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Trump Defends Pardons For January 6th Rioters; Top Prosecutors Sidelined As Trump DOJ Shakeup Intensifies; Trump Okays Migrant Arrests At Churches And Schools As Crackdown Begins; Trump Says Feds Can Arrest Migrants At Churches And Schools As U.S. Cities Brace For Mass Deportation Raids And Arrests; Trump: "Not Confident" Gaza Ceasefire Will Hold. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired January 21, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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


[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, President Trump defiant tonight in defending his sweeping pardons and commutations of January 6th rioters, including leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. I'll get reaction from Senator Dick Durbin, a top Democratic leader and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

Also tonight, the president intensifies his shakeup of the U.S. Justice Department by sidelining top prosecutors. We're following all the new moves in Mr. Trump's drastic makeover of the federal government a little over 24 hours after being sworn in.

Plus, some U.S. cities are now bracing for mass deportation raids with the Trump immigration crackdown underway. The president now says federal authorities will have a green light to arrest migrants, even if they are at church or at school.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin with breaking news on President Trump's first full day in office. He's been talking at length to reporters about his pardons for January 6th rioters, his immigration crackdown, his new meeting with Republican leaders, and more.

Our correspondents are covering it all for us. First, let's go to CNN Anchor and Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, first of all, tell us more about what the president is saying and doing today.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the president just came out to meet with reporters and to preview an investment that top tech CEOs here in the United States are making when it comes to artificial intelligence in the United States. We heard from Sam Altman, who runs OpenAI, briefly, also Larry Ellison, and we heard from the SoftBank CEO as well, Masa Son, speaking about what this looks like and what this investment is going to look like and where they want to go from here, hearing from each of them individually. But then the president started taking questions from reporters, Wolf, and he was asked about one of the key things that he did within hours of regaining the power of the presidency yesterday, and that was pardoning virtually all of the January 6th defendants, those who were convicted and even those who had cases that were ongoing. And he was asked how he could justify pardoning those who were convicted of assaulting law enforcement on that day. Well, this is what he told reporters,

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I thought their sentences were ridiculous and excessive. One of the guys took down a flag. That was an anti American flag. And he was given years in jail. I don't know the exact number, but he was given many years in jail. I thought it was very excessive. And at least the cases that we looked at, these were people that actually love our country. So, we thought a pardon would be appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: He was also arguing, Wolf, saying that there are murderers in the United States who do not get convicted or go to jail. It's not clear what he was referencing there, but he was very much defending the actions that he took yesterday when it came to pardoning these people, including those who did assault the cops on that day that were protecting the Capitol. He was arguing that they had already spent some of their time in jail.

And this comes, Wolf, as I should note, that we've heard a pretty muted reaction from Capitol Hill to those pardons by Donald Trump, not just for all of the January 6th rioters on that day, but in particular for the ones who attacked cops from officials. We did hear from some Senate Republicans criticizing it, but this is something that the president clearly is standing by. There's about 14 people whose sentences he commuted, but did not outright pardon.

I also want to bring your attention, Wolf, to something else that the president was just asked about moments ago before you went on air, which is what he did within hours of taking the presidency, not in front of the cameras. He stripped the Secret Service protection that his former national security adviser, John Bolton, had. That is because of ongoing threats against his life by Iran, including charges that the DOJ filed two years ago, but three years ago now against an Iranian official who was plotting -- an Iranian national who was plotting to kill John Bolton. And that was obviously serious enough for them to charge him.

Trump was just asked about why he stripped him of his security clearance. And he said, quote, I thought he was a very dumb person.

[18:05:00]

He was a warmonger. It's not clear that he talked about actually stripping him of his Secret Service protection as well, but, clearly, his response to his former national security adviser, Wolf. BLITZER: Yes, that's very disturbing. Kaitlan Collins over at the White House, thank you very much. And Kaitlan will, of course, be back later tonight, 9:00 P.M. Eastern to anchor her show, The Source, including a special interview with Senator Bernie Sanders.

Let's get some more in all the breaking news right now. Our Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz is joining us here in Washington. She's outside one of the jails here in Washington. Katelyn, walk us through the January 6th pardons and what's been happening at the D.C. Jail where you are.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf here at the D.C. Jail, it is one of the epicenters of the after action of Donald Trump's pardons yesterday of the January six capital rioters. The big picture here, more than 1,200 people are receiving pardons. Those people would be convicted and sentenced for their crimes and now will no longer be serving those sentences. They will be released from probation or they will go about their lives with the felony no longer hanging over their head or the misdemeanor, if they were convicted of a nonviolent crime, no longer on the books for them.

