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Polls for the Special Election Day; Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) is Interviewed about the Special Elections; DOGE Cuts Target HHS; New Storm Threatens Central U.S.; USAID Team Traveling to Myanmar. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 01, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Life-long dream, getting her Ph.D. from Columbia University. For now, that's all in jeopardy.

PROKUPECZ: What are you worried about?

RANJANI SRINIVASAN, FORMER COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I mean without a degree, I mean, all of this is, you know, it's not going to be recognized, any of this work. My five years is completely wasted.

PROKUPECZ: Now, CNN has reached out to all of the agencies named in our story, the Department of Homeland Security, the NYPD, Columbia University, the New York City mayor's office, which told us they would look into this. They never got back to us. All of the agencies have not responded to our request for comment.

Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of questions there. All right, Donald Trump says it's liberation day eve, and the president has some decisions to make as the world awaits his huge tariff announcement.

And a man held captive for two decades by his stepmother. This morning, we're getting our first look at the horrific conditions he was forced to live in.

Those stories and more, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:41]

SIDNER: After betting big on the Wisconsin supreme court race, today is a make or break moment for Trump adviser Elon Musk. He poured millions into backing conservative candidate Brad Schimel. Now the results will show off whether his gamble paid off.

CNN's Harry Enten is here. Harry, why does this race matter so much? I feel like, in times past,

we wouldn't have been paying as much attention to this.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I just feel like everything in our politics are elevated these days, right, Sara Sidner. So, let's just talk about this race, right. Remember, Wisconsin, it's officially non-partisan, but we know the liberal candidate is Susan Crawford. We know the conservative candidate is Brad Schimel. Sometimes I had to put a nice little asterisk on there to try and pronounce that correctly, but it is Schimel, Brad Schimel.

And look, here's why it's so important because, number one, it will decide who controls the supreme court in Wisconsin, right. A ton of different stuff is on the line there. The court has made big decisions, you know, on redistricting, on all the different types of big things that are involved in state politics.

But more than that, in terms of national implications, we'll get to Musk in a second, is that Wisconsin usually reflects the nation as a whole, right? It has voted for each of the last five presidential winners. That is the longest streak, of course, tied with Michigan and Pennsylvania.

So, what happens in Milwaukee, what happens in Wisconsin, usually doesn't stay in Wisconsin. It radiates throughout the nation. And I think that's a big reason why a lot of folks are paying close attention to this race.

SIDNER: Is that your sign for radiates? Very interesting.

ENTEN: Radiates. Like the sun.

SIDNER: Yes, very - very big.

All right, so everyone is talking about this, the amount of money being spent on this particular race and particularly the amount being spent by Elon Musk. Where are we?

ENTEN: Oh my goodness gracious. So, you know, you make a graphic in the nighttime. You hope it holds for the day. And then sometimes you realize, wait a minute, it doesn't.

So, last night, Wisconsin's supreme court race, 80 plus million spent. It is now 90 plus million that has been spent. Holy Toledo.

And you talk about Elon Musk, right. What are we talking about there? We're talking about Musk as an affiliated group spending, get this, $22 million plus. Holy cow.

Now what I will note is that the pro-conservative candidate and the pro-liberal candidate money spent is actually fairly equal here. So, it's not like one side has an overwhelming advantage.

The one thing you can take away is, you think $90 million plus is a lot for a supreme court race statewide. It is. It is the most money ever spent on a court race. I wish they would just give me a little bit of that money. Just a little bit of it. My 401(k) would really enjoy it.

SIDNER: Well, there are some people that wish that that kind of money was never spent in an election.

ENTEN: Yes, maybe so.

SIDNER: Just to put that out there.

All right, let's talk about Florida's special election. You've got district one and district six. They've set some baselines for us, have they not?

ENTEN: Yes. So, let's talk about those baselines a little bit, right. These are heavily Trump areas, right, all right. So, we talk about Florida's first district. Trump won it by 37 points back in 2024. You talk about Florida's sixth district, Trump won it by 30 points back in 2024. The question is, how far ahead can Democrats potentially get of their 2024 baseline? How far away are Republicans? You know, does this race end up being plus 20? Does it end up being plus 30? Does it end up being plus 10? That will give us an idea of, OK, where is the political environment at this point? The last thing I'll note is, going into this, Republicans have 218, Democrats have 213. If Republicans, in fact, match their 2020 performance, this becomes 220. And, of course, in a very tight house, that can give them and Mike Johnson some help.

