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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

U.S. Government Runs Out Of Funding And Shuts Down; Hegseth Lays Out Reforms, Slams Rules Of Engagement; E.U. Leaders Meet In Denmark To Discuss Russian Drone Threats. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 01, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:18]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and welcome to our viewers, joining us from the United States and all around the world. Thank you for being with us this morning.

I'm Brian Abel. Rahel Solomon is off. It's Wednesday, October 1st, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: They're throwing a fit. They're making partisan arguments. The House did its job.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: We want to sit down and negotiate. But the Republicans can't do it.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of good can come down from shutdowns.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. As I've said before and will say again, we are done with that (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just shocked, can't imagine this happens anywhere else. Five collapses within like an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all knew we might see one day, but there was a big part of us that hoped it wouldn't actually happen. Were going to need some help when its over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

ABEL: We are now five hours into a new government shutdown that the House speaker called inevitable, but was entirely preventable.

This self-inflicted wound is the result of a bitter standoff in the halls of power between Democrats and Republicans, who are fighting over government funding. They held dueling votes on Tuesday, which, unsurprisingly, both failed. Many Americans are now asking, how long will this shutdown last? How bad will it hurt, and which side will blink first?

The White House put a ticking clock on the top of its home page, showing the duration of the shutdown, while trying to pin the blame on Democrats, but it's unclear which party will ultimately bear the brunt of the public's growing anger over this political dysfunction.

A recent poll from "The New York Times" and Siena College found more than a quarter of those surveyed blamed the U.S. president and Republicans, but more than 20 percent are still making up their minds, while congressional leaders try to tip the scales.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Democrats may have chosen to shut down the government tonight, but we can reopen it tomorrow. All it takes is a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to pass the clean, nonpartisan funding bill that's in front of us. And I hope -- I really hope that some of them will join us to reopen the government, resume bipartisan appropriations work.

SCHUMER: I'm concerned about Americans health care. That's what we Democrats are concerned about. They're having real trouble. It's going to get a lot worse with this 114 percent increase.

And we feel we're representing our constituents in the best way possible, but insisting that Republicans come to the table, we certainly are willing to have negotiations. There's no problem with that. But they've got to be bipartisan and they've got to have real input from both sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: CNN's Amy Kiley has a closer look at how this shutdown will affect everyday Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMY KILEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The federal government is now shut down. It's out of money because Congress can't agree on a funding plan. The main sticking point is health care. Democrats want to reverse Medicaid cuts and stop enhanced Obamacare subsidies from expiring.

SCHUMER: We need to stop these premiums from going up dramatically.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: They're arguing a December policy debate for a September funding issue.

KILEY (voice-over): The Congressional Budget Office estimates about 750,000 federal workers face furloughs. It says they'd otherwise make $400 million a day. Essential employees must work without pay.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Social Security checks will come in. National Weather Service they'll still be producing forecasts or talking about the Department of Veterans -- Veterans Affairs. Those will still be open. Medicare will still be going on, and unemployment insurance will, in fact, still be reaching the people who, of course, need it most.

KILEY (voice-over): The State Department might be slow to issue passports. The military remains in place, but just under half of civilian defense employees are furloughed. National parks have skeleton crews. The FDA says food inspections are affected. As for transportation, about three quarters of FAA staff are working without pay. A central issue in the last shutdown.

ENTEN: Ten controllers actually called out sick, and it led to massive delays and said, you know, we need to end the shutdown.

KILEY (voice-over): I'm Amy Kiley, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Party leaders are doubling down on their arguments, releasing statements as soon as the clock struck midnight in Washington. Democrats say they are willing to make a deal as long as it addresses health care.

But top Republicans say they will not negotiate until the government reopens.

Here's what some lawmakers had to say on Tuesday before the shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: They're throwing a fit. They're making partisan arguments. The House did its job. We sent to the Senate a clean C.R. What that means it's a very short stopgap funding measure so that the appropriators in Congress, in both parties, can continue their work of doing the appropriations bills, 12 separate bills.

