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Trump's Pick for Treasury Secretary to Face Senate Questions on Taxes, Tariffs and Debt Ceiling; Israel Delays Cabinet Vote on Gaza Deal, Says Hamas Reneged; Winds Die Down Across L.A. Area as Crews Push to Contain Fires. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired January 16, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, three critical confirmation hearings just getting underway up on Capitol Hill. What we're watching for.

Plus, not out of the woods yet as winds ease up for fire scorched areas of Southern California. More gusts are on the way.

And agreement in jeopardy, why Israel is delaying a cabinet vote on the ceasefire and hostage deal.

Good morning. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. You are live in the CNN Newsroom.

But we begin this morning up on Capitol Hill. CNN's Lauren Fox is there for day three of President Trump's cabinet picks as they're facing some tough questions from senators. Lauren, who's going to be under the microscope the most today, do you think?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I am standing outside of the Senate Finance Committee hearing room. This is where we expect to see Trump's pick to lead the Treasury Department, Scott Bessent. This is going to be a really key hearing today, and there are a couple of reasons why that will be the case. This may be the first opportunity that we have to get a good glimpse into what the Trump administration, their second term agenda looks like when it comes to economic policy.

Obviously, there's going to be a lot of questions in this room from Republicans and Democrats alike, I expect, on what Trump's tariff plans look like. We also have seen that in the past with Steve Mnuchin, the previous treasury secretary, that that person played a critical role in making sure that Donald Trump was able to move forward with his tax cuts plan back in 2017. You can expect that Bessent will likely play a major role there.

And I expect that a lot of Republican senators are going to be making clear in this room what their priorities are when it comes to that legislation. Obviously, Republicans in the House and Senate have been very divided on what the strategy should be moving forward.

So, it'll be really interesting to see whether or not Bessent echoes the president's view that perhaps this should be a one big, beautiful bill versus a two-step plan, like a lot of senators have hoped for. There's also going to be a lot of questions about the debt ceiling and the Trump administration's plan moving forward on that. That was another critical area that Mnuchin played a key role in. So, a lot of opportunities to get a glimpse into what Trump's economic policies are going to look like in his second term. Jim?

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Lauren, the House speaker, Mike Johnson, has apparently removed a Republican congressman from his post as House Intelligence Committee chair. That's a big move. What can you tell us?

FOX: Yes. What we heard last night from Speaker Johnson was that this is what he wanted to do to sort of clear the deck, get new leadership in for this administration. But, obviously, there are a lot of questions, including from the top Democrat on the committee, about why Turner was asked step aside and who that new replacement is going to be.

Jim Himes, who's the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, argued he's always liked working with Turner in part because he views him as unwilling to take a knee to whatever administration is in power. And it's important to keep in mind that the Intelligence Committee has traditionally been a place where Republicans and Democrats often rise above the politics of the day in order to make sure that the country is safe.

ACOSTA: Yes, Congressman Mike Turner has a lot of friends up on Capitol Hill. He's viewed as having a lot of credibility in that position as the chair of the Intelligence Committee. Lauren Fox, thank you very much.

Also breaking this morning, new concerns about a deal between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and to free the hostages. Israel says it has delayed a cabinet vote on the deal, accusing Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement by, quote, attempting to extort last-minute concessions. Hamas meanwhile says it remains committed to the terms of the truce announced yesterday. It is broken down into three phases, we're told. Phase one is expected to start on Sunday. It calls for a ceasefire, a swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners over 42 days. The second and third phases are still being hammered out and would depend largely on the success of phase one.

Seven Americans are believed to be among those still being held in Gaza. sources tell CNN that two are expected to be included in that first release.

Let's break down all of this. Joining me now is Danny Danon. He is Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. He's also a former Israeli deputy defense minister. Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us at this critical hour.

Where do things stand, and is this deal in jeopardy? DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Jim, we want to finalize the agreement, and we want to see our boys and girls coming back home. You know, for 15 months, we're talking about babies, women, soldiers who are being held by Hamas.

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So, we hope to see them home as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we are dealing with a terrorist organization and they are trying to blackmail at the last minute, seeing that they will not agreed upon.

We have a team on the ground in Doha, in Qatar, finalizing those details, and I hope that we will be able to, to move forward to bring the agreement to a discussion and a vote in the Israeli cabinet, and to implement it as soon as possible.