There's also people whose sentences were commuted, seditious conspirators even. That means that they were let out of prison once the presidential clemency came in and they were able to walk free. One of those people, Stewart Rhodes, the head of the Oath Keepers, sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, was serving that time at the federal prison in Cumberland, Maryland, so not far from D.C. He was released and he showed up today outside of the D.C. Jail to speak to the people here assembled, holding vigil for the people being held inside.

Here's a little more from Rhodes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What about the violence against the police officers?

STEWART RHODES, COMMUTED: Well, I don't support that. But I also, here's the thing, though, when a police officer is using unlawful force, excessive force, like hitting a woman in the head, who's unconscious, with a club over and over again, and you try to protect her. And now you're, now you're charged with assaulting police officers, protecting, trying to save her life, I think that's unjust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So, Rhodes here received with hugs in this crowd. We saw him being hugged. He was walking around a little bit and he even said he had been released at midnight.

But the situation here at the D.C. Jail for the dozen or more detainees who are here, it's different. They did not receive the full pardon or many of them would not have received the full pardon because their cases, they weren't over. They were waiting for more things to happen at the D.C. District Court, trials, sentencings, final judgments. And so, so far, there have been three people that we have seen come out of these doors, brothers who assaulted police last night, they were here because they had been sentenced on Friday, sent to jail immediately and were very likely waiting to be transferred to the Bureau of Prisons facility to begin serving their sentence. They are free now, pardoned.

There was also a woman earlier this evening, Rachel Powell, a mother from Pennsylvania, who took an ice axe to a window during the Capitol riot. She walked out, she was waiting to be resentenced. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: All right. Katelyn Polantz outside the D.C. Jail for us, Katelyn, thanks for that report.

Now to a major shake up at the U.S. Justice Department sidelining top prosecutors. Our Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is on the story for us. Evan, who is out and why?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is what the retribution that Donald Trump had promised before during the time he was campaigning that was coming to the Justice Department. Of course, as you know the Justice Department brought two criminal cases against the president, and now he wants to make sure that the Justice Department can never do anything like that again.

And what we've learned is that there are at least 20 career officials who have gotten reassignment notices. These are people who were working in the National Security Division, people working in international extraditions, people working in immigration matters, all have been told that in the next couple of weeks, they need to show up to be reassigned at new roles.

And so these are career officials that would normally, Wolf, be protected by the civil service rules in this country, up to 120 days that you're supposed to not be able to get reassigned when a new administration turns over. That is not the case in this, what is happening right now.

We also know, Wolf, that there's been some other career officials who have been signed light at some of the U.S. attorney's offices around the country, some of the prominent ones, including here in Washington, the D.C. U.S. attorney, where the career official who is serving as the acting U.S. attorney has been replaced by Ed Martin. He is a MAGA activist, someone who was working on the Stop the Steal movement back in 2020. Of course, that's the thing that ended up with people who attacked the Capitol on January 6.

There's also another change at the Eastern District of New York, John Durham, who's the son of the former special counsel, John Durham.

[18:10:05]

He's been assigned to be the acting U.S. attorney there. Daniel Sassoon has been moved to be the acting U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. Well, as part of these changes yesterday, also the deputy attorney general, career agent at the FBI, Paul Abate, he was told to -- essentially, he was pushed out where the Trump administration brought in two new internal FBI officials to serve both as acting director of the FBI and deputy director. Wolf, a lot of changes coming. We expect that there are more to come in the coming days.

BLITZER: I suspect you are right, more changes to come, a major shakeup, clearly, at the U.S. Justice Department. Evan Perez, thank you very much for that report.

I want to break all of these dramatic developments down with our political experts. And, Ana Navarro, let me start with you. This is what now Vice President J.D. Vance said about pardons earlier this month. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn't be pardoned and there's a little bit of a gray area there, but we're very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, that is what the vice president said about pardons earlier this month. What is he saying now?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He shouldn't be saying much because he's got a lot of egg on his face. Obviously, he had absolutely no idea he hadn't received the memorandum and he was just reminded that he's not president. He's vice president. And what he thinks and says does not matter because there is one person who makes the decisions here and it is Donald Trump. Listen. Pam Bondi in her confirmation hearing last week also said that these would be viewed case by case. Obviously, that did not happen.

