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White House Reveals Acting DOGE Administrator; Ukrainian Official Says, Deal Reached With U.S. On Resources And Rebuilding; Southwest Jet Narrowly Avoids Hitting Private Plane In Chicago; Consumer Confidence Plummets Amid Concerns About Trump Policies; Vatican: Pope Francis In Critical But Stable Condition. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 25, 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 HOST: Happening now, breaking news, the White House finally reveals who is officially in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, and it's not Elon Musk. Tonight, questions are swirling over Musk's very active role in all of this as we're watching what's going on. He will be participating, we're now told, by the White House, in President Trump's first cabinet meeting tomorrow.

Also breaking, a source tells CNN, the U.S. and Ukraine have just agreed on a natural resources deal sought by President Trump. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now planning a trip to Washington, right here this week.

Plus, another very close call at the airport as a Southwest Airlines plane nearly collides with a private jet in Chicago. The dramatic video, and it's very dramatic, showing the aborted landing that might have averted disaster.

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

And let's get straight to the breaking news. More drama over DOGE as the White House reveals the identity of the official technically in charge of the very controversial department. It comes as President Trump just spoke out on that emailed ultimatum from Elon Musk that has millions of federal employees all around the country worried about their jobs.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is on the story for us over at the White House. Jeff, what are we learning?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, so many cabinet officials have had questions about that email over the weekend, asking all federal employees to respond saying what they did last week. Some cabinet officials did not want their employees to respond, others did.

Well, tomorrow they will have a chance to ask Elon Musk about it at the first cabinet meeting of this new Trump administration. We will see if that comes up. But we asked the White House today if Elon Musk was going to be at the cabinet meeting, and we were told, yes, indeed, he was. So, certainly, this is one of the many questions.

Now, the president was in the Oval Office just a short time ago again being asked about the consequences of if employees do not respond to that email, what happens to them? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, it's somewhat voluntary, but it's also if you don't answer, I guess you get fired. What it really is -- what it is do people exist?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So, there have been a variety of explanations of what the actual purpose of this email is for people to justify their existence. Now, the White House is saying that they're trying to find fraudulent people who may be working other jobs have moved away who are not working for the government. We've not seen any evidence of that.

But, Wolf, this is all coming, as you said, questions have been raised about who is actually running the Department of Government Efficiency. Elon Musk, of course, is leading the charge but not officially the administration. We're learning now that it's a former healthcare executive, Amy Gleason is her name. She worked in the first Trump administration, and she is the administrator for this. She's a longtime healthcare consultant.

But this is all coming as 21 officials from the Department of Government Efficiency resigned today, saying they simply would not do the work they were being asked to do. So much controversy over this as we enter the fifth week of this administration, Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of controversy, indeed. And, Jeff, President Trump just moments ago unveiled this concept he has now of what he's calling a gold card for extremely wealthy foreigners to come to the United States. Tell us about this.

ZELENY: Well, the President was signing an executive order on an unrelated matter and taking questions for about 40 or 45 minutes or so as he does many afternoons and was talking about a way to raise revenue. Of course, that is certainly at issue now because of the House and Senate trying to negotiate a plan to pay for his tax cuts, basically.

But the president, for the first time that we can recall, raising a question about a gold card for wealthy foreign visitors to come to the U.S. Take a listen to how he described it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have a green card. This is a gold card. We're going to be putting a price on that card of about $5 million, and that's going to give you green card privileges-plus. It's going to be a Route 2 citizenship. And wealthy people will be coming into our country by buying this card. They'll be wealthy and they'll be successful and they'll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people. And we think it's going to be extremely successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:05:01]

ZELENY: So, he said something like this could begin in a couple of weeks. Asked if Congress would have to approve it, he said, no, he does not believe so because it's only a pathway to a citizenship. Wolf, many more questions about this clearly need to be fleshed out, but one of the many ideas this president is floating tonight, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, very dramatic development indeed. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.

