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Trump To Send Troops To Portland To Protect ICE Facilities; South Carolina Officials Prepare For Tropical Depression; Wife Of Dallas ICE Shooting Victim Speaks Out; U.S. Revokes Colombian President's Visa After Gaza Protest Speech; Trump Imposes $100K Fee on H-1B Visa In New Immigration Action; Interview With Representative Chuck Edwards (R-NC). Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 27, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Well, Danny, let's see how this thing looks at the end of the day in a couple of hours time when these matches are in the books. But as I say, right now, with regards to points in the bag the Europeans are five points up and no team has ever come back from a deficit like that in the Ryder Cup after the first two days so the Americans have got it all to deal right now.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, you know, Don, I was going through Penn Station yesterday and I hadn't watched earlier in the day, but I saw a lot of sad faces with Ryder Cup gear. And now it all makes sense.

Don Riddell, thanks so much for that report. Let's hope the Americans turn it around.

All right, in recent months Harvard became ground zero in America's culture wars. In his upcoming documentary for "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," CNN's Omar Jimenez takes us inside the clash between the Trump administration and the country's oldest, richest and most prestigious university as part of the next "WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER." Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people will film opening their letter. I didn't want to do that. I thought it might jinx it. I remember just like running out of my room kind of screaming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was talking to my parents the night I got in and I was like, should I commit? And they were like, are you kidding? You just don't say no to Harvard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harvard is simply the most influential of U.S. private universities. It's also able to send a message. If, in fact, the Trump administration is able to beat Harvard, every other university and college in the United States is going to know that it cannot afford to take on the Trump administration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to always try to go as high on the chain as possible. And you work your way up, you experiment, you learn. But then eventually you're going to have to say, we're going to go on to the ring with the biggest, meanest, baddest, strongest opponent.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And this is that title fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is that title fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: You can watch the premiere of Omar Jimenez's report on the "United States versus Harvard" at 10:00 p.m. tomorrow night right here on CNN.

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining me. I'm Danny Freeman, sitting in for Fredricka Whitfield. First up, President Trump appears to be escalating his immigration enforcement. Today he announced on Truth Social that he's sending troops to Portland, Oregon, to protect ICE facilities. Portland is the latest Democratic run city that the president has either sent or threatened to send troops to in his growing crackdown on immigration and crime.

CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now from the White House.

Kevin, bring us up to speed on what we know about this new potential deployment.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question that this is a ratcheting up of the president's push to deploy U.S. troops on American soil. It follows a pattern. We saw it in Los Angeles. We saw it in Washington, D.C., of the president targeting Democrat run cities and states, really kind of pushing the boundaries of domestic use of U.S. troops.

And the president wrote on Truth Social that, "At the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to provide all necessary troops to protect war ravaged Portland and any of our ICE facilities under siege from attack by antifa and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing full force, if necessary."

Now, there are a lot of unanswered questions here. One is what full force means when the president references that in his Truth Social. We also don't know who exactly these troops will be. Is he talking about National Guard? Is he talking about active duty military? We don't know what the timeline is here, and we don't get a clear picture from the president of what the legal rationale is.

You know, the law is pretty clear. You know, it says it limits the use of U.S. forces for domestic law enforcement purposes until extraordinary circumstances. And so what the president is citing here, not particularly clear. You know, Portland has seen protests outside of an ICE facility that's about two miles south of the downtown. They have been mostly peaceful, but they have led to some violent clashes.

That's led to some injuries among federal officers, arrests for -- assault at one point, protesters erected a prop guillotine. The DHS said at the time that that was unhinged behavior. And so it is a sort of a site of protests. And the president has been clear that this is a city that's been in his sights. He said in the Oval Office last week that we are going to do a, quote, "pretty big number" on those people in Portland. So really kind of previewing the steps that he's taken today.

Now we are starting to hear from leaders in Oregon and in Portland responding to all of this. The mayor, Keith Wilson, says in a statement that the number of necessary troops is zero in Portland and any other American city, going on to say that the president will not find lawlessness or violence here unless he plans to perpetrate it.

