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On Eve of Tariff Announcement, Mystery Surrounds Trump Plan; GOP Outrage Grows Over Remote Voting for New Parents in Congress; High-stakes Races in Florida and Wisconsin Test Trump Support; House GOP Hopes to Preserve Slim Majority With Florida Special Elections. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired April 01, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:10]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Big on the build-up but light on the details. President Trump is gearing up to unveil sweeping new tariffs. But some of his own advisers are still out of the loop.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Plus, it's Election Day in two key states. What happens tonight in Florida and Wisconsin will give us the clearest picture yet of President Trump's popularity during his second term. And later, is she a cold-blooded killer or the victim of a cover-up? Jury selection is underway in the retrial of Karen Read, the woman accused of running over her police officer boyfriend. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

The White House says President Trump's tariff blitz is ready to roll out, but exactly what he's going to be rolling out roughly 24 hours from now is still very much a mystery, meaning suspense, global anxiety, and pushback from lawmakers, including Republicans, is only building this hour. Just a short time ago, the White House says the President is perfecting his tariff plan with advisers and confirmed that what he announces tomorrow from the Rose Garden will take effect immediately.

The White House expressing confidence, says Europe is vowing to retaliate and as experts warn of dire economic impacts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They're not going to be wrong. It is going to work. The president has a brilliant team of advisers who have been studying these issues for decades, and we are focused on restoring the Golden Age of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's dig into the details with Neil Irwin. He's a Chief Economic Correspondent at Axios. Neil, thank you so much for being with us. The White House Trade Advisor, Peter Navarro has repeatedly pointed to what he describes as successes resulting from tariffs implemented during Trump's first term. You say their approach this time appears to be very different and far more comprehensive though.

NEIL IRWIN, CHIEF ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Yeah, if you look back to 2018, 2019, they were really focusing on specific goods from specific countries. There was a rationale. There was a process of exclusions where companies could argue, you really should exclude this from the list because it would really be disruptive to our business if you included this. This time, some of the chatter is around either truly across-the-board tariffs, which is what we've already seen with Canada and Mexico, or at least far fewer exclusions and far fewer -- far less fine-tuning to try and avoid kind of side effects that you don't want to have. So, that raises the possibility that these will be kind of much bigger, much wider, and much more blunt instrument than we saw back in 2018, 2019.

SANCHEZ: I also wonder what you make of one aspect of Navarro's argument here, and that's because I'm not sure how successful those tariffs were exactly in sparking domestic manufacturing. I remember going to a Trump announcement in Wisconsin that Foxconn would spend $10 billion in creating this huge plan, bringing 13,000 jobs to that state. It never actually happened. So, is it accurate to say that those tariffs actually brought jobs to the United States?

IRWIN: You know, it's -- the problem with the tariffs in 2018, 2019 is that they might've created some jobs and some activity in one area, but it might've moved things around. So for example, you tariff steel and aluminum imports, well, that can be good for steel makers and aluminum makers that are domestic. On the other hand, if you're a user of steel and aluminum in the U.S., that makes you less competitive on the world stage. So, they are trying to re-domesticate the entire economy. That does imply buying less stuff from abroad. Look, that can create some wins in terms of more domestic manufacturer -- more domestic manufacturing, but it also creates losses in terms of U.S. competitiveness in the world.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. I also wonder about the broader argument, because Trump's team suggests that for many goods and products that are essential to a prosperous future for the United States, America doesn't have as sophisticated or as independent a supply chain that rivals like China have for certain goods. How critical do you think that kind of shift is and are tariffs really the best way to get there?

IRWIN: Let's put it this way, the modern interconnected global supply chain that the U.S. depends on, that U.S. automakers, U.S. aerospace, all these complex industries in the United States depend on, that evolved over 20, 30 years. And to try and rebuild that in a purely domesticated way in the course of a single presidential term, it's a tough order. And these CEOs also face this dilemma of, if policies going to be this erratic and change day-to-day, how much do I want to stick my neck out and spend $1 billion on building a new factory domestically?

So, it really is a murky environment for how much you can actually use trade policy and use these kind of big bold gestures coming just from the White House, not from Congress, not from a broad consensus in U.S. politics, but by executive fiat, rewire the entire U.S. economy against a system that built up over decades.