We've made a lot of progress in that. We just need a little more time, because tonight is the end of the fiscal year. Chuck Schumer has refused to give the extra time. Why? Because we won't agree to return -- to restore health care to illegal aliens. Because we won't agree to give a half billion dollars back to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): A year ago, Donald Trump is a candidate was out there saying every single day he would lower costs for American families on day one, on day one. Those were Donald Trump's words.

The price of groceries is up. The price of utilities is up. The price of housing is up. The price of school shoes is up. But the big one that the Republicans really can profoundly affect is they passed a law in July to shoot the price of health care through the roof throw 15 million people off their health care coverage and drive up the cost of those insurance premiums for pretty much everybody in the whole country.

So, the Democrats have this one little sliver right now when we've got some leverage here.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): I think it is shameful. I think it is wrong. And I think it is destructive. It is going to hurt the American people. It is going to create chaos in our economy. And ultimately, this is only happening because Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are upset that Donald Trump is president and they're concerned about their left flank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Last hour, I spoke with CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican strategist Noelle Nikpour, and asked about how congress might end this shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: The only way to get out of this is to negotiate. Who is the party that's in Washington waiting to negotiate? That's Democrats. Republicans aren't even in Washington. So how do you even begin to negotiate?

So, who has as a priority actually trying to get something done and open the government for the benefit of the American people? Democrats are trying to protect Americans from skyrocketing health care costs. That is something that is very simple to do. Extend the Obama health care subsidies.

Without it, the cost for American families and the health care that they pay for is going to go up by thousands and thousands of dollars. It's going to make health care impossible to pay for, for many families. And Republicans will be to blame for that.

But Democrats want to make sure that Americans are going to be able to take care of their families. We wish Republicans had as a priority to take care of the American people, as well.

ABEL: Noelle, I do want to get your response to what you just heard there and your take on Republicans advocating for a clean C.R. as a path out of this at the moment?

NOELLE NIKPOUR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Absolutely. And a clean C.R. is the pathway out of this. And the other thing of it is, you know, the Republicans, Donald Trump was voted into office overwhelmingly against Harris.

And if the Democrats are tired of dealing with Republicans and they are tired of dealing with what Republicans stand for and our platform, then they must get better candidates and run better races. They didn't have policies. They didn't have anything that Americans wanted overwhelmingly.

So, the Republicans won because we won on a lot of our policies. And if you look at our platforms, lower taxes and less regulations with a litany of other things that Republicans stand for, people voted up and states -- swing states for senators, for Congress, for congressmen, and for, president. That's all under the Republican platform. So, if the Democrats do not like who's in power, then they need to

find candidates. I think you even had a -- Senator Fetterman, that basically said, get better candidates. So we don't deal with this anymore. So, you know, that's a solution for the Democrats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are laying out a new vision for the U.S. military. They addressed an unprecedented gathering of top admirals and generals with Hegseth detailing new directives, slamming diversity and bashing what he called, quote, stupid rules of engagement.

Here's part of the message he delivered to hundreds of senior military leaders.

[05:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses, no more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris. As I've said before and will say again, we are done with that shit.

This also means grooming standards. No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression. We're going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards. We're empowering drill sergeants to instill healthy fear in new recruits, ensuring that future warfighters are forged.

Yes, they can shark attack. They can toss bunks. They can swear, and yes, they can put their hands on recruits.

I don't want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat, unit with females who can't meet the same combat arms physical standards as men. Every designated combat arms position returns to the highest male standard only.

And I want to be very clear about this. This is not about preventing women from serving. It's physical standards must be high and gender neutral. If women can make it. Excellent. If not, it is what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: CNN's Zachary Cohen is in Washington with more details now on the messages delivered during that military meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: More than 800 senior U.S. military officers were summoned to Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday to hear what was really a partisan presentation from both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Now, for his part, Donald Trump really did swerve between multiple topics, but it was one comment in particular that is likely to make many in the audience uneasy. Take a listen to what he said again about using the U.S. military in American cities.