We also heard from the governor of Oregon, Tina Kotek, who said that her office was reaching out to the White House, to the Department of Homeland Security, for more information. And this was about a couple of hours ago.

[15:05:03]

She said that they had been provided no information on the reason or purpose of any military mission. There is no national security threat in Portland. Our communities are safe and calm.

So you're already starting to see pushback from local and state leaders in the area. And we should note that just yesterday, as it was clear that this uptick in federal involvement was happening, you heard from officials in the state suggesting that this could be an attempt to goad protesters into conflicts. The Democratic senator from the state, Jeff Merkley, said, do not take the bait.

And so this will all, I think, very clearly develop over the coming days and week as it becomes clear about what exactly the president's objective is in that city.

FREEMAN: Indeed, all eyes on the Pacific Northwest. All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much for that update.

And to this now, we're following breaking news out of Arizona, where flash flooding has left three people dead and rescue crews scrambling to find more possible victims. That's according to CNN affiliates. The city of Globe, Arizona, has declared a state of emergency after that devastating flooding hit the area overnight. In a Facebook post, city leaders warned that historic downtown globe is currently unsafe, with compromised buildings as well as hazardous chemicals and debris.

We'll keep an eye on that.

And now to another weather threat, this one targeting the East Coast. A tropical depression brewing near the Bahamas is closing in on the southeast and threatening to unleash flooding rains and dangerous winds on the coastal Carolinas and Georgia as early as Monday. South Carolina officials just wrapped up a briefing to update people there of the looming threat. Governor Henry McMaster warns now is the time to prepare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. HENRY MCMASTER (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We know that we're going to have high winds. We know that we're going to have a lot of water. We know that we're going to have flooding in parts of the state. Maybe some parts that we haven't seen before. But the good news is that the storm probably will stay out in the ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: CNN meteorologist Chris Warren joins us now.

Chris, South Carolina, I mean, clearly taking this incredibly seriously. Already issued a state of emergency. What's the status of this tropical depression?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, that is certainly what you would want to do with what is possible with this. Now, what's possible and what's likely still needs to be sorted out in the coming days. But what is happening right now, hurricane hunters are heading back into this storm and will get the latest information to go into the computer models, which will continue to run several times a day over the next few days to give us an idea of ultimately what's going to happen.

This is what we know right now with the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center. It is expected to become Imelda, the eye's storm by either tonight or by tomorrow morning needs to get up to 39 miles per hour, and it will be 45 by tomorrow. Expected to be a hurricane at 75 miles per hour sometime either late Monday or into Tuesday.

Now this shows us where the forecast track is. The cone, the gray shaded area lets us know that that center could really go anywhere based on history, historical errors, and forecasts. You really still have a little bit of wiggle room, so it does get closer to Florida. Tropical storm conditions are a possibility along parts of the central East Coast here in Florida. So those are the watches. The Bahamas under tropical storm warnings. Tropical storm conditions expected.

Now, whether or not hurricane conditions are felt right at the coast here in either Georgia or South Carolina remains to be seen. If it goes in the closer track to shore, that would be the case and all the impacts on the table with the rough surf, beach erosion, dangerous rip currents likely to have dangerous rip currents even if it stays offshore.

Now there is the possibility that it goes farther away from shore. And as a hurricane, still rough beaches, but not the kind of rain that could be life-threatening if it were to go onshore. Now, some of the forecast models do still show that, do still show the possibility that it could make landfall, but some of the latest models just now coming in, showing that there could be even an earlier turn.

Now a wild card there is, it could make an early turn and then hang out a little bit longer. So when we're talking about the next, you know, three, four days to watch this, a lot can ultimately happen. So still all options are on the table. Again, Humberto is expected to strengthen up to a category five hurricane but stay offshore. Now it could help kind of tug what is now tropical depression nine in

that direction away from shore. So there's a lot of factors. And this is rare to see these two developing systems so close to each other, so into the coast again, still a possibility. And here's the latest forecast showing the Hurricane Humberto, what will be a hurricane expected by early next week. And then kind of lingers. Now, if it were to linger closer to shore, that's going to mean more rain. And that's when things can get very serious.

