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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Markets Suffer Worst Day Of The Year As Trump Refuses To Rule Out Recession In U.S.; Veterans Affairs Secretary Acknowledges Goal To Cut 80,000 Jobs; 20-Year-Old College Student Missing In Dominican Republic; Hundreds Killed In Clashes Between Assad Loyalists, New Regime; Vatican Source: Pope Francis No Longer In "Imminent Danger". Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 10, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, is the United States headed for a recession? Well, President Trump yesterday refused to rule it out, and the stock market today took notice. But what does all of this mean for your wallet?

[18:00:02]

Plus, she was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Trump. She has a strong track record as a conservative judge. So, why are some of the more extreme MAGA voices attacking Justice Amy Coney Barrett?

And the desperate search underway for a U.S. college student who disappeared on spring break in the Dominican Republic.

The Lead Tonight, growing fears about a weakening U.S. economy as President Trump continues to push his aggressive trade policy.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny joins us now from the White House. Jeff?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, there was a new record set here today in the country, and that was the biggest fall off in stocks so far this year, so far during this Trump administration. But the White House was silent about it. It was a rare weekday where we did not see or hear from the president directly, even as the market really captivated the news of the nation and indeed the world against fears of a recession and a fallout.

But we are hearing from the White House just a few moments ago in a new statement explaining all of this, but pointing to the success of the Trump first term in office. Look at this statement. President Trump delivered historic job, wage, and investment growth in his first term and is set to do so again in his second term. So, that, of course, is effectively asking the markets, investors and others to take a bit of a leap of faith here on what has been just a deeply uncertain time in terms of the trade policies, the tariff policies, just the uncertainty that has been roiling the markets.

But, Jake, again, unusual the president did not speak about this at all. Of course, it was his comments over the weekend, not ruling out the idea of a recession that sparked much of this unease. But, simply, the White House is trying to send the message the president is not watching the market day to day. That certainly is at odds with his first term, and what we know about his time in office.

TAPPER: And meanwhile, Jeff, Elon Musk just wrapped up an interview with Larry Kudlow, who used to be a Trump economic adviser in the first term. What did Musk have to say?

ZELENY: Certainly, a very friendly interview, but an extensive interview about what Elon Musk has been doing across the Department of Government Efficiency. He defended his decision and his team's decision to eliminate so many jobs that, of course, have become controversial inside the administration as well as outside, and he also said he plans to go potentially for more than his allotted time. He said he could still be here a year from now, but he also again defended their actions. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, OWNER, X: When we get criticism, we say like, of what? Which line do you disagree with? Like which cut, which cost saving do you disagree with? And people usually can't think of any.

We're trying to act broadly across all departments, so it's not just one department at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But, actually, several Republican lawmakers and others have been able to come up with examples of what they thought were mistakes, and Elon Musk, you know, has been pretty open about going back to correct some mistakes that DOGE has made.

But overall, Jake, certainly the White House keeping an eye on the financial markets, but the president not saying a word. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Jeff Zeleny at the White House for us, thanks so much.

Let's turn now to CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. Manu, how are lawmakers reacting to Trump yesterday refusing to rule out a potential recession in the U.S. this year?

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a lot of the Republicans that I spoke to today, Jake, are pushing back on the idea that a recession could happen. They're actually trying to tamp down that recession talk, and any concerns about the economy, they're trying to not blame on what Donald Trump has been doing with his tariff policy. They're trying to point the finger back at the last administration, Joe Biden.

That is essentially what the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, indicated to me earlier today, when I asked him about Donald Trump refusing to take out -- rule out the possibility of a recession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Are you worried about the recession?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I'm not. I believe that the policies that we're putting forth are going to improve the economy and bring down costs for people. It takes a little while. We're in a transition period between Bidenomics and the disastrous economy that the previous administration left us. And it takes a while for these policies to be ingrained.

We're going to codify this with the reconciliation process and the bill is coming forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Of course, Jake, that process in which the speaker is talking about will take months to play out in order to enact some of these very ambitious policies, whether it is a sweeping tax overhaul or steep spending cuts and the like. That will all be wrapped into a bill that is still not agreed upon between the House and the Senate. There are several steps in the legislative process in order to get there. And then ultimately it would have to be -- it would take some time for that to be having an impact on the economy, but what could have an immediate impact are those tariffs, assuming they do go in place, Jake.

