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State of the Union

Search Continues For Nancy Guthrie; Lindsey Vonn Crashes in Downhill Skiing Final; Interview With Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz; Interview With Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); Interview With Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD). Aired 9- 10a ET

Aired February 08, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST (voice-over): Standoff. Democrats dig in on their demands to curb the president's immigration crackdown.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): ICE needs to be reined in. They're out of control.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): This is a very dangerous game that they're playing.

BASH: Is a deal out of reach? House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins me in moments.

Plus: wakeup call. Days after a controversial FBI raid, President Trump urges his party to go even further.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If a state can't run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it.

BASH: How will states respond? Democratic Governor Wes Moore is here.

And new prescription? The president touts a fresh push to lower drug prices.

TRUMP: People are going to save a lot of money and be healthy.

BASH: But with millions of Americans grappling with skyrocketing health care costs, does his plan treat the root causes or only some symptoms? I'll ask top Trump adviser Dr. Oz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Hello. I'm Dana Bash in Washington, where the state of our union is going for gold. The Winter Olympics are officially under way, as athletes from 92

countries gather to compete in the mountains of Northern Italy. But while Team USA puts on a united front overseas, tensions are rising here in Washington.

At the White House, President Trump is refusing to apologize for posting, then, after a fierce bipartisan backlash, deleting a racist video depicting former President and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama as apes in a jungle.

He's also digging in on his call for Republicans to nationalize elections and -- quote -- "take over the voting," raising concerns that a president who already tried to overturn one election is now trying to put his thumb on the scale again.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, with just five days until a critical deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security, Congress shows no sign of being close to a bipartisan deal to end the impasse.

Here with me now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Thank you so much for being here this morning.

I want to start with what you released this past week, a list of 10 proposed reforms, including, but not limited to a mandate for judicial warrants to search private property and a ban on masks, also a mandate for agents to wear body cameras.

Now, Republicans say they are open to some of these, but others, especially the specifics on judicial warrants, are nonstarters. Only five days now until the Department of Homeland Security will shut down. Are you willing to accept anything less than this full list of demands?

JEFFRIES: Not at this point. We start with a basic premise that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not brutalize or kill American citizens like Renee Nicole Good or Alex Pretti.

We know that ICE is completely and totally out of control. They have gone way too far, and the American people want them reined in, because immigration enforcement should be fair, it should be just, and it should be humane.

So, dramatic changes are necessary to the manner in which the Department of Homeland Security officers are conducting themselves before any funding bill should move forward.

BASH: So, you say very clearly that this -- and it's clear in your proposals -- this is about reining in ICE and the CBP.

But those agencies, as you well know, are very well funded already through the Big Beautiful Bill Act. That's what the president called it. And it passed last year. So what that means is that a shutdown would really only impact unrelated agencies, FEMA, TSA, FAA.

So how is pushing for these changes and potentially not getting there help rein in an immigration crackdown?

JEFFRIES: Well, our plan is to get there on behalf of the American people. That's why we need to press forward aggressively and ensure that there are legislative changes enacted as part of any DHS spending bill, because that's the way that you change behavior.

And these are commonsense changes, things like mandatory body cameras. Judicial warrants should absolutely be required before ICE agents can storm private property and rip everyday Americans out of their homes in such a violent fashion.

[09:05:11]

Of course, we need to make sure that there are no masks, so that ICE is conducting itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country. That shouldn't be controversial. It shouldn't be controversial that we are demanding that the Fourth Amendment constitutional protections are adhered to as it relates to the way in which ICE is conducting itself.

We also need to make sure that state and local officials have the ability to conduct independent investigations, so that, when ICE or CBP or other officers violate the law, they can be investigated and prosecuted and held accountable for those violations of state and local law, not being able to govern themselves with impunity, which is the case right now.

BASH: Just real quick, are there any negotiations going on about these reforms that you want?

JEFFRIES: Unfortunately, we haven't heard back from the White House or Mike Johnson or speaker -- or Leader Thune in terms of the demands that we have put on the table, commonsense demands on behalf of the American people.

And so, in our view, the ball is in the court right now of the Republicans. Either they're going to agree to dramatically reform the way in which ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies are conducting themselves so that they're behaving like every other law enforcement agency in the country, or they're making the explicit decision to shut down the Coast Guard, shut down FEMA, and shut down TSA, and that would be very unfortunate.