[15:10:04]

Even that two to four inches, four plus could mean some flash flooding. So that can always be extremely dangerous, even life- threatening. But these, if these purple and red colors were to go here, that's that six to 10, 10 plus inches of rain. And this could be something we'll be talking about for years.

So, Danny, what it's looking like, we're looking like either an inconvenience over the next few days and dangerous if you're not careful or if it does trend back to where more of an onshore scenario, it's one we could be talking about for years to come. So still a lot to learn.

FREEMAN: I would say a lot to learn, but I am more than happy to root for just an inconvenience compared to any sort of major flooding or damage.

Chris Warren, thanks so much for that report. Appreciate it.

All right. Coming up, the leader of one South American country is urging American soldiers to disobey orders from the White House. We'll talk about the rising tensions between President Trump and the president of Colombia. Plus, Hurricane Helene made landfall just about one year ago. It brought flooding to places people did not expect. Hundreds of miles inland in the North Carolina mountains.

We'll take a look at how the community of Asheville and others are still picking up the pieces.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:49]

FREEMAN: We have new reporting on one of the victims in that horrific shooting attack on an immigration facility in Dallas. The wife of one of the detainees who was shot and critically injured, says her husband is clinging to life. This all just days before the couple is set to welcome a baby.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now from Dallas.

Ed, tell us what more do we know about the victim's health and family?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that Miguel Angel Garcia is desperately fighting for his life. The 31-year- old was brought to the United States as a 13-year-old by his family. He spent almost 20 years here in the U.S. working as a painter, handyman and in construction, as you mentioned. His wife is pregnant, days away from giving birth, and now they are dealing with this trauma. And the wife tells us that it is not clear whether or not he will survive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANY GAUFFENY, WIFE OF WOUNDED DETAINEE: I just want everyone to know he was a human being, you know? Besides the fact, you know, where he was born, he was a good father, good husband, hard worker. Wanted to do things the right way.

LAVANDERA: How did you find out what had happened Wednesday morning at that ICE facility?

GAUFFENY: I did receive a call from an ICE deputy officer, someone. All he told me was all I can tell you is he is alive, you know, right now. We did have to do CPR on him. And he's in the hospital. So you need to get down there.

LAVANDERA: When you saw him for the first time, can you describe that emotion?

GAUFFENY: It's the worst feeling ever. You know, you never imagine you're going to see anyone like that. My husband. It's all swollen, staples on his head. You know, tubes, a bunch of tubes going down his throat. I just started crying immediately as I walked into the room.

LAVANDERA: You told me that he was handcuffed to the hospital bed?

GAUFFENY: So his -- both his arms were restrained to the bed. I don't know if that was the hospital or ICE doing that. But his -- both his feet were handcuffed together. They had handcuffs on them. You know, him being unconscious and can't move, can't talk and still treated like a criminal. I made a comment, like, sound like he's going to get up and walk away, you know? Just seeing him like that, you know, all tubed up and unconscious and -- but, you know, handcuffs on him, it did make me feel upset. He does have them off now. So I'm happy about that. But I feel it was only because I made a comment.

LAVANDERA: You don't get a lot of time with him from what I understand.

GAUFFENY: No. They allow me two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.

LAVANDERA: Why is that?

GAUFFENY: I believe it's ICE's policies, you know. And right when I walk in, they start counting the time and they tell me, OK, your time is up or it's time to leave.

LAVANDERA: So he's still technically in ICE custody?

GAUFFENY: Yes. ice is in there 24/7 with him in the room. I mean, I've never get a little bit of privacy, you know, alone. Even if they wait outside the room. A little bit of alone time. Just me and him. There's always someone there, you know, with him, 24/7.

LAVANDERA: What do you tell him when you're next to him in the hospital?

GAUFFENY: Every day that I see him, I hold his hand. I talk to him. I tell him I know you can hear me. You know, keep fighting. You know, your kids miss you. Your kids love you. I miss you. You know, I just tell him don't give up. You know, it's not your fault this happened.

LAVANDERA: Do you spend any time thinking about the guy who did this?