But, Wolf, we have been hearing Donald Trump say for a very long time that he would do pardon of the J6 hostages, as he calls them, which I think is one of the most offensive things that we could ever hear, particularly when there are hostages right now still being held in Gaza. We have heard him say he would do this day one, and he did. So, I would say to folks watching, the only thing that matters is what Donald Trump says and does.

BLITZER: Let me get Lauren Tomlinson into this analysis. Lauren, this is how Democratic leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, responded to these pardons, and I'm quoting him now. House Republicans are celebrating pardons issued to a bloodthirsty mob that violently assaulted police officers on January 6th, 2021. What happened to backing the blue, if you will?

LAUREN TOMLINSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, I don't think that you have a lot of Republican support necessarily. And you saw Speaker Johnson, many of the leaders on Capitol Hill also backing away from this. The understanding was that these were going to be more targeted pardons, so not a lot of support here for violent offenders that they committed crimes against police officers.

Donald Trump obviously did this, like Ana was saying, this was a blanket pardon. We thought it was going to be more targeted. I can't say that there's a lot of support here. I think it was a little risky on his behalf. You know, it makes me think of a Wall Street Journal poll that came out recently that said voters overwhelmingly support his agenda. They definitely want him to go out and do a lot of the things that he did today, you know, the announcement around A.I. and unleashing the energy in order to serve the technological revolution, things like that. But they want MAGA-lite, you know, they don't necessarily want everything that he has promised.

But Biden -- I mean, Trump is executing on his campaign promises one by one. And I think we saw that today.

BLITZER: Let me get Bakari Sellers into this. Bakari what do you make of the argument that the pardons that President Biden issued in his final hours in office set a precedent for Trump to make this move involving the pardons he's putting forward?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I don't think that actually carries any weight. I have trouble and some issue with the pardons that Joe Biden had on his way out. I understand why he did it. One of the things that Joe Biden has always been is fiercely loyal of his family. And when Donald Trump says that he's going to go after everybody in your family, I understand that.

But that's vastly different than people who have dragged police officers through a crowd and beat them. I mean, we talk about, as you mentioned earlier, back the blue, and today we saw the Fraternal Order of Police who displayed just this outward emotion of cowardice by refusing to make any statements supporting their members who were trying to protect members of Congress. You have silence from Mike Johnson. You have silence from all of those Republican members of Congress who they were actually there to serve and protect.

[15:15:01]

Those law enforcement officers did their job that day. Those law enforcement officers who oftentimes are overworked and underpaid deserve the respect and dignity to have justice upheld.

And there was a way you can do this. I believe that presidents have the utmost part in power, a wide, vast power to utilize these pardons. But there's no way that these individuals who beat officers deserve to be walking the streets today. There's no way and no reason that someone is anti-Semitic, who's full of vile, vitriol and just unnecessary rhetoric, like the leader of the Proud Boys is walking the street today, the Oath Keepers. I mean, this is despicable and Donald Trump knows it.

BLITZER: Ana, Congressman Kevin Hearn says Trump delivered what he called a rah-rah speech to House GOP leaders just a little while ago, and Trump signed a lot of executive orders, more on the way to be sure. But what kind of difficulty could he face in passing actual legislation? NAVARRO: I don't think he's going to face much difficulty from the Republicans, either in the Senate or the House. Look, I think that -- and we're going to see a test of that in coming days when the vote for Pete Hegseth, who there was another damning report about today, comes up to the Senate. And you're going to see if all of the Republicans are, in fact, going to line up and be a rubber stamp for Trump in the Senate and in the House.

The problem he's going to have in the House is that if one person is sick, if two people are sick and don't show up, he just doesn't have the vote. The margin is so very slim that it should be very worrying.

I want to highlight and applaud the Republicans in the Senate today, Tillis and Lankford, who stood up against these pardons. We need to hear more about those Republicans. And we need to give them some flowers, because we need to hear more from them.

BLITZER: Lauren, as you know, Trump made a long list of promises out on the campaign trail. Can he really accomplish that without trying to reach out to Democrats?

TOMLINSON: It's going to be very difficult, but he could if Republicans stay very lockstep. Obviously, this is going to have to be through the reconciliation process in the Senate. There's normally a 60-vote majority. But anything with reconciliation can go with a simple majority. Republicans currently as of today have 53 seats, so it is possible. But like Ana said, it is very slim.