SANCHEZ: And it's also coming at a kind of a sensitive time, Neil, because as you wrote in a piece recently that caught my attention, President Trump "Inherited a shakier economy than it seemed." Tell us more.

[14:05:00]

IRWIN: Yeah, look, if you look back over the last year, there have been some soft spots in the economy. On the headline level, look, the unemployment rate is low. GDP growth has been good over the last year, but manufacturing jobs have been soft over the last couple of years. Professional and business services jobs, the manufacturing sector has been in contraction for big parts of the last year, output of factories. So, so there are some -- there's been some soft underbelly.

The hiring rate has been relatively low compared to pre-pandemic, so there are some signs that all is not completely well in the economy even heading into this administration. And if you look at a lot of the soft data out, surveys, sentiment, confidence among CEOs, it really has taken a dive since January. And that's a sign that people are worried about what's to come. They worry both that the growth picture could be murkier and that inflation could be higher.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, we'll see how much murkier it gets potentially after tomorrow's announcement. Neil Irwin, appreciate you joining us.

IRWIN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Also happening this afternoon. Democratic Senator Cory Booker is giving a marathon speech in protest against President Trump. These are live images from Capitol Hill. He has been yielding from time to time to take questions, but he's still going strong after 19- plus hours.

KEILAR: The eyes kind of give it away though --

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: -- the coffee, the caffeine, right? This is happening as the Senate was preparing today to issue a rare bipartisan rebuke of Trump's tariff plans. But this speech could delay that vote. Let's go now to Lauren Fox who is on the Hill. All right. How long is this going to go, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that is anyone's guess right now, Brianna. But he just crossed the 19-hour threshold for this speech. That puts him in one of the top-five longest speeches to be given on the United States Senate floor in recent history. And I would just note that as part of giving these kinds of speeches on the floor, in order for you to continue with this process, you can't sit down, you can't use the bathroom.

So obviously, this is quite a physical feat as well. Here was Cory Booker earlier when he started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER, (D-NJ): I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.

We could be that city on a Hill, but we are up high and folks are going to look to us for what is the world order going to be? What is democracy globally going to look like? Are we going to defend democracy and democratic principles, or will you behave like the authoritarians that we should be against?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Now, we expect that when he does complete this speech on the Senate floor, then the United States Senate will move on to voting on whether or not Donald Trump has the emergency authority to issue tariffs on Canadian goods specifically. This is what we expect will be a bipartisan resolution. It's unclear how many Republicans will support it, but Senator Susan Collins signaling last night that she potentially could support it. We know Senator Rand Paul is going to back it, so all eyes on that vote. We do not expect however, Republicans in the House of Representatives to take up that measure.

SANCHEZ: And Lauren, there's also something important happening in the House right now. Republicans are protesting a new effort by House Speaker Mike Johnson.

FOX: That's exactly right. There has been this ongoing effort by Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a relatively new mom on Capitol Hill. She is a serving Congresswoman and she has been trying with a Democratic colleague, Brittany Pettersen, to make sure that women after they give birth and dads after their wives give birth, are able to vote for a period of time by proxy in order to continue using their voices on Capitol Hill.

And you see this image there of Brittany Pettersen bringing her child to the floor. She's had to return to Washington several times during what should likely be a recovery period for a new mom. And what we have seen is Republican leadership has been arguing that they don't believe in proxy voting under any circumstance, that it violates the Constitution. So despite the fact that this discharge petition was getting to a point where it was going to get a vote on the floor, Republican leadership trying to stop that effort, putting forward a rules package that vote ongoing right now on the House floor.

But right now, it appears that there are enough Republican votes to potentially kill off leadership's effort to try to neuter this discharge petition. So a really, really important marker as this fight between rank and file members and new parents really heats up in the House of Representatives.

KEILAR: What a fascinating day on the Hill, where I'm just wondering, are we going to see green eggs and ham in the Senate? And with the babies in the House, maybe you should read it there too.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

KEILAR: You know, it would fit in both chambers. Lauren Fox, thank you so much for the reporting. We appreciate it.

So, we could see just how much momentum President Trump's second term agenda has tonight when we get the results from elections in two key states.