BASH: I want to turn to a big debate about elections. The president said this week that -- or this past week that he wanted to nationalize elections at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

They say that what they mean legislatively is pushing what they call the SAVE Act, which would mandate Americans show proof of citizenship like a birth certificate and also potentially more information about the registration to vote.

Now, I understand you don't support things like a passport, for example, but requiring basic I.D. in order to vote is really popular. A Pew poll from a few months ago showed 83 percent of Americans, including 71 percent of your fellow Democrats, support requiring an I.D. to vote.

Why are they wrong?

JEFFRIES: I haven't said that they're wrong. We know that states are the ones who are empowered to conduct elections, and every state should be allowed to decide the best way to proceed to ensure that there's a free and fair election.

Here in New York, there are in fact voter identification requirements. The question is that what Republicans are trying to do is to engage in clear and blatant voter suppression. They know that, if there's a free and fair election in November, they're going to lose.

In fact, Republicans have been losing every single election since Donald Trump was sworn in, in January of last year, including most recently decisively in Texas, and, of course, losing all across the country up and down the ballot in the November off-year elections in places like New Jersey or Virginia or New York.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Yes, and they have been losing, I mean, Virginia is a good example. They have a requirement to show your I.D., and Democrats won very, very handily across the way.

So why not maybe even just take that off the table and say, OK, maybe not a passport or birth certificate, but show I.D.?

JEFFRIES: Well, first of all, every state is empowered to be able to make the decision on their own, and we completely and totally support that. What Donald Trump wants to do is try to nationalize the election, translation, steal it.

And we're not going to let it happen. We stopped them in terms of their gerrymandering efforts, where they were going to try to redraw congressional maps in red states throughout the nation, not expect Democrats to respond forcefully, and try to rig them in terms. They failed.

We have stopped Donald Trump from being able to federalize the National Guard, which we believe was probably part of some toxic attempt to unleash troops on American cities all across the nation and intimidate people from voting, and we're going to stop him from nationalizing the election.

This is going to be a free and fair election. It's going to be conducted like every other election, where states and localities have the ability to administer the laws.

BASH: I do want to ask about a video that President Trump shared, a racist video, and it depicted former President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama as apes.

[09:10:01]

About 12 hours later, the White House blamed a staffer for the post, removed it, but the president says he doesn't need to apologize because he doesn't need to apologize because he didn't make a mistake.

JEFFRIES: He definitively needs to apologize. It was a disgusting video. And the president was rightly and appropriately and forcefully denounced by people all across the country, Democrats, and even a handful of Republicans, who finally showed some backbone in pushing back against the president's malignant, bottom-feeder-like behavior.

BASH: I do want to quickly ask about something else that the president wanted to do.

He asked your counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, for the chance to rename him both Dulles Airport and also Penn Station after him. And if they -- if Schumer agreed to that, then he would lift a freeze on -- $16 billion freeze for New York and New Jersey and the Gateway Tunnel there.

What's your reaction to that?

JEFFRIES: Listen, it's another -- it's another example of Donald Trump trying to force presidential graffiti down the throat of the American people. It's completely and totally unacceptable.

Of course, I'm a hard no, as I believe is the case with Leader Schumer, House and Senate Democrats. The president is unlawfully withholding funds for Gateway. This guy's priorities are completely and totally unhinged.

But this is the Republican Party right now. These are people who engaged in the largest cut to Medicaid in American history as part of their one big, ugly bill. They ripped food out of the mouths of hungry children, seniors, and veterans. They have failed to do anything to make life more affordable for the American people.

And then that same one big, ugly bill enacted massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors and gave ICE a $75 billion slush fund so they could kill and brutalize American citizens like Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

These people are completely and totally out of control. The American people know it, which is why we're going to continue to press the case to lower the high cost of living, to fix our broken health care system, to clean up corruption, and to actually get things done as Democrats for the American people.

BASH: OK, thank you so much for being here this morning, Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic leader in the House of Representatives.

JEFFRIES: Thank you.

BASH: Americans are deeply worried about their health care costs. So what is President Trump doing about it? As you see here, one of his top advisers will have that discussion with me next.

Plus: President Trump says he wants to nationalize the voting. A top Democratic governor is going to respond.

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BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

On Thursday, the White House rolled out a new Web site aimed at lowering prescription drug costs. It comes as a recent poll shows two- thirds of Americans are worried about being able to afford health care. That's more than groceries, utilities, housing and gas.