GAUFFENY: I try not to. I don't see the point of thinking about him. Definitely don't like to see his face all over everywhere.

[15:20:01]

Like I try not to open social media, so I don't want to see his picture, you know. I don't want to see my husband, you know, because he was a victim. He did nothing wrong. Yes, he might have not been an American citizen, but he still didn't deserve this. You know, no one does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And, Danny, the Department of Homeland Security says that Miguel Angel Garcia was targeted for deportation because he is, quote, "a criminal, illegal alien." He has several criminal charges, including a DWI. We spoke to his wife and lawyer about this, he said -- they told us that he was arrested in early August on those charges and was held in a Tarrant County jail nearby Dallas, here since then, and he was turned over to ICE custody or ICE immigration agents early Wednesday morning.

And that is what brought him to that ICE facility later, later that morning. But they were hopeful that he would not be deported. The couple has been married 10 years. They were in the process of trying to get legal status for Garcia. Stephany, the wife, had petitioned to get him legal status, and they were in the midst of doing all of that. Because of that, they were hopeful that he had -- after he had been taken into custody, he would be released on bond and allowed to continue that immigration legal process.

But right now, that future is very much up in the air as Miguel Angel Garcia is not clear. It's not clear whether or not he will be able to survive these injuries. We're told that he --the nurses told the family that he might have been struck as many as eight or nine times by the bullets Wednesday morning -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Just incredible and an incredibly impactful interview, Ed.

Ed, just a quick follow up here. If he survives, does the family think he may be deported?

LAVANDERA: Well, that's what they're -- you know, it's hard to for them to think that far out, but they're hopeful that there is a visa and protection, immigration protection status for people who are victims and witnesses of crimes. So if he were able to manage to survive these wounds and these injuries, they're hopeful that perhaps given that the wife was already petitioning him to have legal status and perhaps some of these protections given to victims and witnesses of crimes, that that might protect them. But that is a long way off from where this family is right now -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Yes, absolutely. Ed Lavandera, thank you for that interview and for sharing it with us today. Appreciate it.

LAVANDERA: Thank you.

FREEMAN: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:03]

FREEMAN: New today, the United States is revoking the Colombian president's visa after his visit to the United Nations. President Gustavo Petro took to New York streets in a pro-Palestine demonstration and urged the U.S. Military to disobey Trump. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIA (through translator): Disobey the Trump order. Obey the order of humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: For more on this, let's bring in CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota.

Stefano, where actually is the Colombian president now?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Petro is here in Bogota. He's probably at the presidential palace, Danny. And he's been taking to Twitter or X posting his reactions. He's probably one of the few heads of state that posts even more than the U.S. president, Donald Trump, on his personal social media. And the last thing that he posted was that France has given a bad -- the president a bad present. The Queen of Liberty should and be for the whole of humanity.

Of course, we know that the Statue of Liberty in New York City was given to the United States as a gift from the French people. But really Petro has been taking onto Twitter and social media to criticize this decision from the United States Department of State. He's saying that it's a violation of his immunity as a head of state and also calling for the United Nations to relocate away from New York City, suggesting that perhaps Doha, the capital of Qatar, is a better -- is a better option.

I think it's unlikely that Colombia follows up with this proposal to relocate the U.N. General Assembly away from New York, but it clearly shows that Petro is not backing down, that he has the appetite for the fight. What he considers a fight against the Department of State but in particular against this entire administration. Over the last few months, Petro really has become one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump in the world stage. He has repeatedly criticized the White House stance when it comes to Gaza, when it comes to the impasse with Venezuela, and just recently, he has criticized him for his -- for Trump's decision to deploy the military to several U.S. cities.

So Petro really not afraid of entering in the internal domestic political scene in the United States. He met, by the way, with Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist who is running for mayor of New York, this week. And so really not backing down. And if you consider that Petro still has several months in his mandate before he's due to give up his powers in July next year, but we're in for a bumpy ride perhaps in these critical relationship between Colombia and the United States -- Danny.

FREEMAN: No. Absolutely. And, Stefano, I mean, Colombia and the U.S. have been so close for so long.