Our political and legal experts are joining me right now, and let me start with Elliot Williams. Elliot, Department of Justice lawyers couldn't answer who was in -- they were in court yesterday, nor could they answer over at the White House press secretary's operation earlier. It was only after that that we get the formal announcement that the DOGE -- of who the DOGE administrator technically is right now. What do you make of all of this?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, sure, Wolf. It's not just a formality. This question of who is in charge of DOGE. What might be brewing here is what's called an appointments clause problem under the Constitution. If an individual is running an agency, and that agency is carrying out important government functions, that that got to have been installed in it properly. Otherwise, any action that they take is void.

Now, the judge today, and, frankly, one other federal judge prior to this, I think a week ago, raised questions about the appointments clause in the context of DOGE. And I think it's just a fair question who's in charge of the organization, not because it matters who's signing the checks or making the decisions, but, literally, is the agency properly constituted? That's a question that can be answered quite quickly in court, and it's going to keep coming up over the course of the next few weeks.

BLITZER: It certainly will. Lulu Garcia-Navarro is with us. Lulu, do you buy the idea that Amy Gleason, not Elon Musk, is the person in charge of DOGE?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, because they haven't been able to answer this question until today, and this has been something that journalists and others have been repeatedly asking, including, as Elliot says, the courts themselves.

This is something that has just been floated because DOGE wasn't a real thing. This is something that was made up by Elon Musk, and this is something that is being carried out by Elon Musk. So, whoever the titular head is, it is Elon Musk, ultimately, who is in charge of it.

And let us not forget, you know, just today there's been reporting by my own news organization that shows how ineffectual actually DOGE has been. There's been a lot of chaos, there's been a lot of fear, but already the five top things that they've said that they've done, they had to take off their website. I mean, I'm just going to give you a few examples. $232 million became $560, 000 that they cut. $1.9 billion that they were saying they'd taken out of the Treasury, that actually happened under Joe Biden. So, they haven't really been doing the job that they set out to do.

BLITZER: Scott Jennings, I want you and our viewers to listen to what Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis said about these DOGE efforts. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): We want to make sure that we're doing things with a scalpel and not a sledgehammer.

Things are happening so fast and furiously. And we need to take a step back and make sure that we're doing things in a way, that we are rooting out the race, the waste, fraud and abuse and the mismanagement, making programs efficient, but not resulting in unintended consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Scott, is the Trump administration at risk of overstepping with these efforts?

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't think they're at risk of overstepping with the American people. I think part of the election result was the American people actually asking for a sledgehammer to the federal government. I mean, trusted government was low, dissatisfaction with the government was low, dissatisfaction with the previous administration was low, and dissatisfaction was high with politicians who for years have said I'm going to cut waste, fraud, and abuse and never seem to do it.

So I like Representative Malliotakis, but with all due respect, I don't think the voters are wanting a scalpel. I do think they're wanting larger implements. Like a sledgehammer or a chainsaw.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think that's no longer true. I think that's no longer true, Scott. Honestly, you're seeing the polling.

JENNINGS: Yes, and Donald Trump has a better than 50 percent approval rating. I have seen the polling.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And you see how unpopular Elon Musk is, how unpopular DOGE is. And beyond that, there is a real concern about the kinds of funding that's being cut.

JENNINGS: You know, what I love about you, Lulu, is that you get to say what you want to say, and then you got to say what you think I ought to say. Why don't you just let me finish my point here? The point, Wolf, is this. The American people asked for a different direction, and they, what they did not ask for. What I think Musk and his efforts represent is a complete deviation from what most people would say has been the status quo when it comes to a government that seems to always get bigger and we never really go in and root out waste, fraud and abuse.

Now, are they going to make some mistakes? Sure. Are they going to have to recover those mistakes? They've already done that and they admitted it when they've done it. But I think, overall, they have a lot of political leash because the American people were so dissatisfied with the way government was being run before. So, I think the politics of this is still a net positive for Trump.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: But how can you say they admitted? They quietly took it down off their website. I mean, this is the thing.