So, him going to Capitol Hill today to talk to the House Republicans in particular, who have already shown that with the debt and deficit and some of the spending, it is going to be difficult to get everyone on the same page because we have so many deficit hawks currently in the House that are not going to rubber stamp whatever Donald Trump wants. A lot of what he wants is going to be very expensive. When you talk about tax cuts, disaster funding, all of these things, so people who are focused on the deficit may vote no, and it's going to be, you know, two votes. He has, you know, one, two people go and he can't get it passed. So, he'll need Democrats in order to get it passed.

BLITZER: Good discussion, thanks to you all. I appreciate it very much.

Just ahead, we'll get reaction to all of today's breaking news from key members of both parties, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Congressman John James. They are both standing by live.

Also ahead, how Elon Musk is already having an impact on the Trump White House.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

BLITZER: Let's get reaction now to the breaking news we're following, President Trump defending his broad, historic clemency orders for January 6th offenders, including violent criminals.

Joining us now is the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

Let me start with your reaction, Senator, to President Trump pardoning or commuting the sentences of 1,200 January 6th defendants, some of whom beat police officers and desecrated the U.S. Capitol building.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Outrageous. And to think that these individuals who were accosted, who were really there offering their lives and protection of members of Congress and visitors to the Capitol, they deserve our praise. And what do they get for President Trump? His very first pardon is to pardon those who attacked them, many of whom pled guilty to multiple attacks, some changing forever the lives of these policemen.

I had a meeting today with Kash Patel, who wants to be the head of the FBI. And I said, as head of the largest law enforcement federal agency, what is your thinking about the president's pardon? Well, he says I don't believe you should attack men and women in uniform. I said, will you say that publicly? He said, I'll have to take that idea, that question up the chain of command in the White House, which means we'll probably never hear from him again.

BLITZER: Interesting. President Biden issued some preemptive pardons, as you know, from members of the January 6th select committee. I want to play something you said about that last month. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DURBIN: Where does it start and where does it stop? When my friend Adam Schiff, who will become senator from California tomorrow, be sworn in, says that he doesn't believe it's necessary, I stand by him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, you still stand by that, Senator? Was President Biden wrong to have issued these preemptive pardons during his final hours in office?

DURBIN: I think so, to be honest with you. I like Joe Biden and I think he was a good president, but as I said in that earlier interview, where does this end? You have to provide some sort of basic commutation or pardon for everyone who is involved in government now on a regular basis. I think this ought to come to an end, and I raise that question with Mr. Patel. Are you going to go out and file these lawsuits against individuals in retribution for political grievances? He said he wouldn't do it. Well, let's hold him to it, if that's the situation.

[18:25:03]

BLITZER: You just mentioned, Senator, your meeting that you just had with Kash Patel, Trump's pick to eventually lead the FBI, and you said he doesn't have the judgment to lead the FBI. What else struck you about that meeting?

DURBIN: This is the most important law enforcement agency in America. On 9/11, and you remember the day well as I do, Wolf, where did we turn to find out what in the hell just hit the United States on 9/11? Are they coming again? Can we stop them? Let's do it. We went to the FBI, the premier law enforcement agency, and we demand of that agency the very best in terms of men and women who serve there and the resources they're given. And the person who leads that agency has to be a law enforcement professional, someone who understands the responsibility. Mr. Patel is not in that category. He may have other qualifications and talents, but not leading the FBI.

BLITZER: The Judiciary Committee will vote on Pam Bondi's nomination to become the attorney general and lead the Justice Department. That vote coming up, we're told, next Wednesday. Do you expect she will pass through the committee, the panel? Will you vote for her?

DURBIN: I haven't made a final decision on that nomination. I've talked to my colleagues and they're all weighing the information that we have about Ms. Bondi. I will say this, she has ten years experience as attorney general of Florida. So, the question is whether or not she has the independence of judgment to say no to Donald Trump if he goes too far.

BLITZER: President Trump has issued an executive order, as you know, to end what's called birthright citizenship here in the United States. This was established in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Are you confident that the judges, many of whom Trump himself appointed on the Supreme Court, will uphold his decision?

DURBIN: I don't know, Wolf, what they'll do. I know what the law is. The 14th Amendment is explicit about birthright citizenship and it's been tested in court over the years. That should be enough with the Supreme Court. Who knows? I think it's a clear case, but they may see it differently.