[15:30:03]

But it was also interesting that President Petro spoke very harshly at the U.N. about President Trump's actions against these boats off the coast of Venezuela being targeted. What is that risk for that region, for security, if these two leaders can't get along?

POZZEBON: Well, what's at risk is one of the oldest and most stable relationships when it comes to security in the Western hemisphere. Colombia is not, for example, a member of NATO, but it's the only South American country that is an external associate of NATO. Most of the officials here in the army and the general armed forces do trainings with the United States armed forces. There is a lot of trade when it comes to weapons security between the two countries.

And of course, Colombia is a country that is still dealing with a murderous security situation. We've seen it in the last few months with assassination of a senator and the leading presidential candidate, Miguel Uribe Turbay, in the summer, in July. So it clearly is -- Petro is clearly pivoting his country away from the United States, or trying to pivot his country away from the United States, which is historically Colombia's staunchest and closest ally.

Who would replace Washington? Of course, Beijing is always present when it comes to Latin America. Colombia is so far the only country in South America that still has the United States as the top trading partner. Everybody else has China as their top trading partner. Perhaps a year from now could not be the same -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Wow. Just incredible. Again, so much changing over the course of a year. This is a story I think a lot of us need to keep an eye on, this relationship between the U.S. and Colombia.

Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much for your time. As always, appreciate you.

Still to come, the White House says a new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas will help Americans find jobs, but critics warn it could make access to medical care even harder. We'll explain after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:44]

FREEMAN: President Trump's recent announcement of a new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas is sparking concern in the medical community. Trump says he's trying to protect American workers, but recruiters in the health care industry say his new plan could worsen an existing physician shortage.

Well, one of those people sounding the alarm is Michael Everest. He's CEO and chairman of Residents Medical. It's a medical residency and fellowship placement firm.

Thank you so much for joining us on this very interesting topic, Michael. Let's start here. For the average person who's let's say not in the tech world or familiar with the medical industry, why should they care about this H-1B visa overhaul?

MICHAEL EVEREST, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, RESIDENTS MEDICAL: Thank you for having me, Danny. I bring a unique perspective. For the last 25 years, I've been helping medical students, both stateside and foreign, come to America and practice specifically in the areas of vulnerable population and rural areas where there's a great doctor shortage. So now there's this big fear happening about, oh, my gosh, I cannot come here and practice.

We need these workers. And because not only to practice medicine as residents, but to retain them afterwards. I think what's happening now is a lot of fear amongst the international medical graduate community, and it will not affect us as American doctors, because American doctors fill a majority of them, 94 percent of them achieve residency. The rest are filled by foreign doctors that want to come and break the chains of wherever country they're from, and live the American dream and give back to the community.

So they're afraid that they're not going to be able to come to America and do residency, and our administrators at these hospitals, at these community based hospitals, really are afraid that the doctors won't stay. But it's not so much come in. It's not so much the doctors coming in. But the objective should be to retain these doctors in these communities where doctors don't stay.

FREEMAN: Michael, can I ask you, for those who might not be aware, what is the state of this physician shortage? What's the current situation on the ground right now?

EVEREST: Yes, that's a very good question. The physician shortage is we're training doctors and we need more doctors. The baby boomers are going to, you know, get older and the physician shortage is really big in our rural areas, in our vulnerable population areas, because, you know, they really don't want to practice there.

I'm out here in Santa Monica and a doctor will train in a vulnerable population area, but they won't stay there. So what we're finding is if we can get these foreign workers, these foreign residents to practice with a commitment to stay in that area and build their practice post-residency, that's what will help the physician shortage.

You know, right outside of Los Angeles, if you go to Riverside County, it's hard to find a general surgeon, a specialized otolaryngologist. So recruiting these foreign workers to stay in those areas, I think could be a very, very powerful assistance to our doctor shortage.

FREEMAN: President Trump, of course, has said that companies should be hiring American workers.

[15:40:03]

He says that this initiative really is about protecting and bolstering U.S. workers. What do you say, are these two ideas in conflict here?

