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Musk Sits in on Cabinet Meeting, Talks More than Cabinet Secretaries; Gene Hackman, Wife Found Dead in New Mexico Home; Consumers Struggle with Cost of Eggs. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired February 27, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is Thursday, February 27. And right now on CNN THIS MORNING, legendary Academy Award winner Gene Hackman and his wife found dead in their New Mexico home. We'll tell you what police are saying about that discovery.

Plus, take a look at his life and his legacy.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Is there anybody unhappy with Elon? If you are, we'll throw him out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Is anybody unhappy with Elon? President Trump places his cabinet on notice, showing them exactly where the power dynamics lie between him and Elon Musk.

Plus, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It's not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: RFK Jr. facing his first public health crisis, a measles outbreak in Texas now turning deadly. Former White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx joins us later to discuss.

Then later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We lost an election across the board. So, by definition, we've fallen out of touch with the majority of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Can Democrats find a way? We'll talk to the chair of the new Democrat coalition, Congressman Brad Schneider, about the makeover that they might want for their party.

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. And look at Lady Liberty there in New York city this morning, greeting us all on this Thursday morning.

Good morning to you. I'm Jessica Dean in for Kasie Hunt. Wonderful to have you with us.

Eighteen Senate-confirmed cabinet members and the vice president all on the guest list for the first cabinet meeting of Donald Trump's second term, and many of them arriving at that first meeting Wednesday at the White House, ready to make some remarks.

But when President Trump ceded the microphone to someone else in the cabinet room for the first time, it was not to any of them. He deferred instead to Elon Musk, the world's richest man, turned senior White House adviser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I just wanted to let the cabinet speak just for a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly.

TRUMP: Is anyone unhappy with Elon? If you are, we'll throw him out of here. Is anybody unhappy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Musk then addressed the assembled cabinet leaders, going on at length about his efforts to rapidly transform the government into the president's image.

Vice president J.D. Vance not really talking. He didn't get a word in until about an hour into the meeting. And even then, he talked for about 30 seconds on the efforts to end Russia's war on Ukraine.

Musk, on the other hand, speaking three times longer than anybody else at the meeting besides the president himself. He went into detail defending that email to federal workers and admitting his DOGE team might make some mistakes along the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, SPECIAL ADVISOR TO DONALD TRUMP: We will make mistakes. We won't be perfect. But when we make a mistake, we'll fix it very quickly.

So, for example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola. Ebola prevention. I think we all want Ebola prevention. So, we restored the Ebola prevention immediately, and there was no interruption.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: While that dynamic played out in the cabinet room, CNN is also learning about how Musk's job fits into the Trump administration. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles meeting with Senate Republicans

after the cabinet meeting, and they asked her about Musk's role in the government. And she told them he reports directly to the president, not to the cabinet.

The president then talked to the cabinet secretaries.

Joining us now to discuss: Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Karen Finney, CNN political commentator and former senior adviser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign; and Mike Dubke, former communications director in the first Trump administration.

Good to have all of you here with us.

There was a lot to kind of chew on yesterday, because we really got to see it play out in front of us in this kind of made-for-TV cabinet meeting.

Mike, I want to start with you. In terms of the dynamics between Trump and Musk --

[06:05:03]

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR IN THE FIRST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Yes.

DEAN: -- much ink has been spilled. Many words have been said. I just said many words about it. But what did you glean from seeing that play out?

DUBKE: A couple of things. Well, and we'll continue to say a lot of words and spill a lot of ink on this -- on this subject.

One of the things that you said, that J.D. Vance didn't get to speak until an hour into the meeting. Part of that was because the president held a press conference for basically an hour into that meeting, which was highly unusual.

Generally, when you have the pool reporters come in, they get five minutes max, and then they all get rushed out by, you know, the -- the White House press folks.

He went on for an hour.

The other thing I noticed is that Elon Musk did not have a seat at the table. So, all of this -- all of this that we're making of him speaking first and all of that, he was sitting in the back row against the wall.

I think what we've been talking about globally, and especially in the United States, has been DOGE for the last month. So, it makes sense that he was brought in there -- it was his special guest -- and -- and spoke to the group.

So, I thought the dynamic was interesting. I thought the long press conference was interesting. I also saw the president interrupt Elon multiple times. So, I -- this

was a show of force by the president. Karen's probably got a different spin, but I'll leave it at that.

DEAN: Well, we'll let Karen have a different spin.

DUBKE: Yes.