TRUMP: I told Pete, we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military, National Guard, but military.

COHEN: Now, Trump went on to call the situation in these cities as a reflection of a, quote, war from within, and again has suggested that he wants to use the military to combat and to address domestic unrest.

But that is something that senior pentagon officials have historically tried to stay away from, and has really been a problem and something that they've tried to avoid. Now, for his part, Pete Hegseth really did not take the opportunity today to address issues of national security, but instead focused on a series of directives that he has been trying to implement since he first assumed the role of secretary of defense.

That includes implementing new standards related to physical fitness, related to grooming, things that he says are essential for installing what he calls the, quote, "warrior ethos" and to eliminate, quote, "wokeness" from the U.S. military, which he has blamed for eroding the standards and the effectiveness of the U.S. military, placing the blame squarely at the feet of his predecessors.

Now, Hegseth offered these officers an ultimatum of sorts. Take a listen to what he said if they fail to implement the policies that he laid out.

HEGSETH: The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. But if the words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign.

COHEN: Now, only time will tell what tangible impact these new directives will have on the U.S. military, both from a physical and makeup sense, and also the mental sense as these troops continue to deploy across the world and address a series of geopolitical threats that face the United States today.

Zachary Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Zachary, thank you.

You right here are seen video of the moment a house on North Carolina's outer banks collapsed due to high surf. Those conditions were caused by Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda, which have triggered flood warnings for parts of the U.S. East Coast. At least five homes in the village of Buxton were swept into the ocean on Tuesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER JENNETTE, LOCAL RESIDENT: It's awful. Something that I think we all knew we might see one day, but there was a big part of us that hoped it wouldn't actually happen.

LUKE MIDGETT, LOCAL RESIDENT: Can't imagine this happens anywhere else. Five collapses within like an hour.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Authorities are warning people to avoid collapsed homes and coastal areas because of potentially hazardous debris. While neither storm is expected to make landfall in the U.S., the National Weather Service says some vulnerable areas could see waves as high as 12 feet.

Meanwhile, in southeast Texas, a driver capturing a remarkable video of what's known as a dust devil. You see it right there. The vortex is a common phenomenon in desert climates around the world. They can be as big as 300 feet across and 1,000 feet high. And with the potential for wind speeds up to 60 miles an hour, they could be dangerous, too.

Princess Anne pays her respects to Ukrainian children killed in Russia's long, brutal war. We do have more on her visit to Ukraine, next.

Plus, ChatGPT is rolling out new parental controls.

[05:15:01]

We'll have details on the new features to protect the growing number of teens using A.I. chatbots.

And the Las Vegas Aces lock down another return to the WNBA finals with a last minute win over Indiana. Details on the game five finish ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: Indonesian rescue teams are desperately racing to find dozens of students buried for two days under rubble after their school collapsed. It happened Monday during afternoon prayers at a century old Islamic boarding school. At least three people have died, 100 others injured.

[05:20:01]

Rescuers have been avoiding heavy machinery and digging holes manually to prevent further collapse. Government officials say the building was under construction and the foundation crumbled under the weight of new concrete that was being added.

Russia has launched a new attack on Ukraine's second largest city. At least six people were injured when a Russian guided aerial bomb hit Kharkiv overnight. Five of those who were wounded have been hospitalized. Firefighters worked to put out flames at one of the city's markets and at some residential buildings.

And Ukraine's president is urging allies to impose more sanctions on Russia to make it much more painful for Vladimir Putin to carry out his war. Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned a rare daytime attack on the city of Dnipro Tuesday. One man was killed and 20 injured when Russian drones hit the city center, as people were working or in school.

Local officials say the attack damaged medical facilities, office buildings, residential buildings and cars.