[18:10:00]

There's no transparency in any of this. There is nothing that either Congress, the people that have oversight of the power of the purse are able to see this, journalists themselves, who are actually tasked with trying to go through this and trying to figure it out so that they can inform the American people. There is no transparency with this, even to the point of who is in charge of this organization.

BLITZER: We now know who technically is in charge of DOGE.

Everybody stand by. I want to bring in Alencia Johnson. Alencia, the White House says Elon Musk will attend President Trump's first official cabinet meeting tomorrow. Normally, cabinet secretaries are in attendance. Musk hasn't been elected or confirmed to any position. So, what do you make of this?

ALENCIA JOHNSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, look, just as you said, he hasn't been confirmed or elected to this position to have this much access and influence over the president, but it's very clear that Republicans aren't going to do anything about this, about this quite alarming allowing of a citizen to have access to some of the most classified and secret and delicate information.

But the reality is the more that Donald Trump continues to embrace Elon Musk this way, the more the American people are waking up to this and saying, this is actually not what we voted for. We started to see it last week. We saw all of these town halls, particularly these Republican town halls, where Republican voters were saying, this isn't actually what we voted for.

Sure, we want some government efficiency, but we were not asking for Elon Musk to have reign over the entire federal government and also inflict trauma and pain on the American people within only a little over a month of Donald Trump's presidency. So, I'm concerned for the American people, but I'm also concerned for our national security to have this unelected, unconfirmed person in all of these top secret meetings.

JENNINGS: Can I ask a question? Did Joe Biden have staff at the White House? And how many of those staff members were elected?

JOHNSON: Well -- but, Scott, Elon Musk --

JENNINGS: Zero. The answer is zero. Every president appoints people to do things for them. To call him unelected is like the most naive and ridiculous talking point I've ever heard.

JOHNSON: Scott, I can't believe you would believe something like this, because if this was Joe Biden allowing for a billionaire --

JENNINGS: Allowing people who weren't elected to run the country for the last four years? Yes, I would believe that, actually.

JOHNSON: You all would be throwing another coup, like January 6th.

JENNINGS: I wouldn't believe it if Joe Biden had unelected people running the government for the last year, maybe the last four years. Yes, I'd believe every word of it.

JOHNSON: You wouldn't be up in arms, Scott. You wouldn't up in arms about it. You and Republican members would be up in arms.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I think there's a difference if it was George Soros. I think the example is not obviously everyone has unelected people in that they appoint. The difference is if it was George Soros --

JENNINGS: Does have influence over Democrats. He collects your people like Pokemon cards.

BLITZER: Everybody, hold on, hold on. Everybody, hold on. I want to get Elliot back into this conversation. Elliot, you heard the president's comments about selling what he calls gold cards to very wealthy foreigners for $5 million dollars. Does he have the authority to do that and allow these very wealthy foreigners to come live in the United States for all practical purposes, then get a green card and have a pathway to U.S. citizenship? Is all of that legal?

WILLIAMS: Wolf, we have to see the details on all of that. Now, certainly there is latitude to create different classes of visa. Many of them exists, some are temporary, some are permanent, some carry the promise of citizenship, or at least a green card at the end. Some do not. This idea of conditioning of visa on literally a purchase, I don't think that's been seen before.

Now, certainly, there are fees associated with the immigration process, but I don't think that's quite what the president was talking about here.

So, as with many things with this president, some of the devils in the details, and maybe this was just an idea he was throwing out there, but there are a host of legal issues that would come up with the idea of selling access to the United States in this kind of way.

BLITZER: Yes. He said, the president said he's been reviewing these ideas, especially for this gold card for wealthy foreigners for weeks now. He was going to announce it next week, he said, but he saw the T.V. cameras inside that room where he was signing executive orders. So, he decided to release that information right now.

Everyone, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, there's more breaking news coming out of Ukraine, details on a potential deal on reconstruction and a visit to Washington by President Zelenskyy this week. We'll discuss with a leading member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Chris Murphy is standing by.

