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What We Know with Max Foster
Trump Visits Flood Hit Areas In Central Texas; At Least 121 Dead, 160 Missing After Texas Floods; Trump Escalates Tariff Threats On Canada; U.S. State Department Firings Impact Domestic, Overseas Employees; Netanyahu Returns To Israel With No Ceasefire In Hand; Sources: FBI Deputy Director Mulls Resigning Over Epstein Files. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 11, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: President Donald Trump gets a firsthand look at the devastation in Texas.
I'm Paula Newton in for Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.
It has been one week since those catastrophic floods tore through central Texas, killing more than 120 people and devastating several communities.
At this hour, U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with first responders, responders and local officials in Kerr County, Texas. You are looking at
live pictures there.
Meantime, a massive search effort still underway to find the dozens missing in central Texas. A makeshift memorial has sprung up in hard hit Kerrville
and across the state, vigils are being held as people unite in their grief.
Gustavo Valdes is on the ground there in Kerrville, Texas.
And, Gustavo, can you kind of set the scene for us on what has been an incredibly difficult and grief stricken week for everyone? I mean, even as
the president is there touring, right, these, you know, these searches continue with thousands of volunteers now.
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And actually, we just had to move -- the police asked us to move a little farther from the riverbanks
because this team, these are Mexican rescue teams that brought the sniffing dogs. They are doing yet another search in this part. This used to be an RV
park. There were over 20 people camping, including that center part where you see the rescuers are walking in the middle of the river. A week ago, I
would have been about two meters underwater. Just to give you an idea of the distance of where the river is to where it was.
So that's why, as the water is coming down, they're bringing back the people who've been doing the search, looking under the debris, the people
clearing the area. You can see, are trying to be very careful knowing that they can disturb something underneath the soil. We had a picture earlier
from a -- for another rescue team that they found at the base of the river. As the water cleared out, they found a truck buried under the river rock.
So that is why they're coming back to search places they had already visited, because they know that now they can see stuff they missed the
first time around. The dogs are critical because sometimes that smell is the only clue they have as to whether somebody might be underneath.
The hope of finding people alive is long gone, but they know that bringing the body of their loved ones to their families is very important to them.
So that's why they don't give up. And this is something that we've seen over the past couple of days, all the way up river, as the teams are going
back, making sure square feet by square feet, that they can do a search, a proper search and try to find as many people as possible, Paula.
NEWTON: Yeah. So important for those families who are still wondering what happened to their loved ones. And Gustavo just showing us really the
ferocious nature of this flash flood. It has been incredible to see it all.
Gustavo Valdes for us on the ground, appreciate it.
Now, one person close to the White House says the purpose of this trip is to boost Mr. Trump's reputation as, quote, a fixer. But Democrats have
continued to criticize the Trump administrations response. Congressman Al Green posted this week, the money set aside by the federal government for
states in the reconciliation bill for border security reimbursement should go to help the people in the state of Texas, not the state government.
Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Al Green. He represents the ninth congressional district in Texas.
And I want to thank you for joining us now.
I do want to get to the president's visit first. You know, this is a community, I don't have to tell you, that is still reeling from the
disaster. What can the president say and do as he's on the ground now to really help the citizens of your state?
REP. AL GREEN (D-TX): Well, first, let me express my condolences. I am deeply concerned about all of the people who are suffering. Many lives have
been lost. And it is indeed appropriate for a president to come to Texas to offer his condolences as well, but to also say to the people that he's
going to do things to make sure that this never happens again.
And this president has a duty to do it because he has indicated that he believes FEMA should not have a leading role when we have these kinds of
disasters to cope with.
[15:05:05]
He has gone so far as to talk about weakening FEMA. And weakening. FEMA is not going to help us when we have these kinds of disasters. So, yes, he
should be there. Because he may have played a role in causing this not to be responded to appropriately. And if this is the case, he's got to do all
that he can to make sure it never happens again.
NEWTON: I want to go back to what you posted on x, and you wrote that the money set aside by the federal government for states in in this bill really
should go in fact, to the states -- should not go to the states themselves. I want to know what you mean by that.
And let's keep in mind that the bill that just passed in Congress ups a border security money eight, nine, ten times in certain cases.
What exactly do you want to happen now with some of that money? And how will it help states like Texas be more resilient in front of these kinds of
disasters?
GREEN: Well, thank you so much. Texas has a reputation for declining federal dollars. We offer Texas $100 billion to expand Medicaid in the
state of Texas, which has the highest number of persons unemployed, pardon me, uninsured in the -- in the country. Texas is horrible when it comes to
health care for people. We believe in sickness care more so than healthcare.