ACOSTA: So, is it possible at this point that the deal could fall apart?

DANON: Well, we hope not. You know, we invested a lot and we thank the negotiators, both President Trump and President Biden. They put a lot of effort into it, Qatar and Egypt, and we are willing to sacrifice a lot. We are releasing terrorists who were convicted in murdering hundreds of innocent Israelis. But we do that because we value life. We want to see the hostages back home. So, we are still pushing, and we hope to see progress very soon.

ACOSTA: And, Mr. Ambassador, assuming it goes forward, phase one is set to begin, we're told, on Sunday. Is that still possible, or might this timeline be pushed off a bit, because of this last minute, I guess, round of negotiations that are going on?

DANON: Well, once we finalize all the details, it can happen very fast. You know, I would say 48 hours after we get the green light from the team on the ground. We will need to have a cabinet meeting. Then we will allow time for people to appeal to the Supreme Court to -- this issue, but the Supreme Court will meet immediately, and I think it will not delay the implementation of this agreement.

You know, the people of Israel are praying to see those hostages back home. We can just imagine the mental situation, the physical situation, after 15 months in the tunnels of Hamas. We heard the testimonials about the way they are being treated there, the tortures. starvation and other horrible testimonials.

ACOSTA: And, Mr. Ambassador, President Biden says the second phase of the agreement would bring a, quote, permanent end to the war. Is that correct as you understand it? Do you share that optimism?

DANON: So, the way the agreement is being drafted that you have the first stage and during the first stage, we continue negotiations. So, I cannot tell you what will be the outcome of the second part of the negotiations, but I believe after day 16, we meet again. Our teams will fly again to continue the negotiations for the future stages.

ACOSTA: And, Mr. Ambassador, as you know, some Israelis passionately opposed the deal and marched on Prime Minister Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem. They brought a flag-draped coffin, saying the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of this release will cost the lives of more Israelis in the future. What's your response to that?

DANON: Well, it is a very hard decision. You know, we paid a heavy price. So, casualties, people who fought to push back Hamas and some people think it's a mistake. It's legitimate, but we are a democracy. At the end of the day, the cabinet, the government will sit down, will vote upon it. I believe there will be a majority in the government for any proposal that the prime minister will put on the table.

ACOSTA: And, Mr. Ambassador, this deal is essentially what President Biden proposed back in the spring. In recent days, Biden's Middle East negotiator was joined by an envoy for President-elect Donald Trump, these two administrations, one current, one waiting in the wings, work together to apply pressure, we understand. Is that your understanding of this as well? Is this an agreement that both administrations will be able to point to as something that was achieved?

DANON: Well, first of all, you're absolutely right. You know, the framework was discussed back in May and we said, yes, Hamas said, no. We applied more pressure. That's why when we people criticize me at the U.N. while we are still fighting in Gaza, I explained to them we are there because we have hostages there.

So, the pressure helped and brought Hamas to the table. And today we have a similar agreement, and I think what we saw is that both administrations worked together, and that's something which is rare in politics, that you see outgoing administration and incoming administration put everything aside and worked on the important issue. The people of Israel value to see that there's support coming from both administrations.

ACOSTA: All right. Ambassador Danny Danon, thank you very much for your time. We hope the deal results in those hostages coming home. We'll be thinking about that in the coming days.

DANON: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate your time.

Coming up, another controversial Trump nominee, RFK Jr., is also expected to face lawmakers up on Capitol Hill. I'll speak to the senator who will be one of those lawmakers questioning him. Senator Tim Kaine, joins me next.

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ACOSTA: Another critical day of confirmation hearing is going on right now. You can see it happening live after a week of contentious questions for some of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks.

Joining me now, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who sits on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations Committees, as well as the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, all of which are very key in these confirmation hearings unfolding this week. Senator, good morning, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): You bet, Jim.

ACOSTA: You made some headlines this week for your contentious exchange with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing. I want to play some of that, talk to you about it.

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KAINE: You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two after you just had fathered a child by wife three.

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You've admitted that. Now, if it had been a sexual assault, that would be disqualifying to be secretary of defense, wouldn't it?

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: It was a false claim then and a false claim now.