SIDNER: It would definitely give him some breathing room. But it is interesting to think - you don't think in - with those numbers that Donald Trump would - or the candidate that is backed by Donald Trump would lose. You're saying they might win by less.

ENTEN: Correct.

SIDNER: And that will tell us something.

ENTEN: That would tell us something.

SIDNER: All right, Harry Enten, thank you so much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

SIDNER: I really appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And with us now is Congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas.

Congressman, always great to see you.

Florida's sixth congressional district, just to talk about one of these special election races, what does it tell you that a district that was plus 30 Trump, that Republicans are sweating a little bit there now?

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): Well, in fact, they're called special elections for a reason. They are special. Not only in their timing, but also the candidate that would be performing in those seats.

[08:40:05]

I think that the Republican Party is very aware that we have some lines of division right now. As you know, there are a few things that perhaps have not gone exactly the way as smoothly as some people want. But, you know, when you break glass, when you move ideas, when you bring forth the things that you're doing, not everybody agrees. Today we're going to be in that same circumstance or tomorrow with the tariff issue. This is why we support not only our party, but the concepts of capitalism, more jobs and opportunities for people. And that is where our candidates are.

BERMAN: I want to talk about all of that. Everything you said there is just interesting. But broken glass first.

Elon Musk is being credited for breaking the glass, for better or worse. His physical presence in Wisconsin. Do you think that helps or hurts Republicans there?

SESSIONS: Well, let me say this. What Elon Musk is trying to do is to bring to bear - that he's made himself the front plate for, but he's bringing to bear the economic downturn and future of this country. And I am proud of not just what he's done, but - but believe that it will set a new standard.

Now, with that said, that I think the communications arm of that has not caught up as - nor have I, caught up with him to explain what we're attempting to do. But as you look at the stunning numbers and the data and the information, clearly they are breaking glass.

BERMAN: I want to ask you about tariffs. You brought them up. And you say it is a bit of a dividing line in your own party. It's not clear, as we sit here one day before President Trump says he will announce tariffs, what kind of tariffs he will announce. Will it be country by country, reciprocal tariffs matching each country, or will it be a broad-based 20 percent global tariff on almost all imports in the country? Which direction would you prefer?

SESSIONS: Well, first of all, I met with the USTR staff yesterday. Larry Calhoun from the president's staff came up and we had a conversation with ten distinctly different companies from the 17th district of Texas, most of them in Waco, Texas. And we spoke specifically about the impact on their company and the things they would be after.

So, what am I after and what did I think? I thought the president was going to engage in this, and I think he still is, to reciprocate on a country by country basis.

Now, what's happened is, is that several countries that have major impact on not only on our trade relations, but on the ability for people like our state of Texas to do business, they've gotten tangled up in what could be a sticky wicket. So, Mexico and Texas have the largest trading block between us, about $140 billion. But because of all this, that has put on hold so much of the trade that goes back and forth. Decision making is put on hold. We're going to see what happens, and then we'll go to the - to the dance and see what we need to do to make it better.

BERMAN: So, in 2018, after steel tariffs were imposed, you wrote, quote, "while I understand the need to make sure we are engaged in trade deals that put America first, a broad set of tariffs would make American businesses less competitive and raise prices on American consumers." That was what you wrote, Congressman, in 2018. How do you feel now?

SESSIONS: Well, I feel that it's still a circumstance. I could - I could write the same thing right now. The steel tariffs, as a result of the - the work that President Trump did, and we did in '18, not just to - to have a trade agreement, North American Trade Agreement, but when we brought taxes down, we lowered them for the top rate for business, it provided the cushion for people to do business.

Now what's happened is - the reason why I could rewrite that is, because people made decisions at that time and America's doing quite well.

BERMAN: Let me -

SESSIONS: Are there areas of the country that are not? Yes.

BERMAN: Let me ask - you mentioned taxes there.