Here with me now is one of the president's top medical advisers, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Thank you so much for being here.

I do want to start with TrumpRx. Right -- it is intended to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Right now, the site only lists 43 drugs. A lot of them are also available at the same discounted prices through pharmacies or on sites like GoodRx.

So what does TrumpRx do differently?

DR. MEHMET OZ, ADMINISTRATOR, CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES: Let's take a step back.

When the president entered a year ago, he lamented the fact that we were paying three times more, all of us, three times more for the exact same medications made in the same facilities, often in this country, than the Europeans are paying. And it's wrong.

And so he insisted that we develop what's called most favored nation drug pricing, which means no one else gets a better deal than America gets. We already paid for a lot of the research, but at least let's get the benefit when our people have to buy these medications.

Remember, one in three viewers right now, when they go to the drugstore, they don't pick up their medications because of sticker shock. They can't afford it. So we negotiated with all the major drug companies, most favored nation drug pricing. It was not easy, Dana. You look them in the eyes and you say, this is wrong. You have got to do something about it.

And God bless them. All the pharmaceutical companies came to the table and were willing to make these arrangements. But how do you get those deals to the American people? You have got to start somewhere. And so the TrumpRx.gov site is an effort to allow anybody in the country, if they desire -- and we're starting with cash pay costs, because they are our most vulnerable folks.

There are probably 27 million people in that category. But, ultimately, it drives transparency into the entire system. Now, we started with 43 medications, and some of them do have generic equivalents. And all of that's going to be part of this broader push to make sure that you know, before you buy a medication, go check the site, make sure you're getting the best price possible. You don't have to use the site. It's free, by the way. I think many

people will use the site. We have already had millions of people, unique individuals, come to the site, tens of thousands of prescriptions already downloaded. You can take it to a local pharmacy, to a mail order pharmacy, sometimes get it directly from the manufacturer.

BASH: Yes.

OZ: We're agnostic to that.

But I'm going to make one big important point here. You have got to start with a core group. The person who designed the site, Joe Gebbia, founded Airbnb. That's the kind of massive talent you bring in. He didn't start with every apartment in the country. He started -- or the world. He started with a few.

BASH: So...

OZ: And Ed Coristine, who designed it, wonderful engineer, they wanted to make it work perfectly the first time and then build on top of it, which is what we're going to do.

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BASH: OK, so it's a building block. And you said, and this is important, this right now is intended to benefit people who don't have insurance to help pay for prescription drugs.

But nearly all of the drugs right now on TrumpRx are widely covered under insurance, so the fact that you have on the Web site a warning that says, if you have insurance and a co-pay, go check that out.

So the question is how is this going to help lower prescription drug costs for everybody eventually, including those who have insurance?

OZ: So, let's take a couple of specific examples.

Let's take the weight loss drug, right, the GLP-1 medications.

BASH: Well, that's in a lot of cases not covered.

OZ: Exactly. That's often not covered by your insurance, even at...

BASH: Yes.

OZ: Like, here at CNN, I don't know if you're covered, but there's about a 50/50 chance you're not for all your employees.

And so if you're covered with insurance for the GLP-1 drugs, you're going to use that insurance because it's less expensive to you. But the employer, CNN, will look to see that price, the price on the Web site, is lower than what they're actually getting from the middleman that's reselling the product.

BASH: Yes. OZ: They're going to say, I don't want the -- I want the better

price.

BASH: Yes.

OZ: And you, Dana, if you desire because you don't have the insurance for whatever reason, to buy it on your own, you can buy it for a price now. It's about $150.

By the way, there's a weight loss pill now, not just an injection. You can now get that pill for 150 bucks, instead of over $1,000.

BASH: Right. But that's an example of a drug that isn't covered in a lot of places, where you could on TrumpRx get a lower price.

My question is, the majority of people in this country are insured, but even under that insurance, prescription drugs is still -- they are still very expensive. And this doesn't address that problem.

OZ: Oh, it does address it, because, over time, as we add more and more medications to the list, all of those prices come down.

And there are some categories -- take the fertility drugs, where it's a 90 percent reduction in cost. That's a place where most Americans don't have insurance coverage. There are others like asthma medications when they're covered. But when the employer sees that the drug price that they're paying through the middleman is twice as high as what TrumpRx is offering to the cash pay customer, they're going to insist on...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: So you're saying it's incentive.