KAINE: Many of your work colleagues have said that you show up for work under the influence of alcohol or drunk. I know you've denied that. But you would agree with me, right, that if that was the case, that would be disqualifying for somebody to be secretary of defense?

HEGSETH: Senator, those are all anonymous false claims, and the totality of them --

KAINE: They're not anonymous.

HEGSETH: The letters on the record here --

KAINE: They're not anonymous.

HEGSETH: On the record --

KAINE: We've seen names attached to them.

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ACOSTA: Senator, has anything changed to ease any of your concerns about Pete Hegseth's nomination?

KAINE: I have deep concerns about the character of the individual, not about his military service, which I think was strong, but his character, admitted serial infidelity, significant allegations of creation of toxic workplace culture, especially for women, staffers, fiscal mismanagement of organizations, and allegations of a sexual assault, that at a minimum was infidelity, but also led to a sexual assault allegation. I walked into the hearing with questions. I walked out of the hearing with more questions.

ACOSTA: And my understanding is that Pete Hegseth did not meet with very many of the Democrats on the committee. You only got one round of questions when typically there are multiple rounds of questions. It sounds like you have more questions.

KAINE: This was a very serious alteration from normal practice, Jim. I've been on the Armed Services Committee for now more than 12 years. Multiple secretaries of defense have been nominated by presidents of both parties. They always meet with committee members.

Pete Hegseth refused to meet with any Democrat other than the, the chairman, Jack Reed, would schedule meetings, looked for one for me, then postponed it until after the hearing and then postponed it again. I don't know whether I'm ever going to get a meeting.

And so when you don't have the opportunity to meet with somebody in the office and share your concerns, and then you just get one seven- minute round, you got to go right to it. But it's very, very difficult to get the full information you need about a position that is so important as secretary of defense.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, you sit on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, or HELP Committee, which will hold Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Are you going to be meeting with him? Are you going to get stiffed on that meeting too?

KAINE: No. I mean, Pete Hegseth is a unique case. RFK Jr.'s coming to my office this afternoon to talk before the hearing, which will likely be next week. Senator Rubio, the nominee for secretary of state, came to my office to talk before we had the hearing yesterday. I'm going to be meeting with the secretary of labor nominee later today. These individuals are meeting with the Democratic members of the committees that they'll be before, with the exception of Pete Hegseth.

ACOSTA: And I want to get your reaction to Trump Attorney General Pick Pam Bondi's confirmation hearing yesterday. She clashed with some of your colleagues over issues, including her answers about Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, possible pardons for January 6th rioters. Did any of her answers concern you? Will she have your support for attorney general?

KAINE: Jim, that one, I was so steeped in confirmation hearings for Senator Rubio yesterday that I didn't have a chance to really follow live the Judiciary Committee's hearing on Pam Bondi. So, I need to go back and watch that and talk to my colleagues. I did see the reports about her being very equivocal about acknowledging that Joe Biden legitimately was elected president in 2020. That would raise a major red flag with me if she's buying into bogus conspiracy theories about that election.

ACOSTA: She did say at one point that there will not be an enemies list at the Department of Justice. But are you concerned that there will be an enemies list over at the White House?

KAINE: Well, it sounds like they're preparing one at the Pentagon, because, Pete Hegseth has weighed in support of the notion of these military purge boards, as they're calling them. I don't have any doubt that the president and his team have lists of folks that they like and lists of folks they want to kick out. I was glad to hear that Pam Bondi said that would not be the case at the Department of Justice. But it's odd that that even has to be a topic of discussion. The fact that it is tells you that this is a most unusual incoming administration.

ACOSTA: And house cleaning may not be just happening at the Pentagon. We're hearing that Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is getting the boot. I know you're over in the Senate, but does that concern you?

KAINE: It makes me wonder why. You know, I'm not on the intelligence committee, but my Virginia colleague, Senator Warner is, and I think he's had a pretty good relationship with the intel leaders, both Democratic and Republican on the House side. I was very puzzled to hear that Representative Turner has been moved aside. I don't really have an understanding of it.

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I'm sure Senator Warner is going to give me his take on it when I see him later today.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, I do want to ask you about the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel, we are told, between Israel and Hamas. Are you concerned about this delayed vote in Israel's cabinet? We were just talking to the ambassador about this. It doesn't sound like they're at the goal line yet. It sounds like there are still some negotiating going on.