Peter Navarro, who is a trade adviser inside the White House, made the claim that these tariffs would raise $600 billion a year in revenue. I want to read you what "The Wall Street Journal" says about that. "George Orwell, call your office. In the real economic world, a tariff is a tax. If you raise $600 billion more a year in revenue for the federal government, you are taking that amount away from individuals and businesses in the private economy."

Your view?

[08:45:01]

SESSIONS: Well, my view is, I could have written that myself. I'm - I'm a - a capitalist who believes in lower prices, lower taxes, opportunities. The facts of the case are that Donald Trump, now President Trump and his advisers believe that they see the mathematics across the country, specifically in certain areas. I am concerned about our trade with Canada. I am concerned about our trade with Mexico. And I'm going to give the president a chance to put his plan out. As I said earlier, I spent much of the time yesterday with the trade adviser trying to figure out the things.

Here is the key to me. People have already made decisions going back as a result of the tax deal in '18, and the agreement that was cut with the North American Trade Agreement, and they have been complying. We have to see what that impact is going to be, and we're going to find out pretty quickly.

BERMAN: Just, in a one word answer though, you're saying you do think a tariff is a tax?

SESSIONS: There's no question about it. A tariff is a tax. I learned that at Southwestern University when I was a sophomore in college. But the world now is slightly different. That's not - that's not old math, that's current math. But the jobs that come with that and the economic climate that we're under, we're being taken over and challenged as we never have been before by China, intellectual property and direct moving around trade agreements.

So, the president has his mathematical equation. I'm going to see what it is tomorrow. And then we will then come back - I'll come back on your show anytime and agree or disagree with the president.

BERMAN: Got it.

SESSIONS: But right now, I'm going to give him that opportunity.

BERMAN: Come back. We'll do more math. Congressman Pete Sessions, great to see you this morning. Thank you.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Very interesting. Looking forward to having the congressman back on with - with that information when that comes out tomorrow.

Breaking news that we are watching. We are learning layoffs are underway right now for thousands of federal employees at the Department of Health and Human Services. Up to 10,000 people could be cut in this round. We've got details on that.

Also, the USDA recalling more than 200,000 pounds of liquid eggs over a potential contamination from a cleaning solution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:51:50]

BOLDUAN: Breaking news coming in. People working at the Department of Health and Human Services have started receiving notice they are losing their jobs. This is some of the 10,000 employees of America's public health agency that are expected to be laid off, massive cuts. We're talking about important agencies like the CDC and NIH and FDA.

CNN's Meg Tirrell has much more on this, and she's joining us right now.

Meg, what are you learning this morning?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kate, these are extensive cuts across health agencies. Really hearing left and right from folks who had been dreading this for weeks and now are getting these reduction in force, RIF, notification letters this morning. They are being told they are being put on leave. They have lost access to the buildings where they work if they hadn't already gone in this morning. Also hearing from some employees who - whose friends had gone in and got their notifications while they were in the office. Just hearing about tears. People really processing this information.

And we knew from last week's announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services that, as you said, this was going to be massive. Ten thousand employees, they said, would be reduced on top of 10,000 they had already cut. That includes 3,500 at the FDA, 2,400 at the CDC, 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health, and 300 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

But when you start to hear from the people who are being affected, you're actually hearing about people losing their jobs and how they are processing that, and which offices and functions of the U.S. government are now being changed so dramatically. Some of the offices that we're hearing are getting hit particularly hard, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the Office of Smoking and Health, the Center for Mental Health Services, the Office of New Drugs at FDA, and the Office of Policy and International Engagement.

So, this is extensive. As we know, these folks, in some cases, we're told, are being put on leave for the next few months. So, even though these technically may not take effect for a couple months, Kate, the effects are going to be fairly immediate.

BOLDUAN: Sounds like it.

Meg, thank you so much for jumping on with the update on this. A lot to learn today about how this is all rolling out. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, new this morning, police released disturbing new photos from inside a home where they say a man was held captive by his stepmother for 20 years. It is unclear which of these rooms belonged to him, but the state of the house is disturbingly decrepit. Police say the man escaped his stepmother's clutches by starting a fire with a printer and some hand sanitizer, and a - a lighter. The 32-year-old man was emaciated when he freed himself, weighing just 70 pounds. Child Protective Services once visited the house when he was a kid but didn't find anything severely wrong happening there. About 20 years after that visit, his stepmother has been arrested and pleaded not guilty to kidnaping and other charges.

