thomas Massie has made that decision himself. I mean, you know, he is --

RAJU: Are you supporting him?

JOHNSON: He is actively working against his team almost daily now. And he seems to enjoy that role. So he is, you know, deciding his own fate. My way is to reach out an olive branch to everybody and try to be a peacemaker. And some people make that very difficult for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP) RAJU: Now, already there are attacks that are coming Massie's way. More than seven figures have been spent by a Trump aligned super PAC that's staffed by some former campaign staffers coming after Massie. Massie shrugs all that off and says he plans to continue to press ahead on the Epstein issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): The speaker's position depends on him rubber stamping, not just rubber stamping, but reinforcing anything Donald Trump wants even if Donald Trump is wrong. So the speaker is in a tough spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But right now, Massie is two votes shy for forcing a vote in the House. He needs two more GOP signatures on this effort to circumvent Republican leaders and get this bill on the floor of the House. That has not happened yet, in large part because of this feud with Trump and Trump's opposition, and because a lot of Republicans don't want to see what is happening to Massie happen to them, which is seeing Trump and his allies go after them in their primaries and see those attacks come their way just as Massie is seeing the attacks come his way.

[18:45:08]

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Thanks, Manu.

Still ahead, the first American pontiff presides over his first saint making ceremony, which includes God's influencer. It's the first millennial ever canonized. More on this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:11]

DEAN: A celebration in St. Peter's Square this morning as Pope Leo declares teenager Carlo Acutis the first millennial saint. The Italian teen, who died in 2006, was nicknamed God's influencer because his life -- because in life he used his computing skills to spread awareness of the Catholic faith.

CNN's Christopher Lamb was in St. Peter's Square for the ceremony.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carlo Acutis has just been declared the first millennial saint in the history of the Catholic Church. Carlo Acutis died in 2006 at the age of 15 of leukemia. During his life, he was something of a computer whiz kid and he used his computer skills to set up a Web site to document eucharistic miracles and awareness of the Catholic faith. He's seen as something of a patron saint of the internet to guide

young people through the digital world. And since he died in 2006, a huge following has grown up to Carlo Acutis, to his memory and to what he stood for. And there was huge numbers here in St. Peter's Square for the moment when Pope Leo declared him a saint. A spontaneous eruption of applause broke out in the square when that happened.

Now people from across the globe are here for this event. And I spoke to some of those from Pennsylvania where there is a shrine to Carlo Acutis. There's a big following to this new saint in the United States. Here's what they had to say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like he related to me because he found a way to use technology and love God at the same time, and use them in a way, and I feel like I kind of need to do that. And this generation needs to learn how to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He used the internet for positive things. He used the internet to share his information on the eucharist with other children, with adults. He's touched my life like as an older man.

LAMB: Now, Carlo Acutis was declared a saint after a long investigation into his life, and after two miracles were attributed to his intercession, which is a necessary requirement normally for saints to be declared in the Catholic Church. The two miracles of Carlo Acutis, one, a young Brazilian boy who had a birth defect and was reportedly cured of that after prayers were said to Carlo Acutis, and a young Costa Rican woman, 21-year-old, who had a bicycle accident in Florence, and her mother reportedly prayed to Carlo Acutis and she was cured, too.

So it was after that investigation into his life, the declaration of the miracles, that Pope Leo today was able to declare him a saint. Also of note is the fact that Carlo Acutis' family were here in St. Peter's to witness this moment. His mother and father and his brother and sister. They were mentioned by Pope Leo in his remarks during the canonization ceremony.

So a historic moment here in St. Peter's with the declaration of the first millennial saint in the history of the church.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Christopher, thank you.

All this week on CNN and next Saturday at 10:00 p.m., you can catch our special "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" series. CNN journalist shining the spotlight on inspiring stories of people who've made a big difference, whether in their own communities or around the world. And here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, "OUTFRONT": Do you get to eat it sometimes? ANNOUNCER: Join us for Champions for Change.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": When was the first time you went to Africa?

ANNOUNCER: As CNN journalists spotlight eight trailblazers creating a better tomorrow.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: My champion gives hope.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Love it, man. Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I'm crazy enough to think that change can happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Create a community where young people could be their best self.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Do you feel that energy?

ANNOUNCER: Experience the very best of humanity as these champions challenge today's uncertainties, making breakthroughs across communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're literally changing the way that drug development research is done.

ANNOUNCER: Hear what motivates them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe in doing work that's greater than me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone should have access to equitable maternal health care.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a workout.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning. And making the school buses safer, reliable and efficient.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: How are you? I'm Bill.

ANNOUNCER: And how their actions are making a positive impact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am fighting every day for people with mental health disorders.

ANNOUNCER: CNN journalists introduce you to their champions.

BURNETT: It means a lot to all of us.

ANNOUNCER: "Champions for Change." Saturday at 10:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:39]

DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

Two new polls out from CBS and NBC News show most Americans do not approve of how President Trump is doing his job. It's a different story with his base. The CBS News poll pegging his approval rating among Republicans at 91 percent, though.

The new polls coming as Trump puts his focus on deploying the National Guard onto the streets of D.C. while implementing hardline immigration tactics.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here to run the numbers on all of this. And we do have --