OK, let's talk more broadly about the root cause of this, the skyrocketing health care costs for a lot of Americans. And that is because the premiums that low-income Americans were getting are now expired. This is as part of Obamacare.

You told me here in November that the president is laser-focused on this. So far, we have only seen a framework of a plan. What specifically is the president doing right now through the fundamental problem with insurance costs to lower those costs?

OZ: Dana, let me just, if I can add, one thing to something you said earlier.

BASH: Yes.

OZ: We have seen in the ACA marketplace where there was a baseline 83 percent subsidy, that, when you take away the extra 5 percent, which is what the enhanced premium subsidies represent, it doesn't really affect enrollment.

In fact, we're still roughly at around 23, 24 million people. And that's despite the fact that all the fearmongers were saying, we're going to lose eight, 10, 12 million people. No one seems to have left the exchange.

BASH: But that doesn't speak to the cost. The costs are still high. So my question is, can you give me one specific example of a solution that the president has put forward that is lowering the cost of health insurance and health care costs beyond prescription drugs?

OZ: There's something called a CSR, which is a way of making sure that insurance works more efficiently.

The Affordable Care Act is a good example of this. These were in the original Working Families Tax Cut legislation, was taken out by the Democrats for reasons that are unclear to me because it seems like it's better for everybody. It will drop premiums 10 percent to 11 percent across the board.

So I'm giving you an insurance hack that works to reduce insurance premiums for the American people 10 percent to 11 percent. We want it back in. We want that to -- it was -- again, it was originally designed and supposed to be in the Working Families Tax Cut legislation. We want that back.

The other thing, Dana, is transparency is vitally critical. When I'm called into the operating room -- and I'm a surgeon, as you know -- the first thing we do if I'm helping a colleague is we open the wound and put more light in the wound. Transparency. We got to see what we're doing.

Most Americans don't really know what they're paying for. Their pharmaceutical prices are an example, but when you go to the hospital, you don't know what it's going to cost you.

BASH: Right.

OZ: You would never go to a grocery store and put things in your cart and not know what they were going to cost. And that's what we ask the American people to do.

And, of course, because of that, companies jack up the price because you're not aware. You're not an informed consumer. We have to drive transparency to the system.

BASH: Yes.

OZ: So we use our biggest ally, the American people, to judge whether the prices are worth it or not.

BASH: Speaking of transparency, I do want to, before I let you go, ask you about a record surge in measles in the United States. South Carolina, for example, is currently reporting 800 cases.

It's the worst outbreak since measles was declared eradicated more than three decades ago. Is this a consequence of the administration undermining support or advocacy for measles and other vaccines?

OZ: I don't believe so.

We have advocated for measles vaccines all along. Secretary Kennedy has been on the very front of this.

BASH: Oh, come on.

[09:25:00]

OZ: No, he's -- when the first outbreak happened in Texas, he said, get your vaccines for measles, because that's an example of an ailment that you should get vaccinated against.

What happened with the core schedule that was released in the beginning of last month was to say, listen, we look at what happened in Europe. In Europe, if you give people 80 different vaccine doses to take, people start...

BASH: Yes, but I'm specifically talking about measles here.

I mean, you talked about RFK Jr. The group Children's Health Defense that he founded and ran up until three years ago posted on X: "Despite the media's scare tactics, there's no reason to fear measles."

Should people fear measles?

OZ: Oh, for sure.

And we actually are pretty aggressive. At CMS, we fund any vaccine you want to take. There will never be a barrier to Americans get access to the measles vaccine. And it is part of the core schedule.

BASH: OK. And as a doctor, your message to people about the measles vaccine is?

OZ: Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem.

Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one you should get your vaccine.

BASH: Dr. Mehmet Oz, thank you so much for being here.

OZ: God bless.

BASH: Appreciate it.

OZ: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: And President Trump says he's not going to apologize for sharing a racist video of the Obamas.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore will be here next.

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[09:30:19]

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

Maryland Democrats' push to redraw their state's congressional map is running into a pretty big road black from within their own party.

Here with me now is Democratic Governor of Maryland Wes Moore.

Thank you so much for being here this morning, sir.

