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CDC in Upheaval after Top Official Resign; Legacy of a Storm: The Lingering Impact of Hurricane Katrina. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired August 29, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
M.J. LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Performance art as it is a sport. Players bounce and juggle a ball, performing complex and skillful moves that are timed to music.
[06:00:11]
Around 500 people from 40 countries competed this year, putting in plenty of practice for the Super Bowl.
And thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm M.J. Lee in Washington, D.C. And CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: The CDC in turmoil. Will the new boss be loyal to science or the White House? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: There's a lot of trouble at CDC, and it's going to require getting rid of some people.
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CORNISH: The new RFK ally taking the job and what it could mean for vaccines.
And we're learning new details about the Minnesota school shooter and why some obvious warning signs were missed.
So, what about that Putin-Zelenskyy peace meeting Trump pushed for? Germany's leader throws shade as Russia drops more bombs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I'm going (ph) to get on-the-job training over the last 200 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Is Vice President Vance ready to be commander in chief? He thinks so.
And the days of getting dirt-cheap prices online soon could be over. A key trade loophole just ended. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen anything like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And 20 years after Hurricane Katrina forever changed New Orleans, even those who stayed to rebuild still struggle with whether or not to stay.
It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast, and here is a live look at New Orleans on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall. We're going to be talking to a survivor of that storm coming up.
Good morning, everybody. It is Friday, August 29. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we start.
A hero's exit at the CDC for the leaders who have quit or found themselves fired after clashing with Health and Human Services secretary RFK Jr.
Dozens of CDC staffers lined up outside its Atlanta headquarters with a clap-out. Kennedy has reportedly placed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, in the role of CDC director.
Secretary Kennedy said the shakeup at the agency is proof it's troubled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: There's a lot of trouble at CDC, and it's going to require getting rid of some people over the long term in order for us to change the institutional culture and bring back pride and self-esteem and make that agency the stellar agency that it's always been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Sources tell CNN the former director, Dr. Susan Monarez, found herself at odds with Kennedy over vaccine policy and refused to fire some of the agency's top officials. The directors who resigned tell CNN Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, is to blame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION & RESPIRATORY DISEASES AT CDC: If CDC is being characterized as troubled by Secretary Kennedy, I think we have to turn the mirror back to him, because I think that the trouble is emanating mainly from him.
DR. DEBRA HOURY, FORMER CDC CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: In the past year, with staffing cuts, with plans for reorganization, all of this is being dismantled. So, if we want to say that the CDC needs an overhaul, it's because of what has happened in the past few months to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Aaron Blake, CNN senior political reporter; Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of "The Daily Signal"; and Antjuan Seawright, Democratic strategist.
Rob, I want to start with you, because you were saying that to this Trump presidency. Personnel is policy, which is a business lens. So, tell me more about that thinking, because I feel like we heard a little bit of it in what Kennedy just had to say.
ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "THE DAILY SIGNAL": Absolutely. Well, Donald Trump, of course, is -- is no stranger to firings. It goes back all the way to his days on "The Apprentice."
CORNISH: Part of his brand, yes.
BLUEY: And so, I don't know that it's surprising to anyone that he has come to Washington and wants to clean house. In this particular case, the CDC, dating back to the post-COVID era, has had trouble gaining the trust and confidence of the American people.
And I think, ultimately, what you've seen over the course of the last few days is that both Dr. Marty Makary at the FDA, RFK Jr. have said that the best decisions about your health are made by an individual and their doctor, not necessarily a bureaucrat at the CDC.
CORNISH: All right, Antjuan wanting to jump in.
ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, Rob, you say that, but yet, conservatives do not feel that way when it comes to women making their own healthcare choices. And those choices remain between a woman and her doctor.
But I think we've moved into a very dangerous place in America, because now -- we now have people running agencies who cuddle up, peddle and play footsie with misinformation and disinformation. And they have no interest in having a relationship with science, which is ultimately the truth in research.
[06:05:03]
And so, never mind America is already feeling the burden from this administration from an economic security standpoint. We're now moving to health security standpoint.
And when we continue to see experts leaving the federal government, the one stabilizing force in America, I think that sends a signal --
CORISH: Yes.
SEAWRIGHT: -- around the world about the lack of seriousness with this administration.
CORNISH: There was one thing that came up from the CDC chief of vaccines and respiratory diseases, who made this very specific kind of accusation on CNN last night. I want to play it for you guys. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DASKALAKIS: I think that another important thing to ask the secretary is, has he been briefed by a CDC expert on anything? Specifically, measles, COVID-19, flu? I think that people should ask him that in that hearing. That's No. 1.
So, the answer is no. So, no one from my center has ever briefed him on any of those topics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: So, it's one thing to clash with people. It's another thing if they're not in the room at all. Can you talk to me about what we're hearing here?
AARON BLAKE, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty remarkable, actually, to see the CDC officials step out like this.
I think in the first term of Trump, we saw, like, a lot of these instances where people clashed with the administration, came out and said things, whether anonymously or otherwise. We haven't seen as much of that in this term. And I think that's a reflection of the Trump administration kind of applying pressure on people and being successful in that.
