Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

National Guard Deployment Court Hearing; Interview With Congresswoman-Elect Adelita Grijalva; Israel's Security Cabinet Meets to Consider Gaza Deal. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired October 09, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:02:21]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: Israel's Security Cabinet is meeting with government approval being the next major hurdle for the Gaza cease-fire and hostage deal.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And, if it passes, we could see hostages who've been held for two years return home in a matter of the next few days.

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.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And, at any moment, President Trump will convene his Cabinet over at the White House, and he may speak on a major breakthrough in the Israel-Hamas war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHANTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: They're singing and dancing in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, the family members of the remaining Israeli hostages.

If this first phase of a U.S.-brokered hostage and cease-fire deal is implemented, Hamas will return all the remaining Israeli hostages both living and dead.

BROWN: And, in exchange, Israel will pull back troops to a line that is already agreed upon.

After two years of war that have decimated Gaza and, according to the Palestinian health officials, killed 67,000 people in the enclave, there is a mixture of hope, caution and grief sweeping across the region this morning. And, of course, we are following all the angles. CNN's Kristen Holmes

is at the White House and international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in Egypt, where these talks have unfolded.

Kristen, let's begin with you. What are you hearing from the administration this morning?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, they're thrilled. They're flying high. This is something that they have been working on since Donald Trump was elected to the second term in office and something that President Trump himself has said he cares deeply about.

Now, while it is just phase one, they do believe it's just the beginning of what is going to be this 20-point peace plan. Talking about swapping the hostages was something that both President Trump and Steve Witkoff, the Middle Eastern envoy, who was part of these negotiations in Egypt, have said was the top priority for them, as well as getting a cease-fire.

So, right now, again, the White House is feeling very good. Now, I talked to one White House official who laid out the timeline. And I think this is what we're hearing from all parties here, that the Israeli Cabinet will vote yes on the plan. Then they will have 24 hours to withdraw those troops to the agreed-upon line.

And then that 72-hour clock will start for Hamas to return the hostages. They expect those hostages to be returned on Monday. That's the timeline that was set to me by the White House official. And I think we're hearing that really uniformly now across the board.

[11:05:00]

We did hear from President Trump a couple of times last night. He had various interviews talking about this phase one deal. Here's one of the things he said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think you're going to see people getting along, and you will see Gaza being rebuilt. We're forming a council that -- the Council of Peace, we think it's going to be called, and it's going to be very powerful.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: Of course, the Council of Peace was also part of this 20- point plan that President Trump will lead.

The other parts of this, though, are a little stickier, things like Palestinian statehood, which this 20-point plan left the door open for, things like disarming of Hamas. Those are both red lines. One is the red line for the prime minister of Israel. He says Palestinian statehood is a no-go. One is Hamas. They say they aren't going to disarm. So how they work through that is going to be what we're watching

closely for the next phase. But, right now, the White House is celebrating.

BROWN: All right, Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to bring in CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He's joining us from Cairo, Egypt, right now.

Nic, where do things stand right now? The negotiators, they're meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. How does it look going forward?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It looks as if it's on track.

That's predicated on Prime Minister Netanyahu's Security Cabinet that's meeting now agrees with the cease-fire hostage release-prisoner release plan. There are dissenters in his Cabinet, but it's expected to pass.

What we would expect then is some kind of signature process that would go on in Sharm el-Sheikh. We don't have details of that, but that's what we have been told to expect. We do know that through the day today Hamas has still been involved in negotiations about who those prisoners are will who will be released. There's names that Hamas wants that have been red lines for Israel.

That still has been a point of discussion. Another point of discussion is the discovery and location of the remains of some of the deceased hostages. That looks like, from what Hamas is saying, that that can't happen as quickly as everyone wants. But that doesn't seem to be a major stumbling point.

Hamas has also articulated from their point of view why they got into this process, they say to stop the killing, starvation and removal, the sort of displacement of people inside of Gaza. They say all other issues -- and here, presumably they mean their own political and military future -- were entirely secondary, people first, them second.

That's how they're characterizing it. And we have heard as well and I think significantly from the foreign minister in Israel, Gideon Saar, saying they will work with President Trump's plan, but there are things that Hamas still has outstanding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIDEON SAAR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: First of all, we are committed to Trump's plan. The first withdrawal or redeployment will happen immediately in order to make the first phase happen. And we will do that immediately after the decision of the government within 24 hours.

With regard to other parts that are conditional, there are parts that Hamas must do. It's not that only Israel should implement.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTSON: So we also know that the top negotiator from the White House, Steve Witkoff, along with Jared Kushner, the president's son- in-law, have met with President Sisi of Egypt, the president of Egypt, in a released statement from his office saying that he pressed to bring that cease-fire into place quickly, knowing that there was still -- there was still fire going on and potential for casualties still going on even today in Gaza.

BLITZER: All right, Nic Robertson in Cairo for us with the latest .