Plus, what happened at a Chicago airport today has caused a Southwest flight to nearly collide with another jet on the runway.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

BLITZER: More breaking news tonight, the U.S. and Ukraine reaching a deal over natural resources and reconstruction for the war-torn nation.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is joining us live now from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Nick, break down this deal for us.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I mean, it's important to point out we don't have full transparency as to what the White House say they've agreed to at this point. But a Ukrainian official is saying that they have agreed terms with the United States and the U.S. has agreed back, according to them, about this deal. They framed it to us, well, they described it to us yesterday as a reconstruction deal for Ukraine, saying that the finalized draft yesterday that was sent didn't contain the security guarantees that Ukraine wanted but had also taken out some of the thornier items that had been asked for them by the Trump administration, leaving some of those uglier details for later discussions, later paperwork.

Now, we understand that another draft has now been something that they say has been agreed to, and some further evidence that we're moving forwards is that a Ukrainian official here says they've accepted a White House proposal for Zelenskyy to go to the White House on Friday.

[18:20:03]

Asked about that, President Donald Trump said that he'd heard that Zelenskyy liked to come and see him, he said he was okay, and he said that Zelenskyy would like to sign the deal, saying it was a very big deal.

That's not what you traditionally expect from a U.S. president in terms of confirming something of this nature or even a meeting like that. So, let's just -- except the possibility things could still potentially go awry prior to this meeting, but it's a phenomenal change from a matter of days ago where they were involved basically in a war of words, a litany of falsehoods against the Ukrainian president from Trump.

We've seen the French president, Emmanuel Macron, yesterday in the Oval Office, clearly able to bring Trump closer towards European ideas of the need for security for Ukraine, for the need for American support for security on that continent itself. And indeed, after that meeting Trump said that he would be signing this rare earth deal and will be inviting Zelenskyy to the Oval Office.

So, it does appear that the intervention of key European leaders, another on Thursday, the U.K.'s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after announcing a huge boost to U.K. defense spending, will be meeting in the White House with Trump as well. The Europeans are trying to remind Trump of the vitality of the United States' role in European security and indeed in supporting Ukraine here as well.

But a lot is going to rest on the interpersonal relations between Trump and Zelenskyy, if indeed they do finally meet, as Zelenskyy clearly wants and Trump seems to be open to. These two men have been, frankly, in an acrimonious freefall for about a week or so.

Clearly, Trump drawn more close to some of the thinking coming out of Moscow and their narratives about this war. He's at times reeled back on that. Whether or not he and Zelenskyy hit it off, though, is really going to be key, not only for that rare earth. deal, which is really vital for continued U.S. support here generally, but for the perception of how firmly Trump is behind Ukraine as they deal with continued Russian advances and indeed an improving U.S.-Russia relationship.

BLITZER: And we'll see if that meeting does take place at the White House this Friday between Zelenskyy and Trump. We'll watch it all unfold.

Nick Paton Walsh reporting from Ukraine, in Kyiv, thank you very much.

Let's discuss what's going on with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

What's your reaction, first of all, to this apparent deal between the Trump administration and Ukraine that would grant the U.S. access to its rare earth minerals in return for U.S. involvement in a reconstruction fund for Ukraine?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Wolf, I have a lot of respect for your reporters but this notion that we don't know what Trump is doing is nonsense. Donald Trump has been very consistent for years. He does not want to support Ukraine's bid for independence and he and the people that work for him increasingly are literally just spinning Kremlin propaganda.

Today, in one of our hearings, a nominee for the Department of Defense refused to say whether Russia had invaded Ukraine. Why? Because that is now the line of the Trump administration to blame Ukraine for the war with Russia. This is an administration that every day is more and more consistently in bed with Kremlin interests. I don't know why, but it is making us a laughingstock all across the globe.

I don't know anything about this deal over minerals, but I know that it will likely benefit U.S. oligarchs, U.S. mineral interests. And that seems to maybe be the defining ethos of our foreign policy today. What makes Donald Trump and his billionaire friends richer? So, I think sometimes we think or pretend that this is normal international relations, that this is normal foreign policy, that Trump's playing one off against another. No.