BLITZER: Senator Dick Durbin, thanks so much for joining us. We'll be watching those votes coming up next week.

Also coming up here in The Situation Room, Donald Trump's meeting with GOP leaders tonight to plot out his legislative priorities. We'll talk with Republican Michigan Congressman John James. He's standing by live.

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[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Here in Washington, Donald Trump is aggressively pushing ahead with his legislative agenda, meeting with top congressional Republicans as they game out their next steps.

Let's get reaction right now from Republican Congressman John James of Michigan. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

As you know, President Trump met with House GOP leaders today. How do Republicans pass Trump's very ambitious legislative agenda with that razor thin majority that you guys will face, the Republicans face?

REP. JOHN JAMES (R-MI): By working through it, by talking together, making sure that we put the needs of all Americans first.

We're excited to get started on the America First agenda because that's what the American people demanded, that we regain our respect internationally to keep Americans safe, that we lower the prices of everything from gas and groceries, by regaining our energy dominance and by securing our borders to keep Americans safe here at home.

BLITZER: So, what about bipartisanship? Are you going to need Democratic support, Congressman, like we saw last year, for example, in order to keep the U.S. government open?

JAMES: You know what? We will give Democrats every single chance to work with us on doing things that help the American people. I was so excited to hear the applause from both sides of the room when President Trump was talking about doing things, like lowering the cost of housing, like doing things of making sure that we keep Americans safe. That is the focus.

And coming up with a big, broad, audacious goal to do everything, from plant an American flag on Mars, to making a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence to make sure that we continue to stay ahead of our adversaries and also harness that great power to lower the cost of healthcare and make sure that we can compete and lower price for everybody a long time in the future.

BLITZER: As you know, Congressman, hundreds of January 6th rioters have now been pardoned or had their sentences commuted by President Trump, and those who beat police officers had their sentences commuted in the process. Was President Trump right to pardon these people?

JAMES: President Trump is focused squarely on the future, and I firmly believe that's where most Americans are right now. We absolutely must support our police, we absolutely must support law enforcement, and we absolutely must move our nation forward. I support the police, and so does everybody else here.

And I wasn't there then, but the law enforcement officers, the Capitol Police whom I've met here have been a part of keeping my family and my friends safe in the Capitol each and every single day, and we applaud their efforts.

BLITZER: So, what kind of message, Congressman, do these pardons and commutations send to law enforcement? You support law enforcement, yet these people who attacked law enforcement on January 6th are now going to be free.

JAMES: You know, leftists weren't too concerned with attacks on law enforcement when we saw them getting cold cocked in New York City during BLM riots a couple years ago. If you're going to be upset with one, you got to be upset with the other. We call that what, hypocrisy.

Right now, we're focused on moving forward and not making the same mistakes of the past. And that's what we're going to be doing right here in Congress.

BLITZER: Let me just press you, Congressman. Was President Trump right in commuting the sentences of these rioters who wound up with bats and with sticks and beat police officers, some of whom were very seriously injured and a few actually died?

JAMES: Wolf, were the BLM rioters right when they went across the country and burned, when CNN --

[18:35:01]

BLITZER: I'm asking you about what happened on January 6th. I'm not asking about Black Lives Matter. I'm asking about January 6th, Congressman.

JAMES: And this is a part of your problem. The part of the reason that people feel so disconnected from pundits and politicians, it's because you don't understand where people are coming from. People see chaos all over the country, and they're seeing where one part gets punished and the other part doesn't. The fact of the matter is there are people who are truly hurting out there, they don't see what's going on, and President Trump is doing his best to move our country forward, unlike what President Biden did. And so we're moving our country forward, and we're focused on the future.

I support our police. There's no excuse for hitting, hurting police officers. I applaud our law enforcement officers, but we need to move forward in the future and make sure that never happens again.

BLITZER: As you know, President Trump also issued an executive order attempting to overturn birthright citizenship, which is included, as you know, in the 14th Amendment. Does he have the authority to disregard what's in the Constitution by executive order?

JAMES: Well, you know, we talk about respect for the Constitution, executive order, and fiat. Joe Biden definitely tested that with preemptive pardons, which dubious constitutionality to that at best. The fact is the 14th Amendment was established to give black people, formerly enslaved people, equal protection under the law. And the fact is that this is actually a draw for illegal immigrants who are taking advantage of our rights and privileges, frankly, that African- Americans worked for hundreds of years before they were even acknowledged.