Nic, thanks very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, still ahead: House Speaker Mike Johnson is accused of blocking the newest elected congressional Democrat from taking her seat. He denies that.

But, up next, we're going to talk with Adelita Grijalva about this delay and whether it's connected to a vote on the Epstein files.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:13:39]

BROWN: Happening now: Tempers are flaring on Capitol Hill over the delay getting Arizona's congresswoman-elect, Adelita Grijalva, officially sworn in and able to serve her constituents.

Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego of the Grand Canyon State even confronted Speaker Mike Johnson over the issue. Grijalva would provide the last vote needed to compel a House vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. And Democrats accuse the speaker of holding up her swearing-in because of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I am anxious to administer the oath to her as soon as you guys vote to open the government.

(CROSSTALK)

SEN. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): You don't want her to be on the Epstein discharge. How much...

JOHNSON: It's totally absurd.

GALLEGO: Because you're...

JOHNSON: You guys are experts at red herrings and distraction.

(CROSSTALK)

GALLEGO: ... moving along.

JOHNSON: No, it has nothing to do with Epstein. The House Oversight Committee is working on the Epstein files right now, releasing 34,000 pages and more on the way.

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: Let me finish. Let me finish.

The House Oversight Committee...

GALLEGO: You keep coming up with excuses. This is an excuse so she doesn't sign on to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining us now to discuss is the congresswoman-elect, Adelita Grijalva.

Thank you so much for coming on.

So, we heard a little bit of Speaker Johnson. I want to play more of what he said recently about your seat. Let's watch and talk on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: They're becoming experts at distraction and red herrings. This has absolutely nothing to do about Epstein. This is a scheduling matter.

As soon as the Democrats open -- vote to reopen the government, we will get back to the regular order and session of Congress.

QUESTION: And that makes perfect sense until we look back and see that there have been Republicans sworn in during pro forma sessions. So, why should it be different for a Democrat?

[11:15:00]

JOHNSON: It's a great question. It's there was a unique exception made when the two Florida representatives were sworn in earlier this year after winning a special election. And the only reason we did that is because it was previously noticed for that date, and they flew all their families and friends in for the ceremony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So I wonder what your response is to the speaker, specifically when he says this isn't about the Epstein issue?

ADELITA GRIJALVA (D), ARIZONA REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: Well, if I fly my family in, will I be able to get sworn in? I mean, I think that would be great.

(LAUGHTER)

GRIJALVA: My family was ready to go too.

Really, the only thing that I can point to we have had with this speaker three other representatives sworn in on a special in under 24 hours after the date of their election. And I am now on day 14.

BROWN: Have you spoken to the speaker directly?

GRIJALVA: So, the only thing that I can -- we have sent a letter. I have called. I really just want to get a date. And Arizonans deserve to have representation in Washington.

We -- I want to be at the table when conversations are being had, co- sponsor legislation. I mean, we -- I need to get to work. And Speaker Johnson has to do his job before I can do mine.

BROWN: You say "We sent a letter." Have you been able to hire any staff?

GRIJALVA: No. This is my campaign staff that is still helping me through this transition. I don't have staff. I have literally the nameplate on the Longworth Building that -- the office that I'm going to be in is there.

But the keys are -- the doors are locked. I have no keys, have no staff. I can't hire until I get sworn in, where I'm authorized to budget.

BROWN: So we heard a little bit of this, but the Democratic senators from your state, Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, confronted Speaker Johnson about that delay.

I'm wondering if you can share what your communications have been with both of them.

GRIJALVA: They have just been sending overwhelming texts of support. And I actually didn't know that they were going to go ahead and do a press conference right outside the speaker's office. I don't know that that was planned all too well in advance.

But I do appreciate it, because they know -- literally, Senator Kelly, I would be his representative. He lives in CD-7. So it is -- he understands that there are 700,000 other people in Southern Arizona that do not have representation right now.

BROWN: Senator Gallego actually said to Speaker Johnson during that confrontation -- quote -- "Stop covering up for pedophiles."

Is that really a fair accusation?

GRIJALVA: Well, we don't know what's in the Epstein files, but, based on the victims and the ages of the victims at the time that they were victimized, I don't think it's too far of a stretch there.

BROWN: But...

GRIJALVA: And I think it's important for us to understand that the victims deserve justice. They deserve to be able to have consequences and see legal consequences for perpetrators of crimes against them.

This is all about transparency that this administration promised on day one, and then now have been dragging their feet about the Epstein files. Leader Johnson has -- or Speaker Johnson has actually ended votes early in order to avoid this subject.

And so I do think that the timing is very suspicious, and the fact that I'm going to be the 218th signer needed to release that petition is also very telling.

BROWN: But isn't it just a matter of time anyway for you to vote and sign on to it once you're sworn in and have it all released?

GRIJALVA: Well, let's look at how many times the Senate has voted on the C.R. As of yesterday, it was six times, and the numbers have not changed.