But I think when you're talking about something as serious as vaccines and public health, that creates this motivation for people to -- to come out. And so, I think we're going to see a lot more.
I think maybe the last time we saw as much kind of public, you know, whistle blowing like this, it was back early in the administration when the -- the Eric Adams prosecution blew up, and we saw a number of prosecutors come out.
When you have something that you feel so strongly about, you feel like your -- your duty is to the law or to public health.
CORNISH: Right.
BLAKE: It makes a much more kind of potent situation.
CORNISH: Yes. We also saw the FEMA workers speaking out this week.
I want to raise one thing. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy is chairman of the Senate Health Committee. He's a doctor. And he most definitely raised concerns during the hearings for Kennedy and others.
And he said that this meeting of the Department of Health and Human Services vaccine panel that was supposed to take place shouldn't happen next month. He says, if the meeting proceeds, "any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy, given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil of the CDC leadership."
This sounds like inside baseball, but I got to figure out what I'm going to give my kids in terms of vaccines, and this looks like a mess.
So, what do you make that a Republican is saying when you put in your own deputy, when you fight with the others, you're not putting us in a position to trust you.
BLUEY: Well, Audie, as you pointed out, I mean, Cassidy was on the fence. He ultimately did vote in favor of Kennedy. So, I think he's approaching this skeptically. And that's probably what you --
CORNISH: It sounds irritating.
BLUEY: But as Dr. Makary said, the American people still have access to the vaccines. What they -- what's not being forced on them is the mandates that the government put in place during COVID. And that was what so many Americans rejected.
They felt that why should their healthy kids be forced to take a vaccine? Shouldn't that be a decision between them and their doctor?
And I think that that's where this -- this conflict is -- is arising. You've -- you've had a trend in this country where we're giving our kids more and more vaccines. And yes, you're absolutely right.
But I would -- my advice would be -- and I'm no doctor -- would be have that conversation with your local physician, as opposed to getting it from somebody in Atlanta.
CORNISH: But right now, the American Pediatrics Association and, I believe, the Obstetrics Association are in disagreement with what they're hearing coming out of the CDC.
If I go do my research again, hot mess. I don't -- I mean, I know you're saying like, we can both go look as parents, but I'm not assured by this.
BLUEY: Well, and we do need clarity. I will give you that. In terms of the leadership of the CDC, I think that will be coming in time.
One of the things "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting today that President Trump was speaking to some of his donors in August about one of the greatest accomplishments of his first term, which he considers the development of the COVID vaccine. So, you do see these conflicts even in -- even in -- Right? I mean, I --
CORNISH: I don't know. There's a mixed bag on the MAGA side about the pride in the vaccine thing.
BLUEY: I know. That's what I'm saying.
SEAWRIGHT: They're basing this on peddling conspiracy theories that we read online --
CORNISH: In what way? What do you --
SEAWRIGHT: -- that science has backed up to be true. About being anti- vax. The anti-vax crowd that we see trying to overhaul of the government.
And I think that's where we move into the danger zone of this administration versus previous administration, whether it's Democrat or Republican.
And I think that's why everyday Americans could be -- should be concerned. Add that to the fact that they were silencing and suffocating information coming out of the CDC. That happened when Trump first came in.
We're now moving into cold and flu season. And so, information that's needed and the importance of the CDC comes to be at a time where it's now more important than ever. And I think that's where you should be troubled.
[06:10:07]
BLUEY: I'm with Antjuan on that. I do think more transparency is a good thing for the American people. And I think that's one of the things --
SEAWRIGHT: Well, silence is not transparency.
CORNISH: Well, we might get hearings, so you might get what you want, both of you.
You guys stay with me. We've got a lot more to talk about this hour.
Coming up on CNN, the Biden administration denied it. But now, a January 6th rioter will get a full military funeral.
Plus, why lawmakers started pushing and shoving on the Senate floor in Mexico.
And family speaking out after their children were taken from them too soon.
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JESSE MERKEL, FATHER OF FLETCHER MERKEL: Please remember, Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life.
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[06:15:17]
CORNISH: It's now 15 minutes past the hour. I want to give you your morning roundup.
A pro-Trump rioter shot and killed while storming the Capitol on January 6th will now receive full military funeral honors.
Ashli Babbitt, an Air Force veteran, was trying to breach an area where lawmakers were sheltering when a Capitol police officer shot her.
She was denied funeral honors under the Biden administration. But the Air Force has now reversed that decision.
And a fight breaks out in Mexico's Senate. Politicians shoved, grabbed, and shouted at each other as the session ended yesterday.
The brawl actually followed a heated debate about whether the U.S. should intervene in the country's fight against drug cartels.
ARIANA GRANDE, SINGER (singing): We can't be friends.
CORNISH: Ariana Grande going back on tour. The "Wicked" star announced her Eternal Sunshine tour starting next summer. This is Grande's first time back on the road in six years after taking a break from music to focus on acting.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, another tariff change. And this one could hit small businesses hard.
Plus, 20 years after Katrina, the storm's lasting impact.
