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The Situation Room

Some Senate Dems Lose Faith in Schumer; Hearing for Dr. Rasha Alawieh's Deportation to Lebanon Canceled; Two Astronauts Back on Earth Tomorrow Night. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 17, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to some political developments right here in Washington, where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is losing confidence from many of his Democratic colleagues after he backed down during last week's fight over funding the federal government.

One Democratic senator even tells CNN Schumer can't be, quote, "trusted" to negotiate with President Trump over the next congressional showdown.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, strong words indeed for more on all of this. Let's go live to our chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju. He's joining us here in the Situation Room. Manu, CNN has been speaking with dozens of top Democrats about Schumer standing in the party. What are you hearing?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, there is a lot of concern, a lot of anger coming from the left. Really, you've not seen this level of public attacks against another Democrat, top Democrat, in the Senate really for years. I can't recall a single time where we've seen House Democrats, in particular, calling Chuck Schumer, saying that he undermined their agenda, saying that he worked with Donald Trump, suggesting that he is not on the same team as them.

And then, the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, going as far as not saying he has confidence in Chuck Schumer. That was a remarkable moment on Friday. Now, we have learned that Schumer and Jeffries did meet behind closed doors yesterday in Brooklyn trying to get back on the same page. They have huge inconsequential fights ahead, but the backlash from the left is real.

In fact, Wolf, Chuck Schumer is scheduled to do a book tour in a number of cities on a book that he has authored on anti-Semitism. He has just canceled that book tour, we are learning, because of protests that were scheduled from activist groups who wanted to go after his decision to agree and allow the government funding bill to go forward to avoid a government shutdown.

They were furious at his decision to do that. It just shows you the anger on the left and the Democratic Party. Can they get it back together at this key moment when they are essentially leaderless in a lot of ways, they don't have a strategy on how to fight back against Trump and have all this unrest on the Democratic base? That's going to be a big question for Schumer.

[10:35:00]

But interesting that he decided to cancel this event. They cited they're citing security concerns, but there were these large-scale protests, at least some protests scheduled outside these events.

BLITZER: Yes, certainly that is notable. And it all comes, we should note, as the Democratic Party's favorability rating hit an all-time low, right? What's behind this?

RAJU: Yes, this is the lowest in CNN's polling in the last 30 years. A real warning sign for the Democratic Party right now. And it's really driven, in large part, not just as you can see on your screen, 29 percent of voters have a favorable view of the Democratic Party. That is among all voters. But when you drill down into the numbers, Pamela and Wolf, the real issue is among Democratic voters themselves. They are starting to lose more and more confidence with their own party.

In fact, in that same poll, roughly 61 percent of Democratic voters view their party favorably compared to Republican voters is about 78 percent or so of Republican and Republican leaning voters view their party favorably. And this shift has been really remarkable since January 2017 until now, double digits in approval rating for the Democratic Party. So, that's going to be a big question.

And then, what are the tactics for Democrats to employ? In that same poll, more Democrats, roughly three quarters or so, want them to fight to stop the Trump agenda. That was different than 2017. In fact, in 2017, about three quarters wanted to work with Trump, try to find bipartisan deals and the like. But the Democratic base has a different view. They don't believe their party is fighting hard enough. But the question is, they're in the minority, there's only so much they can do.

But that's why it goes back to that first point. It was their first piece of leverage to fight back against Trump, to keep the government open. They needed their votes in the Senate to avoid a government shutdown by March 14th. They had essentially no strategy, no plan. They got nothing in return, and that's what is feeding a lot of this dissatisfaction within the Democratic Party among their own voters.

BROWN: Yes, well, later in the show we're going to be talking to Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton. Of course, we'll be asking about all of this. Thank you so much, Manu Raju, for bringing us the latest. And welcome in person to the Situation Room.

RAJU: Yes. Glad to be here.

BROWN: It's so rare to have you here in person.

BLITZER: Is it because the House is in recess?

RAJU: House and Senate, they're on recess, which I'm OK with.

BROWN: There you go. There you go.