Well, its reputation is that of taking money and using it for means -- other things other than what it has been allocated for. That's why I said
send it to the people. Let the people of the state of Texas know that this money is coming to them, and it can help with these kinds of events. It can
also help us with other things that we need more money in Texas for Medicaid. Medicaid is going to be passed on to the states to have to deal
with and to a greater extent. And when that happens, they're going to need more money for that.
So let's earmark the money, make sure it's for the people by way of Medicaid, by way of helping with these natural disasters when they occur.
And for other reasons as well, even education, I might add.
NEWTON: But if we get to back to the money, that specifically would be in these kinds of disasters, maybe beginning but not ending with FEMA. You
know, you know, the Trump administration is saying, look, that money should go directly to the states themselves. They know how to better allocate the
resources and really help their citizens. You know, try and recover from a disaster like this, and also try and mitigate this kind of a disaster.
GREEN: Well, that's why Texas has billions of dollars in a rainy day fund, but did not work to mitigate this disaster. That's why Texas has billions
of dollars in the rainy day fund, and did not do more to help persons with health care
Texas spends more money on trying to prevent people from getting into the country than it does on taking care of the people who are already in the
country. We have to do something to help people in this country.
I'm a person who believes that we should know who's coming and leaving our country. Ingress and egress is important. We need to know who's going in
and out of the country, but we don't need to use that money that the state of Texas asks for to continue a process when the federal government is
sending a lot of money for that very process.
Let this money go to help people who need health care. Let it go to people who need to have safety measures put in place for hurricanes and other
types of natural disasters that may occur.
NEWTON: Congressman Al Green, we appreciate your time as we await the president there and his roundtable in Texas. Appreciate your time.
Now, Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is convening his cabinet next week after Donald Trump once again escalated his on again/off again trade war
with his neighbor. This time, the U.S. president is threatening a 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods. The tariffs are set to come into effect
on August 1st, but the president has repeatedly delayed many of his tariff plans.
Now, the announcement comes amid a flurry of letters Mr. Trump has sent to world leaders over the past week, threatening tariffs if they don't make a
deal by the deadline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've been taken advantage of for many, many years by countries both -- both friend and foe. And frankly,
the friends have been worse than the foes in many cases. So I would say just keep working. It's all going to work out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Okay. It's all going to work out. We want to bring in CNN's Matt Egan, who has been following this so closely over the last few months, not
to mention the last few hours.
I mean, Matt, look, you know, my opinion on this and this is the fact that companies themselves are not pushing back on the oval office. The stock
markets are either at records or close to a record.
Donald Trump believes the economy is resilient and he's in a strong position to levy whatever tariff he wants to. I want to ask you, what more
are you learning about how some of these tariffs and again, their taxes on Americans, how they might affect the American economy and consumers in the
months to come?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Paula, I know you and I have been tracking this trade war for months, although it feels like it's been even longer
than months.
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And this last week has been just head spinning on the tariff front. There's been a whirlwind of activity with President Trump living up to his own
nickname of tariff man. But as you mentioned, the new escalation is, of course, with Canada, with this 35 percent tariff starting august 1st being
threatened.
Now, I asked the White House whether or not the 35 percent is going to apply to everything from Canada and White House, officials said the
expectation right now is that it would only apply to the goods that are currently tariffed at 25 percent, so that means it would exclude energy, it
would exclude potash, it would exclude USMCA compliant goods.
Although I would note that the White House said the president has not made a final decision on that front. But look, there is a lot at stake here
because Canada is the number three source of imports into the United States, importing everything from aluminum and cars and car parts to lumber
and oil. Oil is a really big one, currently tariffed by the administration at 10 percent. Canada is the biggest source of foreign oil into the United
States.
Now, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has said that they're going to defend their businesses. They're going to defend their workers.
And Canada does have some leverage here, because Canada is the biggest buyer of U.S. goods. The U.S. exported almost $350 billion of goods to
Canada last year alone. Everything from cars to energy to aircraft.
Now, I know it's a little confusing because there's a lot going on as far as the tariffs go, but the other big news that the president made was on
universal tariffs, saying that the nations that have not reached a trade framework with the United States and the ones that have not received
letters, could now face a tariff of between 15 and 20 percent. That could be double the current universal tariff rate of 10 percent.
Now, when you zoom out and you think about where we are right now, we're kind of uncharted territory, right? According to the Yale Budget Lab, the
effective tariff charged by the United States is now 18 percent. That is the highest since FDR was in the White House back in 1934.
Now, in that clip we played in the intro, the president was asked about this, and he said, look, it's all going to end up okay in the long run. And
I do think that investors are largely on board with that. Yes, stocks are down today, but not dramatically. So. You see the Dow is down a little bit
more than half a percent.
But the S&P is only down by a third of a percent. Nasdaq is barely in the red. And both the S&P and the Nasdaq closed at all time highs just
yesterday.