DEAN: What does Karen think?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, I mean, they -- they clearly have their, like, bromance shtick down, right? They were kind of like, going back and forth. You know, they've done -- been in front of the cameras before.

But look, part of what I was looking at that was interesting is just the power dynamic. Because Elon does show up in a T-shirt and jeans and his cap, which, you know, makes me crazy because --

DUBKE: Yes.

FINNEY: -- you know, at least take off your hat in the West Wing. Have some respect in the White House.

DUBKE: Yes.

FINNEY: And -- but part of what he was conveying is, like, I don't have to play by the rules like the rest of y'all. And I get to be, you know, the tech bro and do my thing. And -- and so that was sort of interesting.

And the fact that he did speak first. But also, every single one of those secretaries, you could tell, based on what had happened over the weekend with the email that went out, where people were told, send the five things, but then they were told, no, don't send the five things. You know, there was that sort of awkward laughter at one point.

And you have to think they were all sort of trying to figure out like, OK, how are we going to deal with this guy? Because he's going to come into their agencies, tell them what to do while they're trying to figure out -- A, they've got a new mandate for more cuts, but B, they're also starting to hear from members of Congress, Republicans on the Hill who are saying, hey, could you protect this program, because it's really impacting my district and my people, and I'm getting calls.

So, it really -- just the dynamic between who's really in charge, you know, the power that Elon has. And you know, these mistakes that he sort of goes -- talks about, like they're little "oopsies." These are impacting people's lives.

I mean, again, the nuclear regulatory agency was one that was kind of more than just a pause, if you will.

So, again, I thought that dynamic was -- was interesting. We've never seen quite like that. We've had -- I've been in the cabinet room when there's visitors, but it's -- they're not necessarily visitors who technically have more power, really, than the cabinet secretaries there.

DEAN: Than almost anybody else in that room.

And look, Karen notes about the Republicans that are concerned about what cuts might be coming. They're hearing from people in their home districts. This is obviously on the Hill, Isaac. They're trying to now figure out what they're going to do with this -- this budget bill and how that's all going to get situated.

I want to play a clip about a reporter asking Trump about Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The spending bill that passed last night aims to cut $2 trillion.

TRUMP: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you guarantee that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security will not be touched?

TRUMP: Yes. I mean, I have said it so many times. You shouldn't be asking me that question. We're not going to touch it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And Isaac, they keep saying that. But now we're even hearing from Senate Republicans who have had to say out loud -- people like Josh Hawley, who aren't necessarily kind of more moderate Republicans -- say, I won't -- I won't touch anything that has Medicaid cuts in it.

Because when you look at the number they're trying to get to, it's hard to do that without touching these.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. And that's the reality of all these DOGE cuts is that it's little trims around the edges.

DEAN: Yes.

DOVERE: What if there are going to be significant reductions to the federal budget? It would have to come from health care and defense spending. That's just the reality of it.

The House Republicans, in what they have done in their budget so far, have been a little -- hiding what's going on. They -- they've said --

DEAN: It's very general.

DOVERE: Well, they say the word "Medicaid" is not in the bill. And yet, if you look at what the bill says, it directs hundreds of millions of dollars to be cut by the people who are in charge, the congressional committee that's in charge of Medicaid. So, they're pointing in the direction of it. And everybody knows that

Medicaid cuts are on the table here. It's a question, yes, of what Donald Trump is going to agree to.

It's, before that maybe, a question of what the Republicans themselves can agree to.

I was talking with a pretty liberal Democrat last week who said to me, I cannot believe that I might have to thank Josh Hawley for saving Medicaid. Like, literally, that was the conversation.

[06:10:13]

DEAN: These are the times we find ourselves in.

DOVERE: But -- but it's because --

DUBKE: We have a film crew ready.

DOVERE: He's when he wants to go on.

DUBKE: On the record.

DOVERE: I do think, though, that it is a good reminder of how we talk about these programs, and they're in the political back and forth. Social Security.

But there are a lot of Americans who rely on them, and those people do not fall into one geographic region or one political affiliation. It's all over the place.

And a lot of governors are trying to figure out what they're going to do about this, because they are going to face the shortfalls in their state.

There was -- last week, all the governors were in Washington for a meeting of the National Governors Association. And the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, a Democrat, a liberal Democrat, was -- he spoke at a press conference and said, look, we have Medicaid needs in our state. But where the highest needs are -- and he was right about this is -- if you look in the Southern part of the country, the reddest part of the country.

