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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

House Rules Committee Discussing Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" Right Now; Elon Musk To Spend "A Lot Less" Money On Politics; Pope Leo Holds His First General Audience; Netanyahu Under Pressure To End Gaza Siege, New Operation; TASS: Putin Makes First Visit To Kursk Since Its Recapture. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired May 21, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:25]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, and welcome to all of our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.

It is Wednesday, May 25th -- 21st, I should say. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

And straight ahead here on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM MCGOVERN (D-MA): What the hell are Republicans so afraid of? What the hell are you so scared of? That you guys are holding this hearing at 1:00 in the morning. This is not normal at all.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The Golden Dome for America is game- changer. It's a generational investment in the security of America and Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is -- it is unexplainable how ten of the most violent individuals in the jail were able to get out through a hole in the first floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

SANDOVAL: And good morning.

We begin with a key U.S. House committee meeting that is happening right now, an effort to find a way to push through President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill. They've actually been talking since just after 1:00 a.m. here on the East Coast. But the key sticking points still remain between moderate and conservative Republicans on the Hill.

And burning that midnight oil, it's not really sitting right with all the lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCGOVERN: If Republicans are so proud of what is in this bill, then why are you trying to ram it through in the dead of night? If you guys are so proud to kick 14 million people off Medicaid, if you guys are so proud to rip food assistance out of the refrigerators of moms and dads and their kids, if you guys are so proud of shutting down rural hospitals and hurting our farmers, if you guys really think these are such great, awesome, beautiful things to do, like Trump keeps saying, then why not hold this hearing at 1:00 p.m. and not 1:00 a.m.?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And this morning session comes after a high stakes meeting between President Trump and Republican lawmakers. On Tuesday, the president tried to unite the party, but it's still unclear whether that meeting made any difference at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If this bill comes to the floor, you're a no?

REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): Right now, I'm a no. I want to get to a yes. I absolutely want to get to a yes. But I just -- I ran on balancing the budget. I don't know that I can sleep at night if I -- if I don't stick to that.

REP, KEITH SELF (R-TX): It's already very expensive. We've tripled it with no negotiations. Everybody just assumed that 30,000. Now they're asking for more.

REPORTER: Are you still a no?

SELF: Nothing's changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't work for the Freedom Caucus. They just need to get over themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So how do these talks potentially affect Americans? The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released a preliminary analysis of the impacts of the bill. They found that it would increase the budget deficit by nearly $4 trillion, that between 2026 and 2034, but that it would potentially cut hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds from food stamps and Medicaid.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more on President Trump's message to Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump making a visit to Capitol Hill to personally persuade house Republicans to drop their differences and come together to pass the budget and tax bill. But on first blush, he had a difficult time really smoothing over some of those divisions. The president insisted there was unity, although it looked like anything but.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we have unbelievable unity. I think we're going to get everything we want, and I think we're going to have a great victory. I think it was a really great -- that was a meeting of love, let me tell you. That was love in that room. There was no shouting. There was -- I think it was a meeting of love.

ZELENY: A meeting of love, perhaps, but a meeting that likely did not have enough votes for the bill to pass. House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to get this done by Memorial Day. Of course, that is very much an open question.

But the bigger picture to all of this is this is the heart of the president's legislative agenda. The White House, of course, has spent countless hours signing hundreds of executive orders. That is not what presidential legacies are built on. They're built on legislation. So, at the end of the day here, the White House needs this bill to pass, largely because the tax cuts from the first Trump administration expire at the end of this year. So, this, without a question, is the biggest challenge facing the president so far, and the White House.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Tech billionaire Elon Musk says that he is planning to reduce his political spending and refocus more on his companies. One of those companies, Tesla, it has struggled since Musk allied himself with the Trump administration and is now seen by many as a politically polarizing brand.

[05:05:08]

Musk shelled out $290 million to get Donald Trump and other favored congressional candidates elected recently. It's not clear how much he intends to actually cut back, though.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: I think. In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future.