So, Paula, there does continue to be some skepticism on Wall Street about whether or not these tariffs are actually going to kick in. And if they do
there is some doubt that they're really going to last for very long because of the potential damage to the economy.
Back to you.
NEWTON: Matt Egan for us, I'm sure it will be another busy week ahead. Thank you for that analysis.
EGAN: Thanks, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, the U.S. State Department is firing more than 1,300 staff today as the department goes through a massive overhaul. Hundreds of
offices and bureaus are going as part of those changes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's plan -- Marco Rubio's plan to downsize what he called, and
these are his words, a bloated agency had been on hold due to a court ruling.
Jennifer Hansler is at the State Department.
And you have been following this. So, what has happened today? Because, again, as I said, the secretary of state, who is in Asia right now, he
determines that, look, this is bloat. This is not going to really hamper what the State Department does on a daily basis.
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, that's certainly the line throughout the Trump administration officials who are here at the
State Department, Paula. But today, those more than 1,300 officials who are based here in the Washington, D.C., offices are receiving emails telling
them that they have been fired from their jobs.
Now, foreign diplomats, current diplomats and former diplomats are saying that this is going to have an impact regardless of what Rubio and others
are saying, because this is a time where expertise in diplomacy and foreign affairs is more important as than ever, with crises raging around the
globe. And these are things the Trump administration have said they want to resolve through diplomacy.
The American Foreign Service Association today came out with a statement saying, quote, "At a moment of great global instability with war raging in
Ukraine, conflict between Israel and Iran, and authoritarian regimes, testing the boundaries of international order, the United States has chosen
to gut its frontline diplomatic workforce. We oppose this decision in the strongest terms. We stand with the entire State Department workforce and
every American who understands that professional, nonpartisan diplomacy is not expendable. It is essential."
Now, Paula, these cuts here in D.C. are hitting both civil service members as well as foreign service officers. There are 1,107 civil service members
who are going to be fired today, and 246 diplomats.
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And these diplomats are often highly trained. They speak multiple languages, and they are the ones who go and serve abroad at U.S. embassies
and consulates around the world. Now, the state department, for now, is saying they won't do cuts abroad, but people are saying it doesn't matter.
It will inevitably be felt abroad because of the cuts here at home. This is part of this larger overhaul that is affecting some 300 offices here in the
building. These were offices that dealt with human rights. For example, refugees.
Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has downplayed a lot of the concerns and criticisms around this overhaul. He was asked about it yesterday in
Kuala Lumpur, and he said this was done with a very deliberate eye. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: It went very specifically through and reorganized the State Department. And when you reorganize the State
Department, there were certain bureaus we wanted to empower the regional bureaus, and there were certain bureaus, dysfunctional bureaus that were
closed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANSLER: And now, of course, these firings have been looming over the building for weeks and weeks as they were waiting for the Supreme Court to
give the green light earlier this week. So, there is a lot of sadness and a lot of emotion today as these more than 1,300 people are finding out that
they are losing the jobs. Some of them have given years, if not decades of their lives to -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yeah, and for people around the world who depend on the services of those State Department offices, it will be interesting to see if it does,
in fact, affect those services. Jennifer Hansler for us, thanks so much.
Now, we're taking a quick break. When we come back, we're keeping a close eye on Texas, where Donald Trump is due to meet first responders for that
flood disaster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: This story just in to CNN. The Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank says an American man has been beaten to death by settlers.
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It says the 23-year-old is from Tampa, Florida, born to parents with Palestinian heritage. Settlers reportedly attacked him and others in a town
north of Ramallah. And we, of course, will bring you more information as we get it.
Meanwhile, UNICEF says a strike near a clinic in Gaza yesterday was unconscionable. And we want to warn you, the next images are very graphic
and very disturbing. Medics say children and their mothers were queuing for nutritional supplements when the attack happened. Fifteen people were
killed, eight of them children. Israel says it targeted a Hamas militant. UNICEF says the mothers were seeking a lifeline for their children after
months of hunger and desperation.
Our Jeremy Diamond has been covering that devastating strike, as well as other developments there in Gaza. He's in Tel Aviv for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now returned to Israel after a week of meetings in
Washington, D.C., with senior Trump administration officials, including two meetings directly with President Trump. And despite the fact that President
Trump had said he believed a ceasefire deal could and would be reached by the end of this week, the Israeli prime minister has now returned from all
of those meetings with no ceasefire agreement reached.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that he believes a deal can be reached within the coming days. And yet, at the same time, the fact that there
isn't a deal raises questions about President Trump's ability and how far he's willing to go to pressure Netanyahu to get this deal.