BLITZER: They're in recess, so you're allowed to come to the Situation Room.

BROWN: Still working hard though.

RAJU: That's right.

BROWN: Still working hard. You're not in recess.

RAJU: No.

BROWN: All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BLITZER: All right. There's some breaking news coming into the Situation Room. We're getting new details in the case of a Rhode Island doctor who was deported to Lebanon despite a judge's order blocking it.

BROWN: We're learning that a hearing set for this morning has been canceled after most of the attorneys associated with the plaintiff, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, withdrew from the case. Let's go live now to see an illegal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson in New York. So, Joey, the judge said the request came from the attorneys as a result of further diligence. What's going on here?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, good morning to you. It's unclear what's going on. The judge has given the indication that he wants an update within a week as to the specifics as to why the order was violated and why she was removed. However, we do know that there was an attorney -- the attorneys withdrew and they gave the indication that it was because of further due diligence.

Now, attorneys certainly have the right to withdraw from a case for multiple reasons. Do you see eye to eye with your client? Are there things your client did not tell you? Are there misrepresentations the client made? Are there certain things that you cannot argue in good faith? Have you learned more information that would give you pause with respect to the representation?

And so, the specifics of it, Pamela and Wolf, we are not clear on. What we just are clear on is that the attorneys who were representing her, after looking at the case further, made the decision that they would remove themselves. I think in the coming days it'll be clear as to why.

Now, certainly the government, that is the parties who are responsible for the removal, could have given the attorneys further information that is not available to the public and that may indeed be something that gave those attorneys the information they needed to withdraw.

BROWN: But just to drill down a little bit, how was she deported if there was a U.S. judge blocking that deportation?

JACKSON: Yes, so that's troubling. Obviously, I think there's two separate questions. The first question was predicated, Pamela, right, on the issue of why the attorneys may have withdrawn from the case. The second, though, and more important issue is how there would be such a deportation.

Now, there may very well be legitimate reasons as to why she was deported, we don't know, and I will not speculate. What I will say though is that we are a country of laws, and those laws need to be respected no matter what side of the equation you're on.

The biggest principle here, Pamela and Wolf, is due process. What does that mean in English? It means notice and an opportunity to be heard. Some people are quite guilty, but there's a process for that. Some people should be deported, there's a process for that. Others should not be, there's a process for that. And that's why we have judicial orders, we have the respect of law, and we have hearings to make a determination after hearing all the facts and evidence as to what the ultimate decision should be.

And so, it's -- we're get -- we're really getting into ground here, you know, with this administration, you could argue that they're really coming close to the edges of flouting the law, if not outright disregarding it.

BLITZER: I also want to get to another sensitive case, Joey, while I have you. The case of Palestinian activist and legal U.S. resident Mahmoud Khalil. His legal team now says his due process rights were violated when immigration officers took him into custody last week. They also say his detainment is illegitimate. Walk us through their arguments here.

[10:45:00]

JACKSON: So, I think the arguments, there's a number of them. The first argument is that everyone has a right to First Amendment free speech. That everyone, also includes someone who's here legally, having a green card and a lawful permanent resident. And as a result of that, the free speech protects you, whether you like what I'm saying or really hate what I'm saying. That's not the point. The point is that I have a right to say what I need to and want to say. And simply revoking and withdrawing a green card from someone because you don't like their views is really inconsistent with the Constitution. It's inconsistent with fundamental principles of law.

Furthermore, if you're going to remove someone or revoke their green card, it should be predicated not upon what their beliefs or views are, but that you have some evidence regarding whether or not they're supporting terrorism materially. Are they giving aid or anything else? And if you don't have that, it shouldn't be done.

And so, the attorneys are arguing that that hasn't been produced and that this certainly is not proper. We'll see what a judge says moving forward. BLITZER: All right. Joey Jackson helping us. Appreciate it very much, Joey.

BROWN: All right. Thanks, Joey. And coming up after nine months in space, two astronauts could be back on Earth as early as tomorrow night. We'll speak to a former astronaut on what adjusting back to gravity is like. Up next.

