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U.S. Government Officially Shuts Down with No Deal in Sight; Trump: Hamas Has "Three or Four Days" to Accept Gaza Plan; Rep.-Elect Still Awaits Swearing-in. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 01, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:36]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: 33 minutes past the hour now on this Wednesday. I'm Erica Hill. Good to have you with me here on CNN This Morning.

Here's a close look at what's happening right now. We are now officially six and a half hours into this government shutdown. Senators said to return to Capitol Hill this morning, where they'll try to pass a stopgap funding bill again. Does this feel familiar? Well, it probably should.

You may recall 2018, the shutdown, which lasted, I believe, 35 days. That led to a major hit on the economy, a $3 billion loss in economic growth. Meantime, hundreds of thousands of federal workers and military members will not get paid until further notice.

TSA workers, air traffic controllers, they'll still report to work, but of course without pay during the shutdown. Veteran services will continue, along with the National Weather Service. Social security checks, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, those will still go out.

Some of the services in jeopardy this morning? Well, the Food and Drug Administration says this shutdown will significantly impact public health and safety. Health inspections will likely be delayed.

A number of national parks, monuments and museums are also likely to close. Also not a surprise when we talk about familiar territory, both parties digging in. Plenty of finger pointing about who's to blame. The White House website now features a timer, as you can see here, saying Democrats have shut down the government. Again, this is on the official White House website. The president says they're taking the -- or talk about taking the government hostage. Going on to say Democrats are saying this, that Republicans who failed to negotiate on rising health care costs have of course led to the current standoff.

[06:35:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Republicans have adopted a "my way" or the "highway" approach. They basically have said, take it or leave it with respect to our partisan Republican spending bill. That continues cuts that were first put into place in March of this year.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: So, the only question tonight is, how long will Chuck Schumer keep the government closed? It's -- it's a dangerous gambit.

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: -- to release the hostage, and there are Democrats that we're hearing from who are looking for an offering up and want to wave help.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: What gives us the ability to win this argument with the American people is we're standing for what they want with health care, and they are not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The group chat is back. Charlie, I just want to get your take on this, because I'm so -- I'm fascinated and yet not entirely shocked by the messaging that we're seeing on official government websites, for example, right? And messaging, right, that a number of those agencies are to make it clear that they are shutting down, people are being furloughed because of Democrats. That is something we have not seen before.

CHARLIE DENT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASPEN INSTITUTE CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM: Yeah, like I said, the roles are reversed. It's just, it's, again, the Democrats are making the policy demand. What they're asking for, essentially, is this is a 50-day funding bill, essentially, to take you from October 1st to November 21. And the Democrats are insisting on a lot of things, like about a trillion dollars of spending. You can't negotiate this in that sense.

HILL: That I get. I'm talking about the messaging that you're seeing. So, we showed a picture of the official White House website there, right?

DENT: Yeah.

HILL: What I'm talking about is the messaging from the top, from the administration, right? And even from agencies who have been told, you are to be very clear in your messaging, this is why it's happening. That we have not seen before. I mean, was there a moment when, you know, the -- you know, the White House said, this is all on the other party. That doesn't happen in that capacity.

DENT: Well, the White House is using its power to really put the screws to the Democrats. They're talking about the FDA inspections, you know, what about, you know, if you go to a meat processing plant, you have to have inspectors there from the Ag Department, if we can't process food, or the National Guard. All the civilian technicians aren't going to be able to get paid, and the Guard won't be ready. And the White House is going to use that bully pulpit to say that the Democrats are preventing us from being ready. That's the simple argument. That's why I don't think that -- I don't think the Democrats are in a very comfortable position here. They don't like being in this position. They're not used to being in this position. This is usually the Republican position.

And so that's why this is -- this is hard on them. So, I think the White House is going to use these tools to, you know, just to put the screws at Democrats.

HILL: It plays into, I mean, they do have access to those tools, right? But doing this with, you know, agencies that should be nonpartisan is remarkable, right? And I do think we need to mark that moment.

But in terms of the messaging, we were all talking during the break, what is a challenge in this moment is that most Americans have sources of information that reflect how they feel about things in the world, that echo how they feel. And they don't necessarily seek out an opposite viewpoint or perhaps the facts even on certain -- on certain things.