Until people are willing to come to the table and negotiate, I don't believe that we're -- we're going to be at an impasse. And, in Arizona, 58,000 federal workers are going to go without pay or risk being laid off. And so the consequences are very real for so many people. So we need to stop playing games.

And I hope that Speaker Johnson will call Congress back, call the House back, so we can actually be there to negotiate with the Senate and try to come up with something that is workable so we can move forward. But Democrats are not going to back off on trying to protect health care for the American people.

BROWN: All right, Congresswoman-Elect Adelita Grijalva, thank you so much.

GRIJALVA: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: And congratulations to the congresswoman on her election.

[11:20:00]

Also new this morning, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, went on C-SPAN and took questions from callers. One voter emotionally told him how the government shutdown is directly impacting her family. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So my question or comments are related to what you said yesterday about not being open to pass any legislation to ensure that military gets paid.

I'm sure you can tell by my voice I'm very shaky. I just want you to hear a little bit about my family. I have two medically fragile children. I have a husband who actively serves this country. He suffers from PTSD from his two tours in Afghanistan.

If we see a lapse in pay come the 15th, my children do not get the medication that's needed for them to live their life, because we live paycheck to paycheck. I heard you earlier say that you side with President Trump on anything that he says.

Well, I just read an article this morning that said he absolutely wholeheartedly believes that there needs to be legislation put in so that we do not miss a paycheck. You have the power to do that.

And, as a Republican, I'm very disappointed in my party and I'm very disappointed in you, because you do have the power to call the House back. You did that -- or you refuse to do that just for a show. I'm begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die. We don't have the credit because of the medical bills that I have to pay regularly.

You could stop this and you could be the one that could say military is getting paid. And I think that it is awful, and the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane.

QUESTION: All right, Samantha.

JOHNSON: Samantha, I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. The reason I have been so angry this week and they have been calling me out on media, Johnson's angry, I am angry because of situations just like yours.

I have a big military district. And my district is the home of the Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Polk, the Joint Readiness Training Center. I have one of the biggest military districts and military families in America. I have a lot of airmen and soldiers who are deployed right now, and they have young families at home and they have children in health situations like yours.

This is what keeps me up at night. I want you to hear something very clearly. The Republicans are the ones delivering for you. We had a vote to pay the troops. It was the continuing resolution three weeks ago. Every single Republican but two voted to keep the government open so that your paycheck can flow. Every Democrat in the House, except for one, voted to close it.

The Democrats are the ones that are preventing you from getting a check. If we did another vote on the floor to pay troops, it's not a lawmaking exercise, because Chuck Schumer is going to hold that up in the Senate. He is demonstrating by voting now six times to keep the government closed that he does not want the troops to be paid.

And you should listen to his comments last night as reported this morning. He is enjoying this. He said: "Every day gets better for us" -- quote, unquote. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are preventing your family from getting the care they need, not Republicans. And my heart goes out to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The shutdown is now in its ninth day with no end in sight. And, clearly, a lot of people are suffering right now.

BROWN: Yes. We just heard it there from that mother.

BLITZER: Up next: President Trump's bid to send the U.S. National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, facing another crucial legal test today as three judges decide whether to put the deployment on pause.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:27:50]

BROWN: Today a major legal test for President Trump's efforts to deploy the National Guard in Portland, Oregon.

City and state attorneys are urging a federal appeals court to leave in place in order to blocking Trump's troop deployments.

BLITZER: But the White House says a judge -- and I'm quoting now -- "impermissibly second-guessed the president's military judgments," arguing tense protests at ICE facilities are the main reason for mobilizing troops.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, who's joining us from Portland.

This hearing is set to happen in the next hour or so, Shimon. What more are you learning?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, SENIOR CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so look, it's very clear that one of the biggest arguments that the administration is making that somehow Portland is under siege, somehow that there's chaos here and that the local authorities here, the police department and the State Police and other authorities here can't handle it, and so that's why the National Guard has to be brought in, that's not the case.

We're standing outside the very ICE facility. Wolf, I wanted to show you, there's absolutely nothing going on here today. We were out here last night. It was fairly quiet, though the police said that they did make a couple of arrests, but this was not really centered around the ICE facility.

There were people, counterprotesters and protests or small groups of protests just kind of fighting and arguing with each other. But this is the neighborhood. This is the neighborhood. It's really just one block of this area. You can see someone there now picking up garbage. These are people who live here.

They're trying to get some normalcy back to this neighborhood. And, today, it's sort of starting to feel normal again. Of course, in the evenings is when there's been flare-ups. What happens is, Wolf, is that behind me here, this is the ICE facility. And in order to secure the facility, the administration has brought in federal officers, Border Patrol, ICE officers, other agents, Department of Homeland Security.

And in the evenings, as vehicles are leaving and entering the gate there behind me, they come out. They're in tactical gear, almost military-like, and that tends to draw a crowd when the protesters are here. And that's when the flare-ups occur. And we have seen, I have witnessed federal officers firing pepper balls at protesters from the roof. That did not happen yesterday.