We want to talk about that and other issues. But, first, I do want to ask you about that racist video President Trump posted portraying former President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

The president has declined to apologize for the post, instead blaming a staffer for not noticing the images. They did take it down. What's your reaction to the video.

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): Well, I tell my children all the time that an apology is only meaningful if you have no intention of it happening again.

And I think that there is no one who truthfully believes that Donald Trump is no intention of making these kind of statements or, frankly, kind of actions again.

And I think it just highlights the kind of urgency that we have within this moment, that it's not just the policies that we have continued to see. We are watching a president who is just unchecked. And so what we need to do right now in this moment, it is important that people come out and vote in November and make their voices heard.

It is important that states like Maryland that have the ability to look at their maps, that we have a chance to do it. And it is why I'm urging the Maryland Senate to be able -- to let democracy not die in the Free State and allow a vote to happen on the Maryland Senate.

And the people should have the opportunity to know that governors and mayors and attorneys general that, in this moment, we have got to understand the assignment and understand what is at stake right now.

BASH: Well, let's talk about that redistricting.

You are pushing hard to redraw Maryland's congressional map to further benefit Democrats. And what that means is eliminating the only Republican-held seat that exists right now. The map as it stands is already really gerrymandered, done before you got there.

How is it good for democracy to pursue a map that makes your state even less representative?

MOORE: Well, actually, the map that the Maryland House passed would actually make six of the eight congressional districts more competitive than less.

And, frankly, one of the most gerrymandered seats inside of the state of Maryland is actually the Republican seat. It's Andy Harris' seat, who voted against national redistricting reform. But what the Maryland -- what the Maryland Delegate and Maryland House did is, they actually said, let's debate it, let's discuss it, and then let's take a vote. This idea that the Maryland Senate won't even take a vote on this is

just -- it does not make any sense to me and does not make sense to many Marylanders. And, in fact, just last week, we saw how the Maryland Senate found time to debate and vote who was going to win the Super Bowl, but could not find time to debate the future of democracy and take a vote.

BASH: And I just want to make sure that people who aren't totally familiar with the makeup of the legislature in Maryland understand that you're talking about the Democratic leaders, the Democratic leader in particular, in your home state.

So this is an internal party divide on this. And I know you mentioned that you think that some of the congressional districts will be more competitive, but ultimately you're trying to push out the only Republican who is serving there.

MOORE: We saw how the reason that the House passed an emergency legislation is because this is an emergency.

This is an emergency where, even with the legislation, it still goes back to the people. The people can still take a chance to have a vote later on. But we understand what is at stake right now. And I know that there are more Maryland senators that do believe that this thing would go.

And so that's why all we're asking for is, let it have a debate, make adjustments if you see fit, but then have a vote. But, right now, trying to pressure down or trying to suppress the vote inside of the Maryland Senate and not even allowing them to have their voices heard, that is something that I do not understand and I do not think should be tolerated in the Free State.

BASH: I just want to ask you point blank about sort of why this is happening in Maryland right now.

You know what happened in California. Your fellow Governor Gavin Newsom, also potentially thinking about running beyond his home state in 2028, he successfully redrew California's maps. In other words, is this as much about 2028 as it is about 2026 for you?

MOORE: This is about our democracy.

This is about the fact that you know who started this. It wasn't Gavin Newsom. It was Donald Trump, when Donald Trump first contacted Texas and said, I need you to find me additional congressional seats, and they went into a back room with a sharpie and started redrawing maps.

[09:35:05]

And then it went to Ohio and Missouri and North Carolina and Florida. When you add all those up, you're watching a president of the United States who is trying to make this pain permanent. And there is no state that has had more of an impact on this than the state of Maryland. We have had over 25,000 Marylanders fired by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. We have lost billions of dollars in federal aid and support, changing our balance sheet. We have not received a single dollar in federal disaster relief from DHS or from FEMA since this Trump administration has come on board.

And so this is about, when you are watching Donald Trump in front of our face trying to ruin and trying to thwart democracy, we have an obligation to step up. We have an obligation to debate. And the Maryland Senate has an obligation to vote.

BASH: Governor, later this month, the president, President Trump will host an annual meeting of governors at the White House. He's only inviting Republican governors to that, which is traditionally a bipartisan event. And he's specifically excluding you and Democratic Governor Jared Polis from a separate dinner.

You're the vice chair of the National Governors Association. Do you know why you are being called out and excluded?