And Britain's Princess Anne is showing her support for Ukraine and for victims of Russia's war. King Charles III's sister visiting the country on Tuesday, meeting with President Zelenskyy and touring Kyiv. The princess left a toy bear to see her doing it here at a memorial for children killed by Russian attacks.

Buckingham Palace says the princess also met with Ukrainian police to discuss disabled veterans and Ukrainian children, kidnaped and taken to Russian territory.

Meanwhile, E.U. nations are also grappling with threats from Russia. Leaders are arriving in Denmark this hour for a European Council meeting to discuss recent Russian drone incursions.

And CNN's Clare Sebastian is joining me now live from London with what leaders are expected to hear, Clare.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, there's two things to consider about this summit, Brian. Number one, it's happening in Denmark, in Copenhagen. Denmark has seen a spate of drone sightings that have caused it to close several airports last week. So, it is on very high alert ahead of this summit. They've taken the highly unusual step of closing the airspace for a week to all civilian drones to essentially rule out anything untoward. Several European countries have pledged to provide troops and anti-drone systems for this meeting.

And there's also a broader meeting. The European political community, which is more than 40 heads of state, happening also in Copenhagen tomorrow.

So, Denmark is very much on high alert. But I think in terms of the topics of discussions, obviously, we've seen these drone incursions, these drone sightings that has led to new European initiatives. For example, the talking about a drone wall, sort of a system of layered defenses on the eastern flank on the border with Ukraine. That is going to be up for discussion. Also, new ways to help Ukraine, as its now becoming increasingly clear and we hear a lot of pronouncements on this from European leaders that Ukraine really is Europe's best defense.

And I think appetite is certainly growing at this point to do more to raise the costs of this war to Russia, to tighten the screws, essentially. And the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has championed this idea that the European Union, the European Commission, is also putting forward to use Russia's frozen assets, those central bank assets that were frozen at the beginning of the war to fund or back a new loan for Ukraine, to the tune of some 140 billion euros, $165 billion. This would be much more than the windfall profits from those assets that are already being funneled to Ukraine.

So, we see this sense among European leaders, given these drone incursions, that they -- we don't know from Russia, but that they fear are from Russia. Given what we know to be Russia's sort of open disdain for peace efforts so far to do something more decisive, to try to prop up Ukraine, to beef up European security, and to try to bring Russia to the table -- Brian.

ABEL: All right. Clare Sebastian for us in London -- Clare, thank you.

A new poll says Keir Starmer is now the most unpopular British prime minister on record. The polling firm Ipsos says only 13 percent of people surveyed said they are satisfied with Starmer's performance as prime minister, against 79 percent who are unsatisfied. It is a stunning fall in popularity for Starmer because a year ago, his Labour Party won the largest majority in parliament this century, handing the conservatives their worst defeat. The next national elections are scheduled for 2029.

President Trump gives Hamas a deadline to respond to his 20-point Gaza peace plan. Just ahead, we'll have details of what he says will happen if the militant group rejects it.

But first, we are monitoring an aid flotilla that's sailing towards Gaza. More on its progress as one European prime minister urges the group to stop now.

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[05:29:17]

ABEL: An aid flotilla bound for Gaza is now moving closer to the enclave, even as Italy's prime minister has urged the group to quote, stop now. A live stream, you're going to see a live shot of it here shows several vessels in the flotilla traveling under clear skies in the open sea. The group is vowing to sail on after Italy's Giorgia Meloni expressed concern that the flotilla's presence could disrupt recent progress toward a Gaza peace plan.

Italy has sent vessels, along with Spain, to help the flotilla after activists said it was targeted. But Italy's defense ministry said once the group is about 150 nautical miles from Gaza's coast, the navy would no longer accompany it.

And Hamas says its consulting other Palestinian factions for a response to the U.S. president's Gaza proposal. An official telling CNN, Hamas negotiators.