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The Situation Room

Milwaukee Schools Facing Lead Contamination; Congressman Gerry Connolly Not Running For Reelection; Has National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Lost Control?; Immigration Raid. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 28, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:32:35]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Federal authorities now say more than 100 immigrants have been arrested in a major overnight raid in Colorado. The operation targeted what officials are calling an underground nightclub where drug trafficking, prostitution and violent crimes were allegedly taking place.

Let's go to CNN's Isabel Rosales for details.

Isabel, what else can you tell us about this raid?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this was an overnight raid involving hundreds of agencies across 10 federal agencies and also local law enforcement.

Now, the DEA says that this club had been under surveillance for several months, with the agency documenting cases of drug trafficking, of prostitution, and also the presence of alleged members of gangs such as Tren de Aragua, MS-13 and Hell's Angels. Altogether, more than 100 immigrants who they accused of being in the country illegally were taken into ICE custody.

And also more than a dozen active-duty military members, some of which were working, the DEA says, security at that club, their cases were handed over to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

Now, the DEA seized guns, they say, and also drugs including cocaine. Here's the special agent in charge. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN PULLEN, DEA SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: When the cops showed up at the door, most of the drugs hit the floor. And we did find cocaine. Looks like some pink cocaine or the 2C. And there was a little bit of other drugs, but we haven't had a time to test everything.

But there were dozens of small packages of drugs that they have recovered so far that I have personally seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And it's also notable here, the presence of local law enforcement because we're witnessing playing out here ICE's 287(g) program that essentially allows the deputizing of local law enforcement to carry out some duties that are normally under the scope of federal immigration authorities.

This is something that ICE calls a force of multiplier. Meanwhile, we have critics and immigration advocates warning that this is just going -- this sort of partnership, Wolf, is just eroding public confidence and also will make it so that undocumented people, when they're the victims of crime, will not feel safe in reporting it -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Isabel Rosales, reporting for us, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, a new report from "The Atlantic" magazine is delving into the chaos unfolding right now over at the White House National Security Council. According to "The Atlantic," President Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has effectively lost control over the institution, which has been roiled by firings and challenges to his leadership.

Joining us now is the author of this article, "Inside the Fiasco at the National Security Council," that's the headline, "The Atlantic" staff writer Isaac Stanley-Becker.

[11:35:04]

Isaac, thanks so much for joining us.

We're not even, what, 100 days into this administration? How did Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, effectively lose control over his own National Security Council so quickly?

ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER, STAFF WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": Well, on both policy and personnel, he has really lost key authority.

On policy, we have seen that be swept out from under him by the White House vetting operation, which is dismissing people for infractions related to loyalty and other causes, and then an extraordinary Oval Office meeting with the far right activist Laura Loomer, after which a number of officials were dismissed. So we're seeing these decisions being made by people other than the person in charge of this staff.

And then, importantly, on policy, according to people I spoke with, he has much less juice on fundamental geopolitical issues than the president's friend and special envoy Steve Witkoff, who's been tasked with key hot spots, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and then, on other important priorities, much less control and much less authority than Stephen Miller, the homeland security adviser and deputy White House chief of staff for policy, who is effectively using the NSC, according to my sources, as a kind of platform to implement his hard-line immigration agenda.

And not in the traditional way of coordination, considering different policy options, listening to a wide range of advisers, and coming up with a kind of consensus approach, bringing that to the president. BLITZER: In your reporting, Isaac -- and it's very excellent

reporting -- you talk about the role of conspiracy theorists, as you just pointed out, Laura Loomer.

Based on your accounts, and you're doing a lot of reporting on this, how much influence did she have with the shakeup over at the National Security Council, the firing of various individuals?

STANLEY-BECKER: Well, it's kind of an amazing scene.

She comes into the White House early April, her first ever visit to the White House, and she brings with her a list of officials working for the president and working for Mike Waltz who she says are disloyal, who have wronged the president, and it's a long list.

