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The Situation Room

U.S. Added Just 22K Jobs In August, Unemployment At Nearly 4- Year High; Trump To Sign Directive Rebranding Dept. Of Defense As "Dept. Of War"; School Records: Doors At Uvalde's Robb Elementary Weren't Closing Properly For Years Before Massacre. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 05, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:01:52]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, unemployment at its highest in almost four years and the first jobs report since President Trump fired the top official in charge of labor statistics.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off. And you're in The Situation Room.

And we begin this hour with breaking news. New numbers show bright red warning lights for the U.S. economy after employers added only 22,000 jobs last month, missing many economists' predictions. Unemployment also rose to its highest level in nearly four years, sticking up to 4.3 percent. But the Trump White House is trying to downplay the report.

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KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: All the indicators that we're seeing are that inflation is low and economic growth is solid. Income growth is solid as well. So that the only part of the data that's disappointing is that the jobs numbers have been a little bit lower over the last three or four months.

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BROWN: All right, let's go live now to CNN business and politics correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich. So what else is in this report we got today, Vanessa?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you just heard there, the labor market has been slowing over the last couple of months. And really, we've seen a significant job stall in the last month or so, 22,000 jobs added in the month of August, well below expectations, which were more around 77,000 jobs. And then the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.3 percent, which was expected. More people entering the job market looking for jobs. But that is the highest unemployment rate since October of 2021.

Also worth noting that we saw revisions for the months of July and June. In July, about 6,000 jobs added in addition to what was initially projected. But for the month of June, revisions downward. So job losses in the U.S. economy by 13,000. That breaks a streak of historic job growth that we have seen since December of 2020 during the pandemic.

Also, the sectors that gained in the month of August were where we have seen historic gains in health care, 31,000 jobs added there. Social assistance, 16,000 jobs. Job losses, though, in the federal government, that's the trickle-down effect from those DOGE cuts starting to show up.

And then in wholesale trade and manufacturing, these are areas that the Trump administration would likely like to see job gains. Because the cornerstone of a lot of this trade policy is to bring manufacturing back to the United States. Job losses of 12,000 in each of those categories.

Now, analysts and economists I've been speaking to say that really employers are sort of frozen in place, paralyzed. They're not hiring and they're not firing. So that's why you're starting to see this stall. For a job seeker out there, you might see that it's a little bit harder to get a job. There are fewer jobs available to the number of people that are looking for jobs. And it may take longer to find a job.

If you look at markets right now, last check, they were down just slightly after being in the green for most of the morning after this report came out. Investors are now starting to digest this, saying, OK, a rate cut may be coming from the Federal Reserve, but sort of not under the best conditions. It's not because inflation is falling. It's because the unemployment rate is ticking up and the jobs market is weakening.

[11:05:20]

But just look at the odds now from investors. Most investors believe that there will be a cut later this month in September, a quarter point. But there are some that believe on the right hand side of your screen there that there will be a half a point rate cut, which would certainly be significant for the U.S. economy and for the jobs market and for Americans who may want a little relief on some of those interest rates that are tied to mortgage rates, car loans, student loans, things like that.

Of course, not the best circumstances to do it under -- under a slowing labor market. But there is a little bit, Pamela, of relief on the other side for Americans to help bring down costs in other ways.

BROWN: And I want to talk a little bit more about the black unemployment rate surge last month. Why is this considered a big warning sign for the economy?

YURKEVICH: Well, it has been a surge in the last couple months. You started from the months of May to July, an increase from 6 percent all the way up to 7.2 percent and then just in August all the way up to 7.5 percent According to economists, black workers are usually susceptible to policy changes because they are employed in areas that help keep the U.S. economy moving, manufacturing, retail. And so when you have policies around labor or even around trade, like these tariffs, which have impacts on prices, you start to see consumers pulling back on spending. And that means ultimately that businesses start to pull back and on it -- pull back on hiring.

And ultimately a lot of those spots for which they are trying to hire are for black Americans. And -- and that's why we are seeing a little bit of this rate ticking up. Something to watch. We've seen unemployment for black Americans around this rate before. But just something to note as we're trying to figure out just where everything shakes out with the jobs market right now. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Vanessa, thank you so much.

Well, happening today, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order declaring the Department of War as a secondary name for the Department of Defense. It's something both President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have hinted at in recent days.

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PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Thank you for traveling with the War Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: It was originally called the Department of War when it was first established by President George Washington, but the name changed in 1949 as part of a broader restructuring of the military under President Harry Truman.

Let's go live now to see the national security correspondent Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon. Natasha, President Trump can't legally change the name of the Department of Defense, is that right?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Pam, it's really unclear if he can actually do this unilaterally because, of course, the name was changed, as you said, back in 1949, as an act of Congress. And so right now, part of this executive order is directing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to propose legislative and executive changes that could potentially make this change permanent and legal in a more enduring way.