DEAN: Right.

DOVERE: Those are a lot of Trump voters. Those are a lot of Republican voters. What -- what are they going to do when these cuts come in?

DEAN: All right. And that is the question. And unfortunately, we are out of time, because we could talk about that a long time.

But stay with us. They're not going anywhere.

Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, the president of Ukraine traveling to the White House to sign a deal with President Trump.

Plus, iconic actor Gene Hackman and his wife found dead in their New Mexico home. We're going to have the latest on the case from police.

And what's for breakfast? In a lot of homes this morning, it's probably not eggs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just don't eat them. We miss them, but it's not worth it. We eat too many eggs for the price, so --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:31]

DEAN: We have breaking news now out of New Mexico as actor Gene Hackman is dead at 95. Police saying Hackman was found dead on Wednesday alongside his wife and their pet dog inside their New Mexico home. No word yet on their cause of death.

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Office says it is not believed to be foul play.

Of course, Hackman starred in a number of prominent films, including "Superman," "Hoosiers," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Unforgiven," and "The French Connection."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Please. I'm sorry. Can I help you?

GENE HACKMAN, ACTOR: Actually, I think I'm here to help you. I'm Avery Tolar, your designated mentor.

I, Popeye's here. Get your hands on your heads. Get off the bar and get on the wall. Come on! Move, move!

Don't leave me here. I don't want to be the only girl not dancing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: "The Birdcage" there.

Joining us now to discuss the legacy of Gene Hackman, Segun Oduolowu. He's an entertainment journalist. Thank you so much for being back with us, Segun.

You know, we're just watching a few clips there. That is just a tiny portion of what Gene Hackman did in his incredible career. It was just such an expansive, multi-decade film career.

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Jessica, you're absolutely right. Six decades his career spanned.

Everything from superhero movies: "Superman," opposite Christopher Reeves. He was Lex Luthor. Westerns: "Unforgiven." He's opposite Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. Action movies. He's opposite Will Smith in "Enemy of the State."

And the movie that I will always remember him for, because my freshman basketball coach at Chantilly High School, Mark Wayne, quoted his speech about the baskets being ten foot high wherever you go, Norman Dale in "Hoosiers."

Gene Hackman was an actor for every occasion, for every film, and for everyone. It didn't matter.

His -- in fact, opposite Denzel Washington in "Crimson Tide," there's a story where women would stop him. Black women would stop him in the grocery store and say, "You the man that hit Denzel. We don't like that."

But that's who Gene Hackman was. Everybody loved a Gene Hackman movie. He will be sorely missed.

DEAN: He really will. And everybody has one that they love. Or 3 or 4. And it is just such a -- he is such an emblem of a time in the film industry where you could have a six-decade career and play all of these types of characters.

So many of the movies we love that he's in probably wouldn't even get made anymore.

ODUOLOWU: Yes. You know, he wasn't beautiful like an Errol Flynn, George Clooney. In fact, he didn't think that he could be a leading actor or a star, because he didn't have those classic movie-star looks. Right? He didn't have the sex appeal of, like, a Brad Pitt or a Denzel Washington.

But he was everyman. Like, he looked like your next-door neighbor. So, you believed him in everything that he played, even if it was, you know, a sappy, ridiculous movie. "The Quick and the Dead" with Leonardo DiCaprio and -- and other -- and other actors and actresses.

But he was the guy that you went to see, and those movies don't exist anymore. The Gene Hackman movies, they weren't huge budget films. They were just good movies. And that type of cinema isn't around anymore.

And with the Oscars right around the corner this weekend, there better be an appropriate montage for this titan of film, because I don't think we're going to see the like of a Gene Hackman again. Those movies just don't get made with this type of a star.

[06:20:15]

DEAN: Yes. And I'm -- we're watching the clip right now from "Runaway Jury" with Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. And it's -- there's a relationship between these two. I think the story is they were coming up together, and they were both voted least likely to succeed.

ODUOLOWU: Yes, they -- they did come up together as friends, you know, struggling actors in -- out here, out here in California, at -- at a playhouse, and then later rekindled their friendship in New York as Gene was struggling.

Gene actually got kicked out of the program and basically kind of thumbed his nose and said, I'll show you guys. I will be -- I'm going to make it and went to New York.

And he's -- he's a testament of like the working actor, the -- the person that just shows up every day, delivers. You mentioned "The Royal Tenenbaums." He was adept at doing comedy. We talked about action movies, spy thrillers. It didn't matter. You knew if you put Gene Hackman in your movie, you were going to get award-worthy performances.