This is likely just more of the kleptocracy we're seeing here at home. This is likely just more of Donald Trump trying to make money for his billionaire friends, and Russian-Ukraine policy is now just fit into that frame.

BLITZER: As you know, President Zelenskyy is now coming to Washington this Friday. Why doesn't that give you, Senator, some renewed hope that the U.S. will, in fact, under Trump, continue to support Ukraine?

MURPHY: Because Trump has told us he's not going to support Ukraine. He literally, single handedly tried to kill support for Ukraine when we authorized it before he was president. He is every day blaming Ukraine for the war, calling Zelenskyy a dictator. Who knows why he's bringing Zelenskyy here, maybe just to embarrass him in front of the entire world.

Listen, this will be a disaster for the globe if we hand Ukraine to Russia. But every single day, it is clear to all of us that Trump's intention is to ultimately give Russia everything they want. That's why they're parroting Russian propaganda on a regular basis.

[18:25:01]

BLITZER: While I have you, Senator, I want to get to some domestic issues, very important issues. House Republicans appear to be struggling right now to pass a budget blueprint due to potential cuts to Medicaid. Senator John Thune, the majority leader, seemed to suggest a continuing resolution may be necessary, a C.R., continuing resolution. How do you see all of this playing out?

MURPHY: Well, there are two different issues, right? You have an annual budget that we are grappling with, and then you have this unique spending and tax bill that Republicans are trying to pass. That's the one they're having trouble passing tonight because it is a gutting of the Medicaid program. That's the program that insures 24 percent of Americans, in order to fund a tax cut for billionaires and corporations. They are having trouble passing that bill because it is wildly unpopular. Nobody in this country wants to see the biggest healthcare insurance program in this country, it ensures seniors, working families, sick kids, burn to the ground in order to hand Elon Musk and a bunch of his billionaire friends more money.

So, they've got a problem in the House trying to pass this bill because nobody actually wants a massive transfer of wealth from the middle class and the poor to the billionaires. And my hope is that they don't pass that bill tonight and they rethink this really disastrous plan to cut health insurance for American citizens in order to give tax giveaways to their wealthy friends.

BLITZER: In a recent CNN poll, Senator, nearly three quarters of Democratic voters say your Democratic party isn't doing enough to oppose President Trump. Is your party doing enough to fight back against Trump? What should they be doing differently?

MURPHY: Well, I think what you've also seen during that time is Donald Trump's approval ratings plummet. People -- fewer people think that he's handling the economy well than at any time during either of his presidencies. People want Elon Musk out of these agencies. I think Democrats are rising to the moment to make it clear what's happening, the billionaire takeover of our government and the destruction of our democracy because you can't get away with that kind of thievery if there is actual free speech in America.

But, listen, I've been critical in the past of Democrats who, you know, don't believe in speaking up every day. There has been some theory of the case that we should maybe fight occasionally, we should reserve power. I think Donald Trump floods the zone and I think we should flood the zone. I think every single day we should be talking about the corruption. Every single day we should be talking about the billionaire takeover of government. And I think if we do that, we will convince the American public that this is the five-alarm, the red alert moment that many of us believe it is.

BLITZER: Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, thanks as usual for joining us.

MURPHY: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, the dramatic moment today at a Chicago airport when a Southwest airplane nearly collides with another jet as it was trying to land.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, a truly terrifying, very close call on a runway in Chicago, a Southwest Airlines plane aborting its landing to avoid colliding with a private jet. This comes after a series of aviation safety incidents, including the deadly midair crash outside of Washington, D.C.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is on the story for us. Pete, so, how did this near collision happen?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is yet another near collision involving a commercial flight on or near the runways of a major airport. These incidents really took off coast-to-coast at the start of 2023 but tapered off last year. The NTSB started major investigations into collisions at JFK, Austin, Boston and Burbank and now add Chicago Midway to the list.

