Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

DOGE Has Access to Homeland Security Data; Judge Blocks DOGE Accessing Treasury Payment System; National Institutes of Health Slash Money for Research; Eagles Beat Chiefs. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 10, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, today, DOGE is showing no signs of slowing down. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is confirming the team has access to her agency's data, including the personal information of those who received federal disaster aid. It is the latest agency to come under DOGE's scrutiny as part of Elon Musk's crusade, which appears to still have the full backing of the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I've had a great help with Elon Musk, who's been terrific.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom line, you say you trust him.

TRUMP: Trust Elon? Oh, he's not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He's so into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Join us now for more, Vittoria Elliott, Platforms and Power reporter at WIRED. So, Vittoria, you have new reporting on DOGE's activity at the Treasury, where they have been called a, quote, "insider threat." Tell me more about that.

VITTORIA ELLIOTT, PLATFORMS AND POWER REPORTER, WIRED: Yes. So, this was a sort of internal analysis by analysts who have been were hired by the Treasury, who suggested that DOGE members, if they were to return to Treasury, obviously, this was sort of in the interim where it appeared that the DOGE member who was apparently accessing the data in the Treasury system had been -- had resigned, that the recommendation was that DOGE members be treated like insider threats and put under monitoring because of their access to sensitive data. And you know, the possible harm from that.

BROWN: So, you know, a judge ruled over the weekend that they can no longer access that Treasury system. Do we know if they're abiding by that?

ELLIOTT: We don't right now. You know, I think the sort of statements made by Vice President Vance and Musk over the weekend sort of indicating that they don't agree with that ruling indicates that they may try to fight it. And, you know, while we have not yet seen evidence about whether or not they are complying with it, you know, Musk has a history of sort of acting and apologizing later in some of his private endeavors, for instance, you know, not paying rents on Twitter's offices, which is a contractual obligation and things like that once he took over the company. So, you know, I think we could likely see a contestation around that.

[10:35:00]

BROWN: We shall see on that front. So, you've also got some reporting on how the members of this team were recruited, including some connections to one of Silicon Valley's biggest names, Peter Thiel. What did you find?

ELLIOTT: Yes. So, what we found was that in the months of the transition period, so, like, between November and January, members of the DOGE team were actively recruiting within these networks, you know, Discord groups, LinkedIn groups, you know, the way is that people who work at companies generally chat with each other or keep in touch. And what we have come to sort of find is that like it's this sort of trusted networks that they were really relying on to pull in people who, you know, might have the skills they were looking for and might share a similar value alignment with what DOGE is trying to do.

BROWN: So, what do your sources tell you about what Musk's next targets could be? A lot of us are finding out about this through reporters like you, because there hasn't been a lot of transparency from this administration. What are you hearing?

ELLIOTT: Well, I think, you know, there's a hyper focus on systems that deal with either payments or personnel or, you know, the general I.T. structure. And so, my colleague, McKenna, has obviously done some really fabulous reporting on, you know, the way this is playing out at GSA, which oversees the I.T. infrastructure of the government and, you know, there's obviously been a lot of reporting around the consumer financial protection Bureau and Treasury, you know, it does really seem like they're looking at agencies that have control over payments and infrastructure for a lot of the government.

And I think, you know, it has seemed like the goal of DOGE is really to go agency by agency. But I think the places that we're going to see probably the most emphasis are in these ones that have greater control over larger systems of the government as a whole.

BROWN: Just really quickly, though, I mean, he has some contracts with some of these agencies that he's now accessing the data to right, like DHS?

ELLIOTT: Yes. So, I think it's really important to understand that, like, Musk, as well as Peter Thiel, and many, many of the people in the Silicon Valley are fundamentally, you know, government contractors. You know, SpaceX has billions of dollars of contracts with the government Palantir, of which Peter Thiel is chairman, they have billions of dollars of contracts with the DOD. You know, we are -- we -- and I'm sorry, I should -- I don't actually know the exact amount, but certainly, large contracts with the DOD and they've had them for many years.

And so, I think the reality here is that, you know, we're looking at people who have a vested interest within their own companies of getting contracts with the government, of making money through deals with the government, and now have access to sensitive government data. And, you know, not that, you know, we know exactly what they're looking at, because there hasn't been a lot of transparency, but that opens questions about whether or not they're able to see sensitive data from their competitors for similar contracts, whether or not they're able to see sensitive information around individuals or companies that they might consider threats to their business.

BROWN: All right. Vittoria Elliott, thank you so much. Coming up, a big change to how medical research is funded. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BROWN: New today, the nation's primary agency for medical research is slashing the amount it will pay for overhead costs at the universities and medical schools where that research is done.

About 30 percent of the average grant from the National Institutes of Health typically went to what's called indirect costs. Those include maintenance, security, and support staff. Now, that amount is capped at 15 percent. So, this cutback could save taxpayers billions of dollars, but critics say it could also jeopardize lifesaving research and innovation.

Joining us now as Utah State University Professor Ron Gillam. Thank you for joining us.

RON GILLAM, PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATIVE DISORDERS AND DEAF EDUCATION, UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

BROWN: So, you are part of a research team that was recently awarded an NIH grant of $2.5 million to study listening therapy for children. So, tell us more about the work that you have been able to do with this NIH funding.