MODERATOR: And why is that?

MUSK: I think I've done enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Pretty broad.

Musk went to say that if he sees a reason for future political spending, he'll do it. He's also taking a step back from his role in the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa will hold crucial talks with President Donald Trump at the White House today. The two countries -- they have had a very frosty relation over the diplomatic feud that led to aid cancellations by President Trump and also the expulsion of South Africa's ambassador to the U.S. earlier this year. President Ramaphosa's trip, this coming just after really just over a week after a group of 59 white South Africans arrived in the U.S. after being granted refugee status.

The Trump administration has expedited the resettlement of white South Africans, while suspending the process for millions of others. And that includes those who are currently fleeing war and famine. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he is defending that controversial decision. He testified on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Rubio said that it is the national interest of the U.S. because those South Africans are, as he put it, small, a small subset who are easier to vet than others seeking resettlement.

Rubio did not rule out that race is a factor and urged that they are being persecuted for being white.

Attorneys for Vietnamese and Burmese migrants, they are accusing the Trump administration of violating a court order by deporting them to South Sudan. At least a dozen migrants that were sent to South Sudan this week, their attorneys saying that some of the migrants didn't receive proper notice or the opportunity to actually contest their deportation to this third country. That's in violation of a previous order issued earlier this year.

The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly confirmed the deportations. The U.S. currently has a do not travel advisory for South Sudan amid the ongoing conflict there.

Pope Leo, he has just held his first general audience. The public event held most Wednesdays usually in St. Peter's Square and is a chance for the Catholic faithful to pray along with the pope face to face there in mass.

CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb joining me now.

Christopher, I've had an opportunity to be there in some of those general audiences. Theres so much energy, so much anticipation. In this case, this is the pope's first catechism lesson. I'm curious, what was the main focus of his message today for Pope Leo?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, Pope Leo reflecting on the parable of the Sower of the Seed in the gospel, who is used by Jesus as an analogy for the spread of the Christian message. The sower goes out to sow the seed, and it grows in different ways. And this is what Pope Leo was reflecting on today.

It was striking to me, though, that we had in Pope Leo, of course, the first American pope, a pope who can speak English as a mother tongue. And he addressed pilgrims for part of his address in English. He made a particular shout out to pilgrims from the United States, and that got a big cheer from the crowd. He also spoke in Spanish. Of course. He was a missionary in Peru for

many years, so he can speak Spanish fluently.

So, I thought it was fascinating and still a novelty for those of us who cover the Vatican for a long time to see a pope who can speak English and Spanish, but particularly English fluently as a mother tongue. Of course, this is the first general audience since middle of February, of course, when Pope Francis was taken sick, he had to stop the general audiences.

So, this was an important moment for Pope Leo to connect with ordinary believers, to address them. He also, at the end of the audience, made an appeal for Gaza. He said that he wanted decent humanitarian aid to enter the region, and said that it was children and the elderly who were paying a heartbreaking price for the conflict.

So, Pope Leo's first general audience, he seemed to connect well with the crowd, speaking in the different languages, particularly English, helped him, I think, get his message across -- Polo.

SANDOVAL: The amount of American flags in that audience was also pretty, pretty fascinating.

Obviously, the pope is closely following so many conflicts around the world. The conflict in Ukraine, certainly one of them.

[05:10:04]

Christopher, we're hearing that the pope has even offered the Vatican as a sort of venue to host peace talks, potentially between Vladimir Putin and the Ukrainian president.

Do we know if this has gone beyond just an offer?

LAMB: Well, it's something that is certainly being offered seriously by the Vatican, who have for a long time or since the war started, wanted to play some role in trying to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine. Pope Leo said from the very beginning that he wanted to be a peacemaker. His first words from the balcony were peace be with you all.

He is known as someone who is very good at bringing people together from different perspectives. He's known as a good listener, a good mediator, and it does seem to be an offer that is being taken seriously, certainly by President Trump and by the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.

