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Trump Admin Expected to Link Tylenol Use During Pregnancy to Autism; World Leaders in New York for United Nations General Assembly; Trump Stands By A.G. Bondi After Demanding She Investigate His Foes. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 22, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, autism announcement. The White House expected to link the disorder with a common pain reliever. We have new reporting about what this means straight ahead.

And one-on-one, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is in The Situation Room. The government shut down showdown front and center and will get his reaction to President Trump putting pressure on Attorney General Pam Bondo to prosecute his political foes.

And trainer mauled, a tiger trainer linked to the infamous Tiger King is killed by one of his big cats in his care. What we're learning this morning.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning, French President Emmanuel Macron expected to join other countries recognizing a Palestinian state. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, responding, the late reporting from Jerusalem straight ahead.

Plus, restricting reporting a brewing legal battle, it's huge, growing between the press and the Pentagon, news outlets preparing to fight Pete Hegseth's new demands on journalists.

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

Happening today President Trump is expected to make what he's billing as a major announcement on a potential cause of autism. The president teasing new findings during yesterday's memorial service for Charlie Kirk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think you're going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism. How about that? Autism, tomorrow, we're going to be talking in the Oval Office in the White House about autism, how it happens so we won't let it happen anymore, and how to get at least somewhat better when you have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: The announcement is expected to link the development of autism in children with the use of Tylenol during pregnancy.

Let's go live to CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell right now. Meg, what are you learning, first of all, about this announcement that's coming later today?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, well, to set the backdrop for this, of course, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged back in April, that by September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we will be able to eliminate those exposures.

So, it is September, and here's what we're expecting to hear today that, as you noted, the Trump administration is likely to say that there is a link between autism and use of acetaminophen or Tylenol during pregnancy. They may warn against using Tylenol during pregnancy except possibly for cases of high fever. And, separately, they may suggest treatment with an approved drug called Leucovorin as potential therapy for children with autism.

Now, we should note that the Department of Health and Human Services has said any of this reporting is speculative until we actually hear the announcement from the administration. So, we are waiting to hear that. But we should note that more than half of pregnant women report using Tylenol during pregnancy. It's one of the only safe pain relievers and fever reducers for pregnancy. And it can be dangerous to not treat pain and fever in pregnancy.

So, there's a lot of concerns about the potential strength with which this recommendation may come out. The president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists earlier on our air called this potentially reckless. So, we're going to wait to see exactly what they say.

This, however, has been an issue that's been looked at for more than a decade, and there's been a real mix of finding in studies. One recent study from August suggested that there is an association that was essentially looking at 46 prior studies. But it's important to note that an association doesn't mean that something causes something else.

So, for example, if somebody during pregnancy takes Tylenol for a fever or for pain, and then subsequently has a baby who later is diagnosed with autism, does that mean that the Tylenol is linked to the autism that they use to treat those things, or could those things be linked with autism or could it be another factor all together?

[10:05:04]

These are questions that science is saying we don't have answers to. Wolf?

BLITZER: And, Meg, what about the treatment part of all of this? So, what do we know there?

TIRRELL: So, this is a drug called Leucovorin. It's a generic drug that's approved for a few things, including to treat the side effects of chemotherapy. This is an aversion, sort of a folic acid or a B vitamin. There have been small studies that have suggested a potential benefit in some kids with autism who have specific markers. But experts caution again here more research is needed before saying this should be a treatment for autism. And there are concerns about what will happen, essentially, if we hear a strong endorsement coming out of the White House. Guys?

BLITZER: All right. Meg Tirrell reporting for us, very important story, thank you very, very much.

And later this hour, we'll be speaking with the former White House COVID coordinator during the Biden administration, Dr. Ashish Jha. We'll talk about the upcoming autism announcement. That's coming up. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, world leaders are arriving in New York for a week of speeches, bilateral meetings, and high-profile summits at the United Nations General Assembly. President Trump is scheduled to leave the White House for New York tonight and address the assembly tomorrow. Key themes expected for this year's session include the conflict in Gaza, Russia's war in Ukraine, and the west's relations with China.

The issue of Palestinian statehood is among the most controversial topics, dominating this week, and dividing the globe's most powerful countries. Today, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations. And just yesterday, Australia, the U.K., Canada, and Portugal all came out in favor of Palestinian independence.

BLITZER: The growing recognition of the state of Palestine is largely aimed at pressuring Israel to end the war in Gaza,

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann has our report.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: France will become the latest country to recognize a state of Palestine in just a few hours when it makes that announcement at the beginning of the French-Saudi summit in support of a two-state solution, that is a state of Israel next to a state of Palestine.

