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The Situation Room

Interview With Ontario, Canada, Premier Doug Ford; Trump Targets VA Cuts; Interview With Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT); E.U. Leaders Hold Critical Meeting on Ukraine; Economic Warning Signs. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired March 06, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:02:03]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: economic warning signs, a shocking report showing employers are slashing jobs as uncertainty soars.

I'm Pamela Brown.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we start this hour with more breaking news, a brutal report on job cuts here in the United States, job cuts just last month, the most in the month of February in more than 15 years.

And it shows a shocking 41000 percent increase in job cuts from federal agencies compared to just a year ago. This stunning report comes as hiring slumps in the United States continue and consumer sentiment is falling.

I want to go live to see it in business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich.

Vanessa, this is a recession-level spike in job cuts, but this -- put this into context for us.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly a recession-level spike in cuts, but that does not mean we are in a recession just yet, Wolf, 172,000 jobs that employers are expecting to cut.

And a lot of those jobs -- you can see right there up 103 percent from the month before. And a lot of those jobs, according to this report by Challenger and Gray, are coming from government. So they point directly to the impacts of DOGE.

DOGE has been really taking a hatchet to a lot of the federal agencies, and we're seeing that show up in this report. More than 62,000 jobs are going to be cut in government. And that is significant, because just in that same time period in 2024, the job cuts were about 100 jobs in government services.

The next sector that is seeing job cuts right now is retail. And this is really a response to consumers. Consumers are expected to pull back in spending, and thus you see businesses, retailers pulling back in the number of employees that they have. And you can see that right there on your screen.

Another thing I want to point out about the economy, though, is something we're seeing with GDP. The Atlanta Fed has this model, and they try to project what each quarter's GDP would look like. Well, they are signaling that we will see a decline in GDP in the first quarter by 2.8 percent, and that is because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of GDP.

They are expecting also consumers to pull back on that front. And also worth noting that, just yesterday, we got a report of private sector payroll. This is what the private sector is doing with jobs. We saw that they only added about 77,000 jobs. Look at that difference from January. The projection for February was almost double what you see on your screen there.

[11:05:07]

And, on Friday, just tomorrow, we're getting that big government jobs report. They are expecting robust job growth, but we know that we have been certainly surprised before. The administration is going to be paying very close attention to tomorrow's jobs report.

And also, investors, we have seen the markets up and down all week. You can see the Dow down right now on potentially some of this news that we just reported about the cuts. Tomorrow's jobs report will be critical for the administration, investors and the American people to get a little bit of a sense of what this job market really looks like right now, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, the Dow Jones right now down about 120 points.

A lot of uncertainty, Vanessa, also, as we all know, about tariffs. And I know you have some new reporting on all of that. What are you learning?

YURKEVICH: Well, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, just moments ago on CNBC said that President Trump could potentially put a pause on all tariffs between Mexico and Canada, so taking that 25 percent tariff off. Now, he forecasted that yesterday as well, and we saw that he repealed tariffs on the auto industry.

But signals from Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, who has been in close conversation with the president, signal that there may be an additional pause for one month on these 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which we already know have had significant impacts on businesses here in the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, I should mention, Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's see how all of this unfolds.

Vanessa Yurkevich, appreciate it very much. Thank you.

YURKEVICH: Thanks.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: Happening right now in Brussels, European leaders are meeting to find a new path for Ukraine after President Trump's decision to suspend military aid, as well as in intelligence sharing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just left after meeting with and thanking European leaders. On their agenda, bolstering aid and how to take control of cease-fire talks from the U.S. and Russia. The summit comes just one day after French President Emmanuel Macron proclaimed Europe is -- quote -- "entering a new era" and may not be able to rely on the U.S.

Let's discuss this with Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut. He is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and is a member of the Ukrainian Caucus.

Congressman, thank you for coming on.

So, this morning, the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K. warned that President Trump is -- quote -- "destroying the world order," putting Europe at risk. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERII ZALUZHNYI, UKRAINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM (through translator): We can say that in the near future NATO likewise can stop existing. We see that the White House makes steps towards the Kremlin, trying to meet them halfway. So the next target of Russia could be Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What is your reaction to that? Do you agree?

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Well, the ambassador is not wrong, right?

I mean, in his first term, Trump was unbelievably derisive of NATO and showed the same sort of fascination, love, obsession with Vladimir Putin, which I think grows out of his natural and intuitive and visceral desire to be in the company of very powerful people, even if they're totalitarians.

And so, yes, I think that, if you're committed to NATO, which, of course, is the institution that has kept the peace in Europe since 1945, you're very, very worried right now for that and because, look, when you go into a negotiation the way the president has -- and you have got a choice.

You can go to Russia and you can say, we're going to triple our commitment to Ukraine, so come to the table, or you can go to Ukraine and say, we're going to cut you off, so come to the table, which is, of course, what Trump and his administration have done. What you do is, you tell Vladimir Putin that his brutal invasion, his

violent invasion that has resulted in the deaths of 70,000 Ukrainians, that there's actually a win there. So, not tomorrow, not next year, but three years from now, when Putin is thinking about Poland or about Estonia or about Moldova, the lessons learned today will be very dangerous for Europe.