And I say that because Prime Minister Netanyahu in recent days has been emphasizing that Israel will return to the war in Gaza if the goals of this
war can't be reached through diplomacy, meaning during this 60-day ceasefire, if it is agreed to, Israel and Hamas are supposed to negotiate
an end of the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu is maintaining that those negotiations must lead to Hamas's total surrender and a demilitarized Gaza
strip. If not, he says, Israel will return to war in order to achieve those goals, and that could undermine those U.S. assurances that have been
provided to Hamas that this temporary 60-day ceasefire is designed to lead to negotiations that will end that war in Gaza.
There are still a number of sticking points, but one key sticking point in these negotiations, I'm told, is the timeline and where Israeli troops
would withdraw from in Gaza during this 60-day ceasefire, with a particular emphasis in the negotiations right now over the Morag corridor, which
separates the southern city of Rafah from the rest of the strip. Questions about when and whether Israeli troops would withdraw from there during this
60-day ceasefire.
Now, as these negotiations still continue in Doha, Qatar, to reach this cease fire agreement, we are seeing Israeli strikes continuing unabated in
the Gaza strip. And it was a particularly harrowing day on Thursday as we saw a strike outside of a health clinic in central Gaza that was actually
run by an American nonprofit. This strike killed 15 people. Of those 15, eight of the victims were children.
And the aftermath from this strike is absolutely harrowing.
As you can see, the bodies of very small children splayed on the ground where the strike took place. And then also inside of the morgue at this
hospital, the victims included a four-year-old girl named Aya, who was impossible to miss in her white dress that was smeared with blood. Her
mother was also wounded in that strike.
And UNICEF's executive director is also saying that the youngest victim was a baby named Muhammad, who had just uttered his first words hours before
this strike, hours before he was killed. UNICEF is now calling on Israel to investigate this strike and saying that it should, quote, urgently review
its rules of engagement to ensure the protection of civilians, including children.
The Israeli military has said that it will review this incident. It claims that it was striking a single Hamas militant, but it declined to name who
that militant was, other than to say that he participated in the October 7th attacks on Israel.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now the deputy director of the aid center Project HOPE, says a united international effort towards a ceasefire is what is needed now. She
told Ben Hunte that people can't access lifesaving health care because there is nowhere in Gaza that is safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHESSA LATIFI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE, PROJECT HOPE: Around 8:00 a.m. this morning, we had Project HOPE patients that had started
lining up outside of the clinic. It was a number of children and moms, parents, et cetera when an airstrike hit and the -- what ensued was a
complete bloodbath.
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We know so far that ten children died, two women. Those were the numbers earlier today. I do believe that that number has increased, but I can't
confirm it at this time.
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: I do want to quickly remind our viewers that this was a clinic. It's not a military site. It hadn't even opened for the day.
LATIFI: No.
HUNTE: What message does all of this send about the safety of humanitarian zones in Gaza right now?
LATIFI: Yeah, every clinic site that we have as Project HOPE and as any NGO in Gaza goes through a process called deconfliction. And so, we work with
the Israeli agency in Gaza, and we provide our coordinates. We let them know what we're doing. And this is a registration of sorts.
And so, this clinic has been conflicted since it first opened, which was early 2024. The message is clear. There's no place safe in Gaza. There's
absolutely no place safe in Gaza.
These families had trusted us with the care of their children. Sixty percent of the children that come to our clinics are suffering from
malnutrition. So they're slowly starving to death. And they come and they hope for some help, something to give them a chance at survival. And that
was taken away from them today.
HUNTE: I'm just seeing some of these photos. It's so sad.
Youve described the Altayara clinic as a lifeline for families, especially for children and pregnant women. What does this temporary closure mean for
the people who do rely on it on a daily basis?
LATIFI: That community will no longer have access to that care. Weve had to move our clinic site. Hopefully, we will be able to return at some point,
but there's also whether they have access or not. Theres a fear, right?
And this is not the first time that Israeli airstrikes have targeted hospitals. We've seen this happening since October or November of 2023.
This is not something new. And again, its people have to decide, do they want to stay safe or do they want to go see a doctor?
HUNTE: What does Project HOPE need most from the international community right now? Is it protection or is it practical support like funding?
LATIFI: It's both. It's both. A call for a ceasefire, we've been asking this from the beginning. We need an international, united call for a
ceasefire. But we also need additional funding with what is happening in the Trump administration. Our funding that these clinics were supported
through has ended. And so, we're able to keep them open for, for now. But that's not secure.
And so, yes, advocacy funding and awareness, this is not -- this is not over. This has not ended. This is still going. And there is an entire
population in Gaza that needs support, that needs help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now still to come for us, President Donald Trump is visiting flood ravaged Texas. We will speak to one former FEMA administrator about how the
disaster is being handled.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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NEWTON: Okay. Any minute now, in Texas, U.S. President Donald Trump is set to sit down, sit down and speak with local officials and first responders.