But for now, the Department of War, secretary of war, deputy secretary of war, nomenclature, that's going to be secondary. It's essentially authorizing the department to use those titles on official correspondences, on internal and external communications, and potentially even change signage around the department.

But it is not, at this point legally changed because again, that seems like it would require lawmakers to actually pass a new law changing the department back to the Department of War and Secretary of Defense Hegseth's title back to Secretary of War. Now, President Trump, he has said previously that he believes that Congress is, quote, going to go along with it and that he does not believe that's going to be an obstacle. But of course, we'll have to wait and see just how lawmakers actually feel about this change, something that the administration has been wanting to do for several months now. Pam?

BROWN: All right, Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much.

Well, we have some exclusive new reporting on the deadly 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. CNN has obtained maintenance records that show entry doors at the school were not properly closing and had problems for at least two years. This includes the door and armed teenager with an assault rifle entered through before he killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers.

CNN correspondent Leigh Waldman joins us now. This is so disturbing. Walk us through these new documents CNN has obtained. Leigh?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pam, it absolutely is disturbing. So were able to obtain maintenance records that show there was the west door at Robb Elementary. It was reported in April 2022. The next day after that work order was submitted, it was marked as complete. But we now know a month later a gunman walked through that very door with no issues and carried out his attack that killed 19 kids and two teachers.

[11:10:09]

Surveillance video shows that law enforcement also entered through that door there. You see them on your screen. No issues getting through that door. But unfortunately, it's not an isolated problem. Our team has dug through these documents and found that there were issues reported all the way back to the 2020-2021 school year with multiple doors, both exterior and interior doors.

Now, these records that should have been released by the school district and by its law firm, Walsh Gallegos, have not been released. That's despite a judge, an appellate court and the school district's school board ordering those documents to be released. It's things that we've gotten from our own sources.

On top of those maintenance records last month, we told you about correspondence with the former UCISD police chief, Pete Arredondo, and talks about a settlement after he was placed on leave. Because of this botched response, we can now unveil that in those 48 pages of correspondence that there was talks of a million dollar settlement offer.

Now, we know that was not paid out, but there's no indication as to why these conversations started to begin with. And Arredondo will remind you, he is facing criminal charges for the response on that day, Pam.

BROWN: All right, Leigh Waldman, thank you so much. Well, new this morning, the Justice Department is looking into ways to limit transgender Americans' right to own guns, tell officials -- two officials tell CNN. It marks another effort by Trump administration officials to restrict the rights of transgender people. The preliminary talks come in the wake of the deadly Minneapolis Catholic School shooting. Police say a 23-year-old transgender woman carried out the attack.

CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, joins us now in The Situation Room. Evan, this is really interesting, too, because President Trump was asked about this, about transgender people and shootings. And he said, well, most shootings aren't by people who are transgender, in the interview. Now the Trump administration wants to put this kind of policy in place.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. This is something that kind of took off on -- on social media, especially on the right- wing social media, right after the Minneapolis shooting. And we should point out, and as the President, I think, has noted, that the vast majority of shootings, mass shootings in this country over the last decade or so, have been carried out by people who have nothing to do with transgender identities.

And so, but we've seen a couple of them in the last few years. And so that's the reaction, the immediate reaction you saw, certainly on the right. And so now you have people at the Justice Department, senior officials, who are weighing this. And what they think they can do is that they can do it through administrative rulemaking, essentially a rule that is done by the Bureau of Alcohol -- Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which basically would declare that if you have, or if you've been diagnosed, or if you claim gender dysphoria, that that is a mental illness, that disqualifies you from being able to bear arms.

These are your Second Amendment rights. And traditionally in the government, it's been very difficult to do this, right? You certainly have a lot of opposition from -- from the NRA and other organizations which believe that, for example, red flag laws, right, to take away someone's firearms, typically what you need is a -- is a judge to declare that someone is mentally defective. That's the term that's used in -- in -- in the law.

So we'll see how they promulgate this. This is something that is still in the works. I'll read you just a quick statement from the Justice Department in reaction to our reporting. It said, the DOJ is actively evaluating options to prevent the pattern of violence we've seen from individuals with specific mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders. No specific criminal justice proposal -- proposals have been advanced at this time.

And as you point out, this administration has been going after the rights of transgender people, including banning them in the military. And so this is sort of along those lines.

BROWN: All right. Evan Perez, thank you so much.

Still ahead, right here in The Situation Room, President Trump is praising HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s, quote, different approach to public health after clashing with senators in a combative hearing. But will his tactics actually help keep Americans healthy?

Also coming up, the rising cost of groceries crippling American families. We're going to hear from two YouTubers with a cost-saving solution.

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[11:14:27]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes things is four times what they was a year ago. Roast I used to get for $12, $15, $35. It's awful.