BROWN: Trump has said, look, Europeans, there's a threat. You need to fend more for yourselves and support Ukraine and really do more than rely -- instead of relying on the United States for your security.

Realistically, can they do this on their own, in your view?

HIMES: Well, Trump is not wrong in that respect.

I mean, since the Ukrainian war, obviously the Russian-Ukrainian war, Europe has really increased its spending. But for decades, Europe did not meet its commitments to spend 2 percent of their GDP on NATO, right, or on the arms that would be used by NATO. So the president is not wrong about that.

Where he is wrong is to think of this as like some sort of New York real estate transaction, where, unless you do that, we're going to withdraw our support. This is what you see in the minerals deal too, right, where, unless you give us half your minerals, we're not going to be there for you, right?

I wasn't alive, but, in 1942, when Winston Churchill comes to the White House, FDR does not say, yes, maybe we will help you if you give us that North Sea oil and the coal that you have got in Manchester and stuff.

[11:10:00]

This has turned us into a country that is based on values to a country that is predatory, almost mafia-like in its foreign policy.

BROWN: All right, let's switch gears now and talk about Congress.

This morning, House Republicans and 10 Democrats voted to censure one of your Democratic colleagues, Al Green, for disrupting Trump's address to Congress. You voted in favor of censuring your Democratic colleague. Why?

HIMES: Well, many years ago, I voted in favor of censuring or disapproving of Joe Wilson because he shouted, "You lie." It was just a very brief interruption. It was profoundly disrespectful to then- President Obama.

I'm sure that I could construct some convoluted way and I would say, oh, well, President Trump is so much worse than Barack Obama and blah, blah, blah. You know what? I don't mind being one of 10 Democrats who said, no, there's a deeper principle at stake here, which is reverence for this institution.

And when somebody disrupts the institution, particularly in a moment as important -- and, look, I have no love for Donald Trump, but I do have reverence for the office of the president. In the military, they salute the uniform. They don't salute the man or the woman in the uniform.

And just think about where this leads. If we defend that behavior, at the next State of the Union, when there's a Democratic president standing there, people will start standing up and obstructing that speech until there can be no speech.

So I feel very, very strongly that at some point we need to stand up and say, as horrified as we may be by Donald Trump or by Barack Obama or by Joe Biden, we act with decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country.

What you saw, by the way, as much on the -- more on the Republican side at the State of the Union address, and, yes, Al Green, was a country that is not being serious about governing itself. We have nuclear weapons. We're the most powerful economy on the world. We need to start telling the world that we are serious people, and we're telling them the exact opposite with the behavior that we saw in the speech the other night.

BROWN: Congressman Himes, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

BLITZER: And still ahead: The Trump administration could cut tens of thousands of jobs from the Department of Veterans Affairs. We're going to talk with an Army veteran who served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and has lost his job at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Plus: our neighbors to the north railing against the new tariffs. Some Canadians are actually threatening boycotts. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, standing by to join us live. We will discuss how far all of this is going to go.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:52]

BLITZER: There's more breaking news we're following here in THE SITUATION ROOM, sources now telling us the White House is preparing a new executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

We're learning that the order will direct the newly confirmed education secretary, Linda McMahon, to scuttle the entire agency. President Trump is expected to sign the document in the days to come. And this would only begin the process. Fully eliminating the department can only happen with a specific act from Congress -- Pamela.

BROWN: And we're learning that the Trump administration is now targeting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

According to an internal memo obtained by CNN, the administration is planning to fire more than 70,000 VA employees. That is 15 percent of the department's work force.

Luke Graziani has already been caught up in the sweeping federal cuts. Luke is an Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan during his 20 years of service. Last month, he was fired from his public affairs job at a VA hospital in New York.

And he joins us now.

Luke, thank you for coming on. First of all, thank you for your service and for being with us.

You have called your termination thoughtless and heartless. Why do you say that?

LUKE GRAZIANI, FIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEE: It really just seemed like there was no care given to, like, the duties I was performing or the job that I was doing for veterans in my area in the Bronx.

And I just happened to be a name on a spreadsheet.

BROWN: And that must have felt like what to you after serving the country so many years?

GRAZIANI: Seeing that notification in my e-mail was just devastating. I thought I was doing the right things for my country, for my veterans and doing well in my job, performing my duties as best as I could. And seeing that was just -- I was just crushed.

BROWN: Well, Luke, as a veteran, I have to imagine that, in addition to working at the VA, you have used VA services before. What do you expect the impact to be if staffing is reduced by 70,000 people?

GRAZIANI: I think, at this point, it's such a high number, it's unimaginable the kind of effect that it could have on veterans looking to receive services.

Right now, I think that veterans are getting the care that they need, but in the future it's going to be difficult to really understand the impact that losing 70,000 people across the work force is going to do.