And that is what's caused a lot of concerns among Republicans and Democrats on the Hill about the rising prices impacting their constituents is why the White House is hearing some pushback, even from some of their own allies.

[18:05:03]

Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.

Let's bring in former Obama White House Official Ashley Allison and former Trump White House Official Mike Dubke. You like how I do that? That's a nice little thing.

Mike, I want to get to the economy a second, but just a short while ago, Elon Musk sat down with Larry Kudlow on Fox Business. I want to play a part where Kudlow asks Musk about who he's recruiting to help run the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE and how Musk is handling his other thriving, multibillion industries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KUDLOW, FOX BUSINESS HOST: And you're recruiting from where? More or less?

MUSK: Basically, it's software people, you know, information security software people and finance. You know, it's basically, yes, finance and technology.

And, I mean, frankly, I can't believe I'm here doing this. It's kind of bizarre. KUDLOW: How are you running your other businesses?

MUSK: With great difficulty. Yes, I mean --

KUDLOW: but there's no turning back, you're saying?

MUSK: I'm just here trying to make government more efficient.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you make of that all, Mike?

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I used to think that Donald Trump was the man with all of the unusable energy and just the ever -- you know, the Energizer Bunny going forward. And he finally met his match with Elon Musk.

I have no idea how he's doing all of this. I think Kudlow actually caught him at a bit of reflection. He's got all of these other businesses. How he's putting all of this together, I have no idea. But I do assume to the answer to the original question is that he's bringing in individuals from his other operations to work at DOGE. But I don't know how anybody is keeping up this pace.

TAPPER: And meanwhile, and, look, I'm not blaming Elon's absence for any of this, but he's got -- you know, obviously he's a brilliant man. SpaceX just blew up again. There was a cyber attack on X today, possibly because of positions Elon Musk is taking. I mean, we don't know, but maybe, I mean, supposedly.

DUBKE: I would assume.

TAPPER: Supposedly it came from the Ukraine or Russian area. So --

DUBKE: Tesla.

TAPPER: And then Tesla, there are all these protests, violence and vandalism against Tesla cars. I mean, I think I heard all of that in that sigh.

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think he's doing a lot, but he might not be doing any of it very well. And that is often something when you're an entrepreneur, you can take on too much and everything starts to fall apart. We have this saying and organizing, don't boil the ocean. And it feels like Elon Musk is really trying to boil the ocean. And some things are falling apart.

I think one of the most interesting things when it was like, well, who are you hiring? And there was some stumbling. I didn't hear working class people, the folks at the Republican Party or so, close to and align with. I hear people -- a lot of people losing their jobs right now, the market not feeling really stable, and finance folks and tech folks are getting jobs. So, that does not align with the narrative that I was hearing before November 5th, and I think it will have a little (ph) back on the Republicans. TAPPER: Can I ask you a question just as a former White House communications person for Trump? So, we didn't see Trump today. There was no, not only no pool spray, no comments to reporters. That's unusual when he is in Washington. Do you think that was intentional because of, you know, the dust up over his comments to Maria Bartiromo about like he wouldn't rule out -- and, look, maybe points for honesty, like you can't rule it out, but like that unsettled a lot of people, including a lot of people on the market.

DUBKE: I think, okay, two questions here. One, I think there's something to unpack on unsettling the markets. I mean, this is what disruption at work looks like, his comments. And it's obvious that tariffs are something that he is going to keep pushing regardless of what the stock market is doing, and that's unusual.

The other part --

TAPPER: Just to show you right there, that's what the stock market's doing, down 890.

DUBKE: The other part is, there's a lot of other things happening in the world, and I'm not necessarily surprised. He could be focusing on the fact that Rubio is overseas right now, all the other meetings that are happening in Saudi Arabia. So, I'm not surprised that we didn't see him, but it's remarkable that we're even having this conversation after not seeing Joe Biden for how many months?

TAPPER: I don't know.

DUBKE: And nobody was asking. We got one day of no Donald Trump and everyone's so sad.

ALLISON: Maybe he's taking a nap.

DUBKE: So sad.

TAPPER: Well, I mean, I'm certainly not one to defend what that was all about.