He won two Academy Awards, one for Best Actor in "The French Connection," with his classic character of Popeye Doyle, and then again for playing an evil sheriff in "Unforgiven." Those roles spanned 20 plus years apart.

So, Gene Hackman, it didn't matter. Like he was, he was the guy. Like, can you think of an actor now that you would say, OK, well, if they're in the movie, I'm going to see it, because it's going to be good. I can't think of one. I always knew Gene Hackman movies, they were going to be good.

DEAN: Yes. He leaves quite a legacy behind. Segun, thanks for walking us through it. We really appreciate it.

ODUOLOWU: Jessica, I wish it was under better circumstances, but happy to talk about this titan of cinema, Gene Hackman. The lights are a little bit dimmer here in Hollywood.

DEAN: I know. Go watch "Hoosiers" and -- and enjoy it today. Segun, thanks so much. Good to see you.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, the measles outbreak widening in Texas. Now, there's been a death. It's the first measles death in a decade. We're going to ask Dr. Deborah Birx about the threat.

Plus, the price of eggs so high some stores are now selling them individually.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, LATE NIGHT HOST: McDonald's just announced $1 egg McMuffin Day to celebrate the sandwich's 50th birthday. Now, $1. A little suspicious when an Egg McMuffin is cheaper than an actual egg.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:03]

DEAN: He made a campaign promise to bring down prices at the grocery store.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: This. This is the cost of food. This is the cost of your basics. Every single thing is up. Eggs up 48 percent, cookies up 27 percent. Look at what's going on. Butter up 31 percent. And this is just the beginning. It's a disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Now, it is one month into his presidency. And so far, it is a promise not kept.

Just yesterday, the Trump administration announcing a new plan, though, to bring down egg prices by curbing the ongoing bird flu epidemic.

And CNN's Harry Enten takes a look at how one New York bodega has tried to tackle the costly kitchen staple.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Bronx, the borough where I grew up, we headed to Pamela's Green Deli.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good to see you.

ENTEN: Where the price of eggs is a red-hot topic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now is eight, nine, ten, 11, 12. It's horrible.

ENTEN: What are you thinking about egg prices these days?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so expensive. I haven't eaten eggs in about a month.

ENTEN: OK. That's incredible. Did you used to eat a lot of eggs?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day. Every day. My children, too. Not anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it's crazy that we can't afford eggs. It's a good thing what the owner is doing, though. He's selling eggs loose so that the community have access to them.

ENTEN (voice-over): Selling eggs loose, three at a time, instead of a dozen.

ENTEN: So, I heard you're doing something special here. Something a little bit different so that people can actually get the eggs that they need to.

RADHAMES RODRIGUEZ, OWNER, PAMELA'S GREEN DELI: Instead of selling a dozen for $12, $11, we decided to sell loose -- loose eggs. You know, like this package, OK? Three -- 2.99 for these three eggs.

Sometimes, the people only have probably $20, $25. If they're spending $12 just on eggs. So, it's going to be difficult for them to buy the rest of the stuff. You know, like the bread, butter, oil, all the things that they need to -- to -- to cook.

ENTEN: Are people telling you that they really like --

RODRIGUEZ: They're buying. They're buying. They're buying. A lot of people coming, and they buy it. And they're happy, because we did that.

And remind me for when I'm -- from where I'm coming from, I'm coming for Dominican Republic. And this is what I used to do over there. But I'm working in the grocery store.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right. Harry Enten, thanks to you for that. I want to bring the panel back in. They've stayed here the whole time. Like -- like the good people that they are.

But listen, you -- you hear that woman in there, and she says, "I used to eat eggs every day. I've been eating them in a month. I mean, this is impacting people." We are dealing with the bird flu, as well.

FINNEY: Yes, yes. I think what's interesting is it does sort of reflect, just in general, how people are feeling about the economy. And we can make lots of jokes about it. But at the same time.

DUBKE: Yolks.

FINNEY: Make some yolks. But it does reflect, you know, people are very aware how much they're putting out when they're going to the grocery store or when they're --

DEAN: Up 41 percent in 2025.

FINNEY: And, you know, the expectation is it's not going to come down any time soon, despite some of the efforts that they're going to take.

DUBKE: It does differ around the country. So, I -- my son in Little Rock, Arkansas, was having a conversation.