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[10:50:00]

BROWN: A pair of NASA astronauts on an extended stay in space will soon embark on their journey home. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were on a weeklong mission that stretched into nine months after their capsule was deemed unsafe to return. But over the weekend, four astronauts docked with the ISS as part of a crew swap mission. Now, Wilmore and Williams are set to splash down to earth tomorrow night.

And joining us now is former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski. Scott, thanks for coming on the show. So, you've been on several space flights. What goes through this? What does a crew handover like this look like?

SCOTT PARAZYNSKI, CEO, ONWARDAIR AND FORMER ASTRONAUT: It's a frenetic time frame during the mission because you're trying to convey all that you've learned, in this case, over the last nine months to your replacement. You know, where do you store the -- you know, a certain widget? You know, what's the trick? You know, how to jiggle the handle to the bathroom door. You know, all the ins and outs of living in space. And it's got to be exchanged in just a couple of days.

And then, of course, the crew themselves, they're thinking about, well, I've got to, you know, pack my limited bags to get back home. I've got to, you know, prepare for the transition back to planet Earth. And, you know, it's a difficult transition for Suni and Bush, in particular, after such a long stay. And, you know, as we like to say, gravity hurts when you come back after a mission of that length. Learning how to, you know, really walk again, how to reintegrate into family life. Of course, that's a big deal. And just kind of starting life back at home.

BROWN: Yes, tell us a little bit more about what that's going to be like, that transition, it's sort of the difficulties and challenges after being in space for so long, nine months, and then coming back to reality here on Earth.

PARAZYNSKI: So, the crew has been working really hard, probably up to two hours a day in physical exercise, you know, making sure that their muscles and bones are ready to withstand the rigors of Earth's gravity again. But it's still not quite enough. They'll have to get their land legs. They'll actually be in physical rehabilitation for the next several weeks, working with strength and conditioning coaches here in Houston to regain their strength and so on. They don't want to get back into their full normal activities prior to launch. Sunni is a marathon runner as an example. She's going to take her time before she gets back out onto the trails and starts to run long distances. A lot of the rehabilitation takes place in pools, you know, water aerobics and things like that, and just kind of gradually increasing their level of activity.

BROWN: Yes, their body has been through so much. And you also have to wonder about just their emotions, right? What they're feeling right now, you know. Do you think it's excitement? Do you think it's mixed emotions? I mean, it's so cool to be up in space, but of course, they had this journey that was not sort of part of the plan, right, and now, they're coming back after nine months. You wonder how they're feeling right now.

PARAZYNSKI: You know, I think Suni and Butch are probably both really grateful for the extension that they had. You know, I think every astronaut alive would trade places with them to have this extra time in space that they've had, sort of like winning the lottery. Astronauts love to live and work in space. But it's been also really quite hard on them, and in particular their families. They anticipated an eight-day mission and it's turned into nine months.

So, yes, I think the real heroes in all of this are their family members because, you know, there have been missed birthdays and holidays and other major milestones. But I think they're really excited to see the families, but probably a little bit of remorse as well, because they don't know the next time that they'll have an opportunity to get back up and see this God's eye view from space.

BROWN: Yes, those mixed emotions. Well, I hope, as we were talking about during the break, they have a wonderful welcome home party because they deserve it. That's for sure. Scott, thanks so much. Wolf.

PARAZYNSKI: Thank you.

BLITZER: And, Pamela, I wonder if you were stranded on the International Space Station, would your hair be flowing up like that as well?

BROWN: I think it probably would be.

BLITZER: Yes. I want to see that.

BROWN: And the microphone would be flying if I had to do the Situation Room, you know.

BLITZER: Do a live shot from space.

BROWN: That would be cool.

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: All right. Coming up, a deadly trail of destruction stretching through the Central and Southern United States. We'll speak to the pastor of the one Alabama community left unrecognizable after storms swept through.

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BROWN: Happening now, deportation clash the White House denies that's it's ignoring a court order as it deports more than 250 migrants. I'm Pamela Brown.

BLITZER: You want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in the Situation Room.

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