Let me ask you, Ashley, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries recently claimed the Democrats have Republicans on the run when it comes to the economy and other issues. Senator Elissa Slotkin, a new senator from Michigan, she gave her party's response to Trump's address to Congress. She's striking kind of a different tone. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): I don't think it's a secret that Democrats have been on their heels since Trump won the election. Trump has been successful in flooding the zone and just like every day, 15 things happening.

[18:10:02]

We are still finding our footing. And I think you can't get better until you admit you have a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I've heard her admit that Democrats have a problem. I've heard our friend, Van Jones, admit that Democrats have a problem. What do you think?

ALLISON: I think that Democrats don't have a cohesive message, but they should.

And one piece of advice I would give Democrats is, and this is going to be hard for a politician to really hear, is that maybe you are not the main character in this story. Maybe it is your constituents. We talk so often about the C.R. that is going to hurt people and take them -- like cut their Medicaid, cut their Medicare, hurt their Social Security.

TAPPER: The C.R. is a government funding bill.

ALLISON: Go find those people and let them be the main characters. Let them be the folks that say, I voted for Donald Trump and now I don't want to lose this thing. And that's how you get Republicans on their heels. I don't think they are now. They could because I think the policies do align more with where the American public goes.

And I'll also just say on the market, I feel like I had deja vu because I had that same conversation. The market tanked last week too. So, a lot of it is like -- you know, it's saying it's a one day thing. I mean, it's not a one day thing. It's happening over and over and it's not -- it doesn't feel sustainable.

DUBKE: No, they want -- the market wants certainty.

ALLISON: And so do working people.

DUBKE: They -- absolutely. Anybody does when they're trying to balance the budget.

ALLISON: Yes.

DUBKE: In terms of the -- to me, the Democrats are rudderless at the moment. That's the nicest thing that I can say. Maybe they can take their, you know, auction paddles and use that as a rudder, but they are rudderless.

TAPPER: I'd like that. So, it's a big little auction paddle.

DUBKE: And just turn it around.

TAPPER: A little mixed metaphor. I appreciate it.

DUBKE: But my best.

TAPPER: Yes, no, it's good. It's good. I like it a lot of the creative. Mike Dubke, Ashley Allison, two of our favorites, thanks to both of you. Thousands of U.S. veterans reportedly laid off as part of President Trump and Elon Musk's massive government cuts. The new effort to get these former servicemen and women back on the job.

Plus, we're learning new details this afternoon about the search for a U.S. college student who disappeared tragically while on spring break with her friends. We'll talk about the last time she was seen on surveillance video. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

TAPPER: So, our Politics Lead now, the Department of Veterans Affairs is celebrating 100 years of research this year, a century that's produced life-saving breakthroughs from the first cardiac pacemaker to the C.T. scan, even the nicotine patch. But now under President Trump and Elon Musk's aggressive government cost cutting initiative, known as the Department of Government Efficiency, that legacy could be threatened through layoffs and clinical trial delays.

The secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledges that his agency is looking to eliminate 80,000 jobs. More than a quarter of those employees are U.S. veterans. Many of those jobs include critical support staff. According to The New York Times, quote, among the 2,400 employees fired from the V.A. since Mr. Trump's inauguration are workers who purchase medical supplies, schedule appointments, and arrange rides for patients, veterans, to see their doctors, unquote.

To put the real world impact of these cuts into perspective for us, let's talk with Rashi Romanoff, CEO of the National Association of Veterans Research and Education Foundations. That's an association that supports partnerships between the V.A. and nonprofits. Rashi, thanks for joining us.

So, in the Times, you stated nearly 200 researchers supporting more than 300 clinical trials are at risk of these trials and their jobs being cut. How does this specifically affect the health of veterans, do you think?

RASHI ROMANOFF, CEO, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF VETERANS' RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS: Thanks so much for having me on, Jake. You know, at NAVRAF, our goal is to ensure that veterans can continue to benefit from life-saving research. What's happened is that the administration's federal hiring freeze extended to time limited federal appointments. And these time limited appointments make up the vast majority of V.A.'s research workforce, and might I add are actually incredibly cost effective ways that allow the V.A. to bring in top experts and help for shorter periods of time rather than do full-time staffing.