BROWN: Right, because a lot of these people were added under the Biden administration because of the PACT Act, which is to give more treatment and services to those impacted by burn pits.

And so what do you think now will happen to some of these veterans impacted by the burn pits and just need help overall from service to their country?

GRAZIANI: I think the hope is that there's still going to be people there to give them care, but losing so many people, it may increase the time it takes to get appointments, the time it takes to get registered for care.

Those kind of things I think are going to be impacted and people are going to be hurt by this. BROWN: On Tuesday, we should mention that you were in Washington as a

guest of Democratic Congresswoman Grace Meng during President Trump's address to Congress sitting in the gallery among Elon Musk and listening to President Trump.

[11:20:09]

What would your message be to them regarding the termination of so many veterans like yourself?

GRAZIANI: So, sitting there in the gallery, watching all of that unfold, I was hoping to hear something about my fellow terminated federal employees.

I know that there was some word about people being reinstated to their jobs. I'm hoping to get my job back if that's the case. But my message is just remember that there's real people behind those names and real families being impacted by these cuts.

BROWN: So you would return to the VA if they asked you to come back?

GRAZIANI: A hundred percent. That was a calling for me. That was more than a job. I raised my hand again to serve my country and give back to my fellow veterans. I feel like I'm the right person for that job to understand what they really need.

BROWN: What do you say to Americans? Because we just talked about Elon Musk and Trump, but our Harry Enten, our chief data reporter, had these numbers out today saying that 51 percent of Americans actually support the DOGE staffing cuts.

What do you say to Americans who are applauding this effort?

GRAZIANI: I think that maybe it's time to dig a little deeper and take a closer look at what this might mean for people being impacted.

It's not just about creating some level of efficiency in the government. I think real people are being impacted. And I don't think that's getting across to the general public very clearly. That's why I'm here, hoping to share this story and help people understand what's really happening.

BROWN: I know this is such a difficult time for you. You're a father. You're trying to support your family right now, and you're a veteran, and your story is very important. So thank you for coming on to share it, Luke.

GRAZIANI: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: And we wish Luke only, only the best. He is a father of four, I believe, yes.

BROWN: A father of four, that's right.

BLITZER: He's going to have his hands full right now. Up next, the premier of Ontario in Canada, Doug Ford, standing by to

join us live in THE SITUATION ROOM. He will explain how Canada's most populous province is hitting back against all these U.S. tariffs.

Stay with us. Lots going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:26:49]

BLITZER: Busy news day today. We got more breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM.

The U.S. commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, now says that tariffs on nearly all products from Mexico and Canada will likely get delayed by one month. President Trump could make that announcement later today, but, as of now, those 25 percent tariffs are still in place.

And it comes a day after the White House said it's granting a one- month exemption any autos coming into the country.

We're joined now by the premier of Ontario, Doug Ford.

Premier Ford, thanks so much for joining us.

You have been very critical of these tariffs, which is understandable. Does this one-month pause that we're hearing about from the commerce secretary today on the auto tariffs and these other tariffs as well ease any of your concerns?

DOUG FORD, PREMIER OF ONTARIO, CANADA: Well, first of all, Wolf, thank you so much for having me on. And I start every interview with saying I love the Americans. I love the U.S.

But what a mess President Trump has created here. The only thing certain on these 30 days is uncertainty. We have seen investments stall in the U.S. They have seen jobs are going to -- people are going to lose their jobs, and inflation is happening. Everything is going to go up and assembly lines will shut down if he continues.

I have an idea. Let's just drop these tariffs. Let's sit down and renegotiate the USMCA deal that he created. It hasn't changed since he was in office, and he said it was a greatest deal over. So let's move forward and let's bring certainty back. Let's keep the assembly lines going in the U.S. and let's start moving forward on the two strongest countries in the world.

We will build the U.S. economy the likes of which the U.S. has never seen before, but we have to drop these tariffs.

BLITZER: I know you have threatened, Premier, to hit back twice as hard on these U.S. tariffs by cutting off energy exports to the U.S., ripping up a contract with Elon Musk's company, as we all know.

What do you think is going to happen? FORD: Isn't that a shame that we have to put a tariff on the

electricity? I think the world of all three governors in New York and Michigan and Minnesota. Just talked to Governor Walz, which is an incredible individual.

I don't want to do this. I want to send more electricity. But he's basically -- President Trump -- it's not the American people. It's not even the Republicans or Democrats, because I talked to both of them. Republicans totally disagree with it, but God forbid they ever go out publicly and say it.

Let's just put an end to this and let's start building our economy. But, as of Monday, this Monday, we're putting a tariff, 25 percent tariff on the electricity to the 1.5 million homes and businesses in those three states. And, honestly, it really bothers me we have to do this. I don't want to do this. I want to send more electricity, more critical minerals, more oil.

That's what we want to do.

BLITZER: Yes, that's so important. President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire, as you well know, to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.

[11:30:02]

And he refers to Prime Minister Trudeau as the governor. I see the background behind you right now.