EVEREST: Well, I bring a unique perspective because I have residence medical that helps medical students and graduates who achieve residency. Foreigners, a lot of the time, international medical graduates, we call them. But also, I started a tech company, EDU, about three years ago. So I agree with President Trump in that it may be abused, but I think that in the nuance of it in technology, perhaps startup companies that are 20 or less employees can get a sprinkle of the H1 lottery and the bigger companies, because startups are hard, right?

And as far as the medical perspective and the residency training perspective of H visas, I think that there should be a exception for that. For these especially vulnerable population areas and these rural areas. We're doing a big push in West Virginia. A friend of mine owns a hospital in Aberdeen, Mississippi, and they really need to retain these doctors. And if we can get the foreign doctors to give back to our country in some of our most vulnerable population areas, it will be a win-win for us Americans and the foreign folks that want to come and, you know, become Americans down the road.

FREEMAN: Michael Everest, there's a lot of news happening these days, but I appreciate you spending the time to shed light on this particular issue that is impacting people. And they might not even know it. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

EVEREST: Yes. Thank you for having me.

FREEMAN: All right. Still to come, it has been one year since Hurricane Helene brought deadly flooding to the mountains in North Carolina. Coming up in a moment, we'll be joined next by U.S. Representative Chuck Edwards with a look at one of the hardest hit areas that's still recovering from the disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You're open for business. Asheville is open for business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's as simple as I could say it. Asheville is open for business. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:40]

FREEMAN: Welcome back. We're keeping a close eye on the tropical depression expected to become a full storm named Imelda by this evening. A tropical storm watch has been issued for parts of Florida's East Coast. And even as the storm is forecast to remain to the east, we hope so, its proximity will bring the risk of tropical storm force winds to the state on Monday. And as this storm moves north, it could kick off a long duration of flooding that would impact areas ravaged by Helene just one year ago.

It's been a little more than one year since that hurricane devastated parts of North Carolina in particular.

Joining me now is North Carolina Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards.

Congressman, thank you for joining us. You represent, of course, a large part of North Carolina that was destroyed during Helene. Can you just take us to the western part of the state right now? What does it look like? What do folks need?

REP. CHUCK EDWARDS (R-NC): Well, today we're commemorating the one- year anniversary where Helene hit Western North Carolina. The thousand-year storm that devastated Western North Carolina beyond anything that we've ever seen before. I've been spending a great deal of time in the district today traveling the various counties, talking about some of the heroes that have helped us pull together.

And while we've got a long way to go, we've got a lot to celebrate here in Western North Carolina of what we've accomplished in such a short period of time.

FREEMAN: Well, let's talk about that because I understand just before this first anniversary, you secured more than $64 million in federal recovery funding. Can you walk us through how those funds will be used on the ground?

EDWARDS: Well, we've appropriated billions of dollars for our recovery here in Western North Carolina. And most of those dollars are in hands of various federal agencies. The U.S. DOT, the USDA, FEMA, HUD, other agencies that have their own piece of disaster recovery. And while we have had a difficult time getting funds out the door quickly, we do seem to be picking up momentum. Getting folks reimbursed for investments that they've already made. And we're looking ahead to accelerate our recovery here even more.

FREEMAN: Congressman, you recently told, as I understand, the "Asheville Citizen-Times," that we need a scaled down version of FEMA in the wake of Helene. Why did you make that suggestion? What reforms are you proposing or thinking about?

EDWARDS: Well, I'm one of the co-authors, if you will, of the FEMA Reform Act that was just passed by our Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. One of the key things is we just don't have anyone in Congress that has direct control of FEMA, direct oversight, nor does it turn out that the administration, and so the thing that I think we need to begin with is pull FEMA out from under the Department of Homeland Security and create a different cabinet level position where that person would report directly to the president.

I think that the Department of Homeland Security ought to be dealing with the bad guys, and FEMA ought to be dealing with the good guys.

[15:50:05]

That's the folks that actually live here in America that need help under circumstances like we have faced in Western North Carolina.

FREEMAN: So, Congressman, just so I understand your perspective here, you're not saying that the federal government doesn't play a role in helping people who have been through disasters. You're saying it's just look differently from FEMA? Is that right?