As a result of all of these interpretations and the policy changes, critical staff, some of whom have been at the V.A. for years, if not decades, are suddenly concerned about the fate of their positions. Some of them have been not been able to renew these positions. And so what's happening is that to have any sort of study suspended or canceled, what ends up happening is that the impacts of this can be quite devastating and it can delay access for veterans to be able to access breakthrough cures, which they deserve, and, frankly, they can't wait for.

So, everything is on the line. Studies related to cancer treatments, opioid use disorder, suicide prevention, Alzheimer's, traumatic brain injury. Everything is at risk and on the line if we're not able to protect these staff positions.

TAPPER: What are the impacts of these cuts? What are you hearing from these researchers who have been laid off?

ROMANOFF: Yes. You know, I think researchers are, you know, in the maybe midway through studies, a study that's already started or is ongoing. Now, they're having to be concerned about, are they going to be able to stay in these positions if they're being notified that they can't renew these appointments. They're being told you have to turn in your badge. You're going to be cut off to accessing V.A. data. You can no longer communicate with veteran patients. It's very, very concerning.

I think the most serious thing that we're really tracking and we're concerned about is issues related to patient safety and veteran care, because some of the staff that are implicated in all of this are roles like study coordinators and lab techs, data safety analysts. It's individuals that are responsible for protecting and safeguarding veterans as a part of research, monitoring things like adverse events, scheduling follow-up appointments for research care.

[18:20:00]

It's really, really concerning and can get very dangerous very quickly.

TAPPER: All right. Rashi Romanoff, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

We're also following a new push by Democrats in Congress to reinstate the jobs of US veterans who were laid off by the Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce. This includes veterans across the whole spectrum of the federal government, not just the Department of Veterans Affairs. But a third of federal employees are veterans and of the 30 percent, more than half are disabled veterans.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth is with us now. She's a veteran herself, spearheading the effort in the Senate. And she joins us now. Senator, good to see you.

You say that Trump and Musk have fired more veterans than any other administration in our nation's history. How many veterans do you think have been fired?

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Well, Jake I think at least 6, 000, roughly. If you look at the number of people who have been fired, multiply it by the 30 percent number, that gets you to a very conservative estimate of 6,000. It's probably much higher than that, especially in certain agencies, like the Department of Veterans Affairs. And that number continues to rise as they fire more and more federal employees.

TAPPER: What exactly would your legislation do?

DUCKWORTH: My legislation would allow veterans to get their jobs back. It would reinstate them going back effective January 20th of this year. We're also right now working on making sure that they also get back pay from the time that they receive their severance.

TAPPER: Your bill is co-sponsored by several other Democrats in the Senate. Have any Republicans expressed any interest in what you're trying to do?

DUCKWORTH: We can't seem to get any Republicans to respond, but we will continue to push them. There are veterans on the other side of the aisle, and, certainly, I have never heard a single one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say that they don't support veterans. If anything, they boast about supporting veterans, so now is a chance for them to do so. They can stand up and support our veterans who serve our country in the federal service.

TAPPER: Regarding the V.A., you have expressed outrage over the administration's cuts as well as plans to downsize the workforce cuts of 80,000 jobs. Tell us more about that.

DUCKWORTH: Well, Jake, veterans are -- have been made a promise by the American people that we will care for them once they serve our nation. And remember, Jake, we just passed a PACT Act a couple years ago that allowed funding for programs that help veterans who suffered from toxic substances, like burn pits and the like. And these veterans are new into the system. We encourage them to enter the system. We finally, in a bipartisan way, passed funding to hire more people to take care of these veterans. And those new people are now all probationary employees because they've been hired within the last two years. And so, those are the ones who are most likely being laid off on the frontlines of being laid off.

And so veterans are going to find themselves waiting longer for care. We already hear about veterans having had their surgeries canceled or postponed, longer wait times for caregivers. These are people who family members who care for disabled veterans are not being able to get the support they need from the caregivers hotline. We are already seeing those effects. And I don't want us to go back to the bad old days where veterans, like the Vietnam veterans, were dying waiting for their claims to be processed, but that's where we're headed under the Trump administration right now.

TAPPER: So, there was under bill Clinton a big effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce. It was done quite differently. But how do you respond when Republicans or others say Elon Musk is just doing a different version of that, the government's too big?