I did speak to a Russian official when this offer was first made, who said that they would be looking at it, but they need to know more details. They need to know what exactly this entails. Of course, there are travel bans for some Russian officials going through Europe and Italy, so there are some practical details that need to be looked at.

The question is, will Russia come to the table? The offer is serious. Pope Leo, I think, would like to try and do something to bring peace. But as I say, I think a lot depends on the Russian side as to whether they want to come and be part of this.

SANDOVAL: Our Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb, always appreciate all that reporting and insight, Christopher. Have a good day.

LAMB: Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my gosh. Thats a freaking tornado. You see that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: You're looking at a confirmed tornado that's basically cutting a path of destruction through Huntsville, Alabama, and similar scenes playing out across parts of the southeast -- southeastern parts of the country on Tuesday. Near Madison, Alabama, for example, an ominous wall of clouds and extensive damage reported from what was believed to be a tornado. Heavy rains and storms continued this hour for many along the East Coast. Nonstop severe weather has already killed at least 28 people in the region in recent days.

All right. Still ahead here on EARLY START, how the U.K. and E.U. are putting pressure on Israel to halt its new operation in Gaza and also ramp up humanitarian support.

Plus, prosecutors, they continue to make the case in Sean "Diddy" Combs trial, with testimony from his former assistant and also the mother of his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. We're going to have a full report coming up from New York.

And also later, its game on for Fortnite. A five-year ban from the Apple App store, it's finally over.

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[05:17:30]

SANDOVAL: Now to the latest in the Middle East, where explosions and smoke could be seen over Gaza's skyline earlier today. You see, Israel is ramping up its military operation in the enclave despite growing pressure to end its new offensive. The U.K. says that it has paused trade negotiations with Israel, while the European Union is reviewing its trade deal with the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAJA KALLAS, EU'S FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It is clear from today's discussion that there is a strong majority in favor of review of article two of our association agreement with Israel. So, we will launch this exercise. And in the meantime, it is up to Israel to unblock the humanitarian aid. Saving lives must be our top priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And amid this growing pressure from the international community, Israel did allow limited humanitarian deliveries to resume this week. After nearly three months of blockade on Gaza. But some world leaders say that that's still not enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The recent announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza, a basic quantity, is totally and utterly inadequate. So, we must coordinate our response, because this war has gone on for far too long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN's Nada Bashir joins us live from London now. Nada, just how may Israel actually react to this outside pressure? We know even Secretary Marco Rubio in the U.S. sent a very direct message to Israel saying that it is possible to go after Hamas while allowing some of this humanitarian aid. Will the Israeli prime minister actually hear some of these messages as the question, I guess.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Polo, we've already heard from the Israeli prime minister just last week, indicating that there does seem to be some sort of shift, that the apparent perception of the hunger crisis in Gaza could mark a turning point, that this is something that the Israeli authorities may not be able to push back against, despite the previous support it has received from its international allies.

And clearly, we are hearing firmer language from those international allies. We know, of course, the United Kingdom, France and Canada, in a joint statement said that they would take concrete measures if indeed there isn't a letup of allowing aid into the Gaza strip and an end to this ongoing military assault, including potentially sanctions, as you mentioned, of course, the United Kingdom has paused trade negotiations. The E.U. also renewing or considering reconsidering the renewal of its relationship with the Israeli government.

[05:20:05]

So, clearly, we are seeing a shift there. And this comes as essentially civilians in Gaza face an even more desperate and dire situation. It does seem as though we are moving towards a breaking point after what has been 11 long weeks of a blockade on the allowance of food and vital humanitarian aid being allowed into the strip.

Now, of course, on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister's office announced that it would allow begin to allow a basic amount of food into the Gaza strip to avoid an outright hunger crisis. And they said, as well for operational needs, as Israel expands its ground and air operation in the Gaza strip.