GILLAM: So, we study children with developmental language disorders. These kids have difficulty learning complex vocabulary, complex sentences, they have trouble telling and understanding stories. They have trouble learning to read and write. Our study is designed to look at and compare what we believe is an impactful intervention that -- designed and to test it in a rigorous manner.

I'm really committed to this concept that's evidence-based practice. And so, we're really doing the best we can to look at the evidence that supports the different kinds of communication outcomes of the language intervention practices that we have developed.

BROWN: So, what is the direct impact of this NIH funding on people? And could you do your work without it? GILLAM: Well, we believe that it's vital for children with language disorders to receive interventions that have proven effectiveness. So, children and family have enrolled in the study. They've put our trust in us. They want the best for their kids, and we want to rigorously compare different kinds of intervention procedures so that children can have the best possible intervention outcomes when they get treatment from speech language pathologists.

[10:45:00]

BROWN: So, is there a way to get this funding elsewhere if you lose some of the funding for this research due to the steps that have been taken by the Trump administration?

GILLAM: Well, that would be really difficult. I mean, there's funding -- other funding agencies such as the Institute for Educational Science in the U.S. Department of Education. There are some private agencies that fund this kind of -- but by and large, the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders is the institute that provides the largest amount of funding for the kind of studies that we conduct.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Ron Gillam, thank you for coming on and helping us better understand. Oh, didn't mean to cut you off.

GILLAM: Oh, that's -- I was just going to say, we're always going to do what's right. We're going to do our best no matter what happens to finish out the studies that we've started. We made a commitment to parents and kids to let them receive what we believe is a really important new approach to language therapy, and I'm going to do my best to find ways to continue to complete the study that we started and to continue to support all the research assistance that we have.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Ron Gillam, thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BROWN: Pretty sure the celebrations could still be going on this morning in Philadelphia. I think there's some celebrations here in the CNN Newsroom as well after the Eagles squashed the Kansas City Chiefs' dream of a three-peat in a Super Bowl blowout. CNN Sports Anchor Coy Wire joins us now. The Super Bowl champs just spoke. What are you hearing from them, Coy?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, Pamela. Dynasty disrupted. The Eagles get their revenge after that heartbreaking loss to these Chiefs in the big game two seasons ago. The stars, the celebrities were out in New Orleans. And so, was the president, Donald Trump, the first sitting president ever to attend the Super Bowl. Of course, Ms. Taylor Swift in the building to cheer on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, but the chiefs and their Super Bowl Eras Tour did not end well last night.

The Eagles' defense just dominating the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes getting sacked six times running for his life all night. They forced him to throw two interceptions. And in the second quarter, how about this, a rookie, Cooper DeJean, on his birthday, Pamela, picking off the Patrick Mahomes and taking a 38 yards at a house streaking in his birthday suit in the Super Bowl.

Then it was Zach Baun getting another interception. Four seasons he played for New Orleans here in this stadium. Last year was a backup for the Saints. He'd cry at times thinking maybe I just didn't have it anymore. Was first season that Philly became an all pro.

A short while later, Eagles' quarterback Jalen Hurts, the takeover, touchdown to A. J. Brown, not related to Pamela Brown. I don't think. Hurts threw two touchdowns in this game, led the team in rushing, ran for a touchdown to his 72 yards on the grounds of Super Bowl record for a quarterback.

Fly Eagles fly. An unreal 40 to 22 win over the two-time defending champs. What a way to celebrate. Here's your Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts after the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JALEN HURTS, SUPER BOWL LIX MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: I think as a team we want to look back and say we made everything worth it. And that's just a commitment, the time, the effort, everything that we did. But I wouldn't be here without that journey. And that's something that I embraced along the way. And I think it's just something to continue to build on.

NICK SIRIANNI, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES HEAD COACH: We can prepare as coaches all we want and try to put him in position to succeed, but then it comes down to him recognizing the look from his film study all week and all two weeks in this case and getting to the right place. So, he did an unbelievable job of that yesterday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, Pamela, on the other side, Patrick Mahomes, a lot of criticism from the peanut gallery over his performance. But listen, he's not even 30 years old yet. Three Super Bowl titles and seven season starters. Something tells me he will be back on this stage again and probably even again. Back to you.

BROWN: Yes, the peanut gallery needs to shush, right? I mean, come on, he's already won some Super Bowls. He's young. He's got a bright future ahead of him. As someone who has ridden on the Kansas City Chiefs last night, though, it was pretty rough. I had to stop at halftime. I said, all right. I know where this is going.

Coy Wire, thank you so much. We'll have more news after a short break. But first, here's Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's Chasing Life podcast. [10:55:00]

Both the World Health Organization and the U.S. government recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes every week of moderate or physical activity, along with some strength training and stretching. But if you only have time to work out on the weekends, meaning you're a weekend warrior, research suggests you can still reap many health benefits as long as you meet the 150 minutes.

Now, consistent exercise is better for sure, but I think this is good news for those who just can't seem to find the time during the week. Now, what they specifically found was that weekend warriors saw similar reductions in the risk of heart attacks, and heart failure, and atrial fibrillation, and stroke, as those who exercised more regularly.

Keep in mind, if you're going to push it hard on the weekends, you've got to be careful. Make sure to properly stretch and warm up because your risk of injury could be higher given that you haven't moved that much during the week.

And you can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]