How much of an issue could that be for Democrats to overcome in certain instances?

ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: Oh, it's a huge issue. I mean, I think the reality is we don't give Donald Trump enough credit. He is by far, and this is a little provocative for me to say, having worked for the people I have, he by far is the most talented political communicator I've ever experienced.

This is why it was a risk for Democrats to get into this fight. This is why I've always argued, don't get into a fight you're not prepared to win, because this guy, it plays dirty, right? He's going to use the White House. He's going to use all of Congress.

And then to your point, the media ecosystem out, not just in Washington, but out in the world favors Republicans. So, they're going to activate all of these things. They're going to put ads on TV. They're going to get the local news stations to talk about it's Democrats' fault. I mean, this is how this thing is going to play out.

And with each passing day, we're going to lose the argument and get blamed for this. But I think one thing that I have to challenge the leader on, Schumer, is he makes the point that we've got to win this argument. But you've got to win the argument without shutting down the government.

That is the challenge with the Democratic Party right now. How do you win this argument? How do you place the blame for the economy that is tanking on Republicans? The shutdown is not a process fight. It is a double downing on a bad economic agenda. That is what they have to position this whole thing on Republicans. And they're not doing that.

HILL: But they didn't. ETIENNE: No, they did --

HILL: And then the government shut down, right? And so now here's where we're at. So, as we as we look at this moving forward, I mean, it's now Republicans hold the cards here.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, I think they do. And I think in November of 2026, no one will remember this. It just it'll -- it'll evaporate in people's mind. It won't have any real sort of political implications for either party. And we'll see. I mean, I think at this point, it's sort of a wash.

I do think it is a little jarring for Republican voters to hear from Republicans that they care about the government that they took a chainsaw to for the first months of this administration. So, I think that is a little jarring.

[06:40:09]

I think Democrats have a bit of a head start here because they have been talking about health care, obviously, for decades, but within the context of the BBB. This is what they've been talking about. And this is what they've been winning on. They actually were able to sink the ratings of the big, beautiful bill because of the way they were talking about it.

And so I do think, you know, to give your party a little bit more credit in terms of messaging, they have been pretty good at messaging around health care and -- and I think centering it around something very, very important to most Americans, health care, the price of health care, which is going to go up, right? These premiums are going to skyrocket and it will be at the foot of Republicans if -- if they don't work something out around these subsidies.

HILL: Right. Stick around. Much more to come in the hour. I do want to turn now, though, to the Middle East, where Hamas is facing a deadline of three or four days to accept President Trump's 20-point peace plan. That deal, of course, calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner swap that includes the return of all remaining Israeli hostages.

Now, Hamas would also have to agree to disarm Israel, along with many Arab countries in the region, of course, have signed off on that plan. A number of hostage families hopeful that perhaps their agonizing ordeal could finally be coming to an end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TSIPI HAITOVKSY, ACTIVIST: It looks like finally, finally, finally, we have a deal to end the war, the bloody war in Gaza and bring all our people back home. This is very, very good news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Yet there are still questions and admittedly a number of concerns, especially for Palestinians. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This delegates all of the rights of the Palestinian people. It ends the Palestinian cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We as Palestinian citizens, where are we in this equation? Who is going to solve our situation?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Dana Stroul is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for the Middle East and joins me now.

Dana, it's good to have you with me. So, picking up on what we heard there, what is -- what does become the Palestinian people under this plan?

DANA STROUL, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEFENSE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST: Well, first of all, what's clear about this plan is that if Hamas says yes, it's surrender for the organization. Individual members of Hamas can either stay if they commit to peaceful coexistence with Israel or they have to leave. But either way, they have to disarm and give up any role in the governance of Gaza if they agree to the plan.

And what the plan calls for is a technocratic committee of Palestinians unaffiliated with any political party that would be part of a solution for starting to reconstruct and stabilize Gaza. One of the criticisms of this plan so far is it doesn't have a real role for Palestinians in the immediate phases of implementation.

HILL: So, given all that and what you have laid out, it was remarkable to see when this plan was announced to then hear of the support from leaders in the Middle East, from European leaders as well. But do you think -- I mean, it helps in terms of, I guess, potentially backing Hamas into a corner, given, though, the demands. Is there a sense that Hamas will, in fact, agree?