DUCKWORTH: Well, the problem is they're taking a chainsaw and they're cutting across the board and you're seeing what's happening is that they're having to reinstate some people with great disruption. I mean, air traffic controllers, Jake, air traffic controllers in the northeast region were given -- were sent the fork in the road letter encouraging them to quit. We had people who worked on the veterans' crisis hotline, were also laid off and had to be reinstated. I was able to get two of those folks reinstated myself. And you're seeing that they're having to -- you know, they laid off the people who were in charge of our nuclear arsenal, for crying out loud.

So, it shows that they don't know what they're doing. They're taking a chainsaw to the federal workforce and it's putting Americans in danger. It's putting our veterans in danger. And, frankly, there are better ways to reduce federal spending. I am all aboard for reducing federal spending. In fact, I successfully passed many pieces of legislation that cut defense spending by billions of dollars. And yet the way forward is not to go through and cut NIH funding. That's, you know, money that's going into universities that are conducting research programs to end severe diseases that Americans suffer from.

TAPPER: Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

DUCKWORTH: Thank you.

TAPPER: The search tonight by land, by air, by sea for a U.S. college student who disappeared while on spring break. What we're learning about the last person to see her before she went missing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

TAPPER: In our World Lead, a desperate search is underway in the Dominican Republic for a missing University of Pittsburgh student. 20- year-old Sudiksha Konanki, a U.S. resident originally from India, was last seen early Thursday on surveillance camera footage with a group of friends at a resort in Punta Cana. And as CNN's Danny Freeman reports for us now, police are interviewing one man believed to be the last person to see her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A frantic search underway in the Dominican Republic, looking for any sign of Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old junior at the University of Pittsburgh, who has gone missing while on a spring break vacation.

Dominican National Police are leading the search, deploying drones, canine units, and helicopters in the area around the Rio Republica Hotel in Punta Cana, where Konanki was last seen. Her family has now traveled to the Caribbean nation to help with the search. Her father telling ABC News --

[18:30:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter said that she's enjoying her spring break and everything was going okay. And she was really happy.

FREEMAN: What's unclear though is if foul play was involved or if there was a terrible accident.

Konanki was last seen with a group of seven other people in the early morning hours last Thursday. The group was drinking on resort grounds before heading to the beach around 4:15 A.M., according to a law enforcement source. Surveillance cameras show five women and one man leaving the beach around 5:55 A.M. Konanki is believed to have stayed behind with a young man in his twenties. Those CCTV cameras show the man left the beach area around 9:55 A.M., about four hours later, with no sign of Konanki, according to law enforcement sources. The man who may have been the last person to see Konanki before she went missing has been interviewed by police.

Now, sources say the young man is not considered a suspect in the girl's disappearance at this time, but one source told CNN that his version of events has changed slightly in three different accounts to authorities. In every version, he says they were at the hotel beach together and went into the ocean, but he got out after feeling sick and fell asleep on a lounge chair. But he had different accounts of when he last saw Konanki. A cover up belonging to Konanki was found on a lounge chair on the beach, and authorities say there are no signs of violence.

Originally from India, the Konanki family has lived in the U.S. since 2006 and are permanent residents. Law enforcement officials in Loudoun County, Virginia, where they currently reside, are not ruling anything out.

SHERIFF MIKE CHAPMAN, LOUDON COUNTY, VIRGINIA: It's possible that she never went into the water. It's possible that there's something else that could have happened to her. So, we can't just assume that's the case. So we have to, you know, presume that at this point anything's possible.

FREEMAN: Konanki's father told CNN he wants authorities to investigate all possibilities, including whether this is a case of kidnapping or human trafficking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): And now, Jake, I can tell you that Konanki is really a normal, regular student here on campus. She's a junior, as I noted, a biology major. She's a part of an acappella group here at Pitt.

And I'll tell you, just there's been a lot of dissonance here on campus since this news has come out because it's a beautiful day back here. It's the first day back on since spring break. There are people laying out on blankets, but there's also definitely sadness, shock and concern over their fellow student missing. Jake?

TAPPER: All right. Danny Freeman in Pittsburgh, thanks so much.

Let's bring in Sudiksha's hometown sheriff, Mike Chapman, from Loudoun County, Virginia. Sheriff, do you have any new information that you could share with us? CHAPMAN: We're working very hard certainly with the Dominican authorities, with our folks down there that are assigned to the embassy, FBI, DEA decide we want to make sure that we're doing everything in our power to do -- to get to the bottom of this.