This summit, of course, coming right before the United Nations General Assembly, and it builds off the announcements we saw on Sunday when the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Portugal announced that they would officially recognize a state of Palestine.

The goal here is twofold, and keeping in mind that we may see more countries make this announcement over the course of the coming days. First, it's to get to a ceasefire. After nearly two years of war in Gaza, we have seen condemnation from all of these countries many times over trying to get to a ceasefire, trying to get to an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Those calls, they fear, are not being heated by Israel or by Hamas, so they see this as a step towards making clear how important a ceasefire is.

The other perhaps more important issue from the big picture perspective is that this is intended to keep alive the hope for a Palestinian state next to a state of Israel. This as Israel's far right ministers proudly declare that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are specifically designed to kill the idea of a Palestinian state.

So, now you see countries like France, the U.K., and others putting down effectively a marker, a symbolic one, but an important one, trying to make sure they keep alive the viability of the idea of a Palestinian state, and that's what you see here.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that he would respond in some fashion, but first he needs to meet with President Donald Trump, a meeting that's happening early next week. After that, he will decide how he will respond. And why is that so critical? Because any response, whether it's an annexation of parts or all of the occupied West Bank, whether it's a closure of consulates of some of these countries, that will almost certainly require us backing, and that is what Netanyahu needs here.

This is as Israel appears to be growing more isolated on the international stage, but Netanyahu feels the only country he needs in his corner right now is the U.S. and the Trump administration. Wolf and Pam?

BLITZER: All right. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem for us, Oren, thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, President Trump is praising his attorney general just one day after ripping into her for not prosecuting his political opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Pam Bondi is doing a great job. I think Pam Bondi is going to go down as one of the best attorney generals of the ages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, here's what he said on social media Saturday that was later deleted, quote, we can't delay any longer. It's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice and indicted me five times over nothing. Justice must be served now.

The president called out the opponents by name, former FBI Director James Comey, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is in The Situation Room. So, Evan, just put this into context. How unusual it is for a sitting president to publicly put pressure on his attorney general to prosecute his political foes?

[10:10:03]

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It's unusual, but not under Donald Trump. In the first term, he did some similar things. Sometimes he said it in interviews or he put it on social media. So, it's not it's not unusual for him to say things like this.

This one though did go beyond, I think, because these are actual investigations that are ongoing. And in some ways, he probably did great damage to them. Because, now, if those cases are brought, the briefs that those defense lawyers are going to write, you know, for malicious or vindictive prosecutions write themselves.

And so the president may not realize this when he did this, but, you know, he probably did damage that will hurt those cases. We don't know whether there're actually going to be any indictments, but certainly if there are, the defense is very well laid out for those people.

BROWN: All right. Let's talk about something else happening on your beat. You've been very -- you had a very busy weekend, because along with that Pam Bondi Truth Social, there was also this controversy swirling around Tom Homan, President Trump's border czar. The New York Times reports that Homan was recorded accepting a bag with $50,000 in cash. It was from FBI agents posing as business executives in an undercover sting. What can you tell us about this?

PEREZ: Well, we know this was an investigation that was broader than Tom Homan, and according to the Times, he wasn't actually the original target. As you and I both know from covering the department, to get to the point where you do a sting operation, there is a lot of work that does that goes on behind the scenes, and that includes trying to build probable cause and to try to get approvals from some of the higher level officials at the Justice Department before you can do something like this.

And so the question at this hour is why did the investigation get shut down under this administration? The previous administration decided not to bring it before they left office. We know that according to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Kash Patel, the FBI director, they say that they shut it down because there was not enough evidence there to support it. Obviously, the White House has said that it is a political investigation. It was political attack on Tom Homan. We've reached out to Homan. The only thing we've heard is he told an affiliate that there was nothing to it.

So, there's still, at this hour, Pam, a lot more questions than answers about this investigation and why specifically was it shut down earlier in this administration in this term? Did they decide that they didn't want to see it carried out through? Did Homan know about this investigation? We believe he did. And so the question is, you know, why was it shut down when it was?

BROWN: Yes, a lot of questions still there.

Evan Perez, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Still ahead, the clock is ticking for Congress to avert a government shutdown. Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins us. That's coming up next. Will he be meeting with the president?

BROWN: And then later, witnesses describe the chaos after a gunman opens fire inside a New Hampshire country club killing a man. A suspect is in custody. What we're learning about him.