STROUL: I think, first of all, it's remarkable that this time the Trump administration did the work of aligning so many Arab leaders and Muslim leaders. And what's different this time is you actually have Turkish officials on the ground in Qatar with Qatari leaders and Egyptian leaders all pressing Hamas to agree.

A few things, though. First, there's Hamas sitting in fancy hotels eating nice meals in Doha. And then there's the hardened Hamas fighters holding hostages and Palestinian civilians hostage inside Gaza, hiding in tunnels. And the question is, are they under enough military pressure? And do they perceive enough international pressure, especially from these longtime backers and supporters of Hamas, to actually agree to terms which essentially mean the end of the organization?

HILL: There are also the questions of what could ultimately happen, right? So, President Trump, you know, pretty clear if Hamas rejects it, then, in his words, Israel will finish the job by itself. And then you also have the prime minister of Israel saying, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. What does that translate to in your mind? What does that actually mean?

STROUL: First of all, we're already in the hard way. Israel's been at this for two years. And what's very clear is that military operations on their own, without a political vision and a political process on the other side of war, isn't going to deliver a long-term solution for Israel's security or for the Palestinian people.

And meanwhile, they're going for the final remnants of Hamas in northern Gaza. But there really is no path right now, other than Trump's plan to secure the release of hostages. I think what people are missing here is that Trump gave Netanyahu a bright green light. If Hamas doesn't say yes, we continue to see the really strong military operations.

[06:45:10]

Israel right now has Gaza City in the north completely encircled. We're going to continue to see Israeli hostages' lives put at risk, as well as a lot of civilian casualties. And probably the lives of Israeli soldiers on the ground also put at risk.

HILL: Dana Stroul, good to have your insight this morning. Thank you.

STROUL: Thanks for having me.

Our breaking news coverage of the government shutdown continues. Just ahead, Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos is live with us here in the studio.

Plus:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need a swearing Adelita Grijalva today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Republicans refusing to swear in a newly elected Democrat. Is the House Speaker holding it up to avoid the Epstein petition?

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[06:50:00]

HILL: Senators are set to return to the Hill later this morning when both parties will once again push for an effort to open the government. But with no compromise in sight, those votes seem doomed to fail. President Trump framing this shutdown as an opportunity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: The last thing we want to do is shut it down. But a lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want. And they'd be Democrat things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now is Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos of Florida. Congressman, nice to have you with us in the studio. So, the president framing this as an opportunity. Do you agree? And where do you see an opportunity in the shutdown?

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Well, I think the best thing we can do is keep the government open. As you know, last week we voted to do just that. A Democrat joined us in that vote. I was actually optimistic last night. Three Democrat senators said, let's keep the government open for seven more weeks and have a good negotiation about how we move forward with health care. I think that's a common-sense thing to do.

It's something that Democrats have done historically. There's one video after another showing Chuck Schumer 13 times saying, "Hey, let's have a CR." I'd like to do that. Let's make government work for a change.

HILL: So, I do want to follow up on that one second, but just to get back to the question about in terms of the opportunity that the president sees in this shutdown, one of the other things he said is it would give us the opportunity to get rid of, in his words, Democrat things. What does that say to you? What specifically are Democrat things that you think should go away?

HARIDOPOLOS: I'm not sure what exactly he's going to focus on, but we do know this. In the health care system, there's waste, fraud, and abuse. There's a lot of opportunities for them. We saw in the DOGE a lot of opportunities as well, where we said, "Do we really want to spend money on that when we have this big a deficit?"

So, I think they're going to take a fresh look at it. The OMB has a lot of data now because of the DOGE. It was not there before, and I think that's another opportunity, but I don't want to play these political games.

My goal is simple. I got elected to move the country forward, have some common-sense things in the border, let alone try to move towards a balanced budget, which we did back in Florida. I hope that these seven weeks, we can talk about health care. I'm happy to do that, but let's keep the government open. That's just a common-sense thing to do to me.