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BROWN: Well, new this morning, some Republican senators are growing weary of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s leadership of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy repeatedly clashed with Democrats and some Republicans over his vaccine policy on Capitol Hill yesterday. He also defended his decision to oust the former CDC director after just weeks on the job. President Trump, for his part, is still confident in Kennedy.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's got a different take, and we want to listen to all of those takes. But I -- I heard he did very well today. But it's not your standard -- it's not your standard talk, I would say, that -- and that has to do with medical and vaccines. But if you look at what's going on in the world with health, and look at this country also with regard to health, I like the fact that he's different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining us now to discuss his former CDC director during the Obama administration, Dr. Tom Frieden. He is also the author of the new book, "The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives--Including Your Own." Doctor, thank you for coming on. So who should Americans listen to right now when it comes to their health?

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DR. TOM FRIEDEN, PRESIDENT & CEO, RESOLVE TO SAVE LIVES: It's really important to be clear. This isn't about Democrat versus Republican. It's actually about fact versus fiction. Life-saving facts versus really dangerous fictions. What we're seeing repeatedly from Secretary Kennedy is a pattern, deny, destroy, and destroy. Deny simple, basic facts. Distract from really damaging things he's doing.

Today, it is harder for many Americans to get a COVID shot if they want one. And destroy, destroy our basic health protections. Destroy the agency that's worked for 60, 80 years to keep Americans safe. Destroy the committee that for 60 years has given us fact-based advice that doctors can follow to offer vaccinations to patients. This is really dangerous.

BROWN: So I want to play some of what Secretary Kennedy said about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines during yesterday's hearing.

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ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: And the whole process was politicized. Senator, I mean, we were lied to about everything. We were lied to about -- about natural immunity. We were lied to about, you know, we were told again and again the vaccines would prevent transmission. They'd prevent infection. It wasn't true. They knew it from the start. It wasn't true because that's what the animal studies and the clinical trial showed.

We were told that there was science behind cloth masks. The -- the CDC allowed the teachers union to write the order closing our schools, which hurt working people all over the country, and then pretend it was science-based.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: How do you respond to the secretary?

FRIEDEN: Wow. Every single one of those statements is factually inaccurate. They're false. I mean, he said so much yesterday that just isn't true. Basic things like how many people did COVID kill? Well, you know, it's very basic how many people die in the U.S. each year. And for the main three years of the COVID pandemic, there were close to a half a million more deaths than there are usually. The vast majority of those were due to COVID itself. Some were due to the disruption from COVID.

This is a pattern of denying simple truths. But the simple truth is that vaccines save lives, and what Secretary Kennedy is doing is making them less accessible to Americans. If the committee that he oversees, that he's packed now with people with very bizarre, unscientific views about vaccines, if they don't recommend some childhood vaccines, then half of American children, those who depend on what's called the Vaccines for Children program, will have less access to these life-saving and money-saving vaccines.

BROWN: So then with all the confusion over vaccines now, given what we're hearing from the HHS secretary, what is your recommendation to Americans, especially parents?

FRIEDEN: For parents, follow groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics. They don't have the kind of conflicts of interest that Secretary Kennedy has, trying to set up lawsuits against the pharmaceutical industry. But most importantly, listen carefully to what the actual facts are from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, other groups like this.

It's really a sad day that we can no longer depend on or trust what Secretary Kennedy is directing CDC to put on its website. This is really undermining our ability to move forward in this country and save lives.

BROWN: Let me just follow up quickly, because when he was asked about the American Academy of Pediatrics and why they disagree with him, he -- he tried to make the case that -- that they're conflicted and that they have ties to big pharma and that kind of thing. Can you just set the record straight on that based on the facts and the evidence?

FRIEDEN: This is nonsense. He's taken on the New England Journal of Medicine and other leading journals. He's really -- if you look at his accusations, they're very accurate for what he and his colleagues are doing. They've put onto the ACIP people who have a conflict of interest. They've undermined basic science. They've denied basic facts, like how many people died in the U.S. over the last few years.

And there's extensive data showing that the COVID vaccination reduces serious illness in all age groups. So there's a separate issue of whether it should be everyone should get it or may get it. But what he's saying is you may not get it.

BROWN: Dr. Tom Frieden, thank you so much.

FRIEDEN: Thank you.

[11:24:50]

BROWN: Up next, as more American families struggle to put food on the table, CNN speaks to two sisters making $1 meals to help you survive soaring grocery prices.

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BROWN: As prices at the grocery store continue to rise, shoppers are being forced to change their behavior as they grow concerned about the economy. CNN's Elle Reeve shows us how two YouTube sisters are teaching their viewers how they can eat cheap on a tight budget.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today's video is more broke meals, meals to make when you're broke.

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These YouTuber sisters are a different kind of momfluencer.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going into the dollar general market first.

REEVE (voice-over): Making super low budget food videos for people who are broke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have a clear --