Of course, he is in Texas to tour the devastation as well. The president and first lady arrived just a short time ago. They are also meeting with
survivors.
Now, the visit comes as some U.S. officials are calling for an investigation into the response by FEMA. That's the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. The president has previously said he wanted to phase out the agency altogether. Although the White House is now softening that
message.
Joining us now is Pete Gaynor. He's a former administrator for FEMA. He also briefly served as acting homeland security secretary at the end of the
first Trump administration.
It is really good to have you here.
As we continue to note the devastation in Texas, but also the response, we do expect the president to speak at any -- any minute now. In terms of FEMA
itself, what did this response look like to you in the aftermath?
PETE GAYNOR, FORMER FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, just about the system, our national system, and it's really based on three things -- locally executed,
state managed and federally supported. So, we don't do it by ourselves. We don't respond without being invited in by the local or the state. And in
this case, the state of Texas.
The governor called the president for an emergency disaster declaration. And we came to support the state of Texas and Kerr County with this
response and now ongoing recovery. So I think it's the typical way that these things happen and, and we'll be there as long as the state and the
local county need us.
NEWTON: Understood. But do you believe the latest catastrophe in Texas has actually sharpened the role of FEMA? You know, we just outlined the fact
that the president doesn't -- he wants it all to go to the states, right? He wants it decentralized. I mean, given your position in the first Trump
administration, how do you think this should unfold?
GAYNOR: Yeah. So, we want to keep a balance here. So, I think if you asked every FEMA employee, or all the former FEMA administrators, no matter which
party they were from, we would all agree that FEMA needs reform when it comes to the hardest thing that we do is really long term recovery.
So, I applaud the president for wanting to reform FEMA. We have a problem, though. We have to actually do reform, and we actually have to respond at
the same time. So there's a balance that we have to keep.
I think we can pass a portion of what we do to states and locals. I think in some cases it's become -- FEMA has become the easy button for states and
locals when they get into trouble. I think we need to share that load a little bit better, but the nation needs FEMA. There's no doubt about it.
FEMA is not going away. Our mission is not going away. The president may want to rename it, but the functions remain intact because were the only
ones that do what we do.
NEWTON: But why do you even have to rename it? And the reason I ask, and I understand what you're saying, maybe some states might do it better in
terms of execution.
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But let's be real here. The states want the money and so do the residents.
I've covered natural disasters in this country and in the aftermath, people are looking local officials in the face -- federal officials in the face
and saying, what can you do to help me? You know, if they're -- all they're worried about is property damage. They're the lucky ones.
And yet they're sitting there figuring out, look, the insurance company is not going to cover all of this. You know, this firsthand. So what is it
going to look like?
GAYNOR: Yeah. So, this is -- this is a large part of what we do. You're absolutely right. We bankroll recovery, whether it's at the local or state
level. We are the ones that institute programs for public assistance. So, if you're a fire -- house burned down or a washed away by a flood, we're
there to rebuild that. If disaster survivors need help through our individual assistance plan, we help individuals become warm, safe and dry.
We don't -- you know, we don't -- you know, we're not there to fulfill everything for survivors. Insurance is a big part of that. But our role is
to make sure that we provide bandwidth to the local and the state a lot through money, a lot through technical assistance, a lot through staffing
to make sure that we rebuild smartly, we mitigate, and we're more resilient country after this disaster happens. That really is our true role.
NEWTON: Now, the current DHS, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, CNN had reported that it took a while for her to be able to
approve some FEMA resources because the Trump administration had put in a new rule that anything over $100,000 had to be approved directly by her.
How did you see that when you heard that news?
GAYNOR: Yeah, I -- so my relationship with the president, I think is much different than it is today. In the first administration, and especially
during COVID, the president gave me free rein to do what I what I needed to do without micromanaging. So, I find this particularly difficult to
understand why the secretary has to approve anything over $100,000, because nothing we do at FEMA, at the federal level is cheap. So, $100,000 is
pretty much everything.
I don't really understand that logic because not that we don't want to be good stewards of the taxpayer, but when it comes to a response and an
emergency, the last thing I'm thinking about is the as the administrator is how much it's going to cost. I'm thinking about it, but I'm not holding
back on again the resources of the nation to actually save disastrous save our citizens and then to come to the relief of our disaster survivors.
That's what it's all about. It's about disaster survivors. It's not about anything else. And so holding back because you're worried about the budget
or the money, I don't understand that math.
NEWTON: You know, and back to the role that FEMA needs to play for survivors and those just trying to rebuild their lives. Our John King went
back to Asheville, North Carolina, nine months ago. It was completely devastated by flooding, and he heard from so many people who credited the
Trump administration in terms of the reaction, but did not want to see FEMA eliminated.