EDWARDS: It would most certainly look different. And yes, we should scale it back. It would look different and it should be scaled back. The states need to play a far larger role in administering relief and helping recover. Then the layers and layers of bureaucracy that we have in Washington, D.C. that have, quite frankly, slowed our progress.

FREEMAN: Well, let's talk about D.C. because back in the nation's capital, I have to ask you, the country is looking at the real possibility of a government shutdown. Are you concerned about that? And are you concerned that this could hurt your constituents on the ground?

EDWARDS: I'm extremely concerned about that. And I find it appalling that the governor of North Carolina came to Washington, D.C., last week, met with me, asked for more funding. And, it turned out that his party's delegation voted no on the funding. And they voted to shut the government down. At a time that Western North Carolina needs every resource available from our federal government, we've now turned this into a political issue.

I've really been heartened that up until this point, we've not looked at disaster recovery in terms of Republicans and Democrats. We've looked at disaster recovery in terms of there are people here in the district that I represent that need help. Unfortunately, last week the Democrats voted no to keep the government funded and to keep the federal government operational to help my district recover. And they voted no to add $22.5 billion to disaster relief coffers that the governor was in Washington, D.C., asking for.

FREEMAN: Listen, I think there's a lot more to talk about. The government shutdown. But the thing I do want to ask you about at the moment, just because there is another storm brewing on the coast, of course, we're heading into really the meat of hurricane season and the anniversary of Helene is here. Do you have any concerns about the possibility of a new storm and how people can prepare? Is Western North Carolina ready if another storm comes?

EDWARDS: Well, we're far more resilient today in a lot of ways than we were a year ago. But yes, we still got some debris out in our waterways. We've got a lot of silt in riverbeds that could create flooding with less rainfall than what we're accustomed to. We're in a very fragile situation right now.

Congressman Chuck Edwards, thank you so much for sharing your perspective from the ground on this anniversary, especially for your community, who was so hard hit and there's still more work to be done. Thank you for your time.

EDWARDS: Thank you for your interest.

FREEMAN: Still to come, Prince William facing a tough new chapter supporting his wife, Princess Kate, and their three children after her cancer diagnosis. We have that story coming up.

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[15:58:07]

FREEMAN: New today, Prince William is playing tour guide on an upcoming episode of Apple TV Plus, "The Reluctant Traveler" series. During the episode, Prince William shared that with three young children, sleep has become a priority when he's home. He also spoke candidly about the difficulties he faced last year. That's when his wife, the Princess of Wales, announced her cancer diagnosis and treatment in March.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM, PRINCE OF WALES: I'd say 2024 was the hardest year I've ever had. You know, life is sent to test us as well, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: The episode will air on October 3rd. Plus an all-new episode of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" is coming up tonight on CNN. Comedian Lewis Black and Joy Reid join the crew. Here's a quick preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD, JR. HOST, HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: Pam had Trump's former personal attorney Lindsey Halligan sworn in as an interim U.S. attorney just to prosecute James Comey. What do we know about new interim U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan?

LEWIS BLACK, COMEDIAN: She's never prosecuted anybody. I've done more.

AMBER RUFFIN, HOST, HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: Well, if she was never a prosecutor, what was her job?

WOOD: For starters, her most recent job was, "Restoring truth and sanity to American history by addressing the overemphasis on slavery at the Smithsonian Institution."

Let's find out more about her, Amber. Here's Lindsey explaining her last trip to the museum.

LINDSEY HALLIGAN, INTERIM U.S. ATTORNEY: What I saw when I was going through the museums personally was an overemphasis on slavery. And I think there should be more of an overemphasis on how far we've come since slavery.

(LAUGHTER)

RUFFIN: Oh, yay. So, like the bad part about slavery was the slaves. And I feel like there's too many slaves in slavery. You know what I mean? Chains, cute. Whips, fun. The slaves, ugh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Tune in to see "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" tonight at 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. I actually attended the taping and can vouch it's a great show. Watch it.

Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Danny Freeman. "SMERCONISH" starts right now.