You're in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Happening now, the clock is ticking for Congress to strike a deal to avert a government shutdown. House Republicans and one Democrat passed a short-term spending bill Friday. That bill is now in the Senate where it will need much more bipartisan support, the 60 votes for final passage.

Top Congressional Democrats, Leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are now asking President Trump for a meeting. Here's how the president responded this weekend.

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TRUMP: They don't change. They haven't learned from the biggest meeting they've ever taken just for that. I'd love to meet with him, but I don't think it's going to have any impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now is the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Leader Jeffries. Thanks so much for joining us.

So, you just heard the president there. Can a meeting with him actually achieve anything?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, it's important that the meeting take place so that we can avoid a painful Republican-inspired government shutdown. And our demands are really simple. We want to protect the healthcare of the American people. Cancel the cuts, lower the costs, save healthcare.

We are in the midst of the most intense assault on the healthcare of the American people ever, largest cut to Medicaid in American history, a potential $536 billion cut to Medicare as a result of the one big, ugly bill. Hospitals and nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing all across the country, including in rural America. Tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatic increases in premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, in part based on their refusal to extend the premium tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. And Republicans have effectively ended medical research in this country.

And so we need to make some progress on addressing the Republican healthcare crisis, and we cannot support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of everyday Americans.

BLITZER: As you know, the House Republicans are noting that they pass what's called a clean bill to extend government funding until November 21st. Only one Democrat backed that. So, why wouldn't Americans blame Democrats if the government winds up shutting down?

JEFFRIES: Well, first of all, let's be clear, it's not a clean bill. It's a dirty bill. The Republican partisan spending bill continues the assault on the healthcare of the American people.

[10:20:02]

That's why Democrats did not support it in March because it was an attack on healthcare, an attack on housing, an attack on veterans, and an attack on the quality of life of the American people. And so it can't be a clean bill if it extends dirty provisions that existed in March.

Second point is Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. And so it's their responsibility to make sure that the federal government is funded. It's our responsibility as Democrats to make sure that if the federal government is going to be funded, it's actually done in a way that improves the quality of life of the American people, the health of the American people, the safety of the American people, and, of course, the economic wellbeing of the American people, and that we are actually driving down costs, not continuing the process of jacking up costs, be that healthcare or in other areas on the American people.

BROWN: Leader Jefferies, I want to jump in and ask about something else that happened over the weekend. President Trump called for Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring criminal charges against several of his political foes, like Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and former FBI Director James Comey. And then he later backtracked saying, quote, if they're not guilty, that's fine. Your reaction.

JEFFRIES: There is absolutely zero basis for Trump's Department of Justice to go after and prosecute Attorney General Tish James or James Comey, or Senator Adam Schiff, or Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, no basis at all. This is all a political witch hunt being led by a president who is bent on revenge. And that statement that President Trump made initially is Exhibit A for why this is a malicious prosecution.

And it would be my expectation that if in fact they can convince a grand jury to bring charges, which I don't believe they will be able to do, and if in fact you have a attorneys violating their oath to actually administer justice in a fair and impartial way and indict these members, I believe any charges will be quickly dismissed and that everybody involved should be held accountable.

If they want to prosecute or investigate anyone, start with Tom Homan and the fact that he appears to have taken a $50,000 bribe, but they want to sweep those charges under the table to allow this guy to continue to unleash mass ICE agents on the American people.

BROWN: Just to follow up on that, just to be clear, Tom Homan has not been charged. DOJ stopped the investigation. There are questions about that. So, what is Congress going to do to look into it? Because if DOJ doesn't do anything, the power is now with Congress to look into it. What can you do in the minority? JEFFRIES: Well, as Democrats, you know, we, as we've done in other instances, including the most recent situation with the FCC chair and the attack on the First Amendment that is ongoing, launch our own internal investigation, because Republicans haven't been functioning as a separate and coequal branch of government. They are simply a reckless and extreme rubber stamp for Donald Trump's out of control agenda.

And we are not going to wait until we take the majority back in November of next year. We're going to launch these investigations now and make sure, just as we've done in the case of the Epstein files, that we can present the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth to the American people and hold people publicly accountable for their behavior.

BROWN: And just be clear, Tom Homan denies wrongdoing and says there's nothing to it.

BLITZER: On another sensitive legal issue, Leader Jeffries, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was pushed out of his job, several reports saying that that was for failing to charge the New York attorney general, Letitia James, with mortgage fraud. What does that tell you about the independence of the U.S. Justice Department right now and is there a role for House Democrats here?