If you were speaking to the Trump administration today, what would you say? Because the president is not backing away from trying to eliminate FEMA,
and neither is Kristi Noem, the secretary.
GAYNOR: Yeah, I would say, as a principal advisor to the president, that's what the Stafford Act, that's the authority that I have. My recommendation
to him was, first of all, you need FEMA. We're the only ones that do this - - this mission. The nation needs FEMA.
And if you really want to improve the way we deliver these services, both response and recovery, but especially recovery, help me reform FEMA, help
me pass laws that make it easier, faster, more inexpensive for me to deliver those resources to those disaster survivors. That's what we really
need. And help me do that at the same time, help me actually do my mission, my statutory mission, and help me do reform. And that's going to take the
president, other cabinet members that own parts of these missions in Congress to actually get that done.
I think this is a great moment in time for FEMA, even though the president has beat it up a little bit, it's really the best time, best opportunity to
do true reform. So, we actually become a better organization.
NEWTON: Mr. Gaynor, as we await the president, he's going to sit down at any minute there in this roundtable. When you saw the way everything
unfolded in Texas, what stood out to you about what could have been done at the federal level that perhaps wasn't done?
GAYNOR: Well, I think just so your viewers understand, we don't -- we don't come to a disaster unless were invited. And that just doesn't happen when
the disaster happens. We're in consultation as the FEMA administrator, you know, I'm talking to Nim Kidd, who's the state director, days ahead of time
on some certain things, hurricanes, maybe weeks ahead of time about what you think and what do you think you need?
[15:40:12]
And then getting with my team to think about what can we pre-position to be absolutely ready if this thing happens in a region or a state. And so I'm
sure those conversations happened again, this is -- you know, it's devastating for that community but, you know, on the scale of things, this
is a very manageable event, especially when it comes to recovery for the nation.
So, it's one county out of 254 counties in Texas. Again, I'm devastated by the loss of life, especially those kids that got washed down river really
hard. But again, we do this as a -- as a team. We don't do it one-sided. If the -- if the state needs something, it's my job as administrator to go
find it and deliver it to the state.
NEWTON: And Mr. Gaynor, though so many of the survivors that we've spoken to, as you well know, what they don't want is they don't want this to
happen again in the state of Texas or anywhere else. So, I ask again, when you talk about pre-positioning resources, you know, we had had a weather
warning.
We forecasted it at CNN that there would be at least five inches of rain in that area there. There ended up being a lot more than that. But this is
what I'm talking about in terms of FEMA and what role it can play when, you know, there's a hurricane, when you know there's a potential of flash
flooding.
GAYNOR: Yeah. So, we have a pretty robust preparedness program at FEMA. So, we give out grants to states and locals to do things that prepare their
community before a disaster happens. And so, there is money out there that the states can tap into to look at their unique hazards, their unique
risks, and apply those solutions locally.
We are all about pre-disaster investments because if you do pre-disaster investments, hopefully you avoid disasters like this. And whether it's
small or big, we want to make sure we have the, you know, have we made an investment to make sure that we reduce the impact on our citizens and our
property long ahead of time, not reactive. So, more investments in preparation, I think is part of what we want to do.
NEWTON: Yeah. And it's certainly something that the survivors want to see as well.
Mr. Gaynor, we will leave it there for now, but we may come back to you as we continue to watch the roundtable there in Kerrville, Texas, and await
the president. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
GAYNOR: You're welcome.
NEWTON: Now, the deputy director of the FBI has told people he is considering resigning over the handling of the so-called Epstein files. Dan
Bongino had a heated confrontation with the attorney general, Pam Bondi. That's according to several sources. There has been growing tension inside
the White House over Bondi's handling of documents related to the disgraced financiers death in prison in 2019.
Evan Perez is in Washington for us.
Can you try and clarify something for me? I understand that there is this this conflict, but at the end of the day, both the FBI director and the
deputy, according to our reporting, seem to -- and they've said it themselves, seem to agree that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. Nothing
there to see.
What more do they want the attorney general to be doing here?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the where this is all falling apart is that they blame the attorney general for her
handling of this. And I'll come back to that just a minute. But, you know, certainly today what has brought this kind of -- to the -- to the forefront
and kind of made it burst into public view is the fact that Dan Bongino didn't show up to work and has been hard to reach. People have been trying
to get him on the phone. I've been trying to get him on the phone, and he hasn't been responding. And so that has led people to think that he's about
to do something dire, which is to resign. And so that's where some of this is coming from.
But certainly, a lot of the frustration has been building since February, Paula, because back then, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, did an event at
the White House where she invited MAGA world social media influencers to come get access to these files. And they gave them binders. And these were
supposed to include these new revelations. It turns out all of those files, almost all of them had been public for years. And we knew that, it turns
out the attorney general didn't seem to know that.