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[06:20:52]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were, like, bodies floating past my front door, you know? Bodies floating past my front door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody sitting on the street suffering. Old people dying. And out at the convention center, got bodies down there like flies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like somebody -- let a bomb go off and just -- it's just total devastation. Total destruction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some good is going to come out of this for New Orleans. I've been praying for this city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Today officially marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall with 125 mile-an-hour winds. The National Weather Service issued a rare warning at that time that the storm would cause human suffering, incredible by modern standards.
Hours after landfall, the levees in New Orleans broke, leaving 80 percent of the city underwater, and those who didn't get out in time were left stranded on roofs and in flooded homes. They were rescued and taken to the Superdome, which quickly became overwhelmed.
And three days after the storm. NPR's John Burnett described the conditions this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BURNETT, FORMER NPR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): There are, I estimate, 2,000 people living like animals inside the city convention center and around it. There's no food. There's absolutely no water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And in the end, more than 1,800 people died. Thousands permanently relocated. And the rebuilding process also reshaped the city.
My next guest is among those who ended up leaving after its recovery, and she writes about that in "The New Yorker" in a piece title "My Mother, New Orleans."
Jeanie Riess, welcome. Thank you for being with us.
JEANIE RIESS, ESSAYIST: Thank you so much for having me.
CORNISH: So, I wanted to talk to you about this piece, because there is a particular bittersweetness to -- to making the decision to leave. You were a teenager at the time, but as an adult, what was it like kind of walking away?
RIESS: Well, it's incredibly difficult, because I think for most of us born in New Orleans, especially people who lived through Katrina, we have this very intense relationship with the city. We love it so much. It's like a mother to us.
But at the same time, it's a place where we've experienced a great deal of loss and trauma. And so, I think for me, it's always been a place that has given me so much, but a place that I'm never convinced is not going to take all those things away.
CORNISH: We've been all this time talking about the storm, its anniversary. For us, I think, in the media, it's kind of just another story.
What do you think it's like for people to be hearing about this kind of every few years? What has it been like for you?
RIESS: Well, I think it's really hard for people in New Orleans. I think this was an extremely traumatic event, whether you lost your home, whether you returned or not. And I think all the media coverage is hard. I think people are bracing themselves for this anniversary, for sure.
CORNISH: I was looking at your writing, and you said there were two versions of New Orleans: before Katrina and after, just as I suspect there will be two Hunts, two Altadenas, two of every other city not spared from natural disaster.
There -- in the end, Katrina was -- it was horrific, but it was, in the end, not unique in that other costly storms have hit the U.S. since. What is it like for you at home when you watch people going through that?
RIESS: It's really hard. And I think, you know, it makes me think of the leadership in Louisiana and how it's especially lately been focused on more of these sort of culture war issues instead of protecting New Orleans and other low-lying areas in the state.
I wish that we, as a country, could sort of confront this climate change that's causing these natural disasters, to prevent these horrible incidences.
CORNISH: Are there things about surviving something like that that you understand that the rest of us don't? Like, that you have in common with survivors of Altadena or Ida or Sandy or any of these other storms that you think, I get what you're about to go through?
RIESS: I think so, because I think most people feel raised by the places they were born. And so, watching your home disappear is an experience like no other. It's not -- it's a little bit like losing a parent.
[06:25:07]
CORNISH: There have been so many workers coming out in FEMA to say that they are upset with, they think, post-Katrina reforms. I remember at the time, people were very unhappy with FEMA, to say the least.
Is it weird to see the fact that, in a way, we're all still fighting about what FEMA is for?
RIESS: Yes, I would have hoped by this point people would sort of have sorted out what FEMA is, and, but at the same time, I mean, I'm -- I'm happy that people are having these conversations because it will be so important going forward.
CORNISH: I think part of it is we all feel it's not going to happen to us. Like disasters, especially like Katrina, that was someone else's problem.
RIESS: Yes, I can see that.
CORNISH: Do you hear that still? And, like, is it weird to be in rooms where people may not realize that you're one of the people who -- who survived that kind of situation?
RIESS: Yes, it definitely is. But I think this is happening more and more all over the country. So at the same time, I think maybe people in, you know, on the waterfront everywhere are sort of bracing themselves.
CORNISH: What's your advice to them, especially to parents? You were a teenager at the time. What's your advice to people who have to move through this experience and somehow come out on the other side?
RIESS: Talk about it a lot. Don't let it be a secret. I mean, especially --
CORNISH: Did that happen? Is that common?
RIESS: Yes, I think that people don't know how to talk about these things. And I think also taking your culture with you. I mean, if you have to leave, trying to bring with you the things that make your city unique and special is really important.
CORNISH: Well, Jeanie, I hope you don't feel like you have quit on New Orleans in some way by leaving. I know that that is something that sometimes haunts people.
RIESS: Yes, it definitely is. I think New Orleans will always be a huge part of me. And we go back all the time. So, yes.
CORNISH: All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing this moment with us. We appreciate you being here.
RIESS: Thank you so much for having me.
CORNISH: So, straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, a community reeling after another school shooting and law enforcement say writings from the shooter show clear hate. So, were there warning signs that were missed?
Plus, will the leaders of Russia and Ukraine meet for peace talks? One European leader thinks that is looking less likely.
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