You can see in the video here this incident, which happened around 8:50 this morning, 9:50 on the East Coast. Air traffic control cleared Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 to Omaha to land on Midway's runway 31 center when that Challenger 350 private jet was taxing for takeoff was told to stop before the runway, but for some reason, and you can see the private jet just kept on taxing right in front of the Southwest flight. The Southwest crew admirably aborted the landing mere moments before touchdown.

And I want you to listen now to the exchange with air traffic control when the Southwest crew spotted the collision brewing in front of them and performed that go-around unprompted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southwest 2504 clear to land 31 center.

Southwest 2504 going around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southwest 2504, roger, that. Climb, maintain 3,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southwest 2504, up to 3,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southwest 2504, when able, turn left, heading 220.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left, heading 220, Southwest 2504.

And tower, Southwest 2504, how'd that happen?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: The Federal Aviation Administration has an explanation. It says in a new statement that the private jet pilots taxied their plane onto the runway without authorization. It is investigating this incident and now the National Transportation Safety Board has launched investigation as well.

The NTSB has investigated 13 other so-called runway incursions since the start of 2023. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said tonight that the pilots should be punished. Though, more often, pilots in these cases are forced to take retraining and could fly again.

The human consequences here are very clear, Wolf. The midair collision over the Potomac River happened just shy of four weeks ago, 67 lives lost. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, so scary indeed when you see that video, that plane coming down, about to land. All of a sudden, that private plane is moving into the runway and then it takes off again.

[18:35:00]

I give the credit to the pilots of that Southwest flight.

Thank you very much, Pete Muntean, for that.

I want to get some serious analysis right now from CNN Transportation Analyst Mary Schiavo. Mary, thanks so much for joining us. As you, I'm sure, agree, this was an extremely scary scene. What do you make of the quick reaction of the pilot to immediately take the plane back into flight and avoid the runway?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, the Southwest pilot, without a doubt, avoided a terrible, terrible accident and the private pilot, just like Pete did, I went back and listened to these air traffic control tapes many times, was very confused, had to get instructions twice to actually leave the apron area. And then a taxi instructions twice read them wrong the first time and then read them back and did repeat that he was supposed to stop short of the runway, but then didn't stop at all. And so it was clearly a case of someone was not familiar with the airport, perhaps confused or whatever.

And I will say the Midway airport, when you look at it on an airport, it looks plaid. I mean, you cross runways, taxiways every which way. It can be a confusing airport if you're not familiar with it. But the Southwest pilot averted for sure disaster.

BLITZER: Yes, I'm familiar with that Midway airport. It's not like Chicago's O'Hare Airport, which is huge. Midway is right in the city and very small. So, these incidents potentially could happen.

How unusual, Mary, are incidents like this?

SCHIAVO: They're not unusual. And Pete's right. There was a slight dip in these last year, but they didn't go away by any stretch of the imagination. Last year, we had 1,758 runway incursions. Now, not all of them were the most serious kind. They rank them on four levels, but some of them were serious. But having 1,758 of these, this is more than three a day.

Now, the major airports all have equipment that assist, and Midway has this too, but it didn't have the time to assist in this case, but we have airports all over the country. They don't have the basic and the most rudimentary equipment to help avoid these near misses. And so while there are fewer than there were the year before in 2024, having that many is just inexcusable for our aviation system.

BLITZER: This close call comes as the NTSB and the FAA, Mary, are investigating a string of airline safety incidents in recent weeks. Do you think these DOGE cuts could be impacting air travel in the United States?

SCHIAVO: Well, not yet. The biggest problem is equipment. I mean, we have so much outdated equipment, you know, every year we give FAA, like lots of agencies and departments transportation, we give more and more money, but what has not kept pace is the investment in our infrastructure. We spend, I don't know, like $3 billion a year. Compare that to other things that we spend money on. We need the most advanced equipment, and some of the equipment that was maybe advanced when they put in a few years ago was already outdated. And so we have not invested in the capital structures for our airports.

And we haven't spread that investment out among more airports than the top 50. So, we get more and more congested at the top airports. That equipment's getting old. The controllers, while, you know, there is a shortage in this case today, we couldn't say it was a, you know, air traffic control staffing thing, but certainly it is an equipment issue and it certainly is something that has to be addressed because the statistics are headed in the wrong direction.