[14:10:00]

In Wisconsin, a state that Trump flipped last November, voters are picking a new state supreme court justice, choosing between liberal Susan Crawford and conservative Brad Schimel. The race is considered so important by both parties, and it has become the most expensive judicial election in American history. $90 million and counting, that will keep going. More than $20 million of that coming from Elon Musk and his allied groups.

SANCHEZ: Meantime, in two red Congressional districts in Florida that Trump won by 30 points just a few months ago, voters are hitting the polls to fill House seats vacated by Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz. CNN's Arlette Saenz is tracking the race in Wisconsin while CNN's Dianne Gallagher is watching developments in Florida.

Arlette, let's start with you. Clearly, a lot of money pouring into that judicial race there. How is that influencing voters that you've spoken with?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, nearly five months after the presidential election, the spotlight is back on these Wisconsin voters, and the race has certainly attracted a lot of national attention and big money. There's a potential that this race could exceed the $100 million mark in spending when this is all over. And this is something that has weighed on a lot of voters' minds, the influence of outside spending in this race.

Elon Musk and groups that are aligned with him have spent more than $20 million in the state, while Democratic donor, mega donors like George Soros and JB Pritzker have contributed a total of $3.5 million in the state. There's also just been a flood of small dollar donations coming from outside the state here into Wisconsin. Now, we spent the day earlier at a polling location here in Dane County.

This is an area of the state that typically has a higher Democratic turnout. And many of the voters that we had spoken with said that they had supported the liberal candidate Susan Crawford. There are a host of issues here in the state like abortion rights that are key for a lot of these voters, but they're also concerned about what's been happening on the national level. Here is a bit from one of those voters we spoke to earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN SCHULTZ, WISCONSIN VOTER: I'm very scared. I'm frightened. I think that we're in a -- we're having a national crisis. And I don't think that people are -- there's not enough pushback right now. Like, I think we should all be marching and doing whatever we can to fight back. And so, I am excited to see what the results are going to be tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, we certainly also spoke to voters here in the state, for instance, when we were up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, who said that they feel that this race is really a way for them to support the conservative candidate, but also to support President Trump and his actions back in Washington. But the big spending in this race has certainly emerged as one of the key campaign flashpoints here, as Democrats have tried to turn Elon Musk's involvement in the campaign into a referendum of him, while Musk is really trying to help drive out those supporters who have helped send President Trump back to the White House in November. So tonight, potentially in the early hours of tomorrow morning, we will see where Wisconsin voters landed on this important supreme court race.

KEILAR: All right, Arlette, thank you. And Dianne, CNN spoke with Republican candidate Randy Fine earlier today. He said Democrats are angry and motivated and warned Republicans not to get complacent. What are you hearing from voters?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that Randy Fine, the Republican in this race is correct about Democrats being angry and motivated. But, I will tell you that Republicans we've talked to as well seem to be motivated by the same thing as Democrats. And that's Donald Trump along with Elon Musk, nearly everyone we've spoken to here in Florida's Sixth Congressional district. And look, we are at a polling place that has four different precincts here. It's been very light, but still steady turnout as a couple people come in at a time. They've told us that they are motivated by again, what's happening in Washington right now. Either they love it or they absolutely hate it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA KARABINAS, FLORIDA REPUBLICAN VOTER: I've seen what the last administration has done, and it's just been like desecrating our country. And I want to make sure that we keep on pace with the Trump administration. And this first hundred days has been so successful. I just want to keep that momentum going.

PATRICIA DRAGO, FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC VOTER: I have been incensed by what I see happening right now in Washington, D.C. and I'm going to say even my fellow Americans who voted for Trump, I don't think they thought this was what's going to happen. And I'm very upset. I believe we are at a really pivotal time. I feel helpless. Only thing I have is my vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And look, the fact that this is even competitive right now says something. This district, of course, Donald Trump won by 30 points. It is his National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz's former seat, again, 30 points here. [14:15:00]

So, the fact that this is potentially a competitive race between a Democrat Josh Weil and the Republican Randy Fine, we're talking money here. Weil outraced Fine 10 to one. In fact, there were even Trump advisers as well as the House GOP Fundraising Chair and also the Majority Whip, who had a talk with Fine, CNN sources said saying, you've got to get your campaign together here. We shouldn't have to be worried about this district.