And it includes some quite senior officials, including Mike Waltz's principal deputy, Alex Wong. And we see that not all of those people were dismissed, but a significant number of them. And some of the people I spoke to framed it this way.

The president didn't want to dismiss Mike Waltz after the Signal incident, or some of his key deputies because he didn't want to admit wrongdoing and take that political hit. But he used that as an opportunity to essentially clear out some of the underbrush of some of these people targeted by Laura Loomer and accused of disloyalty for really a wide range of reasons.

BLITZER: Give us some historical context for what happened.

STANLEY-BECKER: For which part?

BLITZER: The Laura Loomer part.

STANLEY-BECKER: Well, this is someone who has really positioned herself as a kind of loyalty enforcer for the president. We have seen her go on the attack against critics of his, and primarily not Democratic critics, people in the Republican Party, who she perceives as not being sufficiently MAGA, not being sufficiently on board with the president's agenda.

So there were moments on the campaign when she was with the candidate, and some of his aides tried to keep her away from him, but she succeeded in doing this. And then she gets an Oval Office audience with the president, invited by the president himself.

She travels to Washington for this and is sitting there with the president, the vice president, a member of Congress, and eventually Mike Waltz himself, who has an office in the West Wing, was not initially present, and then eventually joined this group, and tried to defend his staff, say that he had sufficiently vetted them, vetted them carefully.

But that didn't cut it for the president.

BLITZER: So is national security of the United States being affected by all of this?

STANLEY-BECKER: What I would say is that the NSC does what it does for a reason. There's a process that involves senior advisers and Cabinet officials convening, considering options, coordinating across the interagency, lawyers who vet significant foreign policy decisions.

And what I found in my reporting is that that is not happening in many instances. So, just as one example, the president issued 26 executive orders on his first day in office. Amid the chaos and sidelining of career officials and the rush to get those out, not a single one of those was reviewed by NSC lawyers.

And there's a reason why lawyers review these. They make sure that the president is lawfully using his power. And then they also make sure that the other agencies that actually have to implement these understand their obligations that flow from this.

So we're seeing a level of chaos that is really extraordinary.

BLITZER: So, based on all your reporting, Isaac, where does Mike Waltz, the national security adviser to the president, stand right now?

STANLEY-BECKER: I think he's on thin ice.

And what the president ultimately decides to do remains in question. And it's been interesting comparing this with some of the chaos at the Pentagon and the revelations about the conduct of the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, who, according to my sources, actually remains in the president's good graces more so than does Mike Waltz for a number of reasons.

[11:40:04]

He's seen as more of an outsider, more on board with the MAGA agenda. And I think Mike Waltz was already viewed with some suspicion, which makes some of these missteps more dangerous to his future.

BLITZER: Excellent reporting, Isaac. Thank you very, very much.

STANLEY-BECKER: Thanks a lot, Wolf.

BLITZER: Isaac Stanley-Becker, appreciate it.

And just ahead: A big announcement is expected from Milwaukee's school district, connected to an ongoing lead crisis. We will have details, all the latest details, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:05]

BLITZER: There's breaking news we're following.

Congressman Gerry Connolly is announcing he will not run for reelection. He currently serves as the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.

I want to go to our chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, up on Capitol Hill.

Manu, what are you learning. And why is Connolly such a significant member?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is right now the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. That is a far- reaching committee that investigates all aspects of the federal government.

He just announced moments ago that he will not run for reelection, that soon he would step down from that leadership position atop that powerful panel. Now, what he had said that -- is that the cancer that he announced that he had back in November of last year, cancer of the esophagus, he said, after grueling treatments, after beating it back for some time, he said the cancer has now returned.

And, as a result, he said that he will not run for reelection next year and he would step down from the House Oversight Committee's ranking Democrat position.

In this statement to his constituents, Wolf, he says: "The sun is setting on my time in public service. And this will be my last term in Congress. I will soon be stepping back as a ranking member of the Oversight Committee. With no rancor and a full heart, I move into this final chapter, full of pride in what we have accomplished together over 30 years."