BLITZER: Yes, they certainly are. Mary Schiavo, thank you very much.

Coming up new CNN reporting just coming in, as high drama unfolds up on Capitol Hill. House Republicans now saying they're moving forward with a key vote on President Trump's agenda, even though they might not necessarily have the numbers they need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: The breaking news we're following, House Republican leaders are now preparing to roll the dice and hold a major vote on President Trump's agenda, even though they're not sure if they have enough support.

Let's get an update right now from our chief Congressional correspondent Manu Raju. He's up on Capitol Hill. Give us the latest, Manu.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a roll of the dice, Wolf, by the speaker of the House who is trying to move ahead on this with virtually no margin for error. And just moments ago, the speaker expressing confidence to reporters on his way to the House floor, believing that he ultimately will have the votes.

This is a significant moment for the Trump agenda. They have to pass this budget blueprint first in order to move ahead with the larger agenda. It is required under this process. But the House and the Senate have to adopt the exact same budget blueprint.

Now, the House and the Senate are on different paths at the moment, but the first step here is to get it out of the House. And all day long, the speaker has been moving behind the scenes to lock down support. But there has been issues. There have been members, like Congressman Warren Davidson, Congressman Victoria Spartz, and Congressman Tom Massie, who have all expressed opposition. Even though the speaker can only afford to lose one member of Congress vote assuming all members are present and voting. At the moment, at least three have expressed concerns, including Spartzs and Davidson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: There's a lot of pressure on you.

REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-IN): Listen, I don't do -- you know, the only accountability I have for the people I represent and that we owe them what is, you know, to fix the country. We have a mandate to fix it and put great things they wanted from us in the law.

The agenda that President Trump wants to deliver has to go through Congress. And we cannot be weak and we have to do the right thing for the people.

REP. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-OH): So, it's kind of an incomplete product. The complete product is what are we going to do on the rest of the spending? And we've had no commitment on that.

BLITZER: If the vote happens tonight, you're a no?

DAVIDSON: I have not yet committed to vote for it. That's a fact. (END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And there's a hope among the Republican leaders that they'll be able to flip some of those holdouts. Congressman Davidson being one of them, and potentially another one, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who, moments ago, told me that he spoke to Donald Trump himself and had been a no, Wolf, but had indicated that he's moving towards the yes column.

[18:45:12]

This proposal is sweeping in nature. They have to pass it first, and then they have to draft the legislative text. That would include a $4.5 trillion overhaul of the tax code, a two year suspension hike of the national debt limit, hundreds of billions of dollars in spending for energy projects, as well as for defense and national security and border security measures.

But, Wolf, the challenge is going to be if they get this out of the house, even if they narrowly do, drafting the legislative details, so complicated to do that and getting on the same page as the United States Senate, which is on a different track altogether, all huge hurdles. But the big one tonight, can they get this out of the house, this blueprint, the speakers confident, but he has virtually no margin for error -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yeah. The stakes for the American people right now are enormous.

Manu Raju up on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.

Just ahead, new numbers out confirming Americans are growing more pessimistic right now. But the state of the U.S. economy as President Trump promises more tariffs on key U.S. trading partners.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:18]

BLITZER: There's new evidence that Americans are anxious about the state of the economy on President Trump's watch. Consumer confidence here in the United States taking a big hit this month.

CNN's Brian Todd has details for us.

Brian. Inflation worries are clearly kicking in.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Worries about inflation tied to tariffs, Wolf, and worries about job losses are fueling the drop in confidence. The economic optimism that was seen when President Trump was elected in November has clearly receded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Sticker shock at the car dealership, a line down the street in New York for a free egg giveaway, as prices for eggs continue to spike.

ABOU SOW, CEO, PRINCE ABOU'S BUTCHERY, NEW YORK: Time like this. We felt it was our duty and responsibility to just make eggs accessible.