Now, privately Republicans and Democrats have said they do expect Fine to pull out a win here. It's competitive, but potentially not to the point where Weil will win. However, what they are looking at is potentially how close this victory is. And Democrats paying close attention to see how motivated and angry their base may be for districts that perhaps aren't as lopsided in terms of the registered voters. Boris, Brianna?

SANCHEZ: Dianne Gallagher, live for us in Florida. Thank you so much for the update. Be sure to tune in to CNN for complete coverage on election night. It begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

KEILAR: And still to come, dozens of IRS employees involved in safeguarding private taxpayer data, suddenly placed on leave as the Trump administration finalizes a controversial plan involving taxpayer data. Plus, a stark warning from Harvard is it risks losing billions in federal funding over its response to anti-Semitism.

SANCHEZ: And later, NFL players can continue to push the tush, at least for now, a vote to ban the Super Bowl-winning Eagle's signature move has been tabled, though this controversy is far from over. We'll discuss in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:21:00]

KEILAR: We have some new developments. Officials at the IRS have put dozens of IT professionals on leave, and that includes some top cybersecurity experts.

SANCHEZ: Sources tell CNN, many of them were seen as potentially blocking the Trump administration's controversial plan to share sensitive taxpayer data with immigration authorities who are trying to ramp up deportations. CNN's Rene Marsh joins us now. Rene, walk us through the details.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, we reached out to the Treasury Department on this and -- or the IRS on this and the Treasury Department responded confirming that these 50 senior IT professionals were placed on leave. The reasoning that they gave is that these were non-technical personnel in technical decision-making roles, and they went on to say that this was all a part of the Treasury Department and IRS leadership's evaluation of the best way to improve the performance of the IRS and stimulate -- and simultaneously reduce cost to taxpayers. However, I've spent some time speaking with people within the IRS, sources with knowledge of these individuals who are placed on leave, some of the individuals themselves, and it is clear that these are individuals who are in leadership roles, certainly perceived by DOGE as people who could potentially get in the way of some of the mission work that DOGE is doing there at the IRS.

We do know that, DOGE has been met with resistance at the agency, from many of these career employees, who say that DOGE's request to access taxpayers' sensitive financial information is in violation of privacy laws and also disclosure laws that govern how they handle this sort of information at the IRS. So, as we all know and CNN has reported, the IRS is narrowing this unprecedented agreement with immigrations and custom enforcement on essentially allowing DHS, Department of Homeland Security, to use IRS financial data to help them in their immigration enforcement, as the administration starts to try to ramp up their deportation efforts.

Again, these are people, again, many of them who have extensive experience when it comes to IT. So, many of them were actually insulted at this statement from the Treasury Department saying that they were simply let go, not anything to do with immigration enforcement, but everything to do with their lack of technical abilities. These people have -- many of them have been at the agency for decades and many of them have been working in the space of IT, and they've just raised alarm and concern that now the agency is without this leadership and without these people, and there are just real questions about who's going to properly safeguard these complicated and sensitive data systems at the IRS.

KEILAR: Yeah, we do know that the administration has not been accurate in describing why they have let some other folks go, something to consider as we look at the reasoning there. Rene, thank you for the great reporting. Appreciate it.

The White House says that when it comes to the now infamous Signal debacle, it is case closed as far as their concerned. So what if anything happens next? We'll discuss right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:40]

KEILAR: This just in, the Trump administration has halted several dozen federal research grants at Princeton University. This is according to a letter from the university president that was obtained by CNN. And it comes one day after we learned three federal agencies are reviewing billions of dollars in contracts and grants between the government and Harvard University over the school's response to anti- Semitism.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now with the details. And Gloria, Harvard says that without this funding, lifesaving research could be halted.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Boris and Brianna. Think about does -- how much Harvard does not just on the educational front, what it means in terms of education, one of the most elite educational institutions in the world, but also about all of the medical research, scientific research that the institution does. All of that is now on the table.

According to some Harvard professors I've been speaking with in the last several hours, they say that the threat to this funding, the threat alone means that they're not going to be able to get their work done. It means that they cannot apply for projects; they cannot apply for funding. They cannot hire new people to conduct those research projects.

Many of the hospital systems in Massachusetts, including Boston Children's Hospital which saves children's lives, is going to be potentially affected by this. Now, I want to mention the response that we have gotten from Harvard so far. The university president issued a statement last night after we learned about these funding cuts --