Part of the reason that people are so upset, particularly in the African-American community, is you see liberals giving illegal immigrants more resources and rights than blacks have gotten in 400 years. And that is a part of the disconnect that a lot of liberals don't see. The fact of the matter is that we need to take a look at this. We need to see where our laws are being abused and then address that.

I'm sure it's going to be taken up in court but the fact of the matter is this, the 14th Amendment was established to give black people equal protection under the law. And I don't think that illegal immigration was figured into the constitutionality argument when our founders drew up that document.

BLITZER: All right, Congressman John James, thanks very much for joining us.

JAMES: Thank you, sir.

BLITZER: And just ahead, Elon Musk's appearance at a Trump inauguration rally stirs a lot of controversy as his political influence was on vivid display.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: One of Elon Musk's spheres of influence in the new Trump administration is already facing serious legal challenges tonight. The first lawsuits against the so called Department of Government Efficiency have already been filed.

Brian Todd has more on the Musk factor, he's watching. Brian, regardless of these lawsuits, it's clear that Musk is already wielding enormous influence and power.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the analyst we spoke to say Elon Musk, at this moment, seems to have more clout with Trump than almost anyone else. But there are significant challenges for Musk in these first days, despite the swagger he enters the job with.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): With his now trademark bravado, fist pumping, and a primal yell, the world's richest person cements his position in President Trump's orbit. Elon Musk, seen confidently striding into the White House complex.

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: What you have to understand in Donald Trump's world is that proximity to the principal is power. And Elon Musk has that almost more than anyone else.

TODD: An official tells CNN, Musk received a White House pass and was expected to work in the West Wing. But when asked if Musk would have an office in the West Wing, the president said --

TRUMP: No, he's getting an office for about 20 people that we're hiring to make sure that these get implemented.

TODD: The these Donald Trump's talking about are his new executive orders. But when asked ten minutes later whether Musk would help implement those orders, Trump said this.

TRUMP: No. Elon -- no. He's -- Elon's very busy sending rocket ships up to various places with lots of satellites on them.

TODD: As head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, tasked with slashing trillions of dollars from the federal budget, it's unclear tonight if Elon Musk will be an official government employee.

If he does become an employee, he would be subject to disclosure and ethics laws that could complicate his role. But even if he doesn't, Musk would face conflict of interest questions regarding the businesses he owns and the billions of dollars in contracts those businesses have with the U.S. government.

CAPUTO: He undoubtedly has holdings that touch major aspects of the federal budget in different ways. These are things that are going to be difficult to disentangle.

TODD: Musk's initial partner with DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, is already out of the mix, planning to run for governor of Ohio. And the Trump administration already faces multiple lawsuits over DOGE, alleging that Musk's new agency violates federal laws on transparency and ideological balance.

Even with those hurdles, analysts say, it's Musk's personal influence with Trump that could dominate the narrative.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: He has the money to punish Trump's enemies and reward Trump's friends like almost no one else. We're seeing Musk on social media act as the Trump News 24/7, you know, promoting Trump's agenda around the clock to millions of people. That is a priceless gift to Donald Trump.

TODD: But did Musk step in it with this straight arm gesture at the Trump parade on Inauguration Day? Democrats and other critics say it looks disturbingly like a Nazi salute. Musk downplayed it, calling the criticism tired. The Anti-Defamation League posted a statement saying Musk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Elon Musk has also gotten involved in the pardons of January 6th rioters and their releases from prison, dispatching one of his lieutenants from his private companies to help smooth the release of two brothers who were convicted of assault in the Capitol attack. Musk also posting that people should, quote, let us know if you encounter any difficulties with the release of your loved ones. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Brian Todd, excellent report, thank you very, very much.

[18:45:01]

And just ahead, the fear and fallout from the Trump immigration crackdown, new hints about what's to come as cities are now bracing for arrests and mass deportations.

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BLITZER: Tonight, President Trump says federal authorities will be allowed to arrest migrants at churches and schools as his immigration crackdown gets underway. Cities across the United States are preparing for expected mass deportation raids.

CNN's Rosa Flores is at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Aurora, Colorado, for us.

So, Rosa, what's happening there, where you are right now?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, take a look behind me. You can see that it's very quiet here right now. We're not seeing any signs of mass deportations. But like you said, that doesn't mean that cities across the country and even churches have been preparing for possible mass deportations.