JEFFRIES: It is absolutely a role for House Democrats and I expect that that effort will continue to be led by the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin. We are demanding that all information connected to this sordid affair be preserved. So, that once the investigation is fully underway, led by us, and we'll see what the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee decide to do, that we can secure all of the documents and present them to the American people and ensure that folks are held accountable for their behavior.

You know, one thing to understand, as people who are flirting with the Trump administration or doing the bidding of the Trump administration, or engaging in the pay to play schemes of the Trump administration, the statute of limitations is five years.

[10:25:00]

Donald Trump and this toxic administration will be long gone, but there will still be accountability to be had.

And that process, of course, begins now, but it will not be complete until perhaps there is an independent Department of Justice, certainly an independent House of Representatives in Democratic hands.

The Department of Justice is one of the great institutions in law enforcement in the history of this country. And Donald Trump and these extremists have been destroying its integrity. And we should also blame the conservative justices on the Supreme Court for all of the things that we see happening, because they basically gave this president blanket presidential immunity in a country where the framers of the Constitution said, we don't want a king. But they've effectively enabled Donald Trump at times to behave just like a king and. And that needs to be revisited as well.

The Supreme Court, shame on them for what they've done to this country in unleashing this out of control behavior, that needs to be reversed.

BROWN: Let me just follow up with you on that, though, by saying that, are you undermining trust and faith in a critical institution in this democracy?

JEFFRIES: Are you referring to the Supreme Court or the Trump administration?

BROWN: To the Supreme Court. No, to the Supreme Court. You're saying, you know, they've unleashed this, the justices have done this. They made him king. Are you undermining faith in an important institution in this democracy?

JEFFRIES: No. What I'm undermining faith in is a decision that had no basis in the Constitution, no basis in law, and no basis in how the framers envisioned this democratic republic. We broke away from the notion of a king, a singular figure, and created three separate and coequal branches of government so that no one would have the ability to unleash unchecked power and that no one could be above the law. And it's reasonable, I think, to ask the question, why was that decision issued and what are the consequences that have flowed from that decision over the last eight and a half months?

And so that's what I'm questioning, not the integrity of the court, but, yes, I am questioning the integrity of that decision and what it has wrought now on the American people because of the out control behavior coming out of the White House.

BLITZER: And on another very sensitive political issue in New York right now, several high-profile Democrats have recently endorsed your Democratic Party's candidates, Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race. Are you ready, Leader Jefferies, to do the same? And if not, why?

JEFFRIES: Well, as I've indicated, I expect to have more to say about the mayor's race shortly. You're absolutely correct. The governor has endorsed, the speaker of the assembly about a week or so ago, made an endorsement, and over the weekend, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke in the neighboring Congressional district who's a great member of Congress, good friend of mine, made that decision.

Everyone makes those decisions on an individual basis in terms of their timing. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to make that decision on an individual basis, consulting with other members of the Congressional delegation and beyond here in New York, and then make the decision on timing. And it's a decision that's coming sooner rather than later.

BROWN: When can we expect it?

JEFFRIES: Well, sooner rather than later.

BROWN: Okay. JEFFRIES: You know, we -- you know, there is a lot going on in Washington, D.C., as we noted at the top. We are actually in the midst of a possible government shutdown, and we're trying to protect the healthcare of the American people.

BROWN: Okay. So, let me just look at the broader -- let me take a broader look, I should say, at your party right now. There was this recent Reuters/Ipsos poll that found that 62 percent of the Democrats want to see the leadership of your party replaced. Do these sorts of polls make you rethink your approach at all? How do you view this?

JEFFRIES: Well, I think I understand why people all across the country, not just Democrats, are disturbed by what has been happening in this country and the extremism that has been unleashed on the American people.

And we are, in what I have referred too often, as a more is more environment. We just have to continue to do more, to aggressively push back against the Trump administration and push back in a manner consistent with American values, more town hall meetings, more protests, more demonstrations, more speeches on the House floor, more speeches on the Senate floor, more hearings that are led by Democrats on the Hill, off the Hill, of course, more site visits throughout the country, standing up in defense of the American people, standing up in defense of law-abiding immigrant communities, standing up in defense of those who are vulnerable, pushing back against the rise of extremism in this country, and the targeting of communities of color. We're in a more is more environment and we have to continue to do more.

[10:30:01]

What I will say is that in special election after special election after special election, we keep winning all over the country.