MOORE: It's particularly confusing, because, just a few weeks ago, I led a group of Democratic and Republican governors to the White House. And we had a meeting with the White House where we signed a memorandum of understanding around energy and trying to increase energy supply and bring down energy costs.

And so one thing I know is this, is that you can uninvite, you can un- tweet, but you can never erase. And so I was selected by my peers, both Democratic and Republican governors, to serve as the vice chair of the National Governors Association. We focus on getting things done for our people. And we're not interested in being able to go to fancy dinners with the president if he wants to exclude certain members.

BASH: Well, he's...

MOORE: So, since the president decided that I'm not going to be invited, this will not be an NGA event.

BASH: Meaning what?

MOORE: Meaning the NGA will not support this dinner. If the president wants to have a dinner with his friends and have a black-tie dinner with his friends on that night, that is perfectly fine. It will not be an NGA event.

BASH: And you have a commitment from Republican governors on that?

MOORE: Oh, we have a commitment from the organization.

This is a bipartisan organization, where Democratic and Republican governors come together to work on addressing the needs of our people. And I'm honored that my peers selected me to be the vice chair of it. I am thankful for the leadership of Kevin Stitt, a Republican, the Republican governor for Oklahoma, who serves as the chair.

And we know that, in this time, the president cannot use this time to divide our organization. Our organization stands firm that, if you exclude one, you exclude us all, and this will not be an NGA event.

BASH: Governor, before I let you go, I just want to understand what you think the reason is that you are being singled out and Jared Polis, but, from your perspective, why are you being excluded from this dinner?

MOORE: Well, I have long learned that I'm not trying to get inside of the president's psyche. It's not a good use of my time.

It's not lost to me that I'm the only black governor in this country. And I find that to be particularly painful, considering the fact that the president is trying to exclude me from an organization that not only my peers have asked me to help to lead, but then also a place where I know I belong in.

And so I have long learned and I have talked to the people and the children of my state is that I'm never in a room because of someone's benevolence nor kindness. I'm not in a room because of a social experiment. I'm in the room because I belong there and the room was incomplete until I got there.

BASH: You're saying that he's excluding you because of the color of your skin?

MOORE: Well, I don't know. I can't speak to the president's intent. It's not lost on me, but I can't speak to the president's intent.

BASH: OK.

Governor Wes Moore, thank you so much. Appreciate you being here.

MOORE: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: Up next, the latest in the search for NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother after her apparent abduction one week ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:49]

BASH: Last night, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings put out a new video addressing their mother's possible captors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, CO-HOST, "THE TODAY SHOW": We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us, so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us. And we will pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Here with me now, CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe and CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.

John, I want to start with you.

What went through your mind when you watched that video?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it is the shortest of the three family videos, which is notable. They don't appear to be reading from a script on paper. This is direct to the camera.

And the words appear to be chosen very carefully. The message may sound cryptic to us in some way, but I believe it was constructed to be clear to whoever sent the first and second note, which authorities believe at this point are coming from the same source. So, they are sending a direct message again through the media, which is how whoever sent these notes has chosen to communicate.

[09:45:06]

BASH: Andy, what about you?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, I agree with what John said.

I would add to that that it's a very different tone message. There's no direct communication attempted with Nancy. It's really a direct message to the kidnappers. It seems to have conceded the point about paying the ransom. So they're very clearly communicating, this is valuable to us. We're going to pay.

Even if they've made that decision, it leaves the issue of, what next? How and where and under what circumstances do we get our mother back? And I feel like that's the change you're seeing here. They're trying to move the conversation forward, basically conceding the fact that they're going to pay and wanting to understand more about the details of what happens if and when they do.

BASH: And, Andy, staying with you, as somebody who used to run the FBI, can you talk about the very carefully chosen words and the approach here and how it was very likely done in conjunction with federal law enforcement?

MCCABE: There is no question in my mind that every word of that statement was carefully honed with the assistance of the FBI experts who are advising the family.

You have hostage negotiators. You have very experienced agents who have dealt with many, many kidnapping and ransom situations. The bureau will provide their best advice and consultation about how to think about the information they're getting from the notes, how to respond to them, but always acknowledging that the ultimate decision of what to do, whether or not to pay the ransom, that is exclusively the family's prerogative, and they'll support them any way they can.

BASH: And, John, it's hard to believe, but this morning marks a week since Nancy Guthrie disappeared. It doesn't seem as though there are big leads on a suspect.