And that's where some of this, the expectation among MAGA world that there was going to be more and that it would be some big revelation that has been
built. And so, that's where you see some of the internal dissent or dissension, really, between the FBI and the attorney general, because they
believe that she messed this up, she screwed it up, and she has essentially encouraged the influencers out there who are supporters of the president to
essentially be very upset that they are not getting what the answers that they expected.
[15:45:04]
There is certainly a view internally that the FBI believed that there could have been more documents released. But in the end, they also all signed off
on this idea that you saw in the memo on Monday that there were no more files to be released. There was no Epstein list, client list, that he did
commit suicide, that much everyone agrees on and that there was no -- there's no indication that he was blackmailing people. And so that's where
now we are.
We are now in a place where everyone's blaming Pam Bondi for what happened. And we see that in in the president's support base. They are not happy.
They believe a bunch of them have been very public, that they believe the attorney general should be fired.
And Bongino is now trying to find ways to separate himself from this mess that really he is a part of, whether he likes it or not.
NEWTON: Okay, we shall wait and see if anyone does answer your phone call or give you that text back.
Evan Perez for us --
PEREZ: You know, you never know. Thanks.
NEWTON: What would happen. Thanks so much.
We will be right back in a moment as we await the president there at that roundtable discussion in Texas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And we do go live now to Texas, where the U.S. president is meeting with first responders and officials there in Kerrville.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There child or two children and just hard to believe what I've never seen anything like it. A little
narrow river that becomes a monster. And that's what happened.
But the first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really
horrific and deadly flood. Nobody has any idea how and why a thing like this could happen.
It's -- and by the way, I have to tell you, the people here, first responders, the sheriff's office, all of the police, law enforcement,
they've done an unbelievable job. And in speaking to the parents, they said everybody has been so professional, from the governor to the senators, all
the way down to the local people on the site, that really are a little bit used to this.
But they've been looking at this for years, but in much smaller doses and a much, much smaller doses, 12 years ago and then in 1932, they had a real
bad one. But that bad one was half of what this was.
But I was speaking to some of the great people in the town and they said, no. Every year we get a little bit, but it was like a little bit of a
flood, right? You were telling me, and it was just a flood.
[15:50:02]
We got used to it. We had people and we took care of it. And this year it was -- it was like, what's going on, right?
So, all across the country, Americans hearts are shattered. I had to be here as president. First lady wanted to be here and -- all the beautiful
souls.
And we're filled with grief and devastation. This -- the loss of life and unfortunately, they're still looking. They're still looking. Theres a lot
of missing children, possibly. Mostly, we don't know, but they're still looking.
And they'll find everybody. But it's not an easy thing. You would think it would be easy. It's very tough. I looked at what they're going through,
what they have to do.
But dozens and dozens of precious children taken from us with such. I looked at the pictures of almost all of them, and it's terrible. Following
a torrential downpour, the worst that anyone's ever seen, Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in less than 45 minutes, and I've even heard it went well over
30 feet. There's one story that -- one person said, it had to be 60 feet at one moment.
This is like a giant, giant wave in the Pacific Ocean that the best surfers in the world would be afraid to surf, and it unleashed a catastrophic
flooding as the most residents were asleep in their beds, very dark evening.
The waters claimed at least 135, 140 lives. They're getting that count. But the count that they don't have is how many are still missing -- a lot of
lives, a lot of young angels at the girls' Christian summer camp known as Camp Mystic, a legendary camp, a camp that people would want to go to from
all over the country. People, parents, they come and they would stay with their children. They'd stay in other cabins just to be with their children.
But the legendary place.
They were there because they loved God. And as we grieve this unthinkable tragedy, we take comfort in the knowledge that God has welcomed those
little beautiful girls into his comforting arms in heaven. And we believe that, have to believe that, and we do.
And we lost some wonderful people beyond the little girls, lost some very brave men and women that tried to save the girls as our nation, we mourn
for every single life that was swept away in the flood, and we pray for the families that are left behind. It's amazing, the incredible spirit from
those families. I don't know, I don't even know how they do it.
But moments ago, Melania and I spent a lot of time with them. That's why we're a little late. I think this was a good reason to be late, frankly,
and we just gave our warmest condolences.
But you say to yourself, you know, how do you give condolences? How do you do that to a young person that three days ago was here, four days ago was
here and vibrant and now is no longer here. The search for the missing continues. The people that are doing it are unbelievable people that you
couldn't get better people than this anywhere, Kristi, right?
Anywhere in the world. You couldn't get better people. And they're doing the job like I don't think anybody else could, frankly. And I want to thank
them. I want to thank all of these great first responders who raced into very grave danger. We have some people that were incredible.