Now, Connolly is a veteran member, served in the House since 2008. He fought for that leadership position on the House Oversight Committee against a different candidate, a different Democrat, a progressive firebrand, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

He was elected by his own colleagues for that position, but now, given his cancer diagnosis, given the fact that he is saying that it's returned, plans to step aside from that position.

A lot of reaction from Democrats and Republicans so far in the aftermath of his announcement here, Wolf, though he does -- he is indicating he does plan to serve at least for the rest of this term, Wolf. And his district is a Democratic-leaning district. It is one that Kamala Harris won by about 30 points back last November, so one that will not probably change any of the balance of the House no matter who -- which Democrat ultimately tries to run for his seat.

But no doubt about it, a lot of people reacting to this sad news involving Gerry Connolly, saying his cancer's returned, won't run for reelection, and will step aside from his leadership position.

BLITZER: Yes, he's been a frequent guest over the years here in THE SITUATION ROOM. And he's suffering from esophageal cancer, which is a very serious form of cancer, right?

RAJU: Yes, that's right. And that's something that he announced back in November.

He said that he went through grueling treatments for months. We have seen him come back to Capitol Hill. He's been on your program. He's talked on -- been prominent in the halls of Congress. But he says it's now returned, Wolf, which is why he's making this career decision at this moment, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, well, we wish him a healthy recovery, to be sure.

Manu Raju, thank you very much.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:40]

BLITZER: Happening now, the Milwaukee Public School District announcing the closure of two more schools as they try to eliminate hazardous levels of lead contamination.

It comes only weeks after the CDC denied a request for help by the city's Health Department, citing major staffing cuts.

Let's go live right now to CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell.

Meg, how bad is this crisis and how are they going to deal with it?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, this is an extensive crisis.

Milwaukee found this problem earlier this year, and they'd been working with the CDC to try to remediate it. With the closure announcement today of these two additional schools, that will total nine schools so far that Milwaukee has closed to fix this lead exposure problem.

But they have noted just now in this ongoing press conference that they have more than 100 schools that were built before 1978, 100 buildings. And so they have to go through each one of those to assess their risks. And they say they're prioritizing the oldest buildings with the youngest students because lead is especially dangerous to young children.

And they just gave a little bit of a timeline here, where the oldest buildings built before 1950 they hope to have done with this process before the start of next school year. And for all the buildings pre- 1978, they hope to get done by the end of the calendar year.

But, Wolf, this has already cost them $2 million. They say they can't put a price tag on how much it's going to cost them overall. But they had reached out to the CDC at the end of March to ask for help with all of this, including with testing kids for blood lead levels. They have identified a handful of students with elevated lead levels.

And they want to make sure they're comprehensively looking at this. But the CDC got back to them after the major reductions in staffing at CDC we saw at the beginning of April, saying -- quote -- "I sincerely regret to inform you that, due to the complete loss of our lead program, we will be unable to support you with this Epi-Aid request."

So, Milwaukee now trying to find other partners and ways of going about this themselves. But it's a huge project, of course, and it's going to take until the end of the year, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just how dangerous, Meg, is lead exposure, especially for kids at these schools?

TIRRELL: It's really dangerous.

There's no known safe level of lead. And lead paint is one of the most common ways that little kids especially get exposed to lead. It can cause learning and behavioral problems, even at very small levels. And so it's recommended that kids get routinely screened for lead levels in their blood at ages 1 and 2.

[11:55:08]

And, of course, these are elementary school kids. So, now the district is asking families to make sure their kids' lead levels get checked. And they're trying to provide their own clinics to do this as well.

BLITZER: Yes, the Trump administration cuts funding to the CDC, and now these children are potentially endangered. We will watch to see what happens and hope for the best.

Meg Tirrell, thank you very much.

And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can keep up with me on social media @WolfBlitzer. You can keep up with Pamela @PamelaBrownCNN.

We will see you back here tomorrow 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

"INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" is coming up next right after a short break.