I mean, certainly, our hearts go out to the family right now. They're going through a very difficult time. And we're not ruling anything in or ruling anything out. We are following this. We are working with the authorities down there. We're very engaged. We want to make sure that we're doing everything we can from electronic standpoint when it comes down to phones and communications and text messages and all that kind of thing. So, we want to make sure that we're pulling it all together.

So, we're -- again, it's an ongoing investigation. There's very little that I can say specifically about where we're at, but we're very happy to be part of it and be working very closely with all these authorities there and with the Dominican authorities, as well as our counterparts down there, U.S. embassy, Indian embassy. So, it's a big team effort.

TAPPER: Sudiksha stayed behind with a man after the rest of her group left. Do you have any idea what he's saying to investigators? Is there any fear of foul play?

CHAPMAN: Again, I'm not going to rule anything in or rule anything out. You know, obviously, the circumstances are concerning as to what happened down there. And we're looking into it the best that we can, but we're not boots on the ground down there. We have to rely on the Dominican authorities and our federal counterparts down there that are working with the Dominican authorities to get the information that we can.

We are working very closely with them and we do have information that we're gleaning from this. But it's an ongoing investigation. So, there's really not much I can say other than we're pursuing every possible lead.

TAPPER: So, as of this interview, it's been more than four days since Sudiksha was last seen. What evidence, if any, gives the family hope about her whereabouts?

CHAPMAN: Well, the fact that that she hasn't been recovered yet. I mean, we don't know. She hasn't -- nobody has found her. We don't know where she is. They've done an exhaustive search, as you can tell, with helicopters, boats, drones, you name it. They have everything out there. Their Coast Guard is out there, their police, their national police. So, everything that they're doing is -- you know, it's an extensive amount of searching that they've done and yet they still haven't found her.

[18:35:00]

So, in a way, that may be a good sign.

So, we're hoping that we -- and praying that we have a very positive outcome. It means a lot to us because she's a Loudoun County resident. And we want to make sure that we don't leave any stone unturned.

TAPPER: Is the Trump administration, is the Youngkin administration there in Virginia offering to aid in the search in any way?

CHAPMAN: Well, absolutely. I was in contact with the governor last night. And I know Attorney General Jason Miyares is also on top of this. But we're -- we do know that the FBI -- we've -- I've had contact with the FBI. And I do know Director Kash Patel is also aware of this and is engaged in this. So, we have a -- it's a huge team effort.

And, again, it's because it's such a complex effort with so many people involved, we want to make sure that whatever information that we put out is correct. We don't want to put out something that, you know, somebody made a post on Facebook or somebody speculating this or that. We want to make sure that whatever that we put out to the media is accurate and it's confirmed information. And it's really premature to put much out lately because, you know, we're getting -- the interviews are continuing. You know, we're getting, you know, various versions of what happened down there.

So, until we get a clear understanding of what occurred down there, it really would be inappropriate for us to put anything out, especially since it's an ongoing investigation.

TAPPER: All right. Sheriff Mike Chapman, best of luck to you and all the investigators. Thank you so much.

CHAPMAN: Thank you. I appreciate it.

TAPPER: Prominent conservatives are now rushing to defend U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett as she faces fierce backlash from some of the more extreme voices in the MAGA base. Why are they so upset with somebody who was nominated to the high court by President Trump? That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't know about people attacking her. I really don't know. I think she's a very good woman. She's very smart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: We're back with our Politics Lead, and that was President Trump defending Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, his own appointee, from attacks by other Republicans, specifically other members of the very online MAGA base. They have been calling the justice, quote, a DEI appointee and, quote, downright evil. Those are the ones we can say on T.V.

Her apparent offense is siding with liberal justices against the Trump administration's move to freeze $2 billion in Foreign aid as well as looking less than thrilled perhaps during Trump's joint address last week. In her defense, Supreme Court justices try to stay stoic, although Kavanaugh's all smiles there in the picture I'm showing you. Not that one.