HILL: So, in terms of that, you've talked about, over these seven weeks, negotiating health care, talking about health care specifically. In an interview I saw with you yesterday, you said seven weeks may not be enough time. So, how much time is enough time to get to a place where you feel that Republicans and Democrats could have a healthy negotiation and an outcome that benefits the American people when it comes to health care, and specifically these subsidies?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, let's set the table first. The programs that we're dealing with are the ones that were expanded in the last four years, and as you know, we're out of COVID now. It no longer exists. We want to look at things, for example, in the state of Arizona, if you make $600,000 as a family of four, you get subsidies? That doesn't make sense to me. If you're a single male in Vermont, $180,000 subsidies.

I think we're willing to look at those issues, but let's do it in a thoughtful way, aside from the budget. That's a policy decision versus a budget decision. And here we are in an economic role. We're at 3.8% growth right now. Why do we want to derail that with a government shutdown, which, as your guest just said recently, it doesn't make any sense to most people.

HILL: In terms of subsidies, I think it's important to point out that $600,000 example that you gave. It's my understanding that those subsidies cover only up to 8.5% of annual income. So -- so, there's that.

HARIDOPOLOS: Someone making $600,000 and getting government subsidies? I mean, come on.

HILL: Right, so if you want to re-examine that, the reality though, too, is we should point out those subsidies premiums for Obamacare policies are expected to skyrocket by more than 75% according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. So, as we're looking at all of this, based on where things stand in this moment, there are also a lot of questions about what happens to furloughed workers. There is this push for mass layoffs.

One of your colleagues from Florida, Congresswoman Kat Cammack, said in a letter to the chief administrative officer of the House, asked to have her pay withheld, writing in part, if the military isn't being paid neither should members of Congress. Do you agree with her on that?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think where we're at right now, as you know the rules currently, these folks who leave furloughed will still get paid when they come back. That is the current rule. So, they're literally getting, and some people crossly would say, they're getting a paid vacation. They're going home knowing full well when this government opens back up, they're getting paid.

I think that as a military person, like my sons in the Air Force, that the common sense, if you're in public service, you should know that in these, let's say, political times, you should show up to work because that's the goal. We're all paying for this one way or the other. Let's have people at work and not play these political games. It's what we did in Florida.

HILL: It's not the workers playing the political games, to your point, right? It's --

HARIDOPOLOS: I think -- that's why I think that we should change the rules. I think if you're a federal worker, you should show up to work knowing full well when the government opens back up, you're going to get paid. That's the give and take. There are very generous federal benefits versus a lot of people in the private sector. They should recognize when you're a federal worker, that when they have these political events happening, that they know they're going to be paid on the backside and that's what's happening. You know the rules, that when you are furloughed, when you come back to work, you'll get your back pay.

HILL: Right.

HARIDOPOLOS: So, why even play the game? Keep them at work. Work for the American public. We all should do that in a common-sense way.

HILL: Right, so we'll see. I'll open that up to some of the agencies that are sitting down and let me know what they say to you. When you say, I want those people to still show up to work.

HARIDOPOLOS: I do want them to show up to work.

HILL: Yeah. No, I mean that seriously. Yeah, see what they say. Thanks to have you in the studio. Thank you,

[06:55:00]

HARIDOPOLOS: Thank you so much, Erica.

HILL: In the middle of all this shutdown chaos, there is a congresswoman-elect who is waiting to be sworn in. Democrat Adelita Grijalva says it's not only the shutdown holding things up. She, of course, you may recall, won a special election last week to represent Arizona's 7th congressional district. She says she's concerned that the delay in her swearing-in actually has something to do with an effort to force a vote on the Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADELITA GRIJALVA (D) ARIZONA REP.-ELECT: As a member of Congress, I am going to be the 218th signer to have a vote on the floor to release the Epstein files. The issue for me is giving voice to the victims of a sexual assault. And they have not been able to have their justice, and anyone who perpetrated a crime should have to deal with the legal consequences of what they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The group chat is back. So, we should point out, Speaker Johnson has sworn in other newly elected members just days after their election. Throw it out to the group. Do you think there is something deeper at play here? Is this about the Epstein files? Is it about a vote, or is this a casualty of, I don't know, shutdown gridlock?

HENDERSON: It's about the Epstein files, right? And listen, I think it speaks to their worry about this. You know, it sort of looks like a, who knows if it is a cover-up, but it certainly looks like a cover-up, what's going on with the government here, and I think people sense that, right?