All right, some disturbing new video showing the moment a repo driver was run over while trying to hook up a truck - or, sorry, hook a car up to his truck. We froze the video right before it actually happened. Police say the driver of the car that was going to be towed reversed that car, ran over him and then got away.

[08:55:05]

Now the man that was trying to repossess that car ended up in the hospital. He had multiple injuries. Really disturbing scene. Police arrested two people, the alleged driver of the car and a woman accused of trying to help him escape.

All right, more than 200,000 pounds of liquid egg products have been recalled. Why? They could have cleaning solution with bleach in there. Egg Beaters and Bob Evans are the brands involved in this particular recall. The items have the label G1804, that's G1804 on the cartons, and were said to have been produced on March 12th and 13th. If you have any of those products, you are being urged to throw them out. Do not eat them.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a new storm is headed for the central U.S., gaining strength with possible damaging hail and tornadoes ahead.

Let's get to CNN's Derek Van Dam in the Weather Center.

Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, look at what we're covering. This is from Jackson, Michigan, yesterday. And, yes, let's be thankful that the Final Four is not played on this basketball court. That is out of commission. But in all seriousness, it blew the roof right off of the mobile home in the background there. So, incredible wind gusts associated with this multi-day stretch of severe weather that we continue to just contend with.

Look at the winds just pick up. The vertical direction to the raindrops. And then all of a sudden the wind overcomes the top of that building and, of course, that basketball hoop tumbling on its side as well.

Mentioned the multiple day severe weather setup. It begin - it actually began yesterday. It continues today. It expands in coverage tomorrow. And then rolls right into Thursday. As you can see, this very active weather pattern continues across the U.S.

So, let's talk about what's happening today. Here's the severe storms chances - really best chances across Oklahoma and into Kansas. They'll fire up later this evening. More around 9:00 to 10:00 local time. So, just as you're heading to bed, have two ways to get those severe weather alerts to your phone. And perhaps a NOAA weather radio as well.

As we head into the day on Wednesday, we'll start to see the storms fire up in the deep south first across the Arklatex (ph) region. That's for your evening commute home. And then into the late evening hours and into the overnight, more across the Ohio River Valley. And then Thursday we see that chance of severe storms continue across Kentucky into Tennessee.

But severe weather is not our only potential problems. We have flash flooding concerns. This is where we have flood watches. Millions of Americans, stretching from Cincinnati, Indianapolis, southward to Little Rock, there will be a fire hose of moisture that dumps over a foot of rain across this region. Heads up, this could be a significant concern going forward.

John.

BERMAN: All right, we know you'll be watching it closely. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

This morning, Myanmar is struggling to recover after the devastating earthquake that killed at least 2,000 people. The State Department has announced that a USAID team will be traveling there to help with recovery efforts.

CNN's Ivan Watson has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Desperate cries for help. Two teenage girls trapped in an air pocket with their grandmother under the rubble of their home, trying to get the attention of the outside world by banging on concrete with a butter knife. The trio, trapped and terrified for 15 hours until rescuers pulled them to safety.

Frantic rescue efforts repeated across Myanmar since a deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook the country on Friday. These two women, who asked not to be identified, say they were also trapped when their five-story hotel in Mandalay collapsed.

WATSON: Could you see outside? Could you see daylight from where you were?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were trapped in total darkness. But the good thing is, we had a phone and we could use its light to see. If we didn't have that, we could have died. We could see to clear rubble from on top of each other.

WATSON (voice over): They say civilian volunteers from the neighborhood rescued them after five frightening hours. Also in Mandalay, on Monday, a Chinese rescue team pulled three people from the wreckage of a residential high rise, including a pregnant woman and a little girl.

But now, as more time passes, hope starts to dwindle. The majority of those still missing, now thought unlikely to be alive.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people in quake-damaged cities and towns must now find food, clean water and shelter. Myanmar's military ruler, Min Aung Hlaing, who rules over a closed society and rarely cooperates with the international community, is asking for international aid and help.

[09:00:08]