My panel joins me now. Alyssa, we just saw the pressure campaigns play out on senators considering Trump's cabinet nominees. A lot of senators who it looked like they were going to put up a fight or protest ended up buckling. This case is not going to be the last Trump related one to make it to the highest court. Does this tactic, do these attacks work on a Supreme Court justice?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So, listen, as you said, they work with senators. They don't work with lifetime appointments. Amy Coney Barrett is resting just easy despite the MAGA attacks.

And, by the way, I was there when she was sworn in the Rose Garden of the White House. Donald Trump was very proud to appoint her. And I would argue that there's absolutely a conservative argument for how she ruled on that decision. And, obviously, the chief justice sided with her as well.

So, I would just say to, you know, MAGA folks on the right who are coming after her as a DEI hire or questioning her conservative credentials, you have gone way too far down the algorithm when you've convinced yourself Amy Coney Barrett is a RINO. It's just a ridiculous assertion.

TAPPER: Do you think Trump's speaking up for her as he did on Air Force One there? Do you think that might work to make them back down?

GRIFFIN: I think it's very notable. I think it's very rare that the base keeps going after a target once Trump's kind of given them the seal of approval. And, again, this is someone who has voted with the conservative majority more than 80 percent of the time. I think that there's this fear maybe by some that she might be like a future Sandra Day O'Connor, somebody who came in more conservative and perhaps left more moderate. I don't think there's any evidence in her rulings that that is the case, and I don't think it's something that Trump is particularly worried about.

TAPPER: Yes. And, Jim, let's take a look at her record, as Alyssa just alluded to. In 2023, she aligned most closely with Justice Kavanaugh and Chief Justice Roberts. She still agreed with the more conservative justices, Alito and Thomas, more than 80 percent of the time. Her record is really not that much different from that of Chief Justice Roberts and Kavanaugh. Why are conservatives suddenly up in arms over her decisions while Kavanaugh is in good standing?

JIM SCHULTZ, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: Look, I think in this instance, you see disagree with the administration in a headline. And the average person is going to look at that and say she disagreed with Donald Trump and they're going to attack her as a result of that, especially online when you have folks doing that and freely online as it is. The fact of the matter is she has, you know, been a conservative vote on that court the entire time, whether it's religious freedom, whether it's abortion, whether it's dealing with a Second Amendment issues. Time and time again, she's voted very conservatively on that court and opined very conservatively. I think you're seeing a lot of folks who are, you know, conservative legal scholars coming out and being very supportive of her. You've seen the president coming out very supportive of her.

And remember, this was just a procedural vote that sent something back down to the court. This is going to come back to the court in a more substantive way. And I think that's when you have to watch and see how she reacts.

TAPPER: And, Alyssa, one of the people adding fuel to the fire is this character, Mike Davis. He's a MAGA legal figure who was a former clerk for Justice Gorsuch. He told Politico, quote, when judges take off their robes and climb into the political arena and throw political punches, they should expect political counterpunches, unquote. I'm not really sure to what he's referring but why does the MAGA base have this expectation that these political attacks and smears should play a part in the court?

[18:45:10]

GRIFFIN: Listen, I think it's the era of Donald Trump where, you know, loyalty to the leader is kind of the chief political belief that many of his followers have. And I think it is a bit of an absurdity, looking at this woman who is kind of sort of the archetype of what conservative women would look up to. She's a mother of seven. She was the first in her class at Notre Dame law -- Notre Dame Law School. She clerked for Scalia, and she has been a consistent conservative voice on the court.

So I think these attacks fall flat. And most of the more serious conservative legal scholars are not in agreement with them.

TAPPER: It's interesting, Jim, because the trust that Trump voters have in the U.S. Supreme Court is still far greater than the trust that the general population has in the Supreme Court. A recent CNN poll shows 71 percent of Trump supporters say they trust the Supreme Court to do the right thing on Trump administration cases.

How should Trump continue to navigate the rest of these cases if and when they don't rule in his favor? Do you do you caution him to just hold his fire no matter what?

SCHULTZ: Yeah, I think that's right, especially in votes like this, where it was largely, like I said earlier, a procedural vote, that he has won the large -- this court has done exactly what he appointed them to do, which is be a conservative court and a religious -- or an originalist court, and not one that believes that the Constitution is this living, breathing document.

So I think he should feel really good about that, because that's what he -- that's what he looked for in justices when he appointed them. And they're largely voting that way now. So I think attacks are not a good thing for him to do going forward.