TODD: Meanwhile, Denny's has reportedly become the latest restaurant chain to impose a new surcharge to meals made with eggs. This all comes as more Americans are getting nervous about the economy. According to the nonpartisan research group the Conference Board, consumer confidence dropped for the third straight month in February, and it's the largest monthly decline since August 2021.

JOSEPH GAGNON, THE PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Uncertainty is rising. People don't know if they'll have a job, or if someone that they know will have a job.

TODD: This is a sharp reversal from a short burst of consumer optimism that showed up after President Trump was elected in November. Some analysts believe the effort by Trump and Elon Musk to slash the ranks of the federal government, while it may cut waste and save money, is a big driver of the drop in consumer confidence because those job losses don't affect just the Washington, D.C., area.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: The majority of federal workers work across the country and if you have a concentration of unemployment in these communities, if people can't pay their mortgages, that's going to hurt the lenders in that area. The businesses that cater to those people, you've got a house, you want to buy, furniture, you want to improve it. You want to maybe upgrade your bathroom. Those businesses are going to be impacted. So this is not a D.C. problem. This is a U.S. problem.

TODD: Another huge factor affecting consumer confidence. Analysts say President Trump's plan to impose tariffs, taxes placed on imported goods and services. The president says his plan to levy tariffs on Canada and Mexico is moving forward.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It will be very good for our country. Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again.

TODD: But it will likely also raise prices for big ticket items like cars. And that could be fueling the dip in consumer confidence.

GAGNON: The U.S. auto industry is incredibly integrated with Canada and Mexico tariffs, even 25 percent tariffs on products that go back and forth across the border multiple times as you make the car would add enormously to the price of cars made in North America.

TODD: In 2022, even as consumer confidence was at record lows and inflation was its highest in four decades, Americans continued to spend money. Will they do that now?

SINGLETARY: What's different right now is that even if you are not impacted by the cuts in the federal government, it induces a lot of anxiety. And when people are anxious, they tend to pull back.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TODD (on camera): Now, as for some practical advice for consumers regarding the drop in confidence, analyst Michelle Singletary says, first, do the most thorough and honest assessment you can of where your job stands. If your job is fairly secure, she says, and you're thinking about buying a car, try to do that soon. Before tariffs push car prices higher. But if your job is not quite as secure, you might want to hold off on those big purchases for a while -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, good advice. Thank you very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

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[18:58:09]

BLITZER: Pope Francis remains hospitalized tonight in critical but stable condition.

Our Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has new details -- Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Vatican sources saying that the pope still receiving oxygen and did not receive any visitors today, apart from his private secretaries who are with him up at the hospital.

The Vatican saying the pope is in a critical but stable condition. No more respiratory crises. Blood flow tests showing that the flow is stable, too, a CT scan on his lungs. Of course, the pope is suffering from pneumonia in both of those lungs. He's 88 years old. He has a history of respiratory infections.

The Vatican also saying that the pope did some work today and received the Eucharist. Now, I think the big message from the Vatican and the pope on Tuesday is that Francis is still leading and governing the church. We were told that on Monday, he met with Cardinal Parolin and Archbishop Pena Parra, two top Vatican aides, and he promulgated some decisions on sainthood causes. He also appointed bishops. He sent a message for lent.

So the message coming from the pope is that even though he's in hospital, he's still making decisions. Nevertheless, Francis health hangs in the balance. There's been an outpouring of prayer and good wishes for the pope. On Tuesday evening, behind me in St. Peter's Square, there was a prayer service led by Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines for Francis, of course.

There was another prayer service on Monday for the pope, too. A lot of concern for Francis, however, some reassuring signs and a message from the pope that he is still making decisions and still leading the church. We're expecting a further update from the Vatican on Wednesday morning -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Christopher Lamb, thank you very much. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. This important programming note, starting next Monday, THE SITUATION

ROOM is expanding to two hours and moving to mornings. Join me and my colleague and good friend Pamela Brown every weekday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon Eastern. We'll continue covering the most important stories from around the world and across the country.

Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.