And this, I think, if you're arguing that this is a cover-up, and that there is something that Republicans and Trump feel like they need to hide, this is yet more evidence. I'm not saying it is a cover-up, but I'm saying I understand why people, average voters, might think that.

DENT: Well, yeah. I think they probably didn't swear in over Epstein yesterday, but they're probably going to have to swear her in next week.

HENDERSON: Yeah, yeah.

DENT: I mean, so -- she's still going to get the sign of this. She's going to sign a discharge petition, and that's going to force the House to act. So, yeah, but for now, it's about Epstein, but we're going to get to it next week.

ETIENNE: And when we do get to it next week? I mean, my suggestion has been that the Democratic Party needs to take on a new messaging framework as it relates to this, and that is corruption. That's what this is all about. It is a cover-up. I mean, let's be honest about what it is. I think the President is very worried that his name is in it. We like to believe that it is.

And -- but this is all part of, you know, if you take a step back from it, the President taking over BLS, the labor statistics so he can manipulate data from his emoluments, violations of the emoluments clause in the Constitution, his family making all this money, now the Trump X -- Rx website. I mean, all of it reeks of corruption, and we've got to start putting this in a way in which the American people can understand what's actually happening and how it's impacting their lives.

HILL: Are you confident that that is in the works right now?

ETIENNE: Yeah, I mean, there's -- there's been articles --

HILL: I mean, in terms of the messaging.

ETIENNE: Oh, absolutely. There's been articles written that the Democratic Party is considering its proactive agenda, and corruption will be a part of it. We use corruption, the culture of corruption to win an '18. We won 40 seats with that message framework. And I think it's, again, every passing day, it's more and more mounting corruption.

HILL: I don't want to let this day pass without getting a sense of what's in your group chat. I'll let you go first.

DENT: Yeah. Well, in addition to speculating on how long this government shutdown is going to last, which will be at least a week, we're actually focused on the baseball playoffs and the Philadelphia Phillies' likelihood to win the World Series, joining the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, so city champions. That's what we're focused on.

HILL: You and Jake Tapper, very focused on that.

DENT: We are.

HILL: Very focused. Nia, how about you? HENDERSON: Speaking of the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny is going to play at halftime. It's going to be awesome.

HILL: We can share.

HENDERSON: Yeah, is that your suit? It's going to be, in Spanish, it's going to be awesome. This is Jay-Z's hand, right?

HILL: Yeah.

HENDERSON: You saw Kendrick Lamar last go around and Serena Williams doing the grip walk during that performance. And so, yeah, I'm very excited about this. This is what everybody's talking about.

HILL: What I love is that Bad Bunny has been in the group chat, by the way, all week long. I know it's only three days, but somehow, on a shutdown week, it feels longer.

HENDERSON: Yeah.

HILL: I love that it's both still, and I'd say it's in one of my, for real, in-group chats, too. It's not going away.

ETIENNE: Yeah, it's a great escape. And all my friends are learning as much Spanish as they can learn. We're creating line dances to his songs. I mean, we're going to be in complete solidarity.

DENT: I never even heard of Bad Bunny until last year.

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: You're going to go home later, right? We're going to have a little listening session after the show. It'll be great.

ETIENNE: Work up on your Spanish.

HILL: Exactly. How do the Philadelphia Eagles feel about Bad Bunny? Are they -- you know, since you're putting them in the Super Bowl again this year, do you think they're happy with that as a halftime performance?

DENT: Well, I don't think they'll care because they're going to win. They'll take anybody.

HILL: I love the confidence of an Eagles fan.

DENT: Well, ordinarily, we're pretty glum, and we're very critical of ourselves. We're not a happy bunch, ordinarily. We've suffered so much over the years, but we've had some good years recently, so we're not used to this.

HILL: Yeah.

DENT: We like it, though.

HILL: You're enjoying it. You're enjoying the moment, yes. DENT: And now we're anxious about the Phillies, who are going to take the series.

HILL: We'll be watching for that one. In my household, they are rooting firmly for the Yankees right now as they're watching the playoffs. So, there's that. My nieces, they'll root for the Red Sox. So, there you go. We're covering all the bases.

[07:00:10]

Really nice to see all of you. And nice to have you here for the group chat this morning.

Thanks to all of you for joining us. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned. CNN News Central and our continuing coverage of the breaking news, the shutdown, will continue right now.

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