TAPPER: All right, Jim and Alyssa, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

A positive update today on the health of Pope Francis. Why a Vatican source says the pope is no longer in imminent danger despite remaining in the hospital. We'll bring you that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:58]

TAPPER: Our world lead brings us to Syria, where government forces say they have restored order across parts of the country that experienced the worst outbreak of violence in years, violence that targeted many of the country's minority populations and left hundreds dead.

CNN's Paula Hancocks reports on the killing spree.

But first, a warning to our viewers, the following report does contain some graphic video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The violence has been indiscriminate and brutal. Four days of fighting between the Syrian military and supporters of the ousted Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, an affiliated gunmen adding to the deadly chaos.

Seven hundred and seventy-nine have been killed, according to Syrian Network for Human Rights. A large proportion of them civilians.

Bodies lie where they fell on the western coastal areas of Syria. Majority Alawite areas, the heart of Assad's former support. Syria's leader says forces were trying to quell an insurgency. A successful operation he claims has now ended.

Speaking to "Reuters", President Ahmad Al-Sharaa acknowledges there were revenge killings against the Alawite community.

AHMAD AL-SHARAA, SYRIAN'S INTERIM PRESIDENT (through translator): Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all. We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won't accept that any blood be shed unjustly or goes without punishment or accountability. Even among those closest to us.

HANCOCKS: Residents describe armed men setting fire to civilian homes. Syrian Network for Human Rights spoke of, quote, widespread field executions.

An elderly man begs for his life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He is a remnant of the regime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have children, I swear to God!

(GUNFIRE)

HANCOCKS: He is executed.

Fears of ethnic minorities being targeted have weighed heavily on optimism since the 50 year reign of the Assad family ended abruptly last December.

A huge part of Ahmad Al-Sharaa's project was about confidence- building, particularly when it comes to Syria's minorities. The Alawites, the Druze, the Christians, the Kurds. And I think the events of the last few days have absolutely ruptured that confidence.

Authorities have now released photos of two militants accused of a separate extrajudicial killing being arrested. Keen to show the fragile sense of order could be restored.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (on camera): There has been one significant sign of unity this evening. The Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces has agreed to merge into Syria's new state institutions. Now the agreement speaks of a ceasefire and also its intent to support Syria in its fight against al-Assad's forces -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks for that report.

What we're learning about a tornado that touched down earlier near Orlando, Florida, today, and the significant damage it left behind.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:25]

TAPPER: Our last leads now.

We're going to start our health lead. Pope Francis, thankfully, is improving. He's no longer in imminent danger. That's according to a source at the Vatican, who says that doctors decided to lift the pope's prognosis for the first time since his hospitalization. The 88- year-old pontiff was admitted in mid-February on Valentine's Day, I believe, and has been battling pneumonia in both of his lungs.

In our world lead, evacuations are underway in Guatemala after a large volcano started erupting overnight, spewing gas and ash high into the sky. Nearly 300 families evacuated the immediate danger zone. Another 30,000 could be next to evacuate. The volcano is one of the most active in all of Central America. The mix of ash and rock and mud and debris could theoretically bury towns.

In our national lead, an EF-2 tornado with winds up to 115 miles an hour touched down in Seminole County, Florida, this morning, according to the national weather service, the tornado touched down about ten miles north of Orlando, causing significant damage to homes and neighborhoods. Today's tornado was the first strong tornado to hit Florida since Hurricane Milton's tornado outbreak in October of last year.

In our law and justice league, the Los Angeles County district attorney is asking a court to withdraw the previous DA's request to resentence Lyle and Erik Menendez. The brothers were convicted in the 1989 murders of their parents, but the new district attorney, Nathan Hochman, says the brothers displayed a lack of acceptance of responsibility for their murderous actions.

Before we go, I wanted to tell you I have two books coming out. In May, "Original Sin" with Alex Thompson. It's about President Biden's decision to run for reelection and the cover up of his decline.

In October, "Race Against Terror", about the hunt to prosecute an al Qaeda terrorist who killed Americans and was out to kill many more. You can check them both out at JakeTapper.com and preorder if you want. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Substack, and on TikTok @JakeTapper.

You can follow the show on X @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can listen to the show whence you get your podcasts.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now. Take it away, Erin.