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For example, there is a church in Chicago that services the Hispanic community, and they suspended their Spanish language services and went virtual to protect their -- their congregation.

Now, cities across the country are trying to prepare, do something. For example, the city of Denver issued a policy that in essence, gave staffers a playbook. In essence, if ICE tried to enter a public building, it gave staffers a tool of what to do in that case.

So, for example, if an ICE agent, according to this policy, was trying to get access to a restricted area, this -- this staffer would have to ask for a warrant signed by a federal judge. And this policy also says that the staffer should not get in the way of an ICE agent making an arrest.

Now, all of this, of course, has created a lot of anxiety and fear in the immigrant community, not just here, but across the country. We talked to one activist who said that she's fielded calls from individuals who say that they're afraid to go to work, that they're afraid to send their children to school. And some of them are planning to self-deport.

Take a listen.

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FLORES: So, some people are saying that they might self-deport?

JEANETTE VIZGUERRA, UNDOCUMENTED ACTIVIST: Yeah. And no. You need to stay here. Yeah.

FLORES: They're so scared.

VIZGUERRA: Yeah, but I misspoke. I said no, you need to stay here. You need a fight for your dignity.

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FLORES: Now, wolf, this community also has a hotline for the community to call in case of ice enforcement happening in their neighborhood. We checked with the program director of that hotline, and they say that so far, since Trump was sworn in to his second time in office, that there have been no confirmed ICE enforcements in this area -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And, Rosa, what else are you learning about the Trump administrations deportation plans?

FLORES: You know, one of the most significant changes that was announced today by DHS is allowing ice agents to go into schools and also churches. This is historic, Wolf, because, as you know, and I've covered immigration for many years, and I've heard this from agents in the field. They normally don't go into churches and schools for enforcement actions.

Well, that changed today. And DHS made that announcement saying that officers will now be able to use, quote, common sense. But of course, the big promise by the Trump administration were these mass deportations. And we have not seen signs of those materializing.

And Tom Homan told our Dana Bash today that these are more targeted to criminals. Take a listen.

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TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: When we find him, he may be with others. Others that don't have a criminal conviction but are in the country illegally. They will be arrested too, because were not going to start -- and this is a difference between the last administration and this administration. ICE is going to enforce the immigration law.

There's nothing in the INA, the Immigration and Nationality Act, says you got to be convicted of a serious crime in order to be removed from this country. So there's -- there's going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find and find the guy we're looking for.

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FLORES: And, Wolf, about that promise by the Trump administration to have mass deportations. We've been in contact with a lot of sources, and so far, we have not seen any signs of those mass deportations materializing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Rosa Flores on the scene for us -- Rosa, thank you very much.

And we'll be right back with more news.

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BLITZER: The fragile Gaza ceasefire now has a very prominent skeptic, Donald Trump.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, three days into the ceasefire in Gaza, the agreement between Israel and Hamas does indeed appear to be holding up. The people of Gaza are finally finding a renewed sense of safety after more than 15 months of war. Hundreds of trucks carrying much needed aid have been entering Gaza, and Hamas appears to be on track to release four more Israeli hostages this coming Saturday.

But there are questions about how enduring this cease fire actually will be, and whether or not Israel and Hamas will actually make it out of phase one, the six week ceasefire and towards phase two and three, which could ultimately lead to an end of the war and the return of all Israeli hostages.

You heard President Trump there casting doubt on the possibility of getting out of phase one, saying he's not confident. And in Israel, there are already voices calling for the Israeli prime minister to return to the war as soon as that six week ceasefire is complete.

As the Israeli prime minister is facing that kind of pressure, he and the Israeli military are now ramping up military operations not in Gaza, but instead in the West Bank. The Israeli military has now launched a large scale military operation that has already killed at least seven Palestinians.

The operation comes amid the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for those Israeli hostages. And as Israeli settlers have been launching attacks, setting fire to vehicles and going after Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.

Now, meanwhile, Israel's top general, General Herzi Halevi, submitting his resignation to the Israeli prime minister today. That resignation will be effective early March. He cited his responsibility for the Israeli military's failure on October 7th as a reason for his resignation, marking the highest profile resignation related to the Israeli security establishments failures on October 7th.

He is also calling for a broader investigation, saying that a military investigation into the events of that day are not sufficient. There have been calls, of course, for a state commission of inquiry here in Israel, which the Israeli prime minister has resisted -- Wolf.

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BLITZER: All right. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, thank you very much.

I'm wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.