But as we know and as we've heard the warnings for some time now from un agencies and other humanitarian organizations, the Gaza Strip is already facing a hunger crisis. 1 in 5 people in Gaza are said to be facing starvation. The entire population, more than 2 million people at risk of famine. And now the U.N. saying that some 14,000 babies could be at risk of acute malnutrition if enough food aid is not allowed into the strip immediately.

Now we have begun to see those aid trucks carrying food supplies, getting into the Gaza strip. COGAT, the Israeli agency which oversees the shipment of aid into the Gaza Strip, says that 93 trucks passed into Gaza carrying aid on Tuesday evening. But what we've been hearing from the United Nations is that it could take some time before this aid is actually able to be distributed to those civilians most in need because of the logistical challenges that they are facing, including challenges that have been essentially imposed by the Israeli authorities.

The U.N. Agency for Humanitarian Affairs, saying that some of their trucks were forced to wait hours at the Kerem Shalom Crossing, that they then had to unload and reload as part of the agreement process. The aid on that truck, once they passed on to the Palestinian side of the Gaza Strip.

So, there are significant challenges ahead, including, of course, the huge logistical challenges when it comes to moving within a war zone, the security challenges faced by humanitarians, as well as we have seen in the past. So, it could take some time before that vital aid is actually distributed to the civilians most in need. That hunger crisis, of course, still deepening and that international pressure mounting as we continue to see devastating images out of Gaza, not only of this hunger crisis, civilians struggling to continue to live without vital food and humanitarian aid, but also, of course, the deepening Israeli military offensive. Weve seen explosions and strikes continuing across the Gaza strip and, of course, yet more evacuation orders -- Polo.

SANDOVAL: Getting that aid there. Not easy, not quick.

Thank you so much. Nada Bashir in London.

Still to come on your early start, Vladimir Putin visiting a region of Russia that he claims is liberated, liberated from months of Ukrainian occupation. But Ukraine disagrees, saying it is still holding its ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:27:25]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first visit to the Kursk region since claiming it's been recaptured from Ukrainian forces. Russian state media releasing some of this footage that you're looking at, showing Putin meeting with local leaders and touring the Kursk nuclear power plant, where Ukrainian troops launched a surprise incursion into Kursk last August, capturing and holding the territory for months.

Let's go live now to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, joining us live from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Nick, you and I spoke just yesterday. You reminded us that months of diplomacy, they've only yielded a reminder that Putin is in no rush to actually bring a peaceful pause to things. How are Ukrainians keeping their morale up, especially as they continue to experience losses?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, if you look at these images from Kursk appear to have been filmed yesterday, which would have been, frankly, just about 24 hours since Vladimir Putin spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call, which yielded very little that Trump had publicly said he wanted, and appeared to cause Trump to even step back from this peace process.

And so, now, we are looking at months ahead, where the notion of negotiation looks unlikely to yield a change in the pace of fighting where Russia is experiencing slow advances, clearly heralding what they say is their progress in Kursk, kicking the Ukrainians out. Ukrainians say they have some kind of foothold still in that contested region.

But across the broader eastern front, signs of Russia preparing for a significant offensive, but also making very small incremental advances. And, Polo, we have some important pictures to share with you here. Part of an investigation that CNN has been working on that for the first time, matches images of an occurrence that's increasingly troubling and regular, it seems, along the front lines, and that's the execution of surrendering Ukrainian troops by the Russians. And for the first time, were able to picture drone images of an event like that and match it to intercepts that we've been given by Ukrainian intelligence that they say relates specifically to the events that you're seeing.

I should warn you that the images you're about to see are disturbing, but do show quite how brutal and persistent Russia is in terms of its relentless pursuit of advances here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): Arta, listen to me! Ask who the commander is. Take the commander and kill everyone else!

WALSH (voice-over): Before even this moment of surrender, the fate of these six Ukrainian troops was sealed. Ukrainian drone images from the southern front last November show the horror that comes after defeat. A Russian hiding in the bushes shoots one Ukrainian in the head.