KAINE: Well, Jim, first, when we heard the news yesterday, we were in the middle of the hearing with Senator Rubio, the reaction in the room, all parties, everybody in the room was celebratory. We're not there yet, but we need to get the hostages released. It's been so painful to see what's happened to them and to their families, and it's been painful to see the suffering of innocent Palestinians who have nothing to do with Hamas, who've suffered in the last 15 months. We've got to get to that ceasefire and then look for a way to make it permanent with humanitarian aid, security for Israel, a future for Palestinians. But we're not quite there yet. And it's been tantalizingly close.

I do think we're close. You do see the -- there were some protests from the right side in Israel last night, not liking the release of prisoners, but as the ambassador said, Israel is willing to make some difficult concessions in that regard to get hostages home. And those are the kinds of things that have to happen in a tough negotiation.

So, I'm choosing to believe that we're on the threshold, and then if we can get it, then we really have to put our shoulders to the wheel to turn it from a temporary thing into a permanent thing.

ACOSTA: And, Senator, forgive me, I'm covering a lot of ground, but President Biden did address the nation last night from the Oval Office. He talked about his fear that an oligarchy is taking over this country, that there is a tech industrial complex that has too much influence in this country. He offered some pretty stark warnings for the nation as Donald Trump is about to return to the White House. What did you make of that?

KAINE: You know, the comments really echoed in my mind, it reminded me of something, and it reminded me of what President Eisenhower said as he was leaving office. This general who led us to victory in World War II warned America that a military industrial complex could have too much impact on American politics and push us into needless military expenditures and even hostilities that we shouldn't be in. Those were very prescient words then.

And I don't know if President Biden was sort of consciously echoing those or not. I know he is sincerely worried about it and I think a lot of Americans are.

ACOSTA: Do you think there's an oligarchy that's taking over in this country?

KAINE: You know, that, I am worried about the power of these -- of the tech bros who, you know, have a lot of time on their hands because they have so many billions and they want to get involved in politics. And they usually want to get involved in politics to feather their own nest. They usually want to get involved in politics to help craft a tax bill that will give even more money to them and their friends.

So, stay tuned to see what the Trump administration's tax proposal is coming up in the next two months. And I think you're going to see a tax proposal that will benefit people like Elon Musk to the detriment of everyday working folks.

ACOSTA: All right. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, thank you very much for your time.

KAINE: You bet. Take care.

ACOSTA: All right. Still to come, as fires are raging in California, many people are still unable to check on their homes. We speak to an L.A. City Council member about when residents can get back home. That's next.

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ACOSTA: Firefighters are pushing to contain the wildfires raging across Southern California as weather conditions improve throughout the area. Winds are expected to die down today with the final red flag warnings set to expire this afternoon, but that relief could be short lived. Forecasters warn another round of Santa Ana winds is due early next week.

Take a look at this drone video we can show you of the devastation from the Palisades fire in Malibu. It's just unbelievable. Look at that. Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out, homes, schools, places of worship all gone. The Eaton and Palisades fires are now the two most destructive wildfires in Southern California history, and for so many, the loss is unbearable.

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LYDIA SAWYER, LOST HOME IN EATON FIRE: I'm just heartbroken. This was my grandchildren's home, everybody's home, basically, big family, a lot of memories.

They keep asking when are they going to come home. And I just have to keep it positive and tell them that it's gone.

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ACOSTA: I want to bring in L.A. City Councilman Traci Park, whose district includes the Pacific Palisades. First off, our hearts go out to your community, Councilmember. We really appreciate your time. I'm so sorry. But maybe you can give us an update on how things are going and how soon people will be able to return to their homes. I mean, that's what everybody's wondering right now.

TRACI PARK (D), LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL: Yes. So, we have about 5,000 firefighters deployed who are continuing to actively fight this blaze. They have continued to make progress over the last several days. As the weather has cooperated, they have had many air assets dropping water and fire retardant, trying to make the area safe.

We also have, especially in the Palisades area, hundreds of utility workers on the ground clearing debris and addressing immediate safety issues. Every pipe is broken.

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All the gas lines and water lines, all of the power lines were down from the fire. And so they have been on the ground going house.