It doesn't feel like investigators have gotten a lot further, but what do you think, as somebody who has also done this for a living?

MILLER: Well, my experience in these cases is -- and I think our collective experiences, if you looked at the major crimes that we've all been through, covering in the last month or two -- is, these cases are not myopic.

You cast a wide net. You cover many leads. You crowdsource with the public. And the main thread of this investigation is clearly these two demand notes from people who claim to be the kidnappers. But I can tell you, from talking to people briefed on the case, they have people that they're looking at. Nobody's a prime suspect, but that doesn't mean they're not looking at them.

They have leads, including a suspicious car at a gas station, which we've confirmed that are other parts of the thread. All of this happens at once. And a case like this can turn on a dime, in one hour, in one day, in one minute, if they're prepared to move fast, and they are.

BASH: And, lastly, quickly, Andy, the authorities there on the ground in Arizona searched Savannah's sister Annie's home late last night. We know they have previously searched Nancy Guthrie's house multiple times, including late Friday night.

What does that tell us?

MCCABE: It simply tells us -- kind of reconfirms what John just said. It tells us that they are constantly developing new leads.

You cannot possibly know when you first search a residence where the investigation will take you. But, as you travel that path, you uncover new information. You uncover new leads. There are many reasons you might want to go back and look again.

And so I think really the only conclusion to be drawn by their consistent returns to these locations is that the investigation is producing relevant information and leads, and they're going to do everything they can to get to the bottom of it.

BASH: Andrew McCabe, John Miller, thank you so much. It's -- we're very lucky to have you both to help us through this and understand what's going on in an incomprehensible situation.

Our thoughts are continuing to go out to Savannah and the entire Guthrie family. If you have any information about Nancy Guthrie's whereabouts, please contact Pima County Sheriff's Department at 520- 351-4900 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

When we come back: An Olympic comeback ends in heartbreak.

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[09:54:07]

BASH: It seemed like nothing could stop Lindsey Vonn from trying to make history, not even a ruptured ACL, but her Olympic comeback story came to a terrifying end this morning after she crashed 13 seconds into her women's downhill final run.

Here with me now is CNN sports analyst and "USA Today" columnist the one and only Christine Brennan.

Christine, thank you so much for being here.

Just your reporting and your observation being there about this really sad moment.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: You know, Dana, this is something that Lindsey Vonn knew could happen. I mean, she's a daredevil. She's a veteran. She's 41 years old. She made the decision she made to give it a shot.

And she's had nine knee surgeries. And so she understands the perils when you start to hurdle yourself down that mountain. And, obviously, the worst possible thing happened. That crash, her -- one of her poles caught a gate, and that was just -- sent her flying and she couldn't correct in the air.

[09:55:08]

And, of course, she went down. And the spectators, the silence, the concern -- people were really talking about just that sense on the mountain of the silence and the concern for her. She was airlifted off the mountain. That sounds terrifying. It's not. That's how they get injured athletes to a hospital. That's happened a lot in Lindsey Vonn's career.

And so she's being evaluated now, as we understand. She has her doctors -- her sister said this. Her doctors, her physical therapist, everyone's with her. And we will see what happens. But I have got to say -- and I know that there's a lot of conversation already out there, Dana, should she have done this? Should she not?

She's 41. She's an American icon. She's a great athlete, a great businesswoman. And this was the most Lindsey Vonn thing Lindsey Vonn has ever done to go for it. It's her decision. Obviously, while this is happening, an American, Breezy Johnson, actually won the gold medal.

So the U.S. wins the gold in this event, as we are so concerned, of course, about Lindsey Vonn.

BASH: Yes.

And we did see some frustration directed at the U.S. during the Opening Ceremony there. What happened?

BRENNAN: Yes, the U.S. team came in near the end of the ceremony, Dana, and was cheered loudly, robustly, just as they always are. It sounded exactly the same as all the Olympic Opening Ceremonies I have covered.

Then the cameras, they showed J.D. Vance on the screen, on the big screen, in the stadium, and there was booing, significant booing. And I think that's remarkable and a statement. The U.S. team is being received beautifully. Obviously, J.D. Vance was not.

BASH: Christine Brennan, always good to see you. Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for spending your morning with us. Happy Super Bowl Sunday. Go, Patriots.

Fareed Zakaria picks up our coverage next.