The single coast guard rescue crew saved an incredible 169 children at Camp Mystic, 169, and the camp staff was also incredibly courageous. Are those
Coast Guard people around here someplace? Because I hear some incredible, incredible people. And I actually -- Scott Ruskan, is he around? Where's
Scott?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not here right now, sir, but he will be here later, and I will be --
TRUMP: Okay. Will you let him know?
And John Dunn, the owner of the Hunt store, was a flood -- where are you? Okay. Good. We spoke a little while ago, and it sort of we -- John was
telling me some stories about that store, and it was just really amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Mr. President, first, let me correct. I'm -- was the owner of the store from 2013 to April of last year, where I actually
sold the store to Haley and Bebe Lehrman (ph), who were excellent operators. And they're on the ground right now in Hunt, leading the effort
there, together with the fire department, the churches, the schools, what have you.
[15:55:08]
And they're doing a phenomenal job. Good job. My role in it is at seller finance, the deal --
TRUMP: And you're going to bring it back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm absolutely going to bring it back.
TRUMP: And the walls are up. The two walls are up. And you're going to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's belief out there that it was a total loss. It's not. A gentleman by the name of Larry Graham put up some incredible walls
in 1973. And he's a great engineer. And those walls are still standing.
TRUMP: Save the walls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save the walls. And the goal is. And I think we can get it done between Haley, Bebe, and myself and some outside help that we're
going to be getting, I think we're going to get it reopened very quickly.
TRUMP: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's important to get it open quickly, because once we do, the community can get back to a sense of normalcy. I think
it'll be good for the community. I think it'll accelerate the recovery process.
There's a lot that has to be done, but I'm impressed and very pleased with the resources that I think are going to become available through the
conversations with Chip Roy, Governor Abbott's office and others that we will get it done quickly. Yes, sir.
TRUMP: Thanks, John. Good luck with it. Okay. I'm sure you will.
The search for the missing is continuing. As you know, and today I especially want to thank all of these incredible people from the Coast
Guard. And you'll give my regards in particular to some of the people we mentioned.
Every American should be inspired by what's taken place during this short period of time. And I want to thank Governor Abbott, he's an amazing guy.
We come very, very close politically and personally, and we've had a tremendous relationship with Texas.
I guess Texas brought us together. We were together fine, but now we're together a lot more. And I want to thank Cecilia, your great wife, who's
been our friend for a long time. The job you do is really incredible. And in so many different ways, including the border and every, every different
way, admired by everybody.
Secretaries Kristi Noem, Brooke Rollins, Scott Turner and administrator Kelly Loeffler, they all wanted to be here. Some of them hopped on the
plane with me, Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. You're here among us. And thank you very much.
Our great lieutenant governor, I see you sitting there. I don't know if they even have your name down, but when I'm here, your name is down, right.
He's doing a good job. Always did, always did.
Also, numerous members of Congress, including Chip Roy from the district. This is Chip's district. I had a lot of -- a lot of time last week we spent
with Chip Roy getting that great big, beautiful bill passed. And who would have thought? And he's not easy, but he's good. Where is he? Where's Chip?
Who would have thought this was going to happen. And he called because we had a big ceremony set up and he said, you know, we have a little bit of a
flood here, and I think it's going to be a little bit, I better stay here. I better not come back and go to it. And he wanted to be there. He was a
part of it, a big part of it.
And then he called again and he said, this is bad. And then it got really bad far beyond your worst, wildest imagination. Right? So thank you very
much, Chip. I appreciate it. And Brian Babin also is I don't know if Brians here.
But we do have -- and I have to just give some of the names because this is -- it's very unusual, Nathaniel Moran, Dan Crenshaw, all of these people
wanted to be here, Keith Self, Jake Ellzey, August Pfluger, Greg Goldman, Ronny Jackson, where are you people? Are you here? You're all here?
Where's Ronny Jackson? Ronny Jackson, what a -- what a person. Every one of these people is so incredible.
Randy Weber, Pete Sessions, Tony Gonzales -- well, we have everybody. Beth Van Duyne. Hi, Beth. Hi, Beth.
Roger Williams, Brandon Gill. Hi, roger. Brandon. You're here? Yes. Thanks, Brandon. Doing a good job, Brandon.
Michael Cloud, John Carter and Wesley Hunt, and we have others. But I'm not -- we just -- we have to get on with it. But I did want to ask Lieutenant
Governor Dan Patrick. He's been my friend from the beginning. He's been the chairman of all three of my campaigns.
And all I know is we won by record amounts. I guess you were a pretty good chairman, right, Dan? And his son is fantastic, too.
But Attorney General Ken Paxton -- Ken's around here someplace? Hi, Ken. Hi.
And director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Freeman Martin -- Freeman, thank you very much. You're doing an amazing job.
Texas chief of emergency management, Nim